Look at this!

KarenSoCal

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Look what I found in my garage this evening! For those not from the southwest, this is a baby sidewinder rattlesnake, probably about a week to 10 days old. I came within a couple inches of running over him.

He's very feisty...he shakes his tail and strikes fast. It's good he's so tiny...he bit me!

I will take him out into the desert tomorrow and release him.

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KarenSoCal

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Me too.
Did he get his fangs into you?
He just made the tiniest puncture on the thin skin just below the cuticle on my thumb. I squeezed, and 1 tiny drop of blood came out. There is no swelling, no pain, and I feel fine. I don't think any venom went in.

A friend of mine said the same thing about babies. He is keeping his phone by him all night just in case.
 

ZEROPILOT

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He just made the tiniest puncture on the thin skin just below the cuticle on my thumb. I squeezed, and 1 tiny drop of blood came out. There is no swelling, no pain, and I feel fine. I don't think any venom went in.

A friend of mine said the same thing about babies. He is keeping his phone by him all night just in case.
Ok good
Hopefully it was a dry bite
 

jeff kushner

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Wow, that you are so calm is very cool Karen! Most wouldn't be so composed.....someone has been around these things for a long time?

Yes, everyone is correct.....babies often deliver their full load b/c every moment is life/death for them so they sometimes unload it all, again it is often a dry bite when the snake doesn't feel impeding death but maybe danger he wishes to move further from himself.

When a kid, the home builders knew that I collected snakes @ 10 yrs old and was presented a baby rattler in a jar that my sister promptly let get loose the next day in our home. She was taking it to school for Science class and it got away....I came down the next morning to mayhem as mom was on the kitchen table and sis with heavy gloves was looking under the baseboard heat for the baby snake.............we never found it..........

Glad you were able to get him back to safety and that you didn't get more than you bargained for.....thinking of that TV commercial where the cowboy is bitten but refuses treatment...LOL...
 

KarenSoCal

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Wow, that you are so calm is very cool Karen! Most wouldn't be so composed.....someone has been around these things for a long time?

Yes, everyone is correct.....babies often deliver their full load b/c every moment is life/death for them so they sometimes unload it all, again it is often a dry bite when the snake doesn't feel impeding death but maybe danger he wishes to move further from himself.

When a kid, the home builders knew that I collected snakes @ 10 yrs old and was presented a baby rattler in a jar that my sister promptly let get loose the next day in our home. She was taking it to school for Science class and it got away....I came down the next morning to mayhem as mom was on the kitchen table and sis with heavy gloves was looking under the baseboard heat for the baby snake.............we never found it..........

Glad you were able to get him back to safety and that you didn't get more than you bargained for.....thinking of that TV commercial where the cowboy is bitten but refuses treatment...LOL...
Actually, this is the first rattler that I've seen up close and personal. I may have seen one cross the road as I drove, but I couldn't tell what kind of snake that was. I live in the desert, so I know they are here, and others have seen them when walking.

I'm calm because I've always liked snakes, even as a kid. I found a baby garter snake once and took him home, but released him when he refused to eat. He came from my family's summer place right up Ritchie Hwy from you, near Severna Park. I'm originally from York, PA. Lots of water snakes there too...nasty things, aggressive too.

If he was an adult, I'd be less calm. However, the thought has crossed my mind that he could have brothers and sisters in the area. He came in under the garage door, and I really hope siblings or parents are not nearby.

If you want to see me really messed up, it was when a tarantula was calmly climbing onto my shoe, with my foot in it. I'm afraid it didn't end well for the spider...I hate killing anything, but I was freaked. The very next day it was a 4in scorpion. Not a good ending for him either.

Some day I'll tell you about being stung by a scorpion...on my stomach...in my bed...and the medical saga that followed.

And there was the time in my home in PA when a 6 ft black snake was wrapped around my little bathroom cube heater....and I didn't see it til I was...shall we say, indisposed in said bathroom?

Ah, the memories! 🐍🦂🕸️
 

Jacqui

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Actually, this is the first rattler that I've seen up close and personal. I may have seen one cross the road as I drove, but I couldn't tell what kind of snake that was. I live in the desert, so I know they are here, and others have seen them when walking.

I'm calm because I've always liked snakes, even as a kid. I found a baby garter snake once and took him home, but released him when he refused to eat. He came from my family's summer place right up Ritchie Hwy from you, near Severna Park. I'm originally from York, PA. Lots of water snakes there too...nasty things, aggressive too.

If he was an adult, I'd be less calm. However, the thought has crossed my mind that he could have brothers and sisters in the area. He came in under the garage door, and I really hope siblings or parents are not nearby.

If you want to see me really messed up, it was when a tarantula was calmly climbing onto my shoe, with my foot in it. I'm afraid it didn't end well for the spider...I hate killing anything, but I was freaked. The very next day it was a 4in scorpion. Not a good ending for him either.

Some day I'll tell you about being stung by a scorpion...on my stomach...in my bed...and the medical saga that followed.

And there was the time in my home in PA when a 6 ft black snake was wrapped around my little bathroom cube heater....and I didn't see it til I was...shall we say, indisposed in said bathroom?

Ah, the memories! 🐍🦂🕸️
Love the stories!!
 

Jacqui

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Wow, that you are so calm is very cool Karen! Most wouldn't be so composed.....someone has been around these things for a long time?

Yes, everyone is correct.....babies often deliver their full load b/c every moment is life/death for them so they sometimes unload it all, again it is often a dry bite when the snake doesn't feel impeding death but maybe danger he wishes to move further from himself.

