Little girl killed by rattlesnake

[Gem99ultra]

Wow! Talk about camouflage! You did good even spotting that guy.

I've seen a lot of copperheads, even stepping on a couple, and didn't get bitten. Lucky I suppose. I've had cotton mouths even chase me before - eventually to their demise. Rattlesnakes? Yep, encountered a few. Those were give wide passage. They aren't afraid of the devil itself.

Only snakes we've seen recently have been garter snakes and king snakes. Neither are to be feared. But that guy in your woodpile... yep - I want no part of him.

 

[bullbreaker]

Wow! Talk about camouflage! You did good even spotting that guy..

Yikes .....Yes totally agree . Thanks for posting and sharing them pics TnAndy !

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Growing up on a rural farm back in AZ, if we found a rattler near a building, it got killed. If we found one out in a field/pasture (well away from buildings), it got left alone. All other snakes got left alone, unless they actually got into the house, which almost never happened. If they did, they would just get relocated to a barn. Growing up, all my friends and folks I encountered were all "rural folks". I don't ever recall anyone being bitten by a rattler, except one kid in senior year H.S. . He was at the lake one weekend and was walking through some brush and got struck, but snake only had one fang, so it didn't look like a snake bite. Snake never rattled, just struck once. He obviously felt the strike, but thought it was thorn bush or whatever. By the time they actually figured out it was a snake, he dang near died. Long recovery and he lived, but he was never the same.

Anyway, we always used to call folks that got struck by rattlers "Tourists". Because anyone other than an out of state tourist, we figured had enough common sense to avoid them. You usually have to be doing something to the snake to earn the strike. At least desert rattlers around AZ/NM anyway.

Growing up outdoors, hunting, camping, fishing, I only had a few close encounters, and they always announced their presence in time for me to back away. It wasn't until I got married, and took the "New Mrs. Slim" ("city girl") out for her very first ever camping trip (we were stationed in NM back then) that I had to kill one while camping. We were setting up camp, she heard one buzzing when I went to go water a tree, (I went around it, lol), and when I came back she asked me "what was that?" My response of "that was just a rattler, but he's way over there, I doubt he'll bother us from all the noise we're making (setting up camp)". That was it, she walked back to the car, got in, rolled up the windows and wouldn't get out until I killed the snake.

Me: "Sorry, 'ol snake, 'ol buddy, 'ol pal, but Momma says you got to go. Nothing personal...

BANG!.

And ever since then, the unspoken law (ok, seldom spoken) has always been, if Momma finds out one is around, it's BANG! Dead snake. Doesn't matter what kind of snake either. