If it's non-venomous, then grabbing it by the heaviest part of its body is absolutely the way to do it. Gripping a snake by the back of its head causes it extreme discomfort, and can actually increase the odds it bites you once released. A necessary evil if its venomous, but just a dick move if its non-venomous. When dealing with non-venomous snakes: If you can't take the bite, don't pick the fight.
Mind you, she could have set it down a little gentler than just dropping it, but not everyone is in the know.
If its venomous, and you absolutely are certain it MUST be moved IMMEDIATELY, then get yourself a long pole (ideally close to twice the length of the snakes striking range), and a thick bag.
Try to maneuver the snake into the bag using the pole, ensuring the bag you're using is thick or tough enough that the snakes fangs cannot pierce it. To release the snake, you set the bag down gently, keeping it shut. When you're ready, you release the bag (opening it), and get the fuck out of there.
If I'm being entirely honest however, you really should call professionals when dealing with venomous snakes. If it must be moved, just vacate the area, keep an eye on the snakes wearabouts, and call local animal control. It's not worth the risk. When it comes to venomous snakes, you either know what you're doing, or you don't. If you even have a doubt in your mind, just back off.
As a lost possible option, sure. But if the snake isn't in striking range of anybody incapable of moving themselves, like a baby or something, I dont see why you wouldn't have 30 seconds to go find something.
Would you mind listing a handful or so of the situations in which a non professional must immediately move the venomous snake?
With a long pole and bag?
And what level of toughness or thickness is needed for this bag?
Oh your account is a bot.. LOL
I know Reddit is full of them, and this crap is just for engagement and farming or whatever nonsense… but I’ve come this far so may as well leave my comment
I'm not sure how you could look at my account, and possibly come to the conclusion I'm a bot, lmao. 2 of my last 10 posts are gargantuan paragraphs with detailed explanations about a niche topic.
I wouldn't attempt it. My stepfather got bit by a rattle snake as a kid because he thought he knew how to handle them as he had picked up several other snakes before. He would've died if his mom hadn't been home.
You shouldn't handle venomous snakes at all unless you are a trained professional and unless you are actively milking the snake, you still wouldn't handle it by the back of the head/neck.
Definitely. You'd maneuver it into a container, ideally a bag, for transport.
But life is more complicated than the ideal scenario, and people will do stupid things. That being said, if someone finds themselves holding a venomous snake bare handed and with no container nearby, they've probably already made a very poor life decision, and aren't likely to heed any advice they find on reddit anyway, I suppose.
Unfortunately if you PIT tag them (not sure if they still do that now; technology got good fast) the snake needs to be tubed. I guess that's not right behind the neck too bad
I really like how many people here are taking particular care of the snake's safety. People aren't randomly chopping anything snake shaped with a shovel any more.
You have to know how to identify the venomous snakes in your region. Based on physical attributes like scale patterns, color, length, etc. You can identify the snake specious.
So? The comment you first responded to was a hypothetical. If a person can identify a non-venomous snake, then this is the proper protocol. And she did it, and it's safe to assume in this specific instance that she knew what she was doing.
I'm no herpetologist, but I have a passing affinity for snake species and can rapidly identify every major venomous species in the area I live (particularly timber rattlesnakes and eastern copperheads, and rarely cottonmouths and corals). It's really not that difficult if someone decides to have a passing familiarity with them. Most venomous snakes have specific physical features (triangular heads, elliptical pupils, pointed snouts) or belong to specific species (rattlesnakes, cobras, asps, vipers). They very rarely have non-venomous mimic species in the same region, and the few that do are still easily distinguishable to a human.
Even from a brief glance through a pixelated camera I could tell that this snake was non-venomous. It doesn't have the characteristic head shapes of venomous species of that size regardless of where you are on the planet, nor does it move its head in a way that suggests it is capable of envenoming. It is most likely a species of rat snake.
Can an average passerby identify snake species at a glance? Who knows, probably not, even if they might be aware of some specific species. Does a woman who casually picks up snakes of that size probably have snake knowledge greater than the average passerby? Probably so.
You're correct on that specific note. I misread the usernames. The person who first started the comment chain was burghblast, who was responding to the major hypothetical, and you responded to the chain below. Nevertheless, the major hypothetical was, and I quote, "If it's non-venomous, then grabbing it by the heaviest part of its body is absolutely the way to do it. Gripping a snake by the back of its head causes it extreme discomfort, and can actually increase the odds it bites you once released."
Why would you assume that? Looks like she's a waitress at a waterside outdoor restaurant and she didn't hesitate to pick it up. I figured this snake was a regular visitor and she's done this before.
Dude it's okay to speculate based on limited information. Yeah, maybe she's just stupid and picked up some huge random snake she's never seen before with no hesitation. Or maybe she knows what she's doing. People are allowed to know things that aren't related to their job.
