Rattlesnake

[wowzers]

I have an everyone has to earn a living approach to critters until they are just off the back porch. My daughter came in saying the cats had a snake and we thought okay it’s probably a garter snake till we went out and the cat was bopping it on the head. We ended up frying it up and it was pretty tasty but really bony.

The brown one we saw fishing and it was really unusually brown for our area.

 

[Chris in TN]

Two at the same times. This was several years ago.

They were on our farm. Got them both with a pistol. The rest of the story is that they went under a flat rock and I think rock fragments splattered them when I shot. Either way...


About 2 weeks ago and maybe 400 yards from my house. Someone apparently stopped and got the rattle before we saw it.

On the road I live on. I try not to bother the ones I see on the road.

Simon the goat after being bitten in 2020. He recovered fully and is still around:


This guy was 3 feet from my barn a couple weeks ago. The wife saw him first and stood still and snapped a photo while the kids retrieved me.

 

[OregonSteeler]

Why did I read this thread lol if I dont have nightmares about snakes, it is tornados. Luckily I have not had one of a tornado of snakes lol

Snakenado!

 

[HairyScandinavian]

View attachment 1078489
View attachment 1078489

I have an everyone has to earn a living approach to critters until they are just off the back porch. My daughter came in saying the cats had a snake and we thought okay it’s probably a garter snake till we went out and the cat was bopping it on the head. We ended up frying it up and it was pretty tasty but really bony.

The brown one we saw fishing and it was really unusually brown for our area.

Man that is a freaking gorgeous pattern and color on that snake.

 

[Jusgunn3]

We have timber rattlers in PA. You generally have to look for them, but when you find them you can find a bunch.

That’s when a 12ga is needed

 

[Andrew12gauge]

They really came out here about two or three weeks ago. I saw 7 (4 bull snakes, 3 rattlers) on the way to and from the gun smith and it’s only a ten mile drive.

This one may have made me emit an audible noise when I almost stepped on it on 10-24 last year. Hopefully it gets colder sooner this fall.

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I ran into one in 2024 deer hunting in South Dakota in November, it was 27° that morning when I left the truck and 2 hrs later coming back with a buck on my back he popped up outta the grass and started buzzing at me. I didn’t appreciate his attitude but I chose to let him live.


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[Andrew12gauge]

How do you guys in the south ever enjoy the outdoors? Rattlers are one thing but copperheads and cottonmouths don’t come with a warning system, I’d never be able to focus I’d be too busy worrying about getting bit by a snake


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[HairyScandinavian]

How do you guys in the south ever enjoy the outdoors? Rattlers are one thing but copperheads and cottonmouths don’t come with a warning system, I’d never be able to focus I’d be too busy worrying about getting bit by a snake


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Rattlers don't anymore either, almost nothing rattles anymore. If you look at the pic of the one in my shed I posted above it physically doesn't have rattles. We've killed three now that physically didn't have rattles. I don't know if coyotes or hogs are biting the tips off or they're evolving without rattles or what, but the ones with rattles don't rattle anymore either.

As for enjoying the outdoors we're just used to them. I guess kinda like a guy out West might just get used to the ticks in Idaho for spring bear. Generally just watch where you step and you tend to get a feel for where the type of terrain they frequent. Most of them don't want to bite you. My wife kicked a small one when she helped me pickup a generator to put in our generator shed. It was coiled up under the generator and we lifted it to walk it into the shed and she shuffled her feet walking and it took off hauling butt between us, easily could've bit either of us and thank God she didn't step on it to pin it down or I'm sure it would have. Some properties and areas are worse than others. One of my primary public places I hunt down here I've never seen one in 16+ years hunting every year with lots of boots on the ground. When we first started building our off grid cabin down on the coast we killed 10 of them over a weekend just in our camp area, we saw a few more on the dirt roads around but don't mess with the ones away from camp.

 

[Sinistram]

Snakenado!

I would watch that.

 

[Chris in TN]

How do you guys in the south ever enjoy the outdoors? Rattlers are one thing but copperheads and cottonmouths don’t come with a warning system, I’d never be able to focus I’d be too busy worrying about getting bit by a snake


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I grew up in west TN with virtually no rattlesnakes. We had copperheads and a few cottonmouths in low areas. To be honest we didn’t give them much thought. Copperhead venom usually isn’t terrible. We had one dog get bit, she lived. I knew one person that was bit on the foot. She got over it soon.

My dad liked to catch copperheads and milk them after he saw it demonstrated at the serpentarium in Miami. Not me. I avoid snakes.

We mostly just avoided snaky places in warm weather. Don’t stick your hands where you can’t see. Don’t walk in brush or tall grass. Don’t go barefooted at night. Or walk across the yard without a light.

