What’s Up With The Venomous Snakes Around Tampa Bay?
What’s going on with all of the venomous snakes around the Tampa Bay area?
According to animal trappers in our community, more folks have called to report issues with venomous snakes.
Weldon Wildlife Removal takes care of removing animals from homes or neighborhoods. In the past, one call would come in each month, on average, to report a venomous snake. But looking at recent activity, as in over the past six months, two calls per week are related to poisonous snakes. Yikes!
Venomous snakes can be incredibly dangerous, not only to humans but to other animals. In Brooksville, Weldon Wildlife attend to a call that came in after two dogs endured rattlesnake bites. Sadly, one of the dogs passed.
Jeff Weldon is the owner of Weldon Wildlife Removal. He spoke with our friends at Fox 13 and explained how dangerous rattlesnakes can be. “It is very dangerous. The guys that we have, have been doing this for years. They’re very well trained and they’re very careful in what they do. They know where to put their hands, but yet collecting them is the most difficult part of the job.” He went on to explain you need to carefully back away from a rattlesnake if you come upon one. “It’s a one big muscle. They can strike up to a third of their body length, so if you have a six-foot snake, you don’t have to be that close to it.”
The big question is WHY is this happening. Why are more snakes coming around people and pets and developed neighborhoods. One explanation may have to do with the cold weather. Snakes like to be warn so they may head inside a home to get out of the cold. But that’s only been going on recently. What explains the previous five months? Construction would presumably drive snakes into different areas, too.
Snakes like the woods, but Pinellas County has been built up to accommodate the dense population. Snakes look for a place to live and food, of course.
If you encounter a rattlesnake and have the unfortunate situation where one bites you, go straight to the hospital so you can take the anti-venom.
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