snakes locked up wrestling

Loohan

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2015
Messages
832
Location (City and/or State)
North-Central Arkansas
snakes6.18.16a.jpg

This is a different black snake than the ones i've mentioned on another thread. Smaller. With a copperhead.

I tickled the copperhead a bit with a leaf. It tensed up and shifted a bit when i did that.
 

cmacusa3

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2014
Messages
3,191
Location (City and/or State)
Bixby
Looks like the black one was eating the copperhead
 

Loohan

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2015
Messages
832
Location (City and/or State)
North-Central Arkansas
After reflecting a bit, i decided i'd better go help that black snake. I got my loppers and pruned away the excess copperhead sticking out. Now you can see the black snake's head, which seems to be on the copperhead's neck. Both are still moving slightly. The copperhead is still dangerous. But now the black snakes chances have improved.

snake6.18.6b.jpg
 

cmacusa3

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2014
Messages
3,191
Location (City and/or State)
Bixby
The Do and will eat venomous snakes. Good snake to have around.
 

Vladsfriend

Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2015
Messages
48
Location (City and/or State)
Ohio
After reflecting a bit, i decided i'd better go help that black snake. I got my loppers and pruned away the excess copperhead sticking out. Now you can see the black snake's head, which seems to be on the copperhead's neck. Both are still moving slightly. The copperhead is still dangerous. But now the black snakes chances have improved.

View attachment 177636
For the record, that King Snake needed no help. It was the Copperhead that was being eaten. I tend to think all snakes are good snakes to have around. But I understand the desire to remove a possibly dangerous creature from your property.

Either way, those are cool pics. You don't see that everyday! Thanks for uploading.
 

Loohan

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2015
Messages
832
Location (City and/or State)
North-Central Arkansas
Ah, so. Yes, about 14 years ago i heard racket in the shrubbery, and found a large King snake (forget the color) with it's mouth clamped on a big copperhead's neck, slowly working the latter's head down into the former's mouth.

Took another pic. The King is holding open the jaws of the copperhead.

snake6.18.16c.jpg
 

leigti

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2013
Messages
7,026
Location (City and/or State)
southeast Washington
After reflecting a bit, i decided i'd better go help that black snake. I got my loppers and pruned away the excess copperhead sticking out. Now you can see the black snake's head, which seems to be on the copperhead's neck. Both are still moving slightly. The copperhead is still dangerous. But now the black snakes chances have improved.

View attachment 177636
"Pruned away the excess copperhead" eeewwww!
 

leigti

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2013
Messages
7,026
Location (City and/or State)
southeast Washington
I wonder if the king snake would eat the pruned off part of the copperhead? He would probably appreciate having his whole dinner.
 

Loohan

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2015
Messages
832
Location (City and/or State)
North-Central Arkansas
I wonder if the king snake would eat the pruned off part of the copperhead? He would probably appreciate having his whole dinner.

Yeah, i had tossed it some distance away, then felt guilty for depriving the King snake, so i brought it back to the spot. By then the snake was gone, but i think he's in the rock wall nearby.
Went back out a while later and he had not gotten it yet. Maybe still will before some other animal does...
 

MPRC

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2015
Messages
3,102
Location (City and/or State)
Oregon
I was worried about Fred when I opened the thread. Looks like a tasty snake.
 

keepergale

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2013
Messages
761
Location (City and/or State)
san diego
I am jealous of your snakes. I have to make do with a few lizards at my house.
 

Loohan

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2015
Messages
832
Location (City and/or State)
North-Central Arkansas
Do snakes even eat dead carcasses? I don't know much about snakes, but i doubt it. It was still there this morning, but gone this afternoon.
I should never have taken the cut off part away. I guess i was thinking, no way the King snake would eat that all, because the coperhead was almost as big as he is.
Actually he probably was fairly satiated from the 1/3 copperhead he got. Probably the equivalent of a dozen small mice.

I have a co-worker who is into snakes. He said the King would have eventually eaten it all, after hours of constricting. I guess it just takes a long time to kill a copperhead when there is little size difference.
My impression is, the copperhead was much shorter but had similar girth, and possibly a larger mouth.
 

surfergirl

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2015
Messages
489
Great action shots! I have never witnessed this but read about it plenty.
kingsnakes are immune to poisonous snake venon so the kingsnake would have no problem taking the copperhead down. they are fierce constrictors. King snakes den with poisonous snakes and then eat them when they get hungry. I love to have kingsnakes in my yard. I tolerate the other snakes too, though.
 

New Posts

Top