# If Anyone Has Questions or Concerns About Rattlesnakes



## W Shaw

Just thought I'd toss this in, in case anyone has questions or concerns about dealing with rattlesnakes. They're kind of my specialty. I rescued over 200 of them this summer, and work with a herpetologist on research and educational presentations. Well... he presents! I just carry snakes around. I don't do public speaking! I take a lot of calls from people worried about seeing a rattlesnake on a trail or in their yard, or companies wanting to know how to deal with rattlesnakes on their property. So this post is just to make myself available in case someone needs my expertise. I suspect no one will -- folks here are mostly reptile lovers!


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## mike taylor

Where are you located ?


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## W Shaw

mike taylor said:


> Where are you located ?



I'm in the Pacific NW, so I can only actually come get one in my area, of course, but I can tell you how to deal with one safely so that no one needs to come and get him


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## mike taylor

I was hoping you were here around Texas . I love to catch snakes . I've been doing it as long as I can remember.


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## Rutibegga

No snakes of the venomous variety in my neighborhood (Philly, PA), but perhaps you can accompany me on hikes when I visit the west--I'm not afraid of garter snakes, nor do I fear boas or pythons (who could actually pose a threat), but I'm scared to death of snakes in that 2' to 4' range, regardless of whether they're dangerous or not.

(I'm aware this is totally irrational, I've handled snakes of all sizes and just sucked it up, but still... The fear...)


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## W Shaw

Rutibegga said:


> No snakes of the venomous variety in my neighborhood (Philly, PA), but perhaps you can accompany me on hikes when I visit the west--I'm not afraid of garter snakes, nor do I fear boas or pythons (who could actually pose a threat), but I'm scared to death of snakes in that 2' to 4' range, regardless of whether they're dangerous or not.
> 
> (I'm aware this is totally irrational, I've handled snakes of all sizes and just sucked it up, but still... The fear...)



I think what you haven't had, that would help with the fear thing, is to experience them in a relaxed setting with someone who's very comfortable with them. Not someone goading you to mess with the snakes or to get closer than you're comfortable with, but someone who can explain what the snake is doing, and why, and also how to tell when the snake is worried and when he isn't. There's a big "unknown" thing that contributes to the fear. If you have no idea what the snake might do, it can be really scary. My guaranteed "cure" is to take someone to a rattlesnake den. They're so fearful of the idea of it, but then when they get there, and they have all these totally relaxed rattlesnakes lazing around watching them, or coming up to get a look and then moving off it changes their whole perspective.


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## mike taylor

I agree with you . You have to understand the animal behaviour .


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## keepergale

Saw this little beauty earlier this year on a boating trip. Not far from the dock. I hope leaving it where I found it works out for everyone.


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## W Shaw

OMG! A neonate! What a cutie!! Why is there a "like" button and not a "LOVE LOVE LOVE!" button? Leaving her there was the best thing to do. She can scoot into tiny little spaces to get out of the way. You were lucky to see her. I remember the first time I saw a baby. Such a perfect little miniature. It was magical.


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## W Shaw

@keepergale Here are a couple of shots from the summer rescue season. One of the more surreal moments. Are you kidding me? Do you two really need to be doing this on a state highway? And an adorable youngster riding to safety in the "Don't try this at home" position. That is NOT how you carry a rattlesnake! NEVER carry a rattlesnake that way! He was just very placid and curious and we had to walk him a fair distance so we let him ride however he wanted to and took turns carrying him so we could both take pics. He was very curious about the camera -- maybe his own reflection -- and when we'd go to take a photo, he'd reach way out to look in the lens and tongue flick ( a way for them to get a better scent). Made for some adorable photos, but I always have to add the caveat if I show them to anyone!


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## Loohan

Cool little guy i photographed outside my cabin 6 years ago.
North-Central Arkansas.


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## W Shaw

Loohan said:


> View attachment 156874
> 
> 
> Cool little guy i photographed outside my cabin 6 years ago.
> North-Central Arkansas.


Beautiful shot of a beautiful snake! We only have Northern Pacifics here, which makes them very easy to deal with -- they're notoriously mellow, but I'm a little envious of people who have lots of species. Thanks for sharing this!!


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## Tom

I have a couple questions:
How are there so many left when so many people have been killing them on sight for two hundred years?

