Snake lessons at Shangri La draw crowds

ORANGE - Cameron Dischler carried a worn stuffed teddy bear, giving the appearance of any typically shy 4-year-old. But he wasn't shy about petting snakes.

Only one adult declined to pet the snakes that nature interns Cody Conway and Carrie McAtee passed around during Shangri La Botanical Garden and Nature Center's "Wild Wednesday."

No shrieks could be heard as the kids, with eyes wide open, waited a turn to get an up-close and personal look at the snakes - all non-poisonous, of course.

Cameron was among the children and adults at the special program, "Friend or Foe: Snake ID." The program drew so much interest that extra sessions were scheduled.

Conway is a Lamar University student and a snake enthusiast. He spread that enthusiasm to his audiences.

"It wasn't scary," said Jenna Coffey, 4, who came from Lumberton with her brother, Jason, 6, and a neighbor. Her favorite was the speckled king snake, "because he's the biggest snake."

Conway talked only about the snakes of Southeast Texas, which includes some red-necks (rat snakes).

"Today it's my goal to make you learn what's good, what's bad and what's harmless," he said.

He pointed out his information applies only to the United States. "Snakes in other countries have different warning signs," he said.

He corrected myths about local snakes. For instance, there's no such thing as a "ground rattler" in Southeast Texas. It's actually a marsh brown snake.

"They are harmless snakes that eat insects and slugs," he said.

The small brown snake coils up and strikes at someone threatening it, Conway explained. The strike is always short of the mark but looks vicious. The snake also will grab a dried leaf or piece of grass with its tail and make it vibrate with a soft rattle sound.

"They have spunk, but it's all bluff," he said. Unfortunately, he added that spunk usually leads to a "stomp, stomp, stomp" on the snake.

The Southeast Texas mud snake, which is non-venomous and hides in the mud, is so shy that published snake guides don't always include it, Conway said.

"These snakes are super sweet," he said. "They don't even bite if you put your finger by its mouth. A really cool snake, really gorgeous."

The rat snakes also are non-venomous but aggressive. "This is not a snake you want to walk up on," he said. "A bite can hurt."

Another common local myth is that only venomous snakes have triangular-shaped heads. While that's true for the poisonous pit vipers like copperheads and cottonmouths, some non-poisonous water snakes unhinge their jaws and inflate their heads to make them look triangular, Conway said.

Copperheads, one of the local poisonous snakes, try to run from people and will usually bite only if stepped on or picked up, he said.

Speckled king snakes eat copperheads and are considered a good snake to have around, he said.

The cottonmouth, another poisonous local snake, "is highly aggressive and has been known to literally attack people," Conway said. If someone comes up on a cottonmouth, he or she should stop and move slowly away. "Sudden movement - vibrations - antagonize them," he said.

And a way to determine a non-poisonous snake from a poisonous - perhaps best tried on dead specimens - is by looking at the anal scales. A poisonous snake has straight scales instead of round ones at the anal opening.

The dry summer this year is causing more water snakes to come on land searching for water, he said. He thinks the snake population may be down a bit because he's seeing more rodents.

Snakes eat mice and rats, keeping them from infesting the world, he said.

"If you have snakes in your yard, you have a diverse ecosystem," he said.

Shangri La will have another snake session at 9 a.m. Tuesday. The program is free with a regular membership or admission to the nature center. Spaces should be reserved by calling (409) 670-9113. Shangri La is at 2011 W. Park Ave. in Orange.