Snakes on St. Thomas - need help!

Don't know about here - but in Arkansas we put a perimeter of lime around our yard - burns the bellies and they wouldn't cross it. It's worth a try - any garden center will probably have a 5 lbs. bag.

In addition to Becky R.'s excellent suggestion about using lime, my best advice is keep you cat indoors, not only for your well being but also for hers. Feral animals are a terrible problem in the islands, so letting her out puts her at risk of being in fights, contracting feline HIV, etc, and there are more than enough other hazards (cars, stinging insects, animal haters who set out posion) to warrant keeping kitties indoors.

The kitty door also seems like a open invitation for a lot of unwanted critters to get in, as well as letting water in swhould we (heaven forbid) get some severe weather with strong winds and rain.

Good luck with the snake problem -- and congratulations on preparing to welcome a new little one!

--HC

Have only seen one snake here. in 16 years. small garder type snake

Not exactly on point but last month I clipped some brush in the yard, left the clippings in the driveway over night, put the brush in my vehicle the next day and took the brush to the dumpster. Unbeknownst to me, a foot long snake was relaxing in the clippings and when I put the clippings in the dumpster it opted to remain in the back of the vehicle and slithered under the seats. I have not yet found it but since the vehicle doesn't smell like decomposing reptile I suspect it found a way out, and if it can find a way out presumably others can find a way in!

I have never talked to anyone who has even seen a snake in the Virgin Islands. I have been told that a small harmless tree Boa does exist here. As HipCrip states...the problem is your cats.

In the states it is common for 'free range cats' to drag in surprises all of the time, usually snakes, rats and mice. My mother claims she had to become a snake wrangler due to the cat problem.

The snakes in the Virgin Islands are all harmless and do not want to be in your house.

I love the Virgin Islands because there are no poisonous snakes and no bad sharks....

My advice...Get rid of your cats....

Just for the record, I would never say that the cat is the problem.

The problem is allowing the cat to go outside unsupervised.

WHen kept in the house, the cat will use its hunting instincts to point out, help capture, and sometimes even kill outside varmints that have found their way inside. Without our cats, who knows how long it would have taken us to discover the two bats that had found their way in. Our two tabby girls are expert centipede slayers, all five cats can track a lizard for as long as it takes us to capture it and return it to the yard, and they all provide us with great entertainment when a stray millipede wanders in and inadvertantly becomes the puck in a game of kitty hockey.

Please don't get rid of your cat -- there are already too many unwanted animals here in the islands, If you feel that is your only option and your cat could get along well with other animals, let me know and we will find a way to take him/her in.

--HC

I've seen a 9-foot hammerhead off STX and quite a few baby black tip sharks. They could do some damage if they wanted to. There are potentially "bad" sharks most anywhere. We don't have a history of shark attacks, fortunately.

Any fans of Gilda Radner and the original SNL cast? Alexandra's message made me think of Gilda as Miss Emily Littella.

Ummm...Miss Littella, the discussion is on SNAKES, not sharks.

Ohhh....well that's quite different now, isn't it? Never mind.

--HC

I have never heard that there are no snakes! There is an indigenous tree boa on the east end, but it is very elusive. Also some garden snakes. There are no venemous snakes, if that is what you meant.

P.S. Snakes do serve a purpose in the scheme of things!

Thanks, East Ender - I've never heard either there are NOT snakes. I feel badly for Snake Hater that she fears them so much because they are totally benign and are in fact quite rare. Between their main predator the mongoose and the snake there's little competition and there probably would have been many more snakes if mongoose had never been introduced here!

Over the years my cats have found several and, sorry to all those who don't like them, but I've saved them. They're not venomous, they don't bite, and are totally harmless.

STT Resident,
Please, it's mongoose dem (plural).

Bassman

HipCrip - Stxer had commented that there are no bad snakes and no bad sharks.. so I replied that there are a few potentially bad sharks around.

As for snakes, I had heard that STT does have some but that STX does not have any. I certainly haven't ever spotted one anywhere on the island. We have far too many mongoose for snakes to survive. The quantity of iguanas on STT makes me think they don't have near the mongoose population as STX, as the mongoose eat the iguana eggs and keep that population low on STX, also.

Bassman - yes, I know! Didn't want to confuse any of the uninitiated about mongoose-dem. But I didn't go too off-kilter and say "mongeese" (which I've heard many times!)