Have you seen the ones that don't rattle anymore? Evolution at work…



I also handle rattle snakes for work on a regular basis. We have mostly Southern Pacifics down here. In some geographical pockets they are HIGHLY aggressive. Aggressive to the point of intentionally chasing people and literally launching themselves in the air to strike. I had never seen anything like it, and would not have believed it had I not seen it myself.


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## leigti

Some of them don't rattle anymore??? I'm never going hiking again. :-(


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## keepergale

I have read a couple articles showing how rapidly they can evolve. Behaviorally and physically. Some ground squirrels are developing resistance to rattlesnake venom and the snakes venom properties are changing to counter the squirrel adaptions.


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## mike taylor

I have read articles about wild pigs eating them so they have stopped rattling to get away from being eaten . I think them not being killed off is due to their dens and giving live birth . They will use the same dens over and over .


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## Tom

leigti said:


> Some of them don't rattle anymore??? I'm never going hiking again. :-(



Think about it. If they make noise, the pilgrim, cowboy or farmer sees them and its either boom or chop! Off with the snakes head. Been this way since people began moving west two hundred years ago. Sad, but true. I've literally had to put myself in the path of many a moving vehicle to stop idiots from intentionally running them over.

So the ones that rattle early and often die. The ones that stay quiet and hidden live to eat and breed. This natural, or perhaps un-natural, selection over time has led to rattlesnake populations near heavily populated human areas to be quiet. Very interesting to me when you consider that the whole reason the rattle evolved was to warn off larger animals so the snakes wouldn't be stepped on or messed with. Some of them remain quiet even when I'm physically touching them and lifting them into my bucket with the tongs and hook on a warm day. I find it fascinating.


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## Loohan

And yet, other snakes have picked up the habit. A black snake around here, if it feels threatened, sometimes vibrates the tip of its tail against dead leaves to make a similar sound and fake you out.


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## Tom

Loohan said:


> And yet, other snakes have picked up the habit. A black snake around here, if it feels threatened, sometimes vibrates the tip of its tail against dead leaves to make a similar sound and fake you out.



Our gopher snakes will do that too. I LOVE the gopher snakes.


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## leigti

Tom said:


> Think about it. If they make noise, the pilgrim, cowboy or farmer sees them and its either boom or chop! Off with the snakes head. Been this way since people began moving west two hundred years ago. Sad, but true. I've literally had to put myself in the path of many a moving vehicle to stop idiots from intentionally running them over.
> 
> So the ones that rattle early and often die. The ones that stay quiet and hidden live to eat and breed. This natural, or perhaps un-natural, selection over time has led to rattlesnake populations near heavily populated human areas to be quiet. Very interesting to me when you consider that the whole reason the rattle evolved was to warn off larger animals so the snakes wouldn't be stepped on or messed with. Some of them remain quiet even when I'm physically touching them and lifting them into my bucket with the tongs and hook on a warm day. I find it fascinating.


 I'm not saying it's not interesting. I find it very interesting the way that animals change and evolve with their environment. And I do think it is sad the way some people kill them just to kill them. I am one of those people that would avoid them if I could hear them. If I can't hear them it is not a good thing to me.
I saw a news story maybe 20 years ago that A rattlesnake in the lab at Colorado State University changed sexes. The professor said that sometimes they do that in extreme situations. Has anybody else heard of this? I have also heard that sometimes animals can have offspring without the male's help.


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## Tom

leigti said:


> I saw a news story maybe 20 years ago that A rattlesnake in the lab at Colorado State University changed sexes. The professor said that sometimes they do that in extreme situations. Has anybody else heard of this? I have also heard that sometimes animals can have offspring without the male's help.


I've not ever heard of a snake changing sexes. There are several fish species that can do this. And some snails are both sexes at the same time.

Having offspring with no males is called parthenogenesis. I know of at least one lizard species that does this regularly.


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## mike taylor

I had heard of them holding sperm but not changing sexes .


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## leigti

mike taylor said:


> I had heard of them holding sperm but not changing sexes .


I can't remember how old The snake was but they said it had never been with another snake. It was several years old I just can't remember the exact number. 
As a kid I had a pet snake once. It was one of those little baby gardner? Snakes. My friend and I found a bunch of them in the field. So we each took one home. It's name was squiggles. Three hours later my mom got home from work and said "Hell no" so I, and my friend because his mom wasn't happy either, took the snakes back where we found them. 35 years later I got my next reptile, a Russian tortoise  I do think that many snakes are pretty. But I will stick with tortoises.


