Rattlers don't always warn you well ahead of time and then it's only if you know what they really sound like...too many people believe they sound like what they have seen on TV. Some moron shaking a Maraca. The ones I have heard sounded to me more like a continuous cricket chirping...It's a higher pitched and faster paced noise than what we are all familiar with from the movies. Anyone traveling on foot in snake country is well advised to get snake boots and familiarize themselves with the real noise a rattler makes.
Ever been bit by a Copperhead?.........
- Thread starter moralem
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Rattlers don't always warn you well ahead of time and then it's only if you know what they really sound like...too many people believe they sound like what they have seen on TV. Some moron shaking a Maraca. The ones I have heard sounded to me more like a continuous cricket chirping...It's a higher pitched and faster paced noise than what we are all familiar with from the movies. Anyone traveling on foot in snake country is well advised to get snake boots and familiarize themselves with the real noise a rattler makes.
BearBio
Member
Best first aid: Get to a doctor. Don't cut it, freeze it, zap it with a car battery or tazer, or drown it with booze!==just don't do anything to raise your heart rate.
Statistically, copperheads are the least toxic (except for the rear-fanged snakes), followed by moccasins. But they cause the most damage to tissue. Big rattlers are the most dangerous because they inject the most venom. Last article I read (several years now) said they had identified 238 toxic proteins in western diamondback venom!
However, for combination of toxicity and dose, the deadliest is the Mojave.
Anyone really interested should read Klauber's "Rattlesnakes: their life histories and influence on mankind" (I think that's the full title). Get the short version==the unabridged version is 1200+ pages long.
Besides being safety officer (in rattler country), I fill in as our resident herpetologist (mostly amphibs, though). I'll be teaching our annual field safety class here in a month or so.
Only "hot" (venom system intact) snake I got tagged by was a Mangrove Snake=a very mildly venomous rear-fanged from SE Asia. Had a close call or two with several sidewinders and at least one Mojave rattler.
Statistically, copperheads are the least toxic (except for the rear-fanged snakes), followed by moccasins. But they cause the most damage to tissue. Big rattlers are the most dangerous because they inject the most venom. Last article I read (several years now) said they had identified 238 toxic proteins in western diamondback venom!
However, for combination of toxicity and dose, the deadliest is the Mojave.
Anyone really interested should read Klauber's "Rattlesnakes: their life histories and influence on mankind" (I think that's the full title). Get the short version==the unabridged version is 1200+ pages long.
Besides being safety officer (in rattler country), I fill in as our resident herpetologist (mostly amphibs, though). I'll be teaching our annual field safety class here in a month or so.
Only "hot" (venom system intact) snake I got tagged by was a Mangrove Snake=a very mildly venomous rear-fanged from SE Asia. Had a close call or two with several sidewinders and at least one Mojave rattler.
J. R. WEEMS
Member
Big Cholla
Member
Back when I still field hunted, we were in No. Arizona hills just No. of Kingman hunting Mt. Quail. I had plastic snake leg wraps on as the area was known for its huge Arizona Diamondbacks. I was walking down a rounded ridge rather fast trying to cut off a covey of Quail my hunting partner was pushing in front of him. All of a sudden just as my right leg hit the ground it felt like someone had hit me in the shin with a baseball bat. I took a big jump and looked back. An AZ Diamondback was re-curled and poised for another strike. I backed up another 6 ft. and looked my leg over. No harm no foul, so I left him alone and went on. I think highly of wildlife and I was the intruder in his area. My hunting partner did kill one slightly smaller than the one that struck me that day...........
fat tom
Absent Comrade
If you are close enough for one to strike,BELIEVE ME,you WILL know what it is when he cranks up!
f.t.
fat tom
Absent Comrade
Have seen a couple of copperhead injuries,but many caused by cottonmouths. A copperhead strikes and recoils. A moccasin often has to be grabbed and pulled to get it to release it's hold on you. It just keeps pumpin' until it injects the whole wad. Nasty,nasty snakes!
f.t.
The first one I heard as a kid took about this long, Wth is that? a giant bee? and then it registered [emoji1]
fat tom
Absent Comrade
Honestly,I remained fairly calm the first time. Continued on to the stand. After climbing in,I kept lookin' at the spot on my boot that I thought was the impact point. No damage seen. Ankle started to "itch". Before long,I had pulled the boot and my sock off and meticulously inspected my leg. Just couldn't stand it. Curiosity satisfied and peace of mind restored,I continued my hunt. Took me twice as long to retrace my route when I left after sundown.
f.t.
