Reptile Myths and Tall Stories...Share?

[shortstuff61]

Had a friend tell me they couldn't try handling my pythons, because they might sense their fear and then bite.

 

[DeadCricket]

My fiancées aunt, thought snakes plucked birds before eating them.

This is a rather amusing mental picture. A snake sitting all posh and gently plucking the feathers with a slight look of disgust. Haha!

Had a friend tell me they couldn't try handling my pythons, because they might sense their fear and then bite.

There is some sense to this. My pythons certainly notice when someone isn't confident with them and they dont feel as secure. They always hold onto the person tighter etc

 

[shortstuff61]

There is some sense to this. My pythons certainly notice when someone isn't confident with them and they dont feel as secure. They always hold onto the person tighter etc

My friend was implying that they would be tagged before any physical contact, as if to smell fear on them

 

[Darlyn]

I love the pic of the black headed eating a goanna. It is always attributed to my mates cousin
who lives in an Eastern state. Stay tuned it's due to be posted again.

 

[bigguy]

The most famous pic of the goanna being eaten by the BHP was taken by John Weigel. He had found a dead goanna and he asked Neil Charles if he could try and take some pics with one of Neils BHP,s constricting the dead lizard. Neil agreed but stated the snake was not allowed to eat it, but before they realised what was happening the lizard was on the way down the throat. Made some great pics at the time

 

[D3pro]

I was showing an African friend of mine a snake... he looked at it with shock and said "be careful, those things can spit venom!"... I was holding a jungle! so I told him "only if your black".

 

[kr0nick]

I was showing an African friend of mine a snake... he looked at it with shock and said "be careful, those things can spit venom!"... I was holding a jungle! so I told him "only if your black".

HAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAAH!!! Dumb African

 

[Snakewoman]

I've had a lot of people ask me if snakes regurgitate the fur and bones of animals they eat. :?

 

[beatlloydy]

Sorry if someone has already posted similar story...A friend of mine holds a big BBQ/party about 3 times a year...One of his friends always turns up...we know each other reasonably well now...he is around 50 and a builder and fairly intelligent...on about 3 occasions he has brought up the same story...when he lived in Cairns he believed/still does that Scrub Pythons were interbreeding with Taipans. He actually swears that a dog was bitten by one and died. I cant get through to him that this is impossible...However, he brings up the fact that Donkies and Zebras interbreed. I just smile and change the subject.

Reading these stories...I think reality and myth are a fine line....e.g re the festering sores of blue tongue bites...this could be more attributed to monitor lizards whose bite does take a long time to heal due to the venom/toxin in their saliva. (yes they have recently been found to be venomous).

Also, memory can play tricks...as a boy 48 years ago I lived for about 4 years in Guildford (God help me)....anyway, back then there were a heap of Huge Eacalypts on our property....I distinctly recall a large number of lizards (more than 10) would roam around on the ground and when disturbed would scurry up a tree....I always remember them as Frill neck Lizards...However, it was not until becoming interested in herps a few years ago I did more reading and found their habitat was some 4,000 (thereabouts) km away. So I guess they must have been beardies...but I still remember some sort of frill which must have been the ruffle on a beardie.

 

[imported_Varanus]

The local "snake expert" (who has lived the the area all his life-70+ years) asked me to identify a "strange snake" he had been called to that was injured when a kid on a motorbike ran over it's head. So he hauls it out of the bag and straight away I say Common/Eastern Brown snake (99.9% of our local callout). "But what about that really wide head", he says??? "Well, it's just been run over by a 16 year old on a motorbike"! This is the guy I took over from as local snake relocator; nice fella, but his shoes aren't to hard to fill!

Oh, and "put a saucer of milk out with an asprin in it, to slow the snake down" (and kill your cat)!

 

[jedi_339]

I read a quoted kingaroy snake catcher in a news clipping a while ago and whether this was his direct quote, or if he was misquoted, but he said

'the weather is warming up now so the snakes are out in force, just the other day i removed a 5m brown snake from a farmers property'


And you can hardly blame some of these myths when they are perpetuated by the media/ill informed 'experts' this news article is from recently in Brisbane

``If it had been 8 or 9am tomorrow we would have had hundreds of people and he (the snake) would be terrified and he is only going to bite.’’

``The more people that get educated, the less people are going to die,’’ he said

``The red belly is the sweetest thing under the sun until you upset them. Then you are in for a whole lot of pain.



Oh and another one I remember is from some years ago my dad was telling me that out west the eastern browns and taipans were interbreeding to create the most venomous snake yet, this might have been misinformation about the inland taipan, but now that I'm older I realise the impossibilities of that statement.

 

[Wookie]

I have a friend with a burmese in a their garage.....

What is their address? I'll "remove" it for them :lol:

 

[LIZARDZ_11]

heard that pythons throw up the hair of its pray.:shock::shock::shock::shock::shock:

 

[finchie]

Hahah these are hilarious. I've heard so many of the same stories before from people when they find out I have snakes. They must all get it from the same book

 

[dintony]

Some funny stories!!

 

[traceylee]

I had my Grandma and mother over some time ago and I was showing them both my stimmi. Mum was not at all keen to touch or hold her as she thought she would be all slimy. I was about to correct mum when grandma (86yrs young) piped up with this "Dont be so silly! Snakes are not slimy at all if youd just touch one you will see! Next thing you will be telling Vet (Short for Verity, me) that she will be asleep one night and it will crawl into bed with her and size her up for a meal!!" I could not stop laughing!!! Grandma then went on to hold my girl with and tell me how lucky I am to have her and she cant w8 till I get more!!! After this mum was not so freaked out and has now been able to touch and hold her more with each visit!!

That's fantastic! I love it! Go Grandma!

 

[Tildy]

Here is a story that encompasses the most common stupidity.
Him: "My sister has a friend who owns a Boa Constrictor. They let it sleep in bed with them every night. One night the snake was stretched out fully right next to the guy. He talked to the vet the next morning and the vet said it was sizing him up to eat him!"
Me: "It was not, snakes don't want to eat people, we don't smell like food to them."
Him: "I can ring up my sister right now and she will tell you!"
Me: "Is she a herpetologist? Does she keep snakes?"
Him: "No but the vet said!"
Me: "Is he a herp vet?"
Him: "He is the vet that my parents go to, that my grandparents go to!"
Me: "You guys keep birds, dogs and cats. Is the vet a herp vet?"
Him: "Well I asked my teacher who keeps like 12 snakes."
Me: "And your teacher said that snakes size people up to eat them?"
Him: "Well no, your missing the point, thats not what I was saying."
Me: "You are full of it, snakes don't do that."

And this kid wants to own a snake or a cockatoo! Luckily his smart mum will say no to both.