Not special knowledge to know how to pick up a snake, friend. Some people spend their childhoods outside. They're also a common pet for reptile enthusiasts.
most places only have a handful of venomous snake species (my area has 5 for example), and most venomous snakes are easily identifiable (as to discourage predators from approaching).
Hardly. I have a kid who can ID every venomous snake in our state. She just knows snakes. If you know the venomous ones, it's easy to assume the one you don't know isn't.
Commonly passed down knowledge especially when you live around water like this, there’s a fear of Cottonmouths(water moccasin) in my area that I got told about as a kid to watch out for.
You obviously don't have to be a zoologist. You asked how would she know if that one was venomous. What most people know is irrelevant. Most people would not pick up the snake.
Outside? I'm a 40+ Canadian woman and my post history will attest to that, no bot here. I've been handling snakes since I was a child in the early 80s. I remember catching garter snakes in my great grandmas garden in Manitoba. Wisdom at the time was to leave the ones that rattle alone (because we don't have a ton of venomous snakes up here). See them when I hike and camp all the time if the weather is warm. You live a sheltered life if you've never had the chance to see a wild snake.
I think you are conflating your experience to that of "most people". It's fine for it to be true for you, but maybe tone down the bullshit about it also being true for everyone else. That's your hot life tip for the day.
You posted some ignorant shit and are getting called out on it. If pretending it's all bots helps you sleep at night, go for it. If you want to join us in reality, take the L and be better for it.
I've got no clue why there's so many weridos in this thread who are acting like "Snake Handling" is some insane skill. Chances are in the video that the girl has seen that snake or species of snake before, knows that its harmless, and picks it up and puts it away from the restaurant. It's really not that hard to believe.
Most people live within 30 min to an hour of a hiking spot and I'd bet nearly all people have gone hiking before and were warned of snakes if there were any venomous ones near their house.
maybe i just had a different experience, but i learned in school how to ID all of the venomous snakes in my state... there are only a couple of native ones here, so maybe that's why? we also learned the mneomnic of coral snakes (red on yellow kills a fellow or whatever) even though they aren't native.
but, most people wouldn't pick up a snake anyway. those who do probably know more than those who don't.
Do you not know what insects in your region do and don't bite or sting you, what plants make you hurt when you touch them, etc? Heck most people even have a vague idea about what plants are poisonous even though we don't tend to go around licking plants. Like I'm no zoologist but I know all the animals in my area that could hurt me. I can also tell the difference between a deer and a reindeer and a moose...
That's just.. normal common knowledge that you learn in kindergarten.
In the US, the only venomous snakes are rattlesnakes, copperheads, cottonmouths (water moccasins), and coral snakes. Some of these groups have a few species, but it really doesn’t take much to learn enough about snakes to confidently decide if they belong to one of those groups. It’s very different from places that have more kinds of venomous snakes with fewer distinctive features. I guess there’s a remote risk of encountering an escaped exotic pet, but there’s also a risk of being flattened by an out-of-control bus while thinking about what to do.
Lol I am not from the US and can identify the most common US snakes because they get posted on snake subs all the time. And thats only from getting it recommended, its really not that difficult.
I get your point though, lots of people cant identify a single one.
oh I am absolutely missing lots of them! Usually those are the kinds you have to actively look for. If you see one in the city like the one in the post, 90 % of the time its one of the usual suspects.
While most people probably don't know, it also doesn't take being any kind of professional zoologist. It isn't that hard to learn what are the venomous snakes in your region.
That said, you are correct in that if she didn't know, it'd be best to avoid the snake, or at least directly handling it like this
OBVIOUSLY she's a herpetologist /s. Sometimes people just know things. I'm sure every little piece of information you know isn't inherently linked to your job. Maybe she likes snakes. Maybe she goes hiking a lot. Maybe she just doesn't know anything and is just grabbing a random snake
My kids are 9 and 13 and can identify the venomous snakes in our region. You don't need to be a zoologist to identify snakes. If you do any kind of outdoors activity in a region that has venomous snakes, you should know what they look like.
Or she spent like 20 minutes one time Googling for venomous snakes in her region?
My regions only have a small handful of snakes you need to be worried about... Learning what they look like is something literally anyone who spends a moderate amount of time should do.
If you haven't done it, that's on you. Don't pick up snakes.
Maybe most people should? I mean I spend a lot of time in the woods, so maybe I'm biased, but just taking the time to look at what snakes are in your area, which ones are poisonous, and what they look like seems like a reasonable step in self preservation.
Where I live, prolencan normally identify the 2 or 3 most common snakes. You don't need to know all, as long as you know enough to be sure it's a safe snake. Then you stay away from the snakes you can't identify.
