Rattlesnake photo ID

[Texas Star]

Kill?...maybe not, but it would certainly be relocated if possible.

Unless one is a professional snake handler, see my comments on not getting close to one.

Being safe beats being PC.

My guess on the protected species is that they are ridge-nosed rattlers or rock rattlers. ?? Avoid them, too.

 

[The Last Standing Knight]

Awwww. it's cute!
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I hear they taste like chicken.

 

[Straightshooter2]

You said it disappeared into a hole in the ground? Hmmm wonder what you might get if you took an old garden hose and poured a few drops of gasoline in that hole.

CW

 

[Duke426]

Personally, I think you're playin' with fire there, Lenny. Keep it up and eventually you're gonna get burned. JMHO and good luck.

 

[fat tom]

Awwww. it's cute!
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I hear they taste like chicken.

They do when fried,though somewhat chewy.
f.t.

 

[jws1006]

The herp dude is prolly lyin.Doubt western d back is endangered or protected.
And with all due respect to patvin,as much as I love my boas patvin is nuts,and I mean that in the kindest way.

If noone wants to come capture and relocate for ya, and I mean quick fast and in a hurry.This is a job for a Ruger 10/22 and a 50 round mag. Especially if you put gas down the hole.

 

[chud333]

I counted the scales on both pictures and the first pictured snake
has 21,090 and the second snake had 21,055 so it's a different
snake.
They are alot easier to identify dead in my experience.
Also Western Diamonbacks are neither threatened or endangered. Google it.


Chuck

 

[MK]

Hmmm, so in Arizona, Diamondbacks are protected, eh. Here in Texas, we think that's a rather amusing point of view. Out in the sticks, is one thing, around my abode is a whole 'nother ball of wax. I probably would make a couple of calls to see if someone wanted it, and would come get it NOW, or it would surely be decapitated.

Protected or not, any snake like that I run across is going to
become belt material.
Or at least on my property anyway... I don't want to see them
a second time. I'm paranoid about those things.. I usually wear
snake protectors if I'm tromping where snakes could hide.
I always wear em when I'm mowing tall grass, etc..
I've been using the cheap plastic ones for the last few years.
They seem to work pretty well, and don't bother me to wear them
as they are so light, and fit fairly tight..

 

[Bob R]

Here in Washington, people are quite paranoid about rattlers.

Just tell those wet siders to be careful in the woods because there is a boa out there and they become even more paranoid. First looking at the gound for biters and then up in the trees for squeezers.

Here on the east side the snakes are starting to come out, now I have to be a little more careful when hunting coyotes.

Having grown up in Oklahoma, and with more than a couple of rattlesnake roundups under my belt, I don't dislike the snakes, but I don't go out of my way to be especially nice to them either.

bob

 

[Texas Star]

Has anyone here actually tried pouring gasoline down a snake hole? I've read that they are incredibly resistant to gas fumes.

I wouldn't suggest lighting any gas that you've poured down a hole. That could be dangerous, I bet. To you, as well as to the snake.

One poster said that the right solution is a Ruger 10-22 and a fifty round drum, or some such. I understand that the Ruger isn't too accurate right out of the box, but if you need 50 shots to kill a rattler with one, better buy a Marlin M-795SS instead. Mine is certainly accurate enough not to need more than 2-3 shots to kill most snakes. One will surely do it, if a good brain hit. Actually, the most accurate .22 auto rifle I've shot was a Weatherby Mark XXII. Wish that I still had it. With that, you could probably pick the heat sensory pit that you wanted to put a bullet into, if the snake held still a few seconds.

Have any of you shot a coiled snake with a powerful handgun, like a .357 or .44 Magnum? I once shot a lizard with a Hi-Standard .22, and the impact of that little .22 bullet blew the lizard several feet away. Maybe he made a final convlusive leap as the bullet struck? Anyway, what was the effect of the bullet on the snake? Did it actually move it away from where it was?

And there's this bit of trivia. Mexicans sometimes call rattlers snakes "con cuatro narices". (With four nostrils.) They don't grasp that two of those "nostrils" are heat-sensng pits. Further south, people think the Tropical Rattler (Crotalus durissus) can break a man's neck with a strike. It's really because the highly neurotoxic venom affects the neck muscles, causing the victim's head to roll and droop. Bushmaster (Lachesis muta) bites sometimes do that too, with the same rumor associated with them.

Oh: I took a good look at the head markings of the snakes in the photos. They are different snakes.

 

[Straightshooter2]

Has anyone here actually tried pouring gasoline down a snake hole? I've read that they are incredibly resistant to gas fumes.

I wouldn't suggest lighting any gas that you've poured down a hole. That could be dangerous, I bet. To you, as well as to the snake.

Many participants in the Sweetwater Jaycee's Rattlesnake Roundup in West Texas use gas to flush out a den and those guys know a good bit about it. In parts of Upson County, GA there are a lot of rattlers and people I know there also use gasoline to flush a nest. As far as lighting gas someone poured down a hole, I wouldn't light it either. This is called an explosion. LOL I can just see that happening and raining P O'ed rattlesnakes.