Alexandra, I don't know what the respective populations of iguanas, mongoose-dem or snakes are on STX vs STT but I do remember years ago seeing a mongoose take on a quite large mature iguana, at least twice the size of the mongoose. I thought that what would appear to be a charade of sorts would soon be over with the mongoose getting whacked and them both scurrying away. However, it was all over amazingly fast with the iguana dead and the mongoose dragging it off into the bush. Really surprised me and I never forgot it although I've not seen anything similar since then.

My daughters were walking on the beach in stx in front of our condo last night and said they saw a sea snake. Are there sea snakes that close to the shore? Do we need to watch out for them? Or did they just see some fish that LOOKED like a snake?

Needlefish possibly? Young Needlefish could appear 'snake-like'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needlefish

So it's not typical to see sea snakes up near the beach?

I guess Hip is the forum moderator. Hearing about the sharks Alexandra....can't wait to go diving with you. I'm purchasing my airline tix this weekend and will let you know of the dates I'll be on the island. The wife won't be making the trip. We've been separated for a while and I've been bending over backwards to make it work.....looks like a divorce is in the future. I'll be ready for the r & r.......

Jeff

To my knowledge there are NO sea snakes in the local waters. Earlier discussions on this board referred us to references that confirmed this. Shelly you might have seen an eel.

We have enough to worry about without finding things that aren't there.

Here is an interesting article on Sea Snakes... http://www.fascinatingearth.com/stories/Seagoing%20Snakes.htm

--Islander

I've seen seasnakes on numerous dives in St. Croix's waters. I have photos somewhere that I took on one dive. A friend didn't understand once when I was pointing out two seasnakes and motioning to him to steer clear of them... so he started poking at them with something and thought they must be eels. I moved out of the area and he followed... and only later did he understand what he had been playing with. Fortunately they did not get agitated and attack.

Confused by the differing answers about sea snakes, sharks, etc. that are posted here, I found this article that covers the myriad of things people are willing to endure to live in the West Indies, including just about everything covered in this thread, from snakes (land and sea) to sharks, and then some. It's written by Dr. Homer Montgomery of the University of Texas at Dallas, who directs the oceanography program the University offers in the Caribbean each year.

Warning: this article, titled "OH, THE WAYS YOU CAN GET SICK AND DIE", is not the article to read if you tend to fear for the worst.

http://www.utdallas.edu/dept/sci_ed/Homer/Caribbean/html/illness.html

For those not wanting to go there, here's Dr. Montgomery's info on things aquatic:

"...the Caribbean is certainly not known for people being injured or dying while frolicking in the water. Unlike in the South Pacific, there are no sea snakes and no killer jellyfish. Unlike California surfers, you are unlikely to be mistaken for a seal by a shark and bitten. You will not step on a stone fish and drop dead before reaching the beach as you might in the waters of West Africa. Your chances of being chewed up by a shark are exceedingly remote. But that shark attack I mentioned is interesting because of where it occurred. Voted one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, Magens Bay on the north cost of St. Thomas was the site of a tragedy in 1963. A ten-foot ridge-back carcharhinid shark killed and consumed part of Lt. John Gibson of the Underwater Demolition Team of the United States Navy. This was the first authenticated shark attack in the Virgin Islands.

...

No matter how frightening, shark attack is clearly a rare occurrence in the West Indies. Professional divers around the Caribbean rather enjoy the relatively rare sighting of sharks. I have personally seen only two potentially dangerous sharks during my past ten years working in the islands. Lightening fast and definitely scary in close quarters, barracuda engender much greater respect among divers in the West Indies. Fortunately, curious barracuda pose little danger being attracted not by the diver but mainly by flashy baubles like watches and jewelry."

--HC

Thanks everyone for the advice! We won't be getting rid of the cat...we are in a great area for her to be able to go outside...very few cars to worry about, only friendly neighborhood cats that have homes (never seen a ferral cat in our area). She's been great so far (two years)...her little snake fetish is new though. So far this week, no more snakes!! We do have some brush that needs to be cleared and I think my husband will do that soon, hopefully that is where the snakes are hanging out and once its gone, so will the snakes.

I would never harm one, I just don't want them near me!!

neat article! My daughters asked a local about the snake and he said he's seen sea snakes near the beach at night. He said they call it a "congo" snake and they eat them on rare occassion.

Shelly: A conger is an eel. They may look like a snake. but they aren't!

Actually, the VI is pleasantly free of most yucky creatures. No crocodiles, no poisonous snakes, no rabid bats, no wild coyotes/pumas/wolves, no lions or tigers or bears (oh, my!) Now if we could get rid of the landsharks! 😉