snakes in DR??????

sooty

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Oct 25, 2006
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HI!! We want to move to DR, but my mother has a bad phobia about snakes. People have told usthat they are everywhere in DR and that photographers are in bars with them is this true??? Is it a common ocurrence to come across them anywhere? would aprecciate any replys.
 

macocael

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Aug 3, 2004
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depends where you live. In the campo there are small grass snakes and snakes in the rivers, they are harmless. No poisonous varieties here. If you are in a gated community or whatever, I doubt you will see them.
 

mountainfrog

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Dec 8, 2003
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Culebras

... phobia about snakes.... photographers are in bars with them....Is it a common ocurrence to come across them anywhere?....

1. Mother should avoid bars with photographers.
2. There are snakes. Most of them are small (green and black ones). Bigger ones exist. We have one living near our pool, eating all our small chickens.... It's brownish, about 2m long and about 7 cm thick.

m'frog
 

leehall

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Oct 24, 2006
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For me, the ones to watch out for are definitely the big centipedes. They don't seem to back down or shy away...
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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For me, the ones to watch out for are definitely the big centipedes. They don't seem to back down or shy away...

there is no animal here that can kill, except human. all snakes are shy, so far i have seen only one and only because i stumbled and fell almost onto it, it was maybe 10 cm long and it sped away before i even managed to say CABRON! centipedes are uglier but also rare, look out for cucarachas and other bugs, harmless but more likely to see in the house.

on sunday our neighbour has a huge tarantula in her bathroom that minovio had to kill with a stick. heck! where's smashing spiders with a sandal that produced this pleasant CRUNCH sound?

be careful of toads as well, they grow as big as a bucket and shoot a stream of pee at you when you bother them. not nice!
 

skyblue

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Mar 20, 2006
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lol

i read sankies in DR instead of snakes - lolol - too many sankie threads lately:bunny:
 

AZB

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Jan 2, 2002
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I saw a 4 feet long snake crushed by a car near the entrance of sosua.
last week I crushed a big huge black trantula, just drove over it in a campo road.
AZB
 

canadian bob

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Jan 16, 2002
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The biggest snake I have see here so far was a 6ft Boa in Costambar. I don't think there are any venemous ones here, but I have been told there are Coral snakes in the mountains. Canadian Bob.
 

canadian bob

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Jan 16, 2002
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A 6 ft. boa??? Was this in some type of park or was it in its natural habitat? Yikes!!!

Natural habitat, on the edge of the sand beach, it had just come out of thick underbrush. I just happened to be close, & a passing Dominican swiftly beheaded it with his "colleen" (machete). Too bad really, they are harmless and eat vermin. (The Boas...) Canadian Bob.
 
May 31, 2005
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Natural habitat, on the edge of the sand beach, it had just come out of thick underbrush. I just happened to be close, & a passing Dominican swiftly beheaded it with his "colleen" (machete). Too bad really, they are harmless and eat vermin. (The Boas...) Canadian Bob.

Wow, I would be ****ing in my panties if I saw a boa. I jumped on top of a car a few weeks ago when I saw a garden snake on my mother's lemon tree. LOL!!!
 

canadian bob

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I hear that those big centipedes have a poisonous bite. Does anyone know for sure?

Yes, they are venomous... they can also be agressive & persistent. I dug one up last year in my garden in a rocky area, it was about 9in long, brown with purple spots. I put it in a jar with my shovel & took it far away & released it. My neighbour got bitten by a big one 12in. She was in a lot of pain, & lost the feeling in her arm for a week. For a small child I think it might be very serious. As long as you don't dig them out or bother them, they won't bother you. I have also seen tiny brown scorpions in a rock wall I was repairing, but they just skittered away. The only danger from a tarantula is when they scratch their rear end, & release dozens of tiny "urticating hairs" These are poisonous and literally form an invisible small cloud in the air. Tarantulas use this as a defense against birds which attack them. The birds are blinded, fall to the ground & then are killed by the tarantula which are common in the sugar-cane fields. Again, You will probably never see any, they will hide if you approach. In the resort areas they spray & kill everything. Don't worry, be happy & enjoy the sun & fun. Canadian Bob
 

sooty

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Oct 25, 2006
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thanx will it be safe for mum to come in dec on her own to look for property.what is crime situation like are women safe ?
 

sweetdbt

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Sep 17, 2004
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While I am not positive, I don't believe Boas are native to the DR, so chances are the one CB saw was a pet which escaped or was let go when the owner decided it was too big. There is now a thriving wild population of boas and pythons in Florida for just that reason.

One thing not mentioned, but if the OP's mom is squeemish about all "creepy crawlies", the biggest obstacle to living in the DR may be the LIZARDS. They are small, harmless (in fact beneficial), and IMHO cute, but they are also EVERYWHERE, and I suspect someone with a reptile phobia may not be very comfortable.
 

canadian bob

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While I am not positive, I don't believe Boas are native to the DR, so chances are the one CB saw was a pet which escaped or was let go when the owner decided it was too big. There is now a thriving wild population of boas and pythons in Florida for just that reason.

One thing not mentioned, but if the OP's mom is squeemish about all "creepy crawlies", the biggest obstacle to living in the DR may be the LIZARDS. They are small, harmless (in fact beneficial), and IMHO cute, but they are also EVERYWHERE, and I suspect someone with a reptile phobia may not be very comfortable.

Yes, Sweetbit, boas are native and quite common in the country, they come in a varirty of sizes and patterns & shades of brown/green. They are not dangerous and should be left to do what they do best... eat rats.
I learned a lot about tarantulas during a photographic hunt for them in the campo near Moca. They are really interesting to observe with a zoom lens. The biggest one I observed had a 10in legspan. Keep cool! Canadian Bob.