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## Tom

leigti said:


> I can't remember how old The snake was but they said it had never been with another snake. It was several years old I just can't remember the exact number.
> As a kid I had a pet snake once. It was one of those little baby gardner? Snakes. My friend and I found a bunch of them in the field. So we each took one home. It's name was squiggles. Three hours later my mom got home from work and said "Hell no" so I, and my friend because his mom wasn't happy either, took the snakes back where we found them. 35 years later I got my next reptile, a Russian tortoise  I do think that many snakes are pretty. But I will stick with tortoises.



What? You don't want a pet rattlesnake in the living room? Why not?


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## Team Gomberg

I took in an albino corn snake once. He rattled his tail, too. I used many corn snakes, red tail boas, lots of balls and a large albino Burmese but this tiny, rattling, corn just freaked me out! Since the snakes were used in my ed programs with the kids, I stuck with the non rattling snakes LOL

I had a guy come present rattle snake info at a CTTC meeting once. He brought 2 with him. That's the only time I've really seen them.


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## leigti

Tom said:


> What? You don't want a pet rattlesnake in the living room? Why not?


No. I was actually thinking my next pet might be a rabbit. Although I need another animal like a hole in the head.


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## ascott

Tom said:


> I have a couple questions:
> How are there so many left when so many people have been killing them on sight for two hundred years?
> 
> Have you seen the ones that don't rattle anymore? Evolution at work…
> 
> 
> 
> I also handle rattle snakes for work on a regular basis. We have mostly Southern Pacifics down here. In some geographical pockets they are HIGHLY aggressive. Aggressive to the point of intentionally chasing people and literally launching themselves in the air to strike. I had never seen anything like it, and would not have believed it had I not seen it myself.



Mojave Greens will chase after you for what seems like a couple blocks....sure are beautiful though....


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## leigti

ascott said:


> Mojave Greens will chase after you for what seems like a couple blocks....sure are beautiful though....


Eeeeekkkk!!!


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## mike taylor

We have coach whip snakes here in Texas that will charge you . It's fun to catch them . They make grown men run like girls . ha-ha


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## leigti

mike taylor said:


> We have coach whip snakes here in Texas that will charge you . It's fun to catch them . They make grown men run like girls . ha-ha


I am a girl so I can be totally justified running like crazy away from a snake  I have nothing to prove.


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## mike taylor

Ha-ha I guess !


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## W Shaw

Tom said:


> I have a couple questions:
> How are there so many left when so many people have been killing them on sight for two hundred years?
> 
> Have you seen the ones that don't rattle anymore? Evolution at work…
> 
> 
> 
> I also handle rattle snakes for work on a regular basis. We have mostly Southern Pacifics down here. In some geographical pockets they are HIGHLY aggressive. Aggressive to the point of intentionally chasing people and literally launching themselves in the air to strike. I had never seen anything like it, and would not have believed it had I not seen it myself.




Sadly, human depredation continues to be a problem. One of the studies my mentor did recently shows that females in areas of human interface are reaching reproductive maturity as much as 3 years earlier than females on more remote dens. There's a lot of ignorance out there. One of the useful things about the road rescue work I do is that it provides a good opportunity for public education. People often stop out of curiosity or out of concern for people haphazardly parked and out of the car in the wee hours. Many of them are afraid of rattlesnakes, but I'll always say, "We're just moving this little guy off the road so he doesn't get hit. Would you like to see him before I release him?" They usually say yes, and I can then let them have a nice close look and they always have a lot of questions. I've often learned later that these encounters have changed people's views to the point where they not only avoid injuring them on the road, but actually move them off, or stop friends from killing them.

As for ones who don't rattle, yeah, like you said, evolution at work. Although there has always been considerable variation in individual personality. I've met some who start freaking out when I'm still 6 feet away, and some I can have a camera inches from their face for a half hour photo session and get no response beyond an occasional lazy tongue flick. 

