Spring is lastly right here, and hotter temperatures are bringing a lot of Missouri’s native animals out into the open for the primary time this yr.
Missouri is home to 43 varieties of snakes, with round 27 varieties discovered within the Kansas City space. They vary in measurement from the tiny 7-inch Flat-Headed Snake to the Bullsnake, which might attain as much as six toes in size.
Whether you’re afraid of snakes or have a love for slithering creatures, listed below are a couple of pointers for easy methods to coexist with them for those who see one this spring.
What varieties of snakes could be present in Kansas City?
By far the most typical sort of snake present in Missouri, together with within the Kansas City space, is the Western Ratsnake — additionally referred to as the Black Ratsnake or simply the Black Snake, mentioned Jeff Briggler, who has served as Missouri’s state herpetologist for 23 years.
This selection is likely one of the state’s largest snakes, typically measuring three to 4 toes in size however in a position to develop as much as six toes.
Other widespread snakes within the Kansas City space embody the Yellow-Bellied Racer, the Prairie Kingsnake, the Speckled Kingsnake and the Eastern Garter Snake, Briggler advised The Star. Fortunately, none of those snakes are venomous.
“The geography of Missouri that we live in, we’ve got the forest meeting the grasslands, so we have a good diversity of snakes in a variety of sizes,” he added. “Their habits and behaviors all vary significantly, so it makes them interesting and unique in a way.”
Are any of Kansas City’s snakes venomous?
Briggler advised The Star that solely two varieties of venomous snakes reside within the Kansas City space. The first is the Eastern Copperhead, the most typical venomous snake in Missouri. This chubby snake is tan with hourglass-shaped brown splotches typically edged in white and is normally round two to a few toes lengthy.
The Timber Rattlesnake is the opposite venomous snake discovered within the space. It has a particular sample of darkish v-shaped bands and a rattle on its tail that it makes use of to make a buzzing sound when alarmed. However, a rattle isn’t all the time a lifeless giveaway that you just’re coping with a venomous snake.
“Do not rely on a rattle sound for identification,” the Missouri Department of Conservation advises. “Remember that snakes’ tails are occasionally injured or cut off and that a surprised snake may not have time to sound its rattle.”
Briggler added that some non-venomous snakes may try and imitate rattlesnakes when threatened.
“Some of our common snakes vibrate their tails (to) try to threaten you — they want to act like a rattlesnake,” he mentioned. “Sometimes when a common non-venomous snake, like a rat snake, vibrates his tail and he’s hitting leaves, that can sound sometimes like a rattle, but it’s really not.”
What must you do for those who see a snake?
Briggler suggested taking a “live and let live” strategy to any snakes you encounter within the wild.
“It’s best just to avoid them and let them move on their merry way,” he mentioned. “Just like you have your path, your house and home, they have their path and places they go. So it’s just best to leave them alone and walk around them and move on.”
Snakes aren’t discovered as typically in densely city areas as they’re in rural barns and wooded areas, nevertheless it’s nonetheless doable to discover a snake in a public park or a extremely trafficked neighborhood.
If a snake is in hurt’s means, like on a busy road or lounging on a public sidewalk, Briggler mentioned that it’s fantastic to nudge it with a stick and even decide it up together with your fingers to maneuver it to security — so long as you’re positive it’s not venomous. But he added that almost all snakes will avoid human-made hazards on their very own.
The reasonable temperatures of the spring and fall make them the almost certainly instances to see snakes in the course of the day, Briggler mentioned. In the warmth of summer time, they typically shelter in the course of the day and develop into extra lively at daybreak, nightfall and nighttime.
He added that it’s necessary to be acquainted with the venomous snakes in your space and to understand the impacts that native snakes have in your surroundings.
“The majority of our snakes are very beneficial,” he mentioned. “If you don’t want rodents (and other) stuff around your house, it’s good to have the snakes.”
What must you do if a snake bites you?
Very few snake bites are reported in Missouri, and even fewer come from venomous snakes, Briggler mentioned.
“Most bites occur when someone sees a venomous snake and decides to handle or kill the snake,” Briggler and retired herpetologist Tom R. Johnson wrote in “A Guide to Missouri’s Snakes,” a reference booklet printed by the state’s Department of Conservation.
“During such scenarios, the venomous snake will do its best to defend itself,” the information continues.
If you’re bitten, the booklet advises remaining calm, eradicating tight clothes and jewellery from the bitten space, and searching for medical consideration. Even for those who don’t assume the snake is venomous, it’s greatest to hunt medical consideration for the chew to ensure.
If you’ll be able to safely achieve this, Briggler recommends getting a photograph of the snake that bit you or having a pal attempt to take action. A photograph or detailed description may also help first responders determine whether or not the snake was venomous. But utilizing first support measures you will have heard about in in style tradition needs to be averted.
“Applying a tourniquet, cutting and sucking out the venom, applying ice packs, electric shock therapy, or consuming alcohol or caffeinated drinks are not recommended for snakebites,” Briggler and Johnson wrote.
Do you’ve gotten extra questions on wildlife or sustainability in Missouri or Kansas? Ask the Service Journalism crew at [email protected].