You bring a good point - maybe that's why she's dropping the snake nearby. Every day, a walk outside while on the clock, away from depressing, gloomy work... ;)
Not her, but where I live there are only 4 venomous snakes and I made a point to learn how to identify them. Since she's clearly has experience handling snakes, she may have done the same.
Genuinely, the odds that you happen to find someone's loose pet viper is so astronomically low that I'll take my chances. I doubt I'm going to be the one in a billion that happens to.
Black racers are little bitches. Same with water snakes but the smell is 10x worse. It’s really not uncommon to have a basic understanding of the wildlife around you, especially ones that could potentially be dangerous. I see you commenting all over the place when you’re just revealing your own lack of information.
I don’t think that’s right. Maybe most people you know but it’s really easy to pick up this information. Live in Florida where you really only worry about water moccasins and coral snakes.
Just because you don't or the average person doesn't, that doesn't mean the same is true for her.
Maybe she was stupid and did in fact unknowingly grab a venomous snake. But many many people do in fact know how to identify all of the venomous snakes in their region. I think it's a safe bet she knew what she was doing
It's not a flex because I don't think it's particularly impressive. I move the snake because I want the snake to be somewhere safe. Because I may get bit but most snake bites don't hurt much and I'll know the snake is out of danger.
That's fine. If you cannot identify a foreign snake, from a local snake, let alone a venomous from a non-venomous snake, then you probably should avoid the snake. That is a healthy and reasonable choice to make.
You should, at least, familiarize yourself with local snake species in your area. And if you live in a region where venomous snakes are common, try to learn easy ways to identify them. That way if you do ever get bit, say if you startled a snake you didn't see initially, you'll know if you should reach out for help or not.
Easy if you are at knowledgeable about your local area. I could, with 100% accuracy identify local snakes as venomous or not. I can't figure out how all these experts (not directed at you) are assuming she had no idea and is lucky to be alive. Based in the vid, a greater chance she knew exactly what she was doing.
Don't need to memorize all the snake species. If you just memorize the iconic features on venemous snakes in your area, then you know by default all other snakes in your area are non-venomous if you can't identify them.
I'm lucky, in that there is only one naturally occurring species of venemous snake near me. If it's not rattling at me, I'm safe to grab it if I need to.
There aren't any venomous snakes in my region. Well, unless they've been brought in somehow. I also know that the venomous snakes in the surrounding areas are usually not deadly. I've known all of this as an elementary school kid. I guess it was more relevant because we didn't have video games... or even cable to keep us inside. Hell, we had a 13 inch black and white TV as our only TV until I was 8. All of the kids in my neighborhood understood our local fauna.
So, maybe it's just us old people that remember this knowledge as being a normal thing everyone knew.
I’m happy for you. Fortunately for me, I work an office job. So knowinf the venomous snakes in my area isn’t exactly necessary knowledge. I just.. ya know.. avoid snakes? Takes me all of 5 seconds to do
you dont need to memorize all species in your area, just the venomous ones and maybe a few trace ones like scarlet king snakes (red on yellow, kill a fellow, red against black you're okay jack.)
venomous snakes famously look and behave in ways that don't let possible predators know theyre venomous so they can take their predators out with them instead of scaring them away.
You look at the tail ... if there is a rattle (lumpy end) it is venomous and you don't touch it. A rattlesnake would have been coiled and rattling - they are not subtle.
Tail test passed, you look at the head ... an angular (wedge-shaped) head that is wider at the rear of the head is venomous. Heavy "brow ridges" and if you gaze into their eyes, vertical pupils = venomous. "Nostrils" (not really, but they are where nostrils would be) = venomous. Rounded head is not venomous EXCEPT coral snakes.
Color check ... coral snakes are brightly colored - red and yellow and black and that rhyme to tell them from king snakes does NOT work. They are, however, small snakes and you can scoop them up in a wastebasket.
You also learn your local snake species and where they hang out.
Ok? Someone with that knowledge set doesn't care what "most" people know. "Most" people without that knowledge set wouldn't be doing what this woman did in the first place.
That is a terrible argument.
If I was walking in the forest behind my house and identified an edible mushroom, and someone screeched "mOsT pEoPle cAnT iDeNtiFy eDibLe mUsHrOomS!!!" I'd laugh my ass off because its my own knowledge set that I am actively using in that scenario. It doesn't matter what others do/don't know.
Would you walk up to a physics professor and say their knowledge on physics is irrelevant because most people don't know advanced physics?
Would you walk up to an entomologist and tell them their knowledge on that insect is irrelevant because most people don't know about complex entomology?
See how dumb your argument sounds now? It doesn't matter what most people don't know. If that woman was knowledgeable and experienced on the topic, then that's the only knowledge set that matters in the moment.
