Snakes on Ky and Barkley

[Rudypoo4444]

We were on the wabash river last week and I saw 5 water snakes. Could not believe it. Maybe seen 2 in the past two years. My father-in-law has a camp off the wabash on some back water. The camp manager gave him permission to shoot any he see's. They have a confirmation on two moccasins by the local conservation officer.

We fished Rough in the high water last week and saw banded water snakes at every turn. Never saw another species, just the banded water snakes. I'll bet we saw a dozen or more lurking in the brush created by the high water.

[Spider04]

Question - I have heard before that if you smell a cucumber smell while out in the woods or at the lake that it is from copperheads. I smelled it at Rough one time and there were quite a few snakes around that area, but I don't know my snakes well enough to say what they were. Is there truth to this cucumber smell thing?

[Striper18]

SPider04. I have heard that as well. Also heard they smell like boiled cabbage. Never smelled them but I have on an occasion got a funny smell in my nose and wondered if it was a copperhead

[RoadToad]

KY's leading herpetologist is a guy named John MacGregor. His email is john.macgregor@ky.gov. If you have a snake question and want to know the real truth, email him. Might take a day or two, but you'll get a detailed answer that you can take to the bank. He's particularly interested in hellbenders, and is always asking for people to send him pictures, along with when and where you saw it.

[ranger 99]

The last cottonmouth I saw was in Florida. Its kind of funny but most people only know two kinds of snakes if it is in the water it is a cottonmouth and if it is on land it's a copperhead

I agree,always told Copperheads live in the dry woods, but maybe they do live around water if you have a flood. But if you every seen a copperhead up close, there is another one real close, Copperheads are one of a few breeds of snakes that mate togather for life, and young are born alive. Google Copperheads. Never seen a Cottonmouth. I use one good rule,Don't be scared, just stay away.

[bg64vw]

My uncle was a hydrologist with the Corp of Engineers and worked on water all over the state. He said everyone that saw a water snake would say it was a cotton mouth but he said they were only native to western ky but I won't say there isnt a few more central these days. Seems alot of animals ranges are changing these days. There are quite a few copperheads here around Mammoth Cave Park. They tend to like dry wooded areas and most Ive seen are dead. There are also supposed to be quite a few rattlers around the park but they are extremely elusive and Ive only seen them after locals have skinned them already. The seem to like rocky areas. Ive heard people say they have seen them swim across Green River.

[KyAntares]

I can tell you there is one less copperhead at Rough. I have only seen two in my life and one of them is now in a jar of alcohol. It's about 10 inches long. Caught it about 25 years ago on my father in laws driveway. We were sitting outside on a retaining wall having a few adult beverages and it crawled up next to me.

[kc]

Tell you what. I was involved with boy scouting for several years and took the troop every year to Camp Crooked Creek next to Bernheim forest. Both copperheads and rattlesnakes (not sure of exact type) are common there. The guy who ran the nature center on the camp told us that the area around Berheim is a natural breeding spot for rattlesnakes and is why they are so common. Every year during summer camp season they catch both and they take them to the nature center to be released later. Several years ago when my younger son was going for his first summer camp and we are all unloading and setting up camp there was a little commotion with the boys over by a stump. I went over and my son was poking this snake with a stick and it turned out to be a copperhead. That's the only one I have seen in the wild. Maybe the guys at the nature center at Camp Crooked Creek can hook you up with some of their finds. Camp season runs from mid-June through July. Mid-to-late July would be prime time for plenty of specimans at the nature center...

kc

[Joel_FOM]

You take cash or check? LOL!!!! It is nice to know there are still people out there that know their snakes.

I am looking for specimens of the 3 common venomous snakes in KY for demonstration purposes. I work as an Environmentalist, so I come across questions about them all the time. I have gotten with the KDFWR to get proper permits to house these snakes for demonstration purposes. If you know where I can get a copperhead or timber rattler, let me know.

It sounds crazy, I know, but people need to be taught about snakes. I am trying to help the people in the community by educating them about which snakes are good and which are bad.

If you want to catch a copperhead, they live on Mason's Island on the lower end of Barren River Lake. My goose hunting partner nearly stepped on 2 while making a trip to into the woods in the September season. He dispatched them with his shotgun and blew the head off of the biggest one - it was a monster! Stretched out it was 46" long without the head. I am positive about what they were because I used to kill them in Alabama all the time during turkey season and early in bow season, but never have I seen them that big. The other one was around 32", which is about average in my experience. Another friend of mine has seen 3 down at that island as well. I guess they don't have much competition for food there and not many people bother them either. It should be a good place to capture one.

By the way, there are banded water snakes EVERYWHERE down here since the lake is flooded. You can catch as many of those as you want!