I've heard helleri is a little more reactive than oreganus. Never heard of them chasing anyone, but a year ago, I'd have said NO snake would chase a human. Then this summer, my rescue partner approached a large gopher snake to move him off a road, and he threw himself at her so hard that he landed on his back. She took a step back to let him calm down, and he just kept throwing himself at her. Eventually, she just gave up and picked him up. He bit her five or six times on the way to being released. It was such bizarre behavior. Our only theory was that the snake had been grabbed and dropped by a predator or straddled by a vehicle almost immediately before we approached him.


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## W Shaw

keepergale said:


> I have read a couple articles showing how rapidly they can evolve. Behaviorally and physically. Some ground squirrels are developing resistance to rattlesnake venom and the snakes venom properties are changing to counter the squirrel adaptions.



That's true... they've even found a higher ratio of neurotoxins in SOME helleri individuals.


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## W Shaw

leigti said:


> I am a girl so I can be totally justified running like crazy away from a snake  I have nothing to prove.


I'm a girl too. I pick them up off roads and move them to safety. I think it's hilarious that so many guys who think it's macho to stand back 6 feet and shoot one are scared to sit in a car and have me carry a tiny little neonate to within a couple of feet so they can look at him. The women who stop usually WANT to see them, and think it's cool that we're moving them off the road.


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## W Shaw

Tom said:


> Our gopher snakes will do that too. I LOVE the gopher snakes.



Gophies are sweet. Except the big old females who decide to musk their rescuers with that godawful rotten parmesan cheese musk. What's with that anyhow! The boys don't smell that bad.


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## W Shaw

leigti said:


> Some of them don't rattle anymore??? I'm never going hiking again. :-(



You'll be grand. They'll get out of your way. Think of it this way... Have you ever gotten a candy bar from a vending machine? Were you terrified? More people are killed and injured by vending machines falling over on them in a year than by rattlesnakes over 20 years.

Also... there was a great demographic study in the pacific NW. Turns out 99.9 % of bites occur to young adult males. And 88 point something (don't have it in front of me) of the bites recorded, the victim had a blood alcohol level well above the legal limit for driving at the time the bite occurred. So... don't get drunk and show off to your buddies how you can poke a rattlesnake and make him buzz, and you're pretty unlikely to be bitten.


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## Loohan

I had a co-worker tell me a rattler struck at him in his shed, but MISSED! I wonder, do they miss a lot?


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## W Shaw

Loohan said:


> I had a co-worker tell me a rattler struck at him in his shed, but MISSED! I wonder, do they miss a lot?



They certainly can. They often miss entirely or just catch one fang. However, that snake might not have aimed and missed. They often bluff-strike to warn you off, without ever intending to bite. They will also "strike" with a closed mouth for the same reason. About 50% of all bites where they actually bite (as opposed to bluff striking) are what's called a "dry bite," delivering no venom at all. About a third of the bites with venom include so little venom that no treatment is required (but you should still see a doctor if you're bitten). The thing is... you're too big to eat. Adult rattlesnakes can control their venom release and they prefer not to waste it on you. Little guys have less control, so a youngster is more likely to deliver a full load of venom. But then, a full load from a baby isn't anywhere near as much as what an adult can deliver. The venom of most rattlesnakes (but not all) is primarily hemolytic, so unless the victim is elderly or very young, or otherwise heath-compromised, the danger is not death but possible loss of a finger or toe, or some nerve damage in the vicinity of the bite.

As far as how likely they are to bite, this summer, my partner and I jumped out of our car to move a rattlesnake and (as is commonly the case) the driver of an oncoming vehicle swerved toward us and accelerated, hoping to drive us back so he could run over the snake. My partner had reached the snake but there was no time to hook and tail, so she just reached down on the run and grabbed him by the tail and just kept going (It was pretty epic, actually!). The snake (a big male) made one closed mouth bluff at her because he was startled when she grabbed him, but was otherwise completely cooperative. Never made any attempt to bite.


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## mike taylor

Sure they do . Snakes really don't want to bite you believe it or not . The only things they think is stay alive ,keep warm ,and eat . We aren't on the menu . They bite as a last ditch effort to get you away .


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## Loohan

mike taylor said:


> Sure they do . Snakes really don't want to bite you believe it or not . The only things they think is stay alive ,keep warm ,and eat . We aren't on the menu . They bite as a last ditch effort to get you away .





