Saw Rattlesnake rattling and Cobra hissing at Reptile Show, SJ

Don't take this the wrong way, but somehow, I can picture you doing that.

 

That's because you know me and have witnessed the noise first hand when you almost crashed MarinJohn's sailboat! That barge was coming at us FAST!

 

I was assuming some of your areas have some good sized rocky patches.

 

Aye. We have Preserves from Lincoln and Roseville all the way up to Cisco Grove.

 

Oh, don't be silly, we never came anywhere close to 'crashing'. OK, maybe skippers aren't supposed to say 'oh shit', but those ferries move surprisingly fast for something so big. A quick course correction and we were well out of the way. Recall that the second trip was much more relaxed, despite being even closer to the big ships.

 

Somehow, I'm not sure that proximity to ships had anything to do with the relaxation of that part of the voyage...

 

On feeling the need to kill a snake for safety reasons:
Many bites occur when the person decides to interact with the snake. Interacting includes going to kill it.
Just call animal control, fire department, or whoever responsibility this is in your area. Let the trained professionals handle the dangerous beasties.
Some snakes, including rattlers, are under protection, and you face serious fines and possaibily more if you mess with them.

On to the 'irony' file, in areas where barbaric rattler round ups occur, the snakes might be becoming more dangerous. For those that don't know, these round ups are the capture, display, and eventual slaughter of hundreds of rattlesnakes. The snakes' behavior of rattling for warning is used to locate them for this.

Well, now snakes from these areas are now less likely to rattle. So everyone going into those areas are now more likely to be accidently bit by the silent and hard to spot snakes.

 

How do you get the rattler to wait for the responsible party to come pick it up?

 

I wonder what the actual mortality is -in the USA-for a rattlesnake bite?
I would guess it is very low-maybe 1% or so??
Anyone know??
I wonder if the increase in coyotes in many places decreases the number of rattlers??
Just curious
Charlie

 

Referring to those bitten annually....
"according to the FDA, 9-15 of those 8,000 die"

.28% of those that get anti-venom die, 2.6% of those that don't get anti venom die.
Surviving the Bush: Treating a Rattlesnake Bite - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com

 

Nah but I've seen that clip before on one of my 600+ documentaries lol.

 

Just keep an eye on it, and when they arrive, let them know where the nasty snake went.

You, and most people, are over worrying the issue. There is a US researcher that goes out into field to find venomous snakes. When found, he approaches them. If they don't attack, he then pins the snake down with his foot. If they still don't bite, he then picks them up with a dummy arm.

The results are that a majority of North American venomous snakes won't bite until picked up. Even then they might not. Yes, people have gotten bit without knowing the snake was there, but most occur when people mess with the animal. I don't know of any research done on the matter, but I'd bet the more serious bites happen to the latter group.

These animals use venom to secure food. Unless they feel their life is in danger, they do not want to waste venom on something they can not eat.

If you have kids, teach them not to mess wild snakes. Unless you have a robust population of rodents in your yard, snakes aren't going to stick around. Better yet teach them not to mess with any strange animals. Dogs are a bigger threat to them than snakes.

I'd go with his word. People that don't regularly interact with snakes tend to overestimate their size.

 

Nope, no worry. If a rattlesnake is in my yard or garage it gets it's head removed with a shovel. If I'm in the rattlesnakes yard, then I leave it alone.

I do have a nice neighbor that puts them in a container and releases then on some nearby open lands.

 

Had a dog killed by a rattler. Bit him right between his eyes. Living in the country, we didn't make it to the vet in time. Now they have a vaccine.