As for rattlers not rattling…..I’ve pushed them to rattle trying to make them get off of a busy road, with a long stick. I’ve been ‘warned’ once here at home when I stepped over one. I don’t think there’s any general change in rattling behavior here. There just aren’t that many snakes overall and most of them will avoid you if they can.

 

[stump06]

This was in October of 23. I was walking to some dropping swamp chestnuts that the deer were hammering. Had to cross a creek that fanned out into several small runs. Had just stepped off the 2 path and nearly stepped on this guy. I was about 2 feet from him when I saw that diamond pattern in my headlight. Gave me a good scare but he never moved. It was in the 50s so I’m sure he was pretty lethargic and trying to conserve energy. Stepped around him and ended up shooting a nice buck later that morning.

I have a personal theory that has played out the last few years. Every time I come across a snake (Especially a rattlesnake) I harvest a critter soon after. I don’t necessarily like seeing them but I can’t help but see them as a good omen haha.

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[T-Rex]

I guess Michigan isn't so bad after all....

 

[Rotnguns]

First one of the season turned up on our public shooting range southeast of Boise about a month ago. It got relocated - range is owned by Fish & Game so shooting any critters is off limits. I always give them a flyer; have had so darn many experiences walking right next to them over the years without getting bitten that I return the favor.

 

[Andrew12gauge]

Rattlers don't anymore either, almost nothing rattles anymore. If you look at the pic of the one in my shed I posted above it physically doesn't have rattles. We've killed three now that physically didn't have rattles. I don't know if coyotes or hogs are biting the tips off or they're evolving without rattles or what, but the ones with rattles don't rattle anymore either.

As for enjoying the outdoors we're just used to them. I guess kinda like a guy out West might just get used to the ticks in Idaho for spring bear. Generally just watch where you step and you tend to get a feel for where the type of terrain they frequent. Most of them don't want to bite you. My wife kicked a small one when she helped me pickup a generator to put in our generator shed. It was coiled up under the generator and we lifted it to walk it into the shed and she shuffled her feet walking and it took off hauling butt between us, easily could've bit either of us and thank God she didn't step on it to pin it down or I'm sure it would have. Some properties and areas are worse than others. One of my primary public places I hunt down here I've never seen one in 16+ years hunting every year with lots of boots on the ground. When we first started building our off grid cabin down on the coast we killed 10 of them over a weekend just in our camp area, we saw a few more on the dirt roads around but don't mess with the ones away from camp.

It was mostly in jest, I do have a pretty irrational fear of snakes though had one at our local 3d range a few years ago, my buddy overshot a target and we were searching for his arrow, staring at the ground, beating brush, I found his arrow, reached down to pick it up and only then did the snake 6 inches from his arrow decide it should rattle at me. I about had a heart attack. He could’ve kept that arrow had he let me know ahead of time.


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[*zap*]

Rattler bite is no joke.
Stay safe out there.

 

[bowkill]

So for all you rattlesnake experts out there, maybe you can clear something up for me. It seems like I've heard conflicting information about just how bad rattlesnake bites are for humans. In the past, I thought everyone sounded like it was a death sentence. Now, it seems like more people seem to be saying that the bite isn't that bad and very few are actually fatal. Which is it? I understand that a lot of it depends on whether or not you actually get venom and how much, but is that all it is? If you really get popped by one with an average amount of venom are the odds against you?

 

[7mm-08]

So for all you rattlesnake experts out there, maybe you can clear something up for me. It seems like I've heard conflicting information about just how bad rattlesnake bites are for humans. In the past, I thought everyone sounded like it was a death sentence. Now, it seems like more people seem to be saying that the bite isn't that bad and very few are actually fatal. Which is it? I understand that a lot of it depends on whether or not you actually get venom and how much, but is that all it is? If you really get popped by one with an average amount of venom are the odds against you?

I'm not sure this answers your question as to risk of mortality, but I personally know a guy who was bitten on the pinky finger by an immature rattlesnake a few years ago. He was (of course) concerned about the injury and got to the hospital quickly (with the very dead little rattler in his possession). By the time he had done so, his wife later told me that it looked like the end of his little finger had grown into a black ball just a little smaller than a tennis ball. She said it looked otherworldly. Hospital staff started giving him antivenom shots and by the time they had stopped the migration of the swelling, his right arm in the biceps area was around the size of a volleyball and black. He's no little guy, but that was about triple or quadruple the normal size of his arm. He didn't ultimately die or have any long-lasting effects, but I suspect from what he later relayed about his conversations with the doctors who treated him that would have likely have been the outcome had he not been treated in a timely manner.