W Shaw said:


> They certainly can. They often miss entirely or just catch one fang. However, that snake might not have aimed and missed. They often bluff-strike to warn you off, without ever intending to bite. They will also "strike" with a closed mouth for the same reason. About 50% of all bites where they actually bite (as opposed to bluff striking) are what's called a "dry bite," delivering no venom at all. About a third of the bites with venom include so little venom that no treatment is required (but you should still see a doctor if you're bitten). The thing is... you're too big to eat. Adult rattlesnakes can control their venom release and they prefer not to waste it on you. Little guys have less control, so a youngster is more likely to deliver a full load of venom. But then, a full load from a baby isn't anywhere near as much as what an adult can deliver. The venom of most rattlesnakes (but not all) is primarily hemolytic, so unless the victim is elderly or very young, or otherwise heath-compromised, the danger is not death but possible loss of a finger or toe, or some nerve damage in the vicinity of the bite.
> 
> As far as how likely they are to bite, this summer, my partner and I jumped out of our car to move a rattlesnake and (as is commonly the case) the driver of an oncoming vehicle swerved toward us and accelerated, hoping to drive us back so he could run over the snake. My partner had reached the snake but there was no time to hook and tail, so she just reached down on the run and grabbed him by the tail and just kept going (It was pretty epic, actually!). The snake (a big male) made one closed mouth bluff at her because he was startled when she grabbed him, but was otherwise completely cooperative. Never made any attempt to bite.



Real interesting. Yes, someone here had warned me that the small ones can pack a disproportionate wallop.


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## Tom

W Shaw said:


> I've heard helleri is a little more reactive than oreganus. Never heard of them chasing anyone, but a year ago, I'd have said NO snake would chase a human. Then this summer, my rescue partner approached a large gopher snake to move him off a road, and he threw himself at her so hard that he landed on his back. She took a step back to let him calm down, and he just kept throwing himself at her. Eventually, she just gave up and picked him up. He bit her five or six times on the way to being released. It was such bizarre behavior. Our only theory was that the snake had been grabbed and dropped by a predator or straddled by a vehicle almost immediately before we approached him.



I've yet to encounter an aggressive wild gopher snake. I mostly just like to watch them from a distance, but on the occasion that I have to move them out of harm's way, I just go pick them up and handle them like I would any pet snake. They don't even strike at me. I think I'd be dumbfounded if I saw one doing what you saw.


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## Tom

W Shaw said:


> As far as how likely they are to bite, this summer, my partner and I jumped out of our car to move a rattlesnake and (as is commonly the case) the driver of an oncoming vehicle swerved toward us and accelerated, hoping to drive us back so he could run over the snake.



People really make me mad sometimes. I've had many encounters like that. I've found that pointing my snake stick at the driver in a threatening way usually makes them decide to stop playing chicken with a pedestrian. I've had them stop and back up at me. A couple of them even got out of the car and yelled at me. Hand on bear spray can and a little smirk makes them think better of that course of action too.

I can honestly say, I'd never do a tail grab like your partner did. I'd rather fight off the oncoming car.


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## leigti

Bear spray would stop me. I was harassed by a guy when I was walking home from work one night. So I went down to a local gun and archery shop and the guy there gave me something that he insisted was stronger than bear spray. I also think it was illegal  oh well. I still have it so don't mess with me. 
I will never understand people that purposely run over an animal. I just don't get it.


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## Turtulas-Len

I used to keep rattlers,years ago when there were very few if any restrictions on catching, shipping, or keeping them. them in captivity. The eastern diamondback, and western diamondback were the ones I worked with the most.. The westerns were the nastiest snake I ever worked with.and stayed nervous longer than others. the eastern's were almost tame in the wild.and grow much larger than the westerns. I had fun back then,I learned a bunch and was able to teach others I kept hot snakes from all around the world, but gave it up for health reasons, My reaction times have slowed over time and eyesight isn't what it was.


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## W Shaw

Tom said:


> I've yet to encounter an aggressive wild gopher snake. I mostly just like to watch them from a distance, but on the occasion that I have to move them out of harm's way, I just go pick them up and handle them like I would any pet snake. They don't even strike at me. I think I'd be dumbfounded if I saw one doing what you saw.


