[Tennesseestorm]

Ew, sounds scary!

Last year, I saw two snakes in my lawn.... one was slithering down the lawn when I was cutting the grass and one was wrapped a Windmill palm tree I have. I do not live in the tropics, but the hills of northeast Tennessee and it was wild seeing that thing coiled in that palm tree! Its a hardy palm though.

[Atreyou40]

Your kids are more likely to be president, go to Mars, and cure cancer in their lifetimes than be bitten by a coral snake. Relax. If it even is a coral snake, they are extremely reclusive, so consider it a miracle that you even saw it the first time. Should GOD intervene and decide your kids deserve to die because of yours and many other people's irrational fears, they will still have a chance to escape - a coral snake's fangs are in the back of it's mouth, not the front, so it does not strike like the typical American pit viper - it has to chew a little bit. Combine this with their reclusive nature, and you pretty much have to be a total idiot to get bitten by a Coral Snake. You have to be completely unaware by sight, but also completely unaware of the reptile gnawing on your skin.

If a coral snake is successful in delivering a bite to you, you will almost certainly DIE because their venom is a neuro-toxin. It will paralyze your diaphragm, your 911 dialing fingers, and your legs, and you will collapse where the venom grabs you and suffocate. Don't worry though, once you're over the initial fear of dying, I've read that suffocation is a pretty euphoric way to go. And unlike getting bit in the face by a pit viper, which will rot your flesh off, you can have an open casket! woo-hoo!

In any case, you need to read this: Coral snake - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Specifically the section on "Danger to Humans". Then you need to stop hyperventilating and realize that these snakes are only dangerous -with all due respect to the intensive care guy- if you're ignorant or unobservant. In which case, consider a coral snake bite Natural Selection in action. Leave the snake alone if he's there - he's likely eating many bugs and larvae that a) bite you b) kill your grass or c) crawl on your window ledges and die. He's probably also snacking on noisy frogs and rodent babies (if it even is a coral)

[Minniemom]

Originally Posted by Atreyou40

Your kids are more likely to be president, go to Mars, and cure cancer in their lifetimes than be bitten by a coral snake. Relax. If it even is a coral snake, they are extremely reclusive, so consider it a miracle that you even saw it the first time. Should GOD intervene and decide your kids deserve to die because of yours and many other people's irrational fears, they will still have a chance to escape - a coral snake's fangs are in the back of it's mouth, not the front, so it does not strike like the typical American pit viper - it has to chew a little bit. Combine this with their reclusive nature, and you pretty much have to be a total idiot to get bitten by a Coral Snake. You have to be completely unaware by sight, but also completely unaware of the reptile gnawing on your skin.

If a coral snake is successful in delivering a bite to you, you will almost certainly DIE because their venom is a neuro-toxin. It will paralyze your diaphragm, your 911 dialing fingers, and your legs, and you will collapse where the venom grabs you and suffocate. Don't worry though, once you're over the initial fear of dying, I've read that suffocation is a pretty euphoric way to go. And unlike getting bit in the face by a pit viper, which will rot your flesh off, you can have an open casket! woo-hoo!

In any case, you need to read this: Coral snake - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Specifically the section on "Danger to Humans". Then you need to stop hyperventilating and realize that these snakes are only dangerous -with all due respect to the intensive care guy- if you're ignorant or unobservant. In which case, consider a coral snake bite Natural Selection in action. Leave the snake alone if he's there - he's likely eating many bugs and larvae that a) bite you b) kill your grass or c) crawl on your window ledges and die. He's probably also snacking on noisy frogs and rodent babies (if it even is a coral)

I can't quite figure your post out. Half of me thinks that it is trying to be nice and calm my fear of my children being bitten and giving me general info on the snake. The other half thinks it's being a bit sarcastic and trying to dumb down my questions.

Like I said.. I am more concerned for my children, specifically my two year old, who is neither ignorant or unobservant - or a total idiot for that matter. Rather he is young, unaware and curious. He may be aware that a snake is gnawing on his skin, but not have the speech to tell me yet.

I do thank you for the reply and information, however I don't think that me worrying about my children playing outside on thier playset or inside thier play house and getting bitten by a snake that could potentially kill them is a silly or unreasonable fear.

[Carbondated]

Here are links to identifying snakes in Florida.
Online Guide to the Snakes of Florida

http://myfwc.com/pubs/venomous.pdf (broken link)

I'm no snake expert, but it is quite possible that what you saw was not a coral snake at all. They are very reclusive and extremely rare to see. However, if your husband did positively identify it, then call animal control. Do not attempt to handle it yourself. As an environmentally aware person, I would ask them how they intend to remove it, if they are going to use it for anti-venom and if they are going to release it back into the wilderness.

Best bet would be to educate yourself to be able to identify the non-poisonous from the poisonous. Do not allow your curious toddler to play outside without your supervision. When your child is old enough to understand, educate him about snakes...with "tell Mommy first" and a "no touch" policy.

If people continue to kill snakes regardless of whether they are poisonous or not, the state of Florida is going to be over-run with rats and other vermin. Ewww......

[faithfulFrank]

I've only seen two snakes in my brief time in Florida.
One was in my attached garage, and scurried out when I opened the door and picked up a broom, and one was across the street at my neighbor's house, where the snake scurried across the front walk, from bush to bush.