When a kid, the home builders knew that I collected snakes @ 10 yrs old and was presented a baby rattler in a jar that my sister promptly let get loose the next day in our home. She was taking it to school for Science class and it got away....I came down the next morning to mayhem as mom was on the kitchen table and sis with heavy gloves was looking under the baseboard heat for the baby snake.............we never found it..........

Glad you were able to get him back to safety and that you didn't get more than you bargained for.....thinking of that TV commercial where the cowboy is bitten but refuses treatment...LOL...
I can just see the scene!
 

Tom

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I've always heard that it was worse to be bitten by baby snakes, as they haven't learned hot to control the amount of venom to use yet, and often they inject way too much.
This is an old myth and not true. I work with rattlers daily. Its one of my many jobs. All of them of any age have personalities that run the spectrum from crazy insane striking at anything that moves, to mild mannered and reserved preferring to lay low and escape. Its temperature and season dependent too. Some of them don't even rattle when picked up and moved with tongs and a bucket. Others start rattling when you are 20 feet away from them.

Adults and babies can both choose how much venom to inject. Much like our tortoises, babies come out ready to go. Mini copies of the adults.
 

Tom

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Look what I found in my garage this evening! For those not from the southwest, this is a baby sidewinder rattlesnake, probably about a week to 10 days old. I came within a couple inches of running over him.

He's very feisty...he shakes his tail and strikes fast. It's good he's so tiny...he bit me!

I will take him out into the desert tomorrow and release him.
KAREN! What are you doing putting your hands within striking range??? The world is better with you in it, and YOUR world is better if you keep all your fingers and limbs! Can I send you some snake tongs and a hook? If you are going to be playing with Crotalids, you need some tools.
 

LJL1982

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This whole thread makes me very glad I live in the UK where the worst thing is mosquitos which have bitten me to death all week. I'll take super itchy mozzie bites and hydrocortisone cream and the ability to walk outside barefoot without a second thought over scorpions and massive spiders anytime!
 

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This is an old myth and not true. I work with rattlers daily. Its one of my many jobs. All of them of any age have personalities that run the spectrum from crazy insane striking at anything that moves, to mild mannered and reserved preferring to lay low and escape. Its temperature and season dependent too. Some of them don't even rattle when picked up and moved with tongs and a bucket. Others start rattling when you are 20 feet away from them.

Adults and babies can both choose how much venom to inject. Much like our tortoises, babies come out ready to go. Mini copies of the adults.

Wow, thank you for the info! I'm learning all kinds of interesting stuff here. I'll be passing this knowledge along every time I get the chance.
 

OliveW

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The very next day it was a 4in scorpion. Not a good ending for him either.

Some day I'll tell you about being stung by a scorpion...on my stomach...in my bed...and the medical saga that followed.

A dear friend of my daughter moved to a remote village in Mexico, with her boyfriend, for a year or so. She spoke no Spanish and nobody except her BF spoke English. One day, while he was off working, she was stung by a giant scorpion. They took her to the hospital and all she could understand is that the doctors wanted her to lay perfectly still and not move. She said it was a super scary experience.
 

Maro2Bear

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This whole thread makes me very glad I live in the UK where the worst thing is mosquitos which have bitten me to death all week. I'll take super itchy mozzie bites and hydrocortisone cream and the ability to walk outside barefoot without a second thought over scorpions and massive spiders anytime!

I dunno….. those midges are super super nasty & can easily ruin an entire day, weekend or week if on a Scottish holiday in the wrong season! I recall being trapped in a B&B in the highlands - somewhere - and the only safe place was inside or in my car! Had to wrap towels around my head to run from the b&b to my car on an early morning departure. Megh…snakes are fee & far between. Just need to be observant. 🐍🐍
 

LJL1982

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I dunno….. those midges are super super nasty & can easily ruin an entire day, weekend or week if on a Scottish holiday in the wrong season! I recall being trapped in a B&B in the highlands - somewhere - and the only safe place was inside or in my car! Had to wrap towels around my head to run from the b&b to my car on an early morning departure. Megh…snakes are fee & far between. Just need to be observant. 🐍🐍
Yes, I don't think they are even mosquitoes...midgy gnat things...horrible!
 

Tom

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Wow, thank you for the info! I'm learning all kinds of interesting stuff here. I'll be passing this knowledge along every time I get the chance.
Here is another one: The protocol for what to do after a bite has changed several times over the years. No more sucking out the poison, no cutting across the bites, no snake bite kits, no tourniquets, or any of that stuff. Just keep the person as calm and immobile as possible and get them to the nearest hospital ASAP.
 

KarenSoCal

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KAREN! What are you doing putting your hands within striking range??? The world is better with you in it, and YOUR world is better if you keep all your fingers and limbs! Can I send you some snake tongs and a hook? If you are going to be playing with Crotalids, you need some tools.
I hope to not be playing with them again. Honestly, I was so stunned to find him on my garage floor that caution didn't kick in til I had already caught him. I've never had contact with a venomous snake before...but I will certainly be more alert and careful after this!

He is definitely not the laid back, easygoing serpent you have described. The nip occurred when I dropped the quarter into the container...I thought I was out of reach, but "thinking" so isn't good enough...I'm fortunate to not be injured.

Thank you, Tom, for the information about these creatures.

And no need for a hook and tongs...I've learned my lesson on rattlesnakes! 🐍
 

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