Re: Snake recognition in East Texas

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: : I am looking for information to help me and my kids identify snakes : : which are local to the area. I have recently moved to a private local : : lake near Whitehouse and would appreciate any assitance in helping : : to identify the local potential dangers to my kids. Any suggestions : : would be greatly welcome and so I thought I would com to the : : people who would best know. Thanks for your time and efferot. : : Les Glover : Hello Les, : For starters you could pick up one of the many field guides on reptiles and amphibians. The Barnes and Noble book store in Tyler has a Texas section that has a couple of good books on Texas snakes such as The Snakes of Texas by Alan Tenant. You could also make a trip to the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler and actually look at live specimens of cottons, coppers, and corals and show your kids the difference. Live specimens are always better than a picture in a book. I keep venomous snakes and have caught many a cottonmouth and copperhead in an around Tyler. Coral snakes are really very secretive snakes and live under debris and in the ground and are very rarely seen. Only after heavy rains would you possible see a coral(i currently have one in my reptile collection). Most snakes around water are usually harmless water snakes and not cottonmouths like most people think. The danger possed by venomous snakes is very low and as long as one can identify the dangerous ones from the harmless ones, you will have no problems. You might also like to attend one of our meetings. We meet on the second Saturday night of each month at 7:00pm at the University of Texas at Tyler. We would love to have you and your kids would also have a good time. We are very family oriented. If you have any questions at all feel free to email me and I will do all I can to help you and your family adjust to life with serpent neighbors. : Take Care, : Seth Blundell : ETRHS Vice President

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