[brytlea]

I’ve had dogs bitten by both. Neither was particular any big deal. Now, if it had been ME bitten maybe a bigger deal!
We did have a *funny* story about a cottonmouth (water moccosin) trying to slither into the house. My husband, who had no idea what kind of snake it was grabbed it by the tail and slung it back out into the yard. It tried to bite him as it went by, but missed. When I saw what it was, we killed it with a hoe and I said, “Honey, that’s a poisonous snake!” He wasn’t too pleased, but it was better than having a snake loose in the house!
susie

[SWAMPSNIPER]

I hang out a lot at the county arboretum west of St. Augustine, it is close to home and a good place for an old fart to sit with a camera. Last week I was getting ready to kneel down for a butterfly shot, and this Pygmy Rattler was just inside the border of the flower bed. They have a master gardner training program, and the trainees do a lot of the garden work. I've watched them just blindly grab a bunch of weeds many times. I don't know why none of them have been bit yet. These little guys are all over the place here. The bites aren't usually serious, but they aren't fun. I know from personal experience. This snake was molting, couldn't see good, and it was ready for action. It had an accident about 20 seconds after posing, a stick fell on it.