Ruby is about 8 feet long
She weighs around 20 pounds.
On her best day, she can struggle down a large rat.
And that's it.
Posted on 08/10/2017 1:06:14 PM PDT by libstripper
“they also regurgitate pellets of hair and bone the same way owls and raptors do”
No they don’t.
The closest thing to that is some egg eating snakes, who use specialized muscles in their throats to crush eggs, and spit out the shells.
Even snakes have standards, ya know.
I had some rodent chew an adapter cord in half, beside my sofa.
I was rooting around there one day and discovered the plugged in half cheerfully spitting sparks.
SO lucky it didn’t contact anything flammable or electrocute me.
Ruby is about 8 feet long
She weighs around 20 pounds.
On her best day, she can struggle down a large rat.
And that's it.
Black snakes...
I used to have a problem with bats which would cling to the screened gables in my attic. Guano would foul my patio below and some of it ended up in the attic. One day I went to the attic to look for some item or another and in the dim light from the gable I saw what appeared to be a garden hose in the screen. Turns out it was a black snake feasting on the resident bats. I didn’t bother the friendly snake and he cleared my attic of bats thereafter.
Some time later I spotted him in the yard. Evidently, the bats were a good dietary supplement as he was now 5ft. long or more. Black snakes are good neighbors or even attic guests. My guess is that he came in through the crawl space and made his way to the attic through the walls.
“Sissy.”
Go away.
And that's it.
LOL!
Not even Titanaboa could get that thing down its gullet.
I think the TG mouth (donut breath, and all) that told you to go away should be the one to 'go away' --and stay there. Permanently.
I hate that guy. Not without reason though. He's earned it, and deserves worse.
Not sure if it’s a year-round, everyday thing or not but they did have a “Python hunt” a few years back and had prizes for biggest/most pounds/etc.
They’d do better to protect the glades by getting rid of the sugar plantations that are poisoning the water and the developments that are siphoning off what little water there is left.
The “disappearing wildlife” isn’t being devoured by pythons.
It’s being decimated by the people exploiting the natural resources for profit.
Photos of the glades 10 years ago and now tell the truth of it.
But it’s easier to blame snakes.
I may like snakes but I agree the pythons should not be there, although what, if anything, can be done about it, is a conundrum.
What irritates me is that they’re being used as a red herring to deflect what is really killing the everglades.
Water diverted for those house.
That is what is "killing off" everything.
He only said "go away" because he's been humping my leg for years and I said knock it off, a few days ago.
That was his Peewee Herman "I know you are but what am I?" pathetic retort.
He's good for a laugh, if nothing else and how many FReepers ever get to become a running joke? :D
[IBTG!!!]
And Western Garter Snakes. I caught a three foot W. Garter when I was about 14 and it regurgitated the hair and bones of a mouse in its cage. 3 ft. is huge for a garter snake. Insects are their usual diet.
That means the mice have even more opportunity to maintain a healthy population ... which was my point.
Nothing like some spiffy zoonoses going on in your attic.
;)
No no no! lol
My problem here are little birds called Pygmy Nuthatches drilling holes in the siding and nesting in the insulation. If the local bats ever find those holes things would go from irritating to disaster.
Then there are the Flickers (close relatives of woodpeckers) who can drill a tennis ball sized hole in no time at all. But they make a lot of noise so I catch them in the act usually and they’re easy to scare away. The nuthatches are more persistent.
Nope, this house isn’t Noah’s Ark.2!
People inside, animals outside ... we can stare at each other through the windows. ;-)
:D
I feel your pain.
I live in a 300 year old log house so the concept of “keeping animals out” is but a fantasy I sometimes pointlessly entertain.
:)
Today, it’s chilly so I thought I’d open the window instead of using the AC.
Haven’t done so for several weeks and when I went to open it, lo and behold, there’s a sophisticated bird nest against the outer sill...and two Wrens busily laying plans of some nefarious sort.
So, the window’s staying shut until they’re done.
The upside is that they apparently cannot see me looking at them, even though I’m mere inches away, so I get to watch the whole family thing happening.
There’s a network cam right beside them so I could also rotate it and watch them on my PC.
Got lemons? Make some lemonade! heh
At least they are still essentially outside and their mess can be washed away when they're done there. I estimate the cost of repairing each bird hole at about $100 bucks if I paid someone to do it and they've run up about $1,300 in damages so far. Dagnabit!
The approved New Mexico fix is to flatten a tin can and nail it over the hole.
LOL
Yes, having spent a good deal of time in NM I’ve seen that fix.
Usually the nuthatches carve out a half dollar sized hole but they
found some soft wood and made a 2”X8” wide gash in one spot.
My temporary fix was a piece of half inch mesh galvanized screen.
Smaller holes have 3”X3”X3/8” plywood covers either awaiting repairs or protecting the patches until they cure.
Very Dog Patchian. ;-)
Whatever works. Although NM is starting to tighten up standards. It is an actual county ordinance in Socorro prohibiting connecting 2 singlewides with plywood and liquid nails.
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