A quick background for this entry. This event took place at Hacienda de Grande Hombre. The Hacienda is situated in the Eastern U.S. on a seven acre stand of mostly hardwood trees.
Yep, I live in the woods.
Even though my little patch of paradise has McMansion suburbia encroaching from several directions, I still have quite a collection of wildlife roaming around. Everything from a herd of deer, to foxes, red tailed hawks, squirrels, opossums, raccoons, the occasional turkey, and once a bear. Further I also have quite the collection of lizards, toads etc. Every so often I also see snakes. If they are black snakes, I leave them alone because they prey on Big Mama's (just a nick name not a description) least favorite species of wild life, field mice. They also prey upon the subject of this post, Copperhead snakes.
If you have not had the pleasure living in the Eastern US, especially below the Mason Dixon in the mid Atlantic region, the Copperhead is the only venomous snake we have east of the Blue Ridge and Smokie Mountains which is Timber Rattler territory.
I have seen and killed my fair share of Copperheads, to date the largest Copperhead I have seen or killed was approximately
26 inches long. As you can see by the information below, 26 inches is about average for an adult Copper head.
Family: Crotalidae - Pit viper Snakes (dangerously venomous)
Typical Adult Size: 24 to 36 inches
Reproduction: live bearing
Eye Pupil: elliptical
Dorsal Scales: weakly keeled
Anal Scale: single
Adults are usually in the range of 24 to 36 inches in length, although specimens of greater than 42 inches are not rare. They give live birth to young.
http://www.snakesandfrogs.com/scra/snakes/copperh.htm
Big Mama (just a nick name not a description) and I have been making improvements to Hacienda de Grande Hombre since we took up residence here 15 years ago. Last week I removed some interior partitions (I tore out some walls) as part of our current project. Because of rain and the fact that our County Landfill has cut back hours, I piled the debris out side near my front entry. This morning as I loaded my truck I had my first of two close encounters with Copperheads. I was just picking up the last of the drywall pieces when I noticed one of our resident Toads we affectionately call "Terrence". As I moved the drywall, I noticed Terrence had taken up residence underneath it, and I was thinking, we should really get him a toad house (yes, there is such a thing). As soon as I completely lifted the drywall from the ground I saw that approximately where my hand had been was a coiled Copperhead snake. I cannot express to you how thrilling it is to know that I had my hand within one to two inches of a coiled Copperhead. OK, so thrilling isn't quite the correct word, but the pucker factor was rather high.. I then called for Big Mama (just a nick name not a description) and requested that she get my Machete'. OK, so it wasn't quite a "excuse me dear, but do you think you could locate my Machete', thank you ever so much", but I bet you can guess the conversation immediately after she said "OH MY GOD!!". Once I had my US Army issued Machete' in hand, I quickly dispatched the snake. This one wasn't that big, approximately 13" or so. I threw it in with the rest of the junk and made my run to the dump. The thrill for the day was over.. Or so I thought.
After Big Mama (just a nick name not a description) and I arrived back at the Hacienda, we took a break and had some lunch. I decided that after lunch I would position a flatbed trailer I have, near the front of the Hacienda so I could just pile the rest of the debris directly on it instead of the ground. I didn't want to provide a nice shelter for another one of our little friends. I went into my garage, retrieved the hitch I use for that trailer, and walked out to my truck. At this point I was looking for my work gloves and was walking back towards the Hacienda when in the driveway, near where I had just walked, was a Big "Expletive" Copperhead.
"Oh Pah-leeze BigMan, BigMa and BigPa (they live far enough away not to need a disclaimer) have told you a Million times not to exaggerate!!"
I am not exaggerating, read this line again, from a Copperhead page and I quote;
"Adults are usually in the range of 24 to 36 inches in length, although specimens of greater than 42 inches are not rare."
Specimens of greater than 42 inches are not rare... Once incapacitated this specimen WAS greater than 42 inches, it was 45 inches to be exact.
As you can imagine, I again was thrilled.. OK, not exactly thrilled. I quickly gave it a wide berth, and retrieved my US Army issued Machete'. When I returned to my previous location, the snake had moved to a partially landscaped planting bed. I was debating how to approach the snake, as I had read somewhere that snakes can strike half again as long as their body length. Which I would discover later was 22 1/2", in a circle from it's head.
