That's a Rattlesnake!

[RichY]

Til they're not.

We have rattlers at my range east of Denver, where they're considered open season 24/7/365. I will leave them alone if they're at a distance but if one shows up in my bay they are getting shot. I don't feel badly about it.

I agree completely! Until they're not!

We have 13 different types of rattlesnakes here in Arizona, with seven of those types here in our county. Mostly we see black tailed rattlesnakes and black rattlesnakes, but western diamondbacks and Mohave are also very common. I leave them alone and get annoyed by folks who kill every snake they see, never bothering to find out if it's a king snake or a Mohave. The other thing we hear is someone saying they saw a Mohave green. They think all Mohave are green. In fact, probably 99% of the so-called Mohave are in fact black tailed rattlesnakes. If there is such a thing as a beautiful rattlesnake, the black tailed is it. Mohave come in a variety of colors, including a tan variation that was seen about 15 minutes from us. There are far more reliable ways to identify it and differentiate it from the western diamondback.

I have yet to see any rattlesnake not want to get away from us if given the chance. Unfortunately, they are very well camouflaged and are very easy to step on if you aren't paying attention. Texting is NOT a good idea around here if you're out walking. I don't step into my garage at night without turning on a light first and checking things out. At certain times of the year I check before opening the sliding glass doors and stepping out onto the patio because of a raised threshold. I see rattlers quite a bit, but haven't had to kill one yet, but I never wander into the national forest, which is within walking distance of the house, unarmed.

Our neighbor's son came over one night asking me to help him get rid of a snake their four German Shepard were barking at. It was a Mohave. I got it out of the yard and put it down out on a dirt road maybe 50 yards away, but it was close to death by that point. Turns out it had already bitten two of the dogs and $4,300 later, they could come home, but the young female never recovered from the bite, due to extensive muscle damage on her head near one of her ears. The damage ended up causing septicemia, and about 9 months later she had to be put down. The snake was killed later that evening so the vet could positively identify it was as a Mohave. The neighbors got together and made an informal pact that any rattler found on our three properties would be killed. Since my dentist neighbor and best friend has four young children, it seems the only practical solution.

[SeriousStudent]

We had quite a few rattlesnakes on our place when I was growing up. If they were near humans or livestock, they were dispatched with a sharp six-foot garden hoe.

I only recall one that long, out of a hundred or so I remember being beheaded. I was a wee lad, and my grandfather lopped off its head near the chicken house. Stretching out the still-wiggling corpse against the handle, it was just shy of six feet. Most others tended to be around four feet, I think.

In my teens, I had quite the enterprise selling tanned rattlesnake hides to a local truck stop for hatbands and belts. You can strip the skin off, and put it in a coffee can filled with antifreeze for a week, and it stays supple and does not dry out. Make sure you keep it out of reach of the dogs on your ranch, it will kill them.

I got tagged by a rock rattler when I was a young 'un. I was pretty fortunate not to get a load of venom. The local large animal vet looked at at, and said I would be alright. They also drove me to the hospital in Pecos, where a doc there was pretty expert. He agreed that I had not gotten much venom, and just packed me up in ice. Just a small scar on my arm as a memento - I got off very lucky.

I'm not a huge fan of venomous reptiles as a result.

About 15 years ago my Black Lab was going crazy, and I found a decent-sized diamondback on the front porch. They had started to build a new subdivision north of me, and it had been driven out of its habitat. We get a lot of relocated snakes, coyotes and even bobcats in my neighborhood. I thought briefly about the kids taking it to school for show and tell.

But alas, the educational system has changed since I was a student.

[SeriousStudent]

Oh, and an angry mule will stomp a rattlesnake to death with a quickness. It's pretty amazing to watch, although a very brief ceremony.

[GJM]

Pretty widely accepted in AZ that disturbed dirt, like where there is building, causes rattlers to show up. Leaving the airport this morning, there was a bunch of construction stuff piled up on the north end of hangars, and two rattlers had made that home.

[GJM]

http://www.12news.com/news/health/ar...tims/483240149


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[RichY]

http://www.12news.com/news/health/ar...tims/483240149


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I wonder how it works for Mohave type A venom (which we have around here. Further south the Mohave are type B venom that is less deadly) or tiger rattlesnake venom. They are the most deadly here because they have both hemotoxic venom, like all the other rattlers here, plus neurotoxic venom. This makes them particularly deadly. We had a 64 year old woman get bitten by a Mohave over in Paulden (across the valley NW of us (near Gunsite) about seven years ago. They lifeflighted her right away to Flagstaff where they filled her with antivenom, but to no avail. She died about 24 hours after being bitten.

Having said that, if this treatment is approved, my wife and I will have it on us thereafter. I just hope it doesn't have to be kept cool like an epipen. I have two epipens prescribed and have to keep them in a cooler when we travel around here. Not exactly convenient or quick to get to at times. I'd prefer this rattlesnake treatment to be able to be carried, regardless of ambient temperature, just like we carry tourniquets and Quik Clot.

[41magfan]

Not to derail the thread, but this happened recently. I'm guessing his accelerated heart rate coupled with the location of the bite itself may have contributed to his relatively quick demise.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/health/heal...t5R&ocid=ientp

[Sherman A. House DDS]

If you’re a fan of old sci-fi and sci-fi horror films (I am, duh), this photographic technique was commonly used in old stop motion animation film. It was called a, “perspective shot.” It makes things look ridiculously large, in terms of scale.

The bulletin boards and truck stops in the south are filled with snap shots and photos of GIANT snakes, catfish, turtles and even squirrels.


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[Duelist]

In southern AZ, I've encountered a few snakes. Some were rattlers. Most were 3-4', but there have been several over 5', and some memorable 6'+ beasts. One caused me to levitate as it rattled and coiled in reaction to my stepping off the porch. Another one was stretched out in the sun across a dirt road. His tail was just off the grass on one side, and his head was just in it on the other. That thing was huge.

Not interested in me at all. I stepped carefully around the rattle end, my shotgun (was bird hunting) aimed at his head the whole time. He just lifted his head and watched me walk around him, and laid his head back down when I walked away.

A senior NCO I knew got bitten trying to relocate one. One puncture to his thumb, nearly cost him a hand.

I don't mess with them, unless I have to. I've only killed a couple.

[Alembic]

I'm not a fan of rodents or the diseases they carry.
As much as it's no fun, not being the top if the food chain, it keeps you humble and on your game.