Believe me, we were too! We rescued over 500 snakes this summer. About half were gophies and he was the only one who even tried to bite. I prefer to watch without handing too, and generally prefer to walk one off the road rather than pick him up, but we patrol some roads where there's a high mortality rate and a lot of traffic, so on those roads time matters. Looking through the log entries there were times when we had so many crossing that we were logging them 2-3 minutes apart and still ending up having to deal with 3 or four dead or injured in a single night. Those kinds of nights it's just grab and go. You get the the gophie. I'll get the rattlebaby.

I imagine you're too far south for them, but, do you have night snakes where you are? They're funny little rascals -- they never seem to really look at you.


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## W Shaw

Turtulas-Len said:


> I used to keep rattlers,years ago when there were very few if any restrictions on catching, shipping, or keeping them. them in captivity. The eastern diamondback, and western diamondback were the ones I worked with the most.. The westerns were the nastiest snake I ever worked with.and stayed nervous longer than others. the eastern's were almost tame in the wild.and grow much larger than the westerns. I had fun back then,I learned a bunch and was able to teach others I kept hot snakes from all around the world, but gave it up for health reasons, My reaction times have slowed over time and eyesight isn't what it was.



Never had one in captivity more than a couple of days for medical care. This summer we had one who got his head run over ... multiple jaw fractures. So he needed surgery to repair the jaw and had to stay a couple of weeks, but we only had him a few days. The rest of the time he was with the rehab vet who handled his surgery. It was a bit of a miracle that he he survived. We had another with similar injuries but she didn't survive transport. There's a local rehab vet who can handle minor surgery for us, but he's not really equipped to work inside the mouth of venomous snake, or to handle post op care for one, so major surgery means a 4 hour car trip.


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## W Shaw

Tom said:


> People really make me mad sometimes. I've had many encounters like that. I've found that pointing my snake stick at the driver in a threatening way usually makes them decide to stop playing chicken with a pedestrian. I've had them stop and back up at me. A couple of them even got out of the car and yelled at me. Hand on bear spray can and a little smirk makes them think better of that course of action too.
> 
> I can honestly say, I'd never do a tail grab like your partner did. I'd rather fight off the oncoming car.




Certainly doesn't do much for your faith in humanity. But sometimes there are moments. One night we had to stop a car with a couple of college age guys while we moved a big rattlesnake. We told them he was the third one in 5 minutes, and that they should watch out for them on the road. They said it had never occurred to them to watch for snakes crossing the road. We watched them leave and saw them make 2 sharp swerves, so we jumped in the car and dashed up there, afraid they'd swerved to hit snakes to get back at us for stopping them. We found 2 live, uninjured rattlesnakes that they'd swerved to avoid hitting


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## Tom

W Shaw said:


> Certainly doesn't do much for your faith in humanity. But sometimes there are moments. One night we had to stop a car with a couple of college age guys while we moved a big rattlesnake. We told them he was the third one in 5 minutes, and that they should watch out for them on the road. They said it had never occurred to them to watch for snakes crossing the road. We watched them leave and saw them make 2 sharp swerves, so we jumped in the car and dashed up there, afraid they'd swerved to hit snakes to get back at us for stopping them. We found 2 live, uninjured rattlesnakes that they'd swerved to avoid hitting



Its nice to hear the good news. I always like it when we can turn things around.

Sometimes when I hear how they "hate snakes" I'll give them the "Well would you rather be elbow deep in rodents?" speech. Or the speech about how the "good" snakes like gophers and kings will sometimes eat smaller rattlesnakes and that indiscriminate snake killing is an ecological disaster for an area… Some people don't care, but others listen and seem to "get it".


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## W Shaw

Tom said:


> Its nice to hear the good news. I always like it when we can turn things around.
> 
> Sometimes when I hear how they "hate snakes" I'll give them the "Well would you rather be elbow deep in rodents?" speech. Or the speech about how the "good" snakes like gophers and kings will sometimes eat smaller rattlesnakes and that indiscriminate snake killing is an ecological disaster for an area… Some people don't care, but others listen and seem to "get it".