Both times they were all black. I was told that these were the "Good snake" that kept all the "Bad snakes" away.

I hope that is true.

Frank D.

[sange77]

I don't think you're over reacting AT ALL. I'm scared for my dogs when they're out so I an only imagine worrying about little ones too. Well hopefully it's gone and you'll never see it again. We've kill a couple of snakes (not corals)...at my job and my home just by taking a shovel and cutting it's head off. I actually just killed one on Saturday. We even had one in the pool twice but we didnt kill that one we just threw it back into the woods. Now I have the heebeegeebee's.

[Tungsten_Udder]

Originally Posted by faithfulFrank

I've only seen two snakes in my brief time in Florida.
One was in my attached garage, and scurried out when I opened the door and picked up a broom, and one was across the street at my neighbor's house, where the snake scurried across the front walk, from bush to bush.

Both times they were all black. I was told that these were the "Good snake" that kept all the "Bad snakes" away.

I hope that is true.

Frank D.

If you stay in urban and suburban areas, you won't encounter snakes--or a good majority of the other wildlife in Florida--near as often. Suburban areas bordering wilderness areas are a different story, and of course, if you spend time hiking and such, you'll see a lot more. You probably saw a black racer. Harmless unless someone is phobic, and then they might cause a heart attack, lol.

[Mike1306]

Originally Posted by Atreyou40

Your kids are more likely to be president, go to Mars, and cure cancer in their lifetimes than be bitten by a coral snake. Relax. If it even is a coral snake, they are extremely reclusive, so consider it a miracle that you even saw it the first time. Should GOD intervene and decide your kids deserve to die because of yours and many other people's irrational fears, they will still have a chance to escape - a coral snake's fangs are in the back of it's mouth, not the front, so it does not strike like the typical American pit viper - it has to chew a little bit. Combine this with their reclusive nature, and you pretty much have to be a total idiot to get bitten by a Coral Snake. You have to be completely unaware by sight, but also completely unaware of the reptile gnawing on your skin.

If a coral snake is successful in delivering a bite to you, you will almost certainly DIE because their venom is a neuro-toxin. It will paralyze your diaphragm, your 911 dialing fingers, and your legs, and you will collapse where the venom grabs you and suffocate. Don't worry though, once you're over the initial fear of dying, I've read that suffocation is a pretty euphoric way to go. And unlike getting bit in the face by a pit viper, which will rot your flesh off, you can have an open casket! woo-hoo!

In any case, you need to read this: Coral snake - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Specifically the section on "Danger to Humans". Then you need to stop hyperventilating and realize that these snakes are only dangerous -with all due respect to the intensive care guy- if you're ignorant or unobservant. In which case, consider a coral snake bite Natural Selection in action. Leave the snake alone if he's there - he's likely eating many bugs and larvae that a) bite you b) kill your grass or c) crawl on your window ledges and die. He's probably also snacking on noisy frogs and rodent babies (if it even is a coral)

Guess I will be the first President to go to Mars and cure cancer.
I also guess that since I am typing this the part about certain death in your post is also false.

I was neither ignorant nor unobservant. Distracted by my screaming exwife after I had already caught him, yes.

By the way, in 2006 a Bonita Springs man died from a coral snake bite. He was the first fatality in over 40 years since they came up with the antivenom.

[Minniemom]

Originally Posted by Mike Peterson

Guess I will be the first President to go to Mars and cure cancer.
I also guess that since I am typing this the part about certain death in your post is also false.

I was neither ignorant nor unobservant. Distracted by my screaming exwife after I had already caught him, yes.

By the way, in 2006 a Bonita Springs man died from a coral snake bite. He was the first fatality in over 40 years since they came up with the antivenom.

Hey Mike,
yea, I heard read about that man who died. But I remember it saying that his blood alcohol level was like 3x the legal limit if he were to be driving. They think that maybe he didn't go for help because he was just too drunk.

[Atreyou40]

Originally Posted by Minniemom

I do thank you for the reply and information, however I don't think that me worrying about my children playing outside on thier playset or inside thier play house and getting bitten by a snake that could potentially kill them is a silly or unreasonable fear.

That ride to the grocery store is more likely to kill your 2 year old than this snake - if it even is a coral snake. A swarm of bees, excessive fire ant bites, or even Florida Alligators all pose a much more immediate threat to the safety and health of your children. You must understand that your toddler outweighs even the biggest Coral Snake by several hundred times. A toddler should not be unsupervised enough to pull up logs, cinder blocks, or whatever other structures a coral snake would use for cover. As concerned as you sound, I don't think your toddler would be unsupervised for that long.

I wouldn't worry about it and neither should you - VIPERS on the other hand - rattlers, moccasins, copperheads - while terrified and likely to flee a full grown person (knowing they will be undeservedly whacked by a shovel), are capable of standing their ground against a smaller person like a toddler.

Also - the BEST DEFENSE against snakes is cats, if you really are that concerned but you don't want to own a cat, start feeding the neighborhood strays and they will do a fantastic job of catching and killing not only snakes, but mice, rabbits, squirrels and other disease carrying vermin.