Snakes In The Resaca
POSTED: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 - 10:21pm
UPDATED: Thursday, February 25, 2010 - 12:33pm
Roughly, 7,000 people a year are bitten by venomous snakes in the United States...With hot temperatures throughout the Valley, these reptiles are known to make their way into residential areas.
Slithering snakes are coming out in full force, and they're really making resident's skin crawl.
"It's just shock, it's like ewww...gosh."
Becky Price says she sees snakes at one Brownsville resaca off FM 802, where she walks her dog, Chewy.
So after seeing these intimidating reptiles, Price says, she did some research.
"I looked online to see if if they were dangerous, so I'd know to stay away."
Luckily the snakes that live in the resacas, are not poisonous.
Executive Director of Gladys Porter Zoo, Dr. Pat Birchfield says eve though they're not dangerous, they still can cause some harm.
"If you grab a hold of one, they may bite you, but they're not the agressor, they percieve you as the threat," he says.
This Doctor orders everyone to respect the snakes living in their natural habitat.
"Most of the time people get bitten when they try to capture the snake, so if you just leave them alone, these incidents can be avoided."
Dr. Birchfield says their teeth are sharp, but won't cause any long-term damage for a pet or a person.
But if you do get bit...
"Like any animal bite, you should probably go to the doctor and get a tetanus shot."
As for Becky, she says these snakes won't stop her from walking "Chewy" at night, but she'll definitely be keeping her eyes peeled.
"I just look back and make sure that it's not coming after me," she says.
There are two types of venomous snakes found in Texas.
Pit Vipers which include copperheads, cottonmouths, and rattlesnakes, and the second type are coral snakes.