Growing up in north New York was to say the least, one of the more boring tasks' of my life. My only real joy in life was to venture to the edge of town on the weekends to a deserted old farm that was known as Cooks' Barn. It was an over grown pasture with a dilapidated barn who's roof had been scattered about the pasture. This was the best spot in Clinton County to look for snakes. It was here in the early 1960s that I caught my first snake, a fine species of Thamnophis sepidon or the Northern Garter snake. Like every boy, I held it captive in a shoe box under my bed for a few days then released it in my back yard in hopes it would multiply and I would own the states largest residential snake lot! Had my mum known what I had planned, I would have grown up an orphan.
While I had that snake and many others as the years multiplied, I studied them with a magnifying glass seeing closely at every scale, its Nair's, its tongue and anything else that was presented to me. I dreamt of one day owning such snakes as Cobras, Mambas, rattlesnakes. I set glued to the Tv when ever Marlin Perkins was on praying he would take me to the Amazon with him on an anaconda hunt. My mind evolved around these breathtaking creatures and my school grades reflected that, all except Science, right A student. As I grew older, my mind continually raced with the thoughts of nearing the age when I could do as I had dreamt of, searching for real venomous snakes and production a name for myself.
Time passed and I finally got out of High School and got to thinking. There was no money in this place and I wanted to get out Now! What to do? A light bulb went off and I decided to join the Army, they would pay me, I would be in distant places and I would finally have the chance to look for other species of snakes then Garter snakes. At one point after Basic Training At Fort Dix New Jersey, I was sent to a lovely Army Camp called Fort Lee settled in Virginia. This was not panning out as I had planned. While on maneuvers one Saturday early Am, my platoon was driven to a huge swamp. We were the blue army and our goal was to capture the red army that was somewhere out in front of us. The swamp was about two to three foot deep, dead and decaying trees all around us, I was in heaven, absolutely there had to be snakes in this breathtaking place. Every one else was tip toeing around and I was on my knees with brown water up to my chin searching for snakes as we moved forward. At one point I came upon a dead large water oak that had fallen some years earlier. The bark was pealing back and there were many places for a snake to hide. I quest that tree very considered and my hand slid across something two inches below the water, it was a wire that was pulled tightly and spread across the swamp. I was no real soldier, just a misplaced Herpetologist but I knew a trip wire when I saw one, John Wayne had taught me that much!
I used my knife to tap on the log and that got my Co's attention, he looked at me with anger written all over his face, we were not to make a sound. He slid over ready to strangle me when I pointed to the exposed wire at the logs edge. He smiled and I heard a giggle, this was the only time anything ever saw this man smile. He snipped the wire and rolled it up onto a stick showing every man as he went by. The rest is history, we did capture the red army and I was given a three day pass off post for the upcoming weekend. I was a good observant soldier (he said) I saved the platoon from definite death (he said) I was the only one who took that maneuver serious (he said) and we should all take a note from my book and be best soldiers (he said). If Major G. Mayfield had known I was only seeing for snakes, I would still be pealing potatoes at the local mess hall. I went snake hunting with the three day pass.
After the Army, I went back to school and met my wife Janice. She did not care for my snakes and I got to keep two non venomous snakes. Soon after we married my son Chris was on the way. I then realized it would be an additional one 18 years before I could have my own Herp Room with the snakes I dreamt of. Nothing was going as I had planned? After a concentrate of years we had two more children, two girls, Samantha and Ashley. Here it comes, The kids are grown, off to school and I have a room all to my self with no kids to worry about getting bitten. I started my variety at the ripe old age of forty-five, what the hell happened? Anyway I soon had Copperheads, rattlesnakes, cobras and tree vipers, all mine. Oh how I cared for these snakes, they ate on time, they never spent more then an hour in the same tank with any waste produced, fresh water twice a day, outside time to get fresh air. All of their food was shipped to me frozen, they never had to fight for a meal and I never had to be involved with taking a life by proxy so to speak. Life was good. I sold the venom to explore labs that designed drugs around the venom, so I was very proud of my animals for helping mankind. I became proficient at doctoring their minor ills and nothing serious ever cropped up, all was well with the world. Or so I thought.
