Have you been camp--------

[DAISY BOYKIN]

Have you been camping in Florida lately or any time ? Well next time you visit Florida, be very careful in your camping area.

You may find an unexpected camping buddy.
If the print is too small, here it is again.

This is not a Python !

This is a 15 FT Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake- The largest ever caught
on record. The snake was found near The St. Augustine outlet, in a new KB homes subdivision just south of Jacksonville, Fl.

A little research revealed the following: One bite from a snake of this size would contain enough venom to kill over 40 grown men.

The head of the snake is larger than the hand of a normal sized man's.

The bite from those fangs would comparable to being stabbed by two curved 1/4" screwdrivers.

The knife being used to draw out the fangs in the picture has a blade of four inches long.

The snake is estimated to weigh over 170 LBS (how much do you weigh?)

Notice the girth of this snake as compared to the Cop's leg in the first picture (he is not a small man)

A snake this size could easily swallow a 2 year-old child (and dogs, pigs,etc)

A snake this size has approximately 5 1/2 feet accurate striking distance. the distance of an average size is about 2-3 feet.

This snake has probably been alive since George
Bush Sr. was president.

Now just ask yourself these questions: What has this snake been feeding on and where is its offspring?

[kamp k]

Omg!

[sherdep]

That has been circulated around before - They are all over Florida - as a matter of fact about two years ago I went 4 wheelin near Sea World and ran across a 5 foot rattle snake - I wanted to shoot it or run it over but refrained from it since I was on county owned property - I snapped a picture of it and was trying to find it to post here but think it is someone where in my many photos on my backup drive that I need to find lol

If you go to the Keys you will see Scorpions

[KyDan]

This is a combination of truth and web hoax.
See the truth here--
snopes.com: 15-Foot Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake

The snake looks large due to the camera angle.
The actual snake measured less than 8' which is
still a pretty big snake but not the monster in the photo.

[KyDan]

Originally Posted by sherdep

If you go to the Keys you will see Scorpions

We've seen tiny 3/4" scorpions along the edges of
Dale Hollow Lake in SE Kentucky.
I've caught and killed black widow spiders in the
wood pile in my back yard.

It's a jungle out there!

[hockeytownmom]

OMG!

Ewwww no matter how big it really was!!

[08flagvlite]

I have seen them that big first hand myself here, don't EVEN think we don't have them! I have lived in Jax 49 years, and have been in the Boy Scouts as a boy, and later with my boys as a leader, and I saw one at Johnathan Dickinson state park that was an Eastern Diamondback rattler, the ranger had just killed it, and he had it stretched across a 2 lane road going into the camping area, no less! That snake was skinned, and he said it was like 16 feet, if I remember correctly. I have an acre and 1/2 and I have killed several Diamondbacks,(smaller than that one), many Pygmy rattlesnakes, (avg. 5or 6 yearly,) Water Moccasins, and even a Coral snake! Also, alligator snapping turtles (meaner than a snake). Pretty scary stuff, and they are having a big problem in S. Florida with Pythons! Randy

[KyDan]

Originally Posted by 08flagvlite

That snake was skinned, and he said it was like 16 feet, if I remember correctly.

I'm sure it was a big snake.
16 feet I don't buy it.
Do some google searching or read facts at truthorfiction.com
or snopes.com

[riwdfw]

OMG I am hate snakes. My sister lives in Florida and has had a rattle snake in her garage and also found one in her laundry basket coiled up. That was scarey because my nephew was only a baby and use to play in the basket with the clothes. I guess no matter where you live there is always something.

[Triguy]

Originally Posted by riwdfw

OMG I guess no matter where you live there is always something.

True, but Florida seems to attract more than its fair share. Besides the stuff that we recognize, like diamondback's, there are exotics that just love the climate and the fact there are few natural predators around.

[flyrotor]

Originally Posted by Triguy

there are few natural predators around.

You need more skunks, they eat the eggs.

[Hoo Dad]

Man, you got to watch out for those gators too!

[BigRed]

How come no one is helping you Hoo Dad ???? Best they could do is grab a camera. LOL

[tmh462]

A few years ago, I came in to work in Florida and found a snake slithering around on the concrete floor. It was either a king snake (harmless) or a coral snake (deadly). The difference between the two is in the order of the colored rings around their body. I wasn't sure which one it was (king snakes eat rodents like mice, or other small pests), so I went to find the owner of the business. He came back, took one look, and starting running around screaming "Kill it!! Kill it!!" like a little girl. My hero...
The end result was I had to kill it, just because I didn't know which it was, and the boss was worse than useless in helping find out.

[flyrotor]

"Red on yellow, kill a fellow; "Red on black, friend of Jack"

[Hoo Dad]

Hey Big Red, I'm glad someone else found humor in my having fun!

[Smokyroo]

Y'all,
I grew up in fla. Lived there for 38 years and I have seen and done a lot in the state. I worked as a field biologist for a couple of years, hiked most of the Florida trail through the Ocala National Forest, paddled most of Florida's rivers. Traveled the entire navigable length of the St. Johns River and have camped at many of the state's parks from the panhandle to the Keys. I have seen only 1 diamond back rattle snake and it was in the backcountry of Wekiva Springs SP.

I have seen more cotton mouths than you can shake a stick at and countless gators. There are wild critters in most places in North America that hurt or kill people, don't let this deter you from camping.