Comments on: Boss Snakes Observed

By: Alligator

Alligator — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 01:46:30 +0000

Looks like an interesting book. I notice a lot of these dots are in Missouri and Iowa. I find it curious that I and other herpers I know are completely unaware of these giant snake reports. I’m wondering if most if not all of these reports will date back to the latter part of the 19th century. I will say that occasionally we do run into larger boas and pythons and even an occasional iguana or caiman that are released because they get too big for some owners. Needless to say, unlike in Florida they are dead by first frost in the Midwest.

I occasionally get called to get a snake out of someone’s garden or house. After 45 years of messing with reptiles, I’ve learned the following:
1. All snakes on land on are copperheads or rattlesnakes that have lost their rattles.
2. All snakes in or near water are cottonmouth moccasins.
3. Divide the reported size of the snake by 50% and you usually end up with its real size.

If I had $5.00 for every such episode above, I’d have a nice little nest egg. Unfortunately, giant snakes (technically, a 14 inch prairie ring neck is a giant) are hunted or persecuted nearly everywhere on the planet. Areas where I found snakes abundantly in my youth seem barren. I’ve heard guys say the same thing about the Everglades, the Okeetee area and other places once renowned as snake havens. We humans are simply not good stewards of the earth.

You’ve got some areas of central Africa, South America and perhaps SE Asia that still harbor the giants, but they are all vulnerable.

By: Ann Unknown

Ann Unknown — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:37:55 +0000

Snakes big enough to transport sea-containers on their backs like a train - how can you not love that!
Just wish there were some sightings out here, in the middle of nowhere, where I live.

By: sschaper

sschaper — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 06:06:55 +0000

On the other hand, you have the appearance of a range in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana, then another possible one in Iowa and surrounding counties.

By: Saint Vitus

Saint Vitus — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 22:56:24 +0000

It seems unlikely (but not at all impossible) that an unknown species of giant snake exists in North America. If there are any unknown snakes, they are probably very small, secretive burrowing species. In my opinion, giant snake sightings that do not fall into the escaped boa/python category are unusually large specimens of known species, and given people’s tendency to exaggerate the length of snakes, they are reported as being even longer than they really are. There are a few native species (indigo snakes, coachwhips, diamondback rattlers) that have been known to exceed 8 feet in length, and some common species like rat snakes have been known to reach almost that size. The Black Racers (Coluber constrictor constrictor) mentioned by Plant Girl have been known to reach over 6 feet in length, but the average size is usually about half that. Anyway, I plan on reading this book soon, it looks fascinating.

By: bill green

bill green — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 18:12:15 +0000

hey everyone this looks like a very interesting new book about snakes. good afternoon bill green

By: CamperGuy

CamperGuy — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 22:41:45 +0000

Giant snakes are a type of cryptid I hope are just a myth.

Are there any fossils of giant snakes?

By: cryptidsrus

cryptidsrus — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 22:13:00 +0000

Thanks for the heads up, Loren!!!

By: kittenz

kittenz — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 22:08:01 +0000

Okay I have to have this book!

Although I don’t currently have any snakes, I have had several over the years, and they have been some of my favorite pets. The largest snake I’ve owned was a female Burmese python. She was almost 13 feet long and weighed 77 lbs at age 4 years.

I don’t see any reason that some of the large pythons could not reach 40 or 50 feet or more. No natural reason, that is. Snakes continue to grow all their lives (although the rate of growth slows considerably once they reach maturity).

A big problem, at least for Old World snakes, is predation by humans. A very large snake is rarely preyed upon by other animals, but humans kill them for their skins and also for food. Big snakes don’t move especially fast, and it’s not that hard for people to kill them. For that reason, giant snakes are rarely found near human habitation.

Still, there must be some parts of the larger snakes’ ranges that are relatively undisturbed, where they can live out their lives without much risk of running afoul of humans. In an area like that, assuming there is adequate food and water, I think it would be possible for snakes to attain truly gargantuan size.

By: Bob Michaels

Bob Michaels — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 18:46:45 +0000

Thanks for the up-date, I will purchase the book.

By: plant girl

plant girl — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 18:20:38 +0000

This is another interesting topic to me since I like snakes. In my county there are black racer snakes. They are fast and i have seen them in corn fields along the road usually.

I am unsure of their exact length but from a distance they look rather large. However, in recent years I have not seen as many possibly due to increase of housing in open fields.