Originally Posted by varnyard

The Eastern are my favorite. I have been catching them since I was young. I kept some as pets when I was a kid. I was raised up in Clearwater Florida, and we had a bunch of them around where I lived. The locals said they were ground rattlers, but I knew different. I still see a few here in north Florida (Panama city) now and then on my herpin trips. I think they are awesome creatures. It don't seem like there are as many as there were years ago.