Recently attended a party here in States where we talked visiting Central and South America. A science professor who is also a herptologist (spelling?) told me that Costa Rica is a herptologist's (a scientist who studies snakes)paradise. I read in the guidebooks that rarely do tourists encounter snakes, especially if you use common sense, watching where you put your feet and hands, etc. There's some pretty scarey ones down there though; Fer de Lance, Bushmaster, Coral. What do you folks think?

It's true that there are a lot of snakes in Costa Rica -- 125 species if I remember correctly. But you rarely see them -- they're trying to hide from you. I've been in the rainforest so many times, but I've only seen 2 snakes -- both poisonous. But they didn't bother us. Just use common sense: don't touch anything -- they can be hiding on trees, rocks, etc., don't walk in the grass at night or early in the morning, and if you're staying in a rustic lodge, you might want to check your room w/ a flashlight before you go to sleep. Don't worry!

Sandy

You and Sandy both said it -common sense. Seeing a venemous snake in its natural habitat is a thrill, for sure, but the chances of an encounter are greatly lessened by staying on trails and watching where you walk and what you touch.

We've seen many more poisonous snakes here in Ontariothan in Costa Rica.

Jerry

I've been to both CR and Belize twice. The one or two snakes I saw were pointed out to me by a naturalist. Snakes try to keep their distance, so avoid being the first of your group on the trail. Now for me it's tarantulas and big spiders I hate, but I've not seen them either since I didn't seek them out.

After we saw a great nature film in Monteverde that showed a yellow viper snake going for a hummingbird, my husband looked for the yellow viper on every heliconia he saw. Was very disappointed not to ever see one.

On the other hand we saw a boa constrictor curled up sleeping in a rock depression on the beach in the Osa, and a farmer pointed out a dead fer de lance he'd killed the night before on his property in Dominical .. .

Grrrreat! I don't really have a phobia about snakes, just very cautious. Thanks for the hint about checking out our "rustic" accomodations with a flashlight before going to sleep. I'm going to try very hard not to think too much about this.

I appreciate the reminder about not being the first or last one in line while hiking. I think I picked that one up as a kid and it has been reinforced here at home with the two outdoorsmen I live with, my husband and my son.

If you're not supposed to be outdoors at dawn or dusk due to mosquitoes and/or reptiles, etc. what times do you suggest for morning walks and walking out to supper?

It's really helpful to hike with a guide and stay behind him for all kinds of reasons. The guide will teach you a lot too.

You can be out at dawn/dusk, just don't walk on the grass. Stay on paths and take a flashlight w/ you. Mosquitos really aren't that bad. Put on a long-sleeve jacket and you'll be fine.

Sandy

Having been out and about in Costa Rica many times, with and without a guide, we had only seen one boa (from a distance) until last July when my husband told me about an interesting bright yellow snake he had noticed on a branch (about waist level) right next to a path to the beach on the Caribbean side. Turns out it was the eyelash viper Glover referred to. Very dangerous, but absolutely gorgeous. We stood and looked at it for a long while. It was so perfectly still--got some great photos.

Two days later, saw our first fer de lance, which had just been killed by one of the employees at Hotel La Finca Que Ama near Puriscal.

Certainly one should exercise caution (staying on the path while hiking is sound advice for sure!); however, we've always just gone about our business (which is always to do what we want to do--you know, just the ordinary stuff people do when visiting Costa Rica) and have never given bugs and/or snakes a second thought. We haven't been bothered by bugs (hardly any, actually), mosquitoes (rarely), snakes, or anything else. We have stayed in a few places that we thought it prudent to shake out our shoes in the morning and keep our bags zipped at all times (the Osa area, mainly).

It's easy to assume that travel in Costa Rica might be a little more "adventurous" than it actually is! Relax, and enjoy. No worries!

One of my husband's co-workers just returned from the Jaco/Quepos area. While looking through his photos, I noticed he had some great photos of frogs. But the one picture that caught my eye was a picture of him holding in the palm of his hand a smaller snake. He wouldn't know a garter snake from a boa. I looked through one of my guidebooks and saw that the snake he was holding looked strikingly similar to a juvenile viper, I think a pit viper. He had no clue. He's lucky he didn't get bit. I say don't touch. Besides it being stressful for the animal,you could end up being very sorry.

Hi folks! you guys are really helpful and I appreciate all your responses. Fifteen days till take-off from Charlotte NC to San Jose and La Fortuna.

How do you go about getting a naturalist guide? I just thought we'd sign up for a tour through our hotel or maybe a tour place in La Fortuna. We're staying at a very small hotel but their website offers descriptions of tours they can get for you.