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Growing up here in Florida I have always been careful where I step and where I put my hands. It is best to use a stick or golf club to move a log or anything out of brush. As far as killing them a 410 will do the trick every time. I shot a big Moccasin that was in my yard last year with a 2 1/2" #6 high brass from about 12 feet away and he was headless after I pulled the trigger.
Although it may not be right, I kill every snake I come across, given half a chance. Same thing with spiders. Don't like 'em, don't ever want to see the same one twice. Not alive that is. Perhaps if I was smart enough to tell a good one from a bad one,........ but I'm not, so they're all bad ones to me. Right or wrong, that's the way I am. They give me " the willies".
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Last year my auto mechanic's dog was bitten by a copperhead on his patio. Despite immediate treatment by the vet, the dog died a couple of days later.
darmtn1917
Member
When i started out in the Sierra Nevada and foothills in the early 70s I met a lot of the "old" ranchers,miners, cowhands etc. and a number of them were missing one or more fingers - without exception it was due to a snakebite. Those days you did the treatment with one of those suction kits. It gave me a lasting insight(read fear) into avoiding poisonous snakes.
the ringo kid
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Ive come close a few times. I used to be in the boy scouts and we always made camp at Camp Karankawa. Ive seen Rattlers and Cottonmouths.The cottonmouths seem to be more scarier.Anyway, a few of us were doing something to earn one of those metal belt badges and we were doing our thing next to a river. One of our group had polled off his shoes and socks to swish them about in the cold water and almost got bit by one hiding in some grass right next to where he was sitting.
He saw the snake in time and it was actually kind of funny to see someone sitting on the ground and being able to jump backwards while sitting. The rest of us had large rocks and such we had picked up and used them to kill the snake with. That was one of a few times I saw them at the campgrounds. Another time,was when we found a nest of rattlesnakes by the fence of a golf course--all were babies too. One of the babies happened to slither into the hole of whatever hole we were playing? and I hit the ball into the hole--pre snake discovery--and it went it. I went and picked the ball out and nearly jumped out of my shoes seeing a coiled baby snake in it. The snake never rattled-hiss--or make any move. I guess maybe it was sleeping?? anyway, I got very lucky,.
He saw the snake in time and it was actually kind of funny to see someone sitting on the ground and being able to jump backwards while sitting. The rest of us had large rocks and such we had picked up and used them to kill the snake with. That was one of a few times I saw them at the campgrounds. Another time,was when we found a nest of rattlesnakes by the fence of a golf course--all were babies too. One of the babies happened to slither into the hole of whatever hole we were playing? and I hit the ball into the hole--pre snake discovery--and it went it. I went and picked the ball out and nearly jumped out of my shoes seeing a coiled baby snake in it. The snake never rattled-hiss--or make any move. I guess maybe it was sleeping?? anyway, I got very lucky,.
mstem
Member
Same for me. I kill every damn snake & spider I see! I hate them!!!
Kid44
Member
You thought you could shake it off? Yeah, OK. Bet you're
rethinking that.
rethinking that.
fat tom
Absent Comrade
kozmic
Member
All due respect, PM me your location and I will send you a link with nice pictures of "hot" snakes in your area. Killing them on sight because you haven't taken time to learn your environment or because they all scare you are truly sad excuses for killing something.
Yeah I have since rethought my approach if it ever happens again. Today I looked at what a bite can do and I must say I dodged a bullet. Not hardly a mark on me with just some residual swelling and some pain but I am thankful for going in to the hospital. Now to wait and see how much my insurance covers and what I have to cover.....oh and I did not kill the snake I picked it up with a shovel and put it in a bucket and set it loose out by my pond where I usually am not rummaging around. Quite the experience I have not interest in undergoing again.
Copper heads
A few years ago a taxidermist contacted me to inquire if I could
get him Copper Head skins. He offered $25@ and bonus for big
ones. Didn't want them shot, no skin damage. Got buddy of mine
to go with me. We hunted first thing in morning, got about 3 dozen in a week, biggest being 34", that's a big Copper head
in this neck of the woods. They are sluggish before sun warms
them up. Would have got more but guy had all he needed. We
put them in drywall bucket and we would drown them. My wife
was glad when that project was over, she didn't like the idea of
snakes in our garage,even dead.
A few years ago a taxidermist contacted me to inquire if I could
get him Copper Head skins. He offered $25@ and bonus for big
ones. Didn't want them shot, no skin damage. Got buddy of mine
to go with me. We hunted first thing in morning, got about 3 dozen in a week, biggest being 34", that's a big Copper head
in this neck of the woods. They are sluggish before sun warms
them up. Would have got more but guy had all he needed. We
put them in drywall bucket and we would drown them. My wife
was glad when that project was over, she didn't like the idea of
snakes in our garage,even dead.
