A couple of nights ago when one of my classmates came over to study he came across this little fella on the steps to the apartment. When he came in he told me about it and of course I had to go check it out. It's kind of hard to tell from the picture but it was pretty big, I would guess about 3-4 ft long. At first we thought it was a copperhead which is a venomous snake but it turns our that it was a harmless black ratsnake. Apparently they eat Cicadas which would be a blessing since the trees across the parking lot are full of them and they sure are loud...especially at night. I'm just glad Emily wasn't here to see it because she was terrified enough after the whole spider escapade!
On a little scarier note, this black widow spider in the next picture was found under the porch of the apartment right next to ours. I had never seen a black widow before but the red hourglass symbol on it's abdomen is an obvious clue to what it is. I did a little research and I guess that even though they are venomous, they usually won't kill you unless you have a weak immune system.
They usually only cause nausea, vomiting, fainting, dizziness, chest pain, and respiratory difficulties. The last picture shows a nice view of it's red hourglass after I flipped it over with a stick and shortly before I killed it.-Brett
I'm glad Emily wasn't there too! You guys are living in a zoo I think!
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