Tell me how to be safe if I encounter a snake (semi rural Texas)

[Thall303]

Your friend may be pulling your leg

 

[bunyip]

I have a highly accurate Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Pistol. When in doubt take it out

I used to use a 410, much more accurate.
Now they are protected and we are not allowed to harm them.

 

[Oldoak]

I find a .38 or .357 Mag. with birdshot to be more convenient to carry along, and more nimble. And birdshot doesn't require the accuracy that a single slug would require or potential ricochet. Particularly for people who panic at the sight of any snake, let alone a potentially deadly one.

 

[Tangoddess]

Hi,

Thank you for the advice. Here is one snake we recently saw, someone working outside on the property killed it. It was gobbling up small rabbits and one of the Dogs on the property was very curious about the snake luckily it did not get bit.

Does anyone know what type it is?

 

[beowulf]

Does anyone know what type it is?

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It looks like a gopher snake to me. In my experience, very shy and pretty much harmless.

 

[Tangoddess]

It looks like a gopher snake to me. In my experience, very shy and pretty much harmless.

Thank you

I read that Gopher snakes can be mistaken for Rattlesnakes? How does one quickly differentiate?

Any quick tips to recognize a venomous vs non venomous snake....I know some of you shared that the shape of the head is one way to tell

If a Dog gets bitten by a snake, venomous or not, how should one treat the dog, especially if the vet or animal ER is 30 mins or more away?

 

[beowulf]

I read that Gopher snakes can be mistaken for Rattlesnakes? How does one quickly differentiate?

Any quick tips to recognize a venomous vs non venomous snake....I know some of you shared that the shape of the head is one way to tell

The shape of the head it the way I try to differentiate the two. It seems the easiest and quickest. Diamond shaped head vs oval shape for the gopher snake. Rattles would be another way, but rattle snakes can sometimes lose their rattles.

Re a dog - I can't be much help. One of our dogs was bitten once and we did not discover it right away. He was listless. We gave him water and prepared to take him to vet the next morning (we were more than 30 miles away and it was evening already) but by then he seemed much better. He completely recovered. I have read that dogs do better than humans with those bites because their skin is much looser.

Like I mentioned in an earlier post - the rattle snakes will (hopefully) rattle to warn you and you need to make noise to warn them as you move around where they might be. 32 years here and never bitten.

 

[YLee Kioti]

Hello all,

This advice has been really useful, thank you. When I wrote I'd rather not learn, I meant that I have been scared to learn because I feel scared of snakes, so I don't really enjoy seeing their images etc. However, it is critical I learn.

What does one do if they are bit by a snake? Maybe call 911 or rush to the closest medical facility...but I read something about putting the wound site above or below the heart or depends on the snake?

Any other tips are also greatly welcome.

Thank you

If bitten by a snake and you are with others. Ask them to drive you to a hospital. Do not drive yourself!. If bitten below elbow or knees position self with bite below heart. Goal is to reduce venom flow to heart by reducing heart beat (think panic mode).
Email these folks and send them a picture>
Houston Snake Control Removal Company


The most prevalent snake in your area.
Copperhead Snake.com

I plan on buying two of these:
Stop Snakes.com Snake Repellent

We just our Yorkie out to pee, I was barefoot and we walked back in. less then five minutes later was going to sit out under the awing. opened door and and a 2 foot copper head was on the welcome mat about to knock. Got a flat head shovel and went benni-hannah on his azz.



They are all now coming our of winter hibernation. Small copper heads are MORE venomous then old adults. Rattle snakes have a distinct tail that contains rattles and they will shake it as a warning. Although thanks to proliferation of hogs; which love them, rattle snakes learned not to rattle a warning when they are around so do not depend them to warn you the intruder.
If you are in a semi-rural area it is in your best interest to work hard at moving past phobias and make a concerted effort to spot common hazards.
Now wanna talk spiders????
Brown recluse and black widows.....Feed stores sell Bifen I/T Use it to spray a 3-4 foot swath around you perimeter. Also takes care of scorpions.
Feed stores carry two types one for outdoor use and one safe for indoor use.

Well hopefully this cheered you up and gave you a few tools to enjoy the great out doors.

 

[ericm979]

Rattlesnakes are pretty good about warning you. It's in their interest to do so- it's less effort and danger to them to scare you off with a rattle than to bite you. To them you're huge and scary. I've been wandering and working in the woods in California Arizona and Wyoming for 40 years and I've never been bit by a snake. I've handled pet snakes and rescued gopher snakes that got stuck in deer netting. Even the wild gopher snakes are pretty mellow if you pick them up right.

One day I went out to the garage in shorts and bare feet to get something off my workbench. As I was standing there I heard the unmistakable sound of a rattlesnake's rattle, under the workbench. I backed up carefully but quickly. Then I got some pants and boots, pulled the cars and motorcycles out of the garage, and used a long stick with a bracket on the end to pull the snake out from under the bench and slide him across the garage floor and out the door. I did not want to kill or injure him since rattlesnakes are beneficial. My one outdoor animal at the time was wise to things like snakes and we didn't have small children. I did however want to make the snake's experience unpleasant enough so he would not come back into the garage. Never saw him again so it must have worked.

A lot of people who get bit by rattlesnakes were messing with them, usually for no good reason. The safest thing to do is to get any kids and curious pets away and let them leave be to move off when they get over being scared of you. If they're inside your building like my story above then you might want to take a little more action.

 

[Oldoak]

A rattle snake wll have a triangle shaped head with pits under their eyes, thus the term "pit vipors", and the pupils of their eyes are slanted shaped. Non-poisonous snakes here in the U.S. have round pupils. So be sure to "look them in the eye". :shocked: