After 2 years of living my life in such a way that I didn't allow myself to blog anymore, I'm back.
Reading my own old posts is like looking at old pictures, brings back memories of who I was back then. The focus of these new posts has shifted from the original one. The actual inspiration to return came from my never-ending curiosity -that hasn't changed- to answer all those questions that my life experiences give way to, regardless of its nature. Meaning I will be my own personalized Google and Wikipedia.
I've recently moved back to Indonesia, this time to Labuan Bajo in the island of Flores. Living in the tropics has its perks and downfalls. You gotta definitely, among other things, roughen-up. I personally don't think I'm afraid of much, except for certain human-inflicting-damage-on-others situations.
But let's talk phobias. Among the most feared things by humans are (in no particular order) spiders, thunder & lightning, darkness, dogs, heights, open/crowded spaces, small/enclosed spaces and snakes. Dogs, really??
The other day I found a small snake in the bathroom of the house I stayed at the first days. The experience itself was out of this world. When I found the snake, the owner of the house; a small Italian girl with severe Ophidiophobia (new word) couldn't even go into the house, and my boyfriend; an almost 2-meter tall, 36 year-old farm-raised man, hid behind the words "you're from Ecuador, you should be used to dealing with this." So after some very manly 😅 attempts on his behalf, I had no choice but to take care of it myself, thankfully it was a small one so I made it curl-up with a broom, then I put a tupperware over it and with the lid of the pizza box we had the night before, I slowly, but surely picked it up and threw it "far away" back into the green.
What question rose after the experience? Was it a venomous snake? Which brings me to today's topic:
How to recognize a venomous snake?
First, look out for a triangular shaped head -they say-, in my experience and after seeing pictures, I think the actual shape is more a rhombus or diamond shape, rather than triangular. Most venomous snakes have this head shape, which is characterized by a fat, wide neck, then again, a few don't, plus some non-venomous might also have it. ◊ Mine had it.
As with most animals, look at that color. There are just colors that scream "you can't touch this". Some are just plain. Mine was black, for example. Some also have special patterns that allow you to immediately recognize if it's venomous or not.
Snakes are not even aggressive, again, like with most predators they will attack if they feel threatened or are in need. They will go through great lengths to avoid confrontation. If your snake takes an attacking, striking pose, that should be another sign. 🐍 Mine did, after some time of being chased around, patted with brooms or cloths and cornered.
All the other signs are rather hard to look for, specially if you are in a panic over having a snake in your house. Like the eyes, most venomous snakes have vertical eye slits. Most have heat sensors between the eyes and nostrils. Some don't. Either way, I doubt that you will be able to look for these in the moment of the encounter.
As with everything there are exceptions to what I've written here, of course, and he most important thing is actually that you stay calm in such a time rather than start wondering if it will kill you. You can do that afterwards, like I did.
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