I knew my snakes so well that I was able to tell days before their eyes clouded signaling a shed cycle was in progress.
I would up the humidity, add a wet towel into their tanks and increase the temperature a bit so the shed would slide off in one piece, what a variety I had. I had all the time been an avid reader of any and all magazines or books written about snakes and the habitancy who keep them. A few years earlier I received an description in the mail, sent by a friend which was about a woman named "Grace Olive Wiley" In the 1930's she had been the first person to breed rattlesnakes in captivity and she was able to free deal with venomous snakes with out incident? Maybe a great lady I understanding to myself but no one handles these animals unless they have been fixed. I filed away the description on Grace and understanding no more about it. As I said earlier I knew when my snakes were about to shed and one of my copperheads "Felix" was going into a shed cycle so I did the usual, the humidity, wet towels upped the temp. Same old same old. Ten days passed and Felix was shedding, it came off as usual except for a large patch over its left eye and onto its head and neck. I was not to implicated so I settled a wet towel in his tank so he could rub against it and it would peal off soon enough. Two weeks later and no go! The dried patch was stuck fast. I had seen this happen on a amount of occasions but not on the head and never over the eye. I decided to let it go as it would come off with the next one, some snakes have gone a year with sheds stuck to them with out incident so I was not worried.
Days turned to weeks and weeks into months, it was Felix's turn to shed once more. I held the humidity at 95% and kept a wet towel in his tank and misted him twice a day, absolutely this was the end of the problem. I awoke on a Sunday morning to find a shed in Felix's tank. It was one piece except for the part on the head and neck, now I had two stuck patched, one on top of the other? I had to do something, I called every Vet within a fifty mile radius and explained the situation over and over. Each vet was sympathetic and told me to bring him in! I then advised them of Felix's species and some hung up, others said "shoot it", one doctor said "I would but it is against the law"? It was clear no one would help me, I called the Zoo and they would not return my call. If it was everywhere other then the Brill (eye cap) over the eye, I had read stories of snakes dieing from infections caused by stuck eye caps and this was not going to happen. Three days of trying every recipe known to man and some I invented, all with no results. I went into the Rep. Room on Wednesday morning to find Felix had rubbed his nose bloody on a rock which was kept there to help him shed, this was bothering him something awful. I was a wreck, what to do, what to do? I understanding to myself "Grace Wiley, where are you when I need you"? For reasons I will not understand, I went into the kitchen, got two clean dish towels and a basin full of warm water and marched back into the Rep Room. I flipped the top off the tank, reached in and took Felix into my right hand. My left hand was wringing out a warm wet towel, I swiftly settled the towel over Felix's head and sat there with him in my hand.
There was not one flinch under the towel, I can't even tell you what I was thinking, I was shut down, no thoughts or none I can remember. When the towel cooled I rapidly replaced it with a new warm one, this prolonged for over one half hour. I removed the towel and used my thumb nail to pick at the edge of the stuck skin around the neck. It started ti roll upwards as I rubbed. I got the misting bottle and moistened the area while I rolled it up, soon the flap was only stuck over the eye. I settled the warm towel over the head one more time and in five minutes I took it off and the brill and old skin came with it. Success, I did it, I was in heaven, for about three seconds. I looked down and reality cam rushing back, I was retention a Northern Copperhead in my hand and its head was raised about three inches above a large bulging vein in my wrist. I was frozen with fear. I had received over 40 tags within the past twenty-five years, tags by rattlesnakes, long nosed vipers, cottonmouths and copperheads, mostly copperheads ands they were by far the most painful, not lethal by any means but that meant two or three sleepless nights rolling in pain.
