[Major Dave (retired)]

I collected them for a class in herpetology, while a student at Texas A & M. We (Wildlife Management majors) had to gather specimens of 90 species of "herptiles" (snakes, lizards, salamanders, frogs, and toads), as a requirement for the course. We preserved them in gallon jars filled with formaldehyde, with the species identification on a tag around the neck.

Since you can't find that many different species in one locale, we all learned to go home on Thanksgiving break, catch numerous specimens of the 10 to 15 species near home, then bring them all back to campus and exchange different species with each other.

As in, "I'll give you two copperheads and one water mocasson for one sidewinder rattler".

Or, "I'll trade you one coral snake for one eastern canebrake rattler".

As for stinking up your vehicle by overheating snakes in them, I never seemed to notice much odor.

One further note of caution: when you are carrying a live venomous snake in a burlap bag, hold it out to your side so that the bag doesn't touch your leg. Most venomous snakes in the U.S. belong to the pit viper family, which means they sense the heat from their quarry, and they will strike at the heat source (your leg, if you don't heed this warning). Their fangs can penetrate the burlap bag AND your pants leg. Again, wear protection, and be careful.