I learned a lot about propaganda while working on some international issues, and it comes in handy to get people to change their minds or start asking questions. A lot of people won't take to preaching but you can engage their curiosity, by casually slipping it into conversations. Like when a clerk says, "How's your day going?" I may say, "Kinda crazy. I was out rescuing rattlesnakes until 2 this morning and I have to be back out again tonight, but hopefully it won't be so crazy. How about you?" And they're like, "Fine thanks... wait-- did you just say rescuing RATTLESNAKES?" And then suddenly they have all these questions and when they see me again, they're going to say ask if I've rescued any more and I'm going to say, "Just last night we rescued the most adorable baby rattlesnake and he was a lucky little guy, because a car came through about 30 seconds later. Oh yeah... I still have pictures of him on my camera." After that they're hooked. It's worked for me even with a rancher who, when I met him, would kill every rattlesnake he saw and come tell me about it just to upset me. Now he doesn't kill them and doesn't allow his kids to kill them.

if we have to stop a car, or a car stops on its own during road rescues, I also make a point of using a diminutive when I'm explaining. People don't really notice it but it works on a subconscious level. "We're just moving this little rascal off the road so he doesn't get hit." I'm evil, I know


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## ascott

W Shaw said:


> Sadly, human depredation continues to be a problem. One of the studies my mentor did recently shows that females in areas of human interface are reaching reproductive maturity as much as 3 years earlier than females on more remote dens. There's a lot of ignorance out there. One of the useful things about the road rescue work I do is that it provides a good opportunity for public education. People often stop out of curiosity or out of concern for people haphazardly parked and out of the car in the wee hours. Many of them are afraid of rattlesnakes, but I'll always say, "We're just moving this little guy off the road so he doesn't get hit. Would you like to see him before I release him?" They usually say yes, and I can then let them have a nice close look and they always have a lot of questions. I've often learned later that these encounters have changed people's views to the point where they not only avoid injuring them on the road, but actually move them off, or stop friends from killing them.
> 
> As for ones who don't rattle, yeah, like you said, evolution at work. Although there has always been considerable variation in individual personality. I've met some who start freaking out when I'm still 6 feet away, and some I can have a camera inches from their face for a half hour photo session and get no response beyond an occasional lazy tongue flick.
> 
> I've heard helleri is a little more reactive than oreganus. Never heard of them chasing anyone, but a year ago, I'd have said NO snake would chase a human. Then this summer, my rescue partner approached a large gopher snake to move him off a road, and he threw himself at her so hard that he landed on his back. She took a step back to let him calm down, and he just kept throwing himself at her. Eventually, she just gave up and picked him up. He bit her five or six times on the way to being released. It was such bizarre behavior. Our only theory was that the snake had been grabbed and dropped by a predator or straddled by a vehicle almost immediately before we approached him.




Gopher snakes here in the area will absolutely react this way....I had a young one pop up right between my feet in a doorway it sprung itself at me over and over again, but small and no match for the heavy boot around my foot and ankle...between laughing and moving it I am sure it was a hilarious sight for any bystander....


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## W Shaw

ascott said:


> Gopher snakes here in the area will absolutely react this way....I had a young one pop up right between my feet in a doorway it sprung itself at me over and over again, but small and no match for the heavy boot around my foot and ankle...between laughing and moving it I am sure it was a hilarious sight for any bystander....



I've noticed that young rattlesnakes are also more inclined to stand up and rattle. It's pretty adorable to see a fierce little neonate get in your face and say, "I'm gonna BITE you wif my baby teefies!" But I clear out anyway, because obviously the snake is being stressed and that's not a good thing, no matter how cute he looks being fierce.


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## TerrapinStation

Just caught up on this. Very cool stuff. All I can think of is Natural Born Killer's though (the movie)...... SNAKE JUICE!!!! haha

very cool job and hobby. Michigan does not have many Massuagaua Rattler's but I have seen one in the wild. I just keep my distance from snakes and hope they do the same for me...... A mutual respect of sorts........


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## W Shaw

TerrapinStation said:


> Just caught up on this. Very cool stuff. All I can think of is Natural Born Killer's though (the movie)...... SNAKE JUICE!!!! haha
> 
> very cool job and hobby. Michigan does not have many Massuagaua Rattler's but I have seen one in the wild. I just keep my distance from snakes and hope they do the same for me...... A mutual respect of sorts........



They will pretty much do whatever it takes to avoid you. I'm glad you got a chance to encounter one, though. People in my area often aske me, "What should I do if I see a rattlesnake on a trail when I'm hiking?" I say, "Consider yourself fortunate to have an uncommon encounter, take a couple of photos, and move on so you don't scare him.


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