I sat there seeing at Felix, should I toss him into the tank? Drop him onto the table and jump back? There were a few options open to me but what one to choose? I then remembered part of the description written about Grace, she said if you do not pose a threat and treat them with kindness they will not bite? This was a hell of a time to test her theory, I started to relax and Felix slid out from my hand, this was the first time he had moved since I picked him up, I was very confused. Was it possible, a venomous snake had to bite, didn't it? But why did it have to bite? I had been told all of my life just like every one else that venomous snakes bite, it is built into them, there is no changing it, they bite. Felix had every chance in the world to tag me, I know the scraping did not feel good and the towel over his head, he trusted me not to bash his head in while he was blinded, but he did nothing. I have been working with snakes all my life, could I have been naturally sucked up into a fantasy tale about snakes? absolutely I was smarter then that.
I reached out and picked him up, I stroked his side and he moved gracefully against my fingers as I rubbed his side, I was retention a hot snake and it was enjoying my caresses. At that one exact split second in time, the meaning of my existence came rushing into my head. I knew exactly how Grace must have felt when she held her first hot snake and came straight through it unscathed. The joy, the rush of endorphins delivered a feeling of elation within my head that no drug or drink could ever match. I had learned a lesson that few humans had ever realized, venomous snakes do not have to bite, a snake cared for and treated with love and respect will reciprocate! I had spent all of my life retention a very safe distance from the animals I loved so and why? Because I took others words for gospel, what a waste, what to do now, what to do?
I ran into the house and got my wife Janice, I was screaming, Janice, Janice, she ran out mental I had been bitten again. I grabbed her hand and drug her to the Rep. Room, I sat her down and reached in and grabbed Felix, she (Janice) approximately slid out of her chair, "Are you crazy, put him down, put him back! I tried as best as I could to explicate what had happened but she would have no part of it until I replaced Felix. I did so and told her the whole story, she replied "Well that was one snake, maybe he had a tooth ache, maybe he just had a sore jaw, did you ever think of that? No, I must admit, there might have been an additional one hypothesize for not biting me. My spirits sank, well it was nice for a while. I felt like the world had been pulled from under me, I was so sure. I stopped in my tracks, I am doing it again, I am listening to the voices of the ages, No, Felix was in good shape, he was a fully functional Hot Copperhead, I had to know. I stomped back to the room and with out hesitation I reached in and picked up "Blue" a three and a half foot copperhead that was one of my best venom donors. I held him, I let him glide straight through my fingers and from one hand to the next. I went into the house with Blue, Janice I shouted, does Blue have a bad tooth also? She was speechless. I went back in, that afternoon I had picked up, caresses and talked to Felix, Blue, Aggie, Andrew, Orson, Toni, Sigmund, all copperheads and for the final test I picked up and held Faith, a seven foot (six foot then) Egyptian cobra. All of these snakes that I had cared fo , some for two years, others for up to seven years, all of them with out even a snarl, they all thorough me. Now I know this sounds like a fish story and I would agree with you if it were not for one puny fact! I still have every snake named above and I deal with them each and every day, News papers have came by and snapped pictures in disbelief. Felix is less then one foot, twelve puny inches from my right hand as I type this story, all coiled up and resting peacefully. Please read the next paragraph, it could save you from a nasty bite!
Do I go out and grab every snake I see on the ground? Hell No, that would be stupid, the trick is to bond with the animal, I had been bonding for years and did not even know it. I constantly talked with my animals, I gave them the best life imaginable, life is grand living with me, all they want, they have and they never have to kill for their food, total protection from predators, fresh water and condition care benefits with out cost. Serious now. I have found out something very special, If you are kind to every living animal, humans to ants, it will come back to you. As for venomous snakes, that is my profession, that is what I do and have been trained to do for over 40 years now. I can approximately warrant that if you pull a stunt like grabbing an unknown snake, it will bite you and you have never experienced pain until you have been tagged by a Pit Viper, your skin melts, gaping holes form into your skin, pain is approximately unbearable and sometimes it stays for ever and other times you Die. This story is 100% the truth and I can prove all I say. Please, I beg you, do not get with in astonishing range of any snake.
What Was Right in Front of Me!