The young girls want to do the canopy thing and I'd thought we'd go with "the Original Canopy Tour" folks. I'm fairly certain I'm not going, I'm more interested in the thermal pool thing. Horseback riding is out, two of us don't like horses anyway and the other two are way too inexperienced. The ATV thing just seems to me to impact on the environment too much. We have them here on our farm anyway and I'm not fond of the noise as well as how hard they are on the fields, etc.

When you say don't walk on the grass in the early morning or at night, does that include say, a mowed lawn?

Here in rural Southside VA we only have one poisonous snake, the copperhead. W find one or two a summer, by an undeveloped creek, the pond, near a feed bin (waiting for mice), or in the garden (waiting for birds). I have a non-poisonous snake that resides in my basement, keeps the mice out, and since there's only enough food for this one snake, any others seem to keep away. We kinda ignore him/her unless he/she gets in the way and then my husband "disposes" of him/her. Since that happened last summer, I'm not sure there's one down there now.

sandyc, you are most reasuring as well as knowledgable. Thank you for your tips.
shillmac, thanks for your input too, especially the part about keeping our bags closed.
seawitch1, you're talking to a woman who doesn't touch other peoples' infants without permission much less pick up reptiles, fish, bugs, animals, etc. without knowing what they are. I'd rather just let them be and look on from a safe distance.

Thanks, momaj

All depends on where and how you look at it, we spent a day in the Cocovado Park, I found a Coral snake an hour after we got there on the trail, on Cano Island we found a nice 6 ft Boa constrictor, on a tour of the mangroves we fround two green tree boas. All provided great photo opps

Hi. I am an eco-guide in Malaysia, south east asia, home of the oldest rainforest and has more snake species than anywhere in the world. In the thick forest, your eyes will never be able tell the difference between snake and branches, vines, roots sprouting all over the place. Snakes are capable of sensing your foot steps 30 paces away and most probably scoot off before you can get near them. The ones that aren't backing off are females guarding their nest / eggs. Snake usually save their bite/venom for small animals they can swallow, not human. A boa, anaconda or python would wait overhead and drop on thier victims; they have no venom but nasty bite. In Malaysia, we have pretty extreme snakes like the flying snake (they glide with flatten body) and spitting cobra (spit venom on victim's eyes). Those are the ones we watch out for.

For me, I'd always make a lot of footstep noise when I trek the forest. It always works. I sprinkle lots of sulfur powder on my campsite perimeter, they hate the stuff.

Bring along a long flexible stick (I use small bamboo), use it to check out tree stump or bushes. Don't use your hand. If you stumble on a snake, keep you eyes fixed on it and back off very very slowly. Snake's eye sight detects fast movement. If you're bitten by one, try to remember the colour, pattern, shape, length and head's shape. It will help doctor give you the right anti-venom.

If you're just taking a day hike into the jungle, I'd worry more about leeches and malaria-carrying mosquitoes than snake if I'm you.

Momaj,

You can probably find a guide through your hotel, but I know a great one if you want to make arrangements ahead of time. (I run eco tours and I know lots of guides!) I highly recommend Gustavo Leon, [email protected].

Sandy

TravelTwiddle,

That's great advice! Our guide also told us about some misperceptions about snakes that people have. He said if you get bit, go to the hospital right away and try to remember what the snake looked like. Don't try to capture the snake to take w/ you, because if he didn't inject venom the first time, he surely will if you try to catch him. He also said don't cut yourself and try to squeeze out the poison, or you could bleed to death from the cut; and don't put on a tournequette or you'll risk gangrene. Just go to the hospital! (Hopefully no one will need this advice!)

Sandy

Sandy

Thanks Sandy. While the idea of going jungle trekking and camping always sound nice, the reality of being far from any medical help (eg. hospital) is the real peril of outdoor travelling. No one could ever carry enough anti-venom for a myriad or snake species in the rainforest. I once had a traveller who stepped on a poisonous fish on the beach and another who had terrible rashes after touching some fungus. Accidently touching a poisonous jelly fish during your swim is the worst. If you're wearing a ring, the swell would most probably cause your finger to be amputated. There're so many things that can go wrong. These are all unexpected. A good guide will ALWAYS brief you on the DOs and DON'Ts before going into new territory. For me, I'd always keep the nearest clinic / hospital contact no. in my mobile phone and never venture too far away from civilization. Remember, it's just a holiday. You don't have to do crazy things just to bring back tales to impress your office mates. Take it from me - get a guide who has a family to tend to. He'll most probably play on the safe side than a swinging bachelor. Finally, as for snakes, don't worry too much about them. Just remember, the jungle is their home. We are just visitors. Keep on the beaten track and no gung-ho stuff.