Big Mama (just a nick name not a description) then came out of the Hacienda to see what the hell I was doing standing there with my Machete' in my hand staring at the ground. I then requested that she retrieve my anti-burglar intrusion device from the nightstand. OK, so I used an expletive and the word gun. She quickly went and retrieved my anti-burglar intrusion device. Once she brought it to me I stood there trying to decide whether to shoot it or chop off it's head. I decided to use a long handled scraper to pin it to the ground and remove the snake's head with the machete'.
Now some of you from the west are probably thinking to yourself
'A 45" snake? You call that a snake? It isn't even deadly to an adult, a small child or a small dog, yes, but you BigMan?'
OK, so I agree that it probably would not have killed me, hurt me, or made me ill? Yes. There are many things that could hurt me but not kill me, like shooting myself in the hand with a pneumatic nail gun (yeah, I have done it), slamming my hand in a car door, or listening to 'Gangsta Rap'. None of these things would kill me, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't avoid them.
Yes, I know that the Copperhead's cousin, the Water Moccasin is more deadly, as is the Rattle Snake. I have been fishing with BigPa when a Water Moccasin, on two different occasions wanted to get in our boat. BigPa dissuaded them with a shot shooting revolver he developed in the early '70s (he was 30 years ahead of the Taurus Judge). The bad thing about a Copperhead is that you do not know it is there until you have been bitten. It blends in with the leaf litter so that it is completely hidden. BigPup (a description not a nickname) a six year old 200 lb English Mastiff, was bitten earlier this year and we did not realize it until he was acting listless, A home veterinary visit and $250.00 later, he is doing fine.
"Home veterinary visit BigMan?"
Yeah, BigPup has mild hip dysplasia and he doesn't like jumping into vehicles. When a Mastiff doesn't want to do something, you won't get him to do it...
Anyway, I kill Copperheads and this particular Copperhead I have skinned and I am attempting to cure the skin following the below instructions I found on the Internet. I plan on making it into a hatband for my cowboy hat. Yes, the BigMan is known to wear a cowboy hat on occasion. Read some of my older posts.
Photos and videos attached.
Curing Snakeskin
Remove the head, if it is a poisonous snake be careful they are dangerous even after the snake is dead.
Cut down the middle of the belly plates with a pair of scissors or snips.
Remove the skin from the carcass. Try to maintain a steady pressure, the skin should peel easily from the neck to the vent.
Remove the skin from the vent, this requires some delicate knife work. You might use a box cutter for this, they are sharp.
Remove any remaining fat or meat from the hide, about the same as you would skin a fish, keeping the blade almost flat and work with a smooth sawing strokes to avoid cuts or tears in the hide.
When the skin is removed and scraped clean, rinse and carefully inspect the inside for any bile or blood stains. Wash them away.
Now to the Curing part:
Fill a gallon jug two-thirds full of water. Dissolve as much plain salt (non-iodized) in the water as possible. Stir the water as you add the salt and when you see the crystals sinking to the bottom instead of dissolving, that is enough salt. (It will take about 2 lbs of salt to a gallon of water)
Place the skin in loose fold (not rolled) in the salt water solution.
Seal the jug, and leave a room temperature (70 degrees) for four days. Rotate the jug gently once or twice a day.
Remove from he salt water on the fourth day. Rinse for several minutes and lightly pat dry on towels.
Mix a solution of equal parts glycerin and water. Pure glycerin is available at most drugstores.
Two pints of glycerin mixed with water is sufficient to treat three medium-sized snake skins.
Place the skin in the glycerin solution, cover and let stand at room temperature for another four days. Rotate but do not shake the jug daily.
After the skin has been in the glycerin solution four days, remove and pat dry with a towel.
Place the dry skin on an unfinished, dry, flat pine board. The boards must be long and wide enough to sandwich the whole skin. Do not stretch the skin to flatten it, just roll it out smoothly on the board. Use the flat of your hand to remove and wrinkles.
Place a second pine board on top of the skin. The skin must be firmly pressed, so weigh down the top board.
Let dry for four days. It may take a little longer in the dead of winter or in humid conditions.
When the skin is dry, it will be soft and pliable. Put a little talcum powder on the dry hide and roll it around on an old paper-towel roll ( one of those cardboard rollers) and it will keep until you are ready to turn it into a hatband or mount it on a display board. http://www.taxidermy.net/forums/Rept...3A8601BE6.html.
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