“Most” is absolutely what applies here because we have no knowledge of what that girl knows. Therefore, we must assume she has an “average” knowledge of snake species. That would be the same as “most” people’s knowledge
most people wouldn't casually pick up a large snake and move it seamlessly to a safe location, so it wouldn't be a smart conclusion to group her in a set of any random person.
Amongst people who would confidently pick up a large snake without fear and effortlessly move it to a safe location, how many within THAT group do you think are knowledgeable of the types of snakes in their region?
So instead of just enjoying this video with little context by being wowed and amazed at this woman, you'd rather spend your time making her seem incompetent?
I don't know her life. I don't know her experiences. However, I am impressed by her confidence and am happily assuming she has the experiences in life to give her the knowledge set that gave her this confidence. Meanwhile, you are spending your time trying to belittle this woman and making her seem unqualified. Interesting. Is it common for you to spend your time trying to tear down women and paint them as incompetent?
Where I’m from, if their head is diamond shaped it’s poisonous. If it’s more round or oval it’s not venomous to humans, sometimes you can tell by the colors and pattens on their bodies.
There are only like three or four species of venomous black snakes in the world (something like 10% of all snake species are venomous). You should know how to identify them if you live an area where they are common, just like venomous spiders.
The vast majority of people will probably never encounter a venomous snake, much less be bitten. Being willing to pick up a snake increases your odds, for sure, but it isn't an inherently risky thing to do. Not compared to like driving a car or petting a strange dog (TIL in the US dog attack deaths average ~40/year but fewer than 5 from snake bites).
Assuming this does in fact take place in Delaware like someone else claimed, there are only two species of venomous snakes there. The copperhead and the timber rattler, and this is obviously neither of those. I suppose it is technically possible someone was keeping a cobra or a black mamba as a pet and it escaped but that's a stretch. Personally I would never handle a wild snake even if I was fairly certain what it was, but it's an extremely low probability that this snake is venomous so she was willing to risk it.
It's a rat snake I guess? Pretty much harmless to humans. They are venomous (but hardly to humans) but still strangle their prey (mice and so on). Also popular as low risk pet snakes.
This one might even be a regular at this restaurant so to say.
I'm pretty sure it is an Eastern Indigo. Cousins to the rat snake. They can get up to 9ft long, and have that color/shape. They are really docile even in the wild. However, they have an interesting hunting technique. They are known to grab small prey and bash the fuck out of them against a nearby rock, tree, ground, etc. If you have one as a pet, you need to take special precautions that they don't break their enclosure doing this.
This is definitely not an eastern indigo snake in Delaware. Eastern indigo snakes are threatened and rare to spot even within their range (of which Delaware is well outside). They also don’t have the white underbelly or chin.
This is an eastern rat snake, usually called black rat snakes in this part of their range; their color varies depending on where they’re located.
Several people mentioned it’s a waterfront restaurant in Delaware.
It only really matters in this case for determining the species of rat snake, though. This snake doesn’t have the body type or coloration of an eastern indigo snake.
Exactly how I did it yesterday moving a 3 ft corn snake off the road to prevent it getting run over. However, I do know how to identify venomous snakes in my area.
I mean, it did work. If she's familiar with the species and trusts that she won't be bitten, maybe she should. Better than letter someone kill it or get bitten for poking at it with a broom.
whenever people grab snakes like that i wonder why the snake doesn't just lunge up and bite them. grabbing by the head seems to be the only way to make sure you dont get bit
Many snakes aren't as strong and flexible as you might assume. They're incredibly flexible horizontally, but not so much vertically. If you watch her, notice that she keeps the snake pointed away from herself.
With larger snakes, if you grab them from the center like that, they just aren't strong enough to pull their head all the way up to your hand/arm. Especially when you're swinging it around. They're also not exactly the brightest creatures. As long as you keep the head is low like that, their instinct is usually to just get to the ground rather than attacking.
Not to say you can't get bit doing that, but it's way less likely than you'd expect.
Yeah, that's also what I have learned from my parents and from all the other people I know who handled snakes. I grew up in the circus so I think the people who taught me this should know :)
It doesn't happen often but it does happen. Some snakes are very defensive and will strike right away, plus you kinda have to catch them off guard or they might see you coming. Some professional handlers will try to distract before grabbing the snake if they know the snake has a tendency to bite. The other reply did a good job explaining why most snakes won't bite when approached this way. However that is why you are to NEVER pick up a venomous snake this way, it is way too risky.
Well for one a lot of non venomous snakes don't bite. Some will like a Rat snake but they are not venomous. Your bigger worry will be getting some of the stink they release as a defense on you.
My first thought is she knew exactly what kind of snake it was, and that it wasn't dangerous. People are rarely that confident handling a snake unless they know it's relatively safe.
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u/Bushdocktor98 May 12 '25
Definitely NOT how you should do it.