CW

 

[LazyKB]

Looks like some of the snakes I saw in church when I was a kid.

 

[longaction]

In Florida, the game wardens don't want anyone pouring gas into a gopher tortise hole to flush out a snake. They say that it kills the turtle which is endangered.

The photos look like western diamondbacks to me. I would not want them anywhere near a populated area.

Snakes shed their skin several times a year which seems like it would make it tough to identify individuals from year to year.

 

[Faulkner]

Here's a picture of a timber rattler from the Arkansas Ozarks. Took it from my neighbors yard who's grandkids where playing nearby. We don't see many rattlesnakes in this part of the county and local custom is to properly dispose of them with due haste. I received a good bit of community praise and accolades for promptly and adequately neutralizing this one.

 

[Gunslinger808]

I the only "protected" rattlers in AZ are the Massasauga, Twin Spotted, Ridge Nosed, and Rock.
Arizona Rattlesnakes

 

[Texas Star]

I the only "protected" rattlers in AZ are the Massasauga, Twin Spotted, Ridge Nosed, and Rock.
Arizona Rattlesnakes

Well, I guessed two of them! Didn't realize that the Massasauga extended that far west.

 

[CALREB]

My dog, horses, friends,birds,neighbors cat,are the only PROTECTED things in my yard ! Got alot of gopher snakes hanging around the barn, but if one ever shows up with a rattle, I wont be making any calls to anybody. Gotta save the endangered Kangaroo rats !

 

[coiler666]

Leave us not forget the parable.."Do Unto Others, before They Do Unto You"....n i love my rattlesnake boots

 

[bp231986]

If upon going out to the compost bin I looked down and saw that there snake, it would be my last trip to the compost bin ... ever.

mc5aw you dont want to pet snake!?!?

dont blame ya id be ruuning toward my winchers 1300 defender!!

 

[Doug M.]

I would not be so fascinated by the snake that I forgot to shoot it, I'll tell you that.

 

[310Pilot]

I've dealt with a lot of rattlers, especially while I lived in the Valley of the Sun (the metro Phoenix area). Every one has ended up the same way - deceased! The means of achieving that ranged from .22s through .44 mags and 12 guage shotguns. Shoot the head, and don't get freaked out by the fact that the snake will keep moving for several hours after it is dispatched.

That is far too dangerous a snake to allow to inhabit your yard, it won't be too long before somebody is struck. They strike without warning far more frequently than after rattling - the rattling is a warning to possible threats that are far enough away to possibly cause a retreat, if you're close, they strike without warning. You are darn lucky the snake didn't strike you when you didn't realize you were in close proximity. They can, and do, strike from any position other than completely stretched out, and can effectively strike up to approximately the snake's total body length.

Oh yes, the one you photographed does appear to be a different snake; however, I would like to remind you that rattlers (Western Diamondbacks are NOT protected, BTW, despite what the snake-lover told you) are not solitary creatures - they live in dens, with numerous other snakes. I'll guarantee there are a LOT of additional rattlers in close proximity, especially since you have one (or more) breeding females there. My recommendation is to kill the snake, and kill every other rattler you see. If you live in town, and can't get away with shooting them, either use a long-handled shovel and decapitate it, or call the fire department (I don't know if they still respond, but they used to come out and kill them). Make sure you don't handle the snake's head after killing it, as the fangs still contain venom, and can do serious damage if you scratch your skin with them - definitely an item to be thoroughly disposed of.

Good luck, and keep your eyes open!

 

[John Eilertson]

Certainly you have the only real say, but if that were MY property, there'd be 1 less rattler roaming around. Can't say for sure if they're the same one, but I know from having lived in PHX for 6 years, WD are not at all protected. Unfortunately, there seem to be more and more rattlers who "forget" to rattle. (Could they be 'learning' that that is the red flag they don't want to be raising? I think not.) But if there are ever any children, pets, friends, family or fools in that general area that animal should be removed, either through relocation or 'permanantly.' And, yes, I have shot rattlers with .44 mags, both shot shells and 240 grain slugs. From a 6 1/2" barrel they each killed straightaway, mostly with head shots, and I didn't get a lot of post shot mobility from them. Obviously, at the kind of ranges I would shoot them the shot shells were preferable. Less noise, recoil and chance of missing.

 

[DGT]

The only diamondbacks I allow anywhere near my house are Colt Diamondbacks. Come to think of it, I shoot them too

 

[old bear]

Lenny, as so many others have said you have a Tragedy waiting to happen, and a potential law suite waiting as well. You really need to get rid of that snake before someone gets hurt; IMHO not to do so is being careless in the extreme. Please be careful around that area.

 

[OFT II]

No rattler is protected when I'm around.

Get rid of that darn thing as soon as possible.

 

[jspick]

I agree with most all the posters here. Shoot it. And shoot any other than comes on your place.
We have grizzlies here and I would shoot everyone that came onto my place and wrecked havoc if I could get away with it.

Dangerous animals are fine out where they belong but they don't belong on my place. You are playing with fire.

John