Caution: It's summertime here in the US...............

[mtdoramike]

Bird owners need to be cautious of those pesky snakes. I took this picture this morning to drive home my point. This is a three foot black snake Non-poisonous to us humans. But they do love small birds. This particular varment was trying to make it's way into my neighbors home through a window. There was a hole in the bottom of the window screen. Fortunately they weren't home and their windows were closed or else they would have had a visitor waiting on them upon their return.

 

[josiesmom]

Thank you for the reminder. I'm always nervous about snakes here.

 

[Blancaej]

Thanks for the warning. Not as much of a problem with snakes up her in VT, but I know there are other predators we need to keep an eye out for and of course the occasional snake!

If you don't mind me asking, what else should I be aware of when taking Savannah for walks? I live in the country. She just got into her harness yesterday and I want to take her out regularly but also want to be cautious and aware of any dangers that our outside when I do take her for walks. Thanks!

 

[MarciaLove]

Yikes! I have a huge Northern Water Snake named Salazar that lives in my pond right outside the birdroom ill have to double check my room now thanks!

 

[mtdoramike]

Thanks for the warning. Not as much of a problem with snakes up her in VT, but I know there are other predators we need to keep an eye out for and of course the occasional snake!

If you don't mind me asking, what else should I be aware of when taking Savannah for walks? I live in the country. She just got into her harness yesterday and I want to take her out regularly but also want to be cautious and aware of any dangers that our outside when I do take her for walks. Thanks!

To me, the biggest threat is dogs. It makes no difference if they are leashed or not. It seems that they always try and jump on birds even when on your shoulder. Th second biggest threat in Florida are Hawks. They will swoop down and grab a bird in a flash, When I have my birds outside if I'm out doors working, I always keep a close lookout for hawks sitting around in trees. Once while my Eclectus was sitting on his playstand inside the screened in pool enclosure, a hawk flew towards him hitting the top of the pool enclosure bouncing off of it. Fortunately, he wasn't able to bust through or it would have been all over for Mac.

 

[mtdoramike]

Thanks for the nightmares Mike. I actually just ran into a 4 footer on a walk with Brodie (my Wheaten Terrier). I was trying to walk away from it as fast as possible, Brodie wanted to run to it as fast as possible.....I let go of the leash

Oh no, hahahahahahaha. It seems that they always seem to pop up with least expected. I'm not particularly afraid of snakes, but I don't particularly like them either. This reminds me of when the snake tried to enter the house through a window where I was sitting with Mac my eclectus. That did give me nightmares for a few nights. He was a biggun.

 

[BillsBirds]

I, too, live in Florida, and know of one time when a friend had his CAG on his screened in patio. A hawk could see the CAG, and swooped down to get it, crashing through the screening. My friend was there, and reacted quickly to save his bird, and eject the hawk. Hawks live all over the world, and are a danger to companion birds everywhere. Keep your eyes on the skies, when outdoors with your fids! And yes, dogs & cats pose an equal danger to our birds. I walk with a cane, and more than once have used it to provide a barrier between my bird on my shoulder, and a curious dog.

 

[Blancaej]

Thanks Mike! We do have hawks here and I watched for some when I took her out a couple of times for the first time this week. I didn't really think about dogs, but you are right, I can totally see them wanting to jump up at birds! Thanks for the heads up. There are a lot of dogs around my area on the road we usually walk on. So definitely something I will watch for! Thanks for the tips!

I'm certainly glad snakes aren't a huge issue in my area! I don't particularly like them either!

 

[critterman]

I live on a old farm in Maryland and I have lots of snakes here all the time it is warm. Sometimes they are black snakes and sometimes I can't tell what they are poisonous or not but I try not to kill them and just squirt them with a hose to make them move on. I have to be careful as I have 4 small dogs who walk on the property without leashes and I am always afraid of them getting bitten. We don't like snakes here............lol.

 

[getwozzy]

We live in Oregon, right next to the willamette river on 8 acres and we have A LOT of small garter snakes, which I'm not afraid of snakes (I used to have a 4 ft ball python)...but I would still probably freak out if a snake that big snuck in through my window!! We also have quite a few red tail hawks, the occasional bald eagle, and a family of great horned owls that live in the trees right behind our house.

I don't take Jackie outside yet because 1. I'm letting his flight feathers grow back out 2. He's not harness trained (yet) and 3. I don't have a safe place for him to hang out outside yet....but once we get to that point I'll definitely be keeping my eyes peeled for dangers.

 

[MikeyTN]

Ewwwww....I hate snakes....good thing for all my neighbors as we all have multiple dogs and each one of us is clearing out all the junk weeds around the fence and less likely to have snakes around. As we do have 3 very poisonous snakes here in TN. Cotton Mouth, Copperhead, and Rattle Snake....I have killed a cotton mouth in my old neighborhood before and so did my neighbors. We had a lot of children in our neighborhood so it was too dangerous to have them around...

 

[mrgoogls]

good warning! a snake could be a problem if it gets to close! im buffalo(not IN the city but right outside) we get a few snakes here and there in my backyard. but not much of a problem because i happen to be a reptile enthusiest and catch them for fun and release them elsewhere

 

[mtdoramike]

My wife believes the only good snake is a dead one. I on the other hand believe they serve an important purpose like keeping down the rodent population. So every time she see's a snake, she wants me to kill it. I usually try and run it off, but a few times she has claimed that the snake looked like one that I was supposed to have killed before. I tell her naw, it's a different snake, could be a twin