My suspicion (talking out my butt here) is that everyone reacts differently to bug bites, beestings and (I suppose) the uninvited injection of hemotoxins and neurotoxins by a snake. The reaction of each person to these experiences is neither linear nor predictable. Hopefully, none of us finds out.

 

[43.6N]

So for all you rattlesnake experts out there, maybe you can clear something up for me. It seems like I've heard conflicting information about just how bad rattlesnake bites are for humans. In the past, I thought everyone sounded like it was a death sentence. Now, it seems like more people seem to be saying that the bite isn't that bad and very few are actually fatal. Which is it? I understand that a lot of it depends on whether or not you actually get venom and how much, but is that all it is? If you really get popped by one with an average amount of venom are the odds against you?

Definitely not a death sentence.

1. Your general health and underlying conditions have more to do with outcomes than level of envenomation.
2. Dry bite, vs envenomated strike.
3. How long has it been since the bite, and has tissue started to necrose or die. If dead tissue is present, removing it becomes the priority before it can become infected.
4. Infection is the major risk after the venom does its damage. Both from the puncture, but also tissue necrosis.

Snake bites were meant to kill small animals, not 100-200lb humans. But an infected necrotic wound will kill you pronto. The purpose of the anti venom is to limit the amount of localized tissue death that will occur, hopefully preventing a gangrenous infection from setting in.

Also, the swelling/hemolyzed blood all by itself can create a compartment syndrome that will choke off the capillaries and strangulate whatever structure is being affected. Limiting or preventing this response is another reason for the anti venom.

I’ve been bit, dry strike thankfully. And all I needed was a tetanus booster.
I’ve also treated people who waited days to come into the hospital, and they have lost limbs because of it.

 

[Lowedown]

So for all you rattlesnake experts out there, maybe you can clear something up for me. It seems like I've heard conflicting information about just how bad rattlesnake bites are for humans. In the past, I thought everyone sounded like it was a death sentence. Now, it seems like more people seem to be saying that the bite isn't that bad and very few are actually fatal. Which is it? I understand that a lot of it depends on whether or not you actually get venom and how much, but is that all it is? If you really get popped by one with an average amount of venom are the odds against you?

This is a great question, and I suppose the best answer is "it depends". As you mentioned sometimes it is a "dry bite" and no venom. Consider the subspecies as well since some have neurotoxins in their venom! Also the location on the body of the bite (proximity to heart, major arteries, etc.) Also the size of the person, and their body's unique circulation system. Next is the proximity to help.
Modern technology and the ability to generally get to medical Aid within "the Golden Hour" has most likely saved a lot of people and/or their extremities which could have been lost to the bite if left untreated for an extended time.
Many people who live in the flatter, more settled portions of the US just don't understand how far from help someone can be out west in snake country. Imagine being 10-30 miles on foot into a 3000' deep basalt canyon, hours from any kind of cell service, or even from a place a helicopter can land, and getting a full on bite from a rattler! My Garmin inReach is half the reason I feel safe going such places solo, and it still isn't a guarantee!

I grew up near Imnaha Oregon, look it up My half brother is from Arizona and lives out of a bedroll with his horse there (there's more than 13 species of Rattler in Arizona). He spent one summer at Imnaha and said "you have the most, and the nastiest pile of rattlesnakes I have ever seen".
I heard enough stories and saw enough snakebit tombstones as a kid to know they are no joke. In 39 years I have only ever let 2 snakes "walk". One I stepped over archery hunting got a pass for not biting me, and another was in a spot where I couldn't safely dispatch him. Non-venomous snakes always get a pass, and bull snakes are appreciated for what they do!
I highly recommend having plenty of good dogs around if you live in snake country, especially with children. Our border collie saved us from several instances where we would have most likely gotten bit. He would growl or bark and point out rattlesnakes, knowing instinctually they were dangerous.
I do not understand how anyone can give a venomous snake a pass in any place a kid may walk an hour, day or month later. The world has plenty of them, why allow the risk!

 

[HairyScandinavian]

It was mostly in jest, I do have a pretty irrational fear of snakes though had one at our local 3d range a few years ago, my buddy overshot a target and we were searching for his arrow, staring at the ground, beating brush, I found his arrow, reached down to pick it up and only then did the snake 6 inches from his arrow decide it should rattle at me. I about had a heart attack. He could’ve kept that arrow had he let me know ahead of time.


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That sounds definitely invokes a primal fear when it surprises you. I still remember about 25 years ago running across a very active and aggressive snake. He was on the move and I was going after him because he was really close to the rancher's house, snake would stop and his body flowed like a fountain and the rattle was incredibly intense. He'd take off again and I'd get a couple steps and repeat. We kill them with shovels and this snake ended up getting away because it was so fast aggressive and intimidating, and it was also big enough to have a pretty good reach.