Kathy, Usually a mama copperhead gives birth to 10 or 12 snakelets (snakelings? snakettes?) at one time, but sometimes up to 14. The most I've ever seen, though, together in one place was one mama and 7 or 8 babies. I sure would check the ordinances on pit bulls (and also on how many dogs are allowed on one piece of residential property)! Some friends of ours in Marietta had their little English bulldog killed by a pit bull about 3 or 4 years ago....and that pit had come onto their property and attacked and killed their dog. They loved that little dog and were grief-stricken. Just a couple of weeks ago, their daughter stopped by the house to tell us that her parents' "new" dog that replaced the murdered dog had also been attacked and killed by a pit bull. Again, just like the other time, the pit came onto their property and killed their dog. It is just so wrong! We had neighbors (fortunately, their house is not terribly close to ours....more than a mile away as the crow flies) that raised pit bulls. Those dogs were always running loose and scared me to death. It was not uncommon for their dogs to turn on and kill one another. I don't think they have pit bulls any more, and I think the reason was because the dogs kept killing each other. Here, there are dog ordinances in town, but in the county there are no dog ordinances and so the sherriff's policy basically is "do what you have to do" to protect yourself. Most people out here, though, won't shoot a dog unless they catch it attacking a human, an agricultural animal or a pet. Celaena, A red-tailed hawk picked up my cousin's cat once and carried it off some distance, and it was a big old tomcat. She figured the cat was a goner. A couple of days later the cat showed up, scraped up and cut up but alive! We don't have many owl problems here because the crows dog them mercilessly. We used to have a barn owl and a little screech owl who hung out together and hunted on our property at night, but I haven't seen or heard them much the last couple of years. Dorothy, I know your cat had a safe spot to retreat to, and do feel the snakebite contributed to its inability to fend off the stray dog (or whatever other critter might have gotten it). It is just such a shame that it happened.(sigh) And, y'all, remember the "copperhead crossing" area I mentioned above? Well, this morning DS and I went for a 30-minute fitness walk (no dogs). On our way back to the house, we saw a dead rattlesnake in the middle of the road....a little one about 15" long. Guess where he was? Right there at the copperhead crossing! I laughed out loud and then had to explain to DS that I was laughing 'cause I had JUST written about the copperhead crossing this morning, and here it was....occupied by a rattler! Dawn

Awesome. I love those copperhead shots. That rough green is pretty little snake too. One of my friends who knows just a little about snakes told me he saw one in a tree about 5 feet above his head, even though we are slightly out of range of both the rough and smooth green (according to Petersons).

Venom ER is a neat show but I suspect it gives a very skewed view of snake bites because it selects the most dramatic cases that are the most interesting to watch. It is a bit like getting an idea of what being a police officer is like by watching one of those "world's wildest police chases" shows or getting an idea of what an average day field herping is like by watching Crocodile Hunter wrangle a few cobras and not see a single harmless snake. Venom ER doesn't show the boring cases where someones thumb swells up and he needs an aspirin because we as an audience aren't going to be that interested in the mundane cases. Likewise police shows don't show motorists pulling over and cooperating and Crocodile Hunter doesn't show us a day where he catches 4 ringneck snakes and nothing else. Boring doesn't sell on TV even though it is more common than the dramatic outside of TV. But I agree that Venom ER is a good show for getting a sense of what the more dangerous and dramatic effects of a rattlesnake bite can be.

Looks like a Southern Copperhead. They will usually retreat when encountered, but will defend themselves (so will I - grin). A nice long stick to slip under the balance point will do the trick, but I have also nudged their tail to tell them "giddyup", and they took off. Also with a long stick. I have not so far had one turn on me, but in all cases they have run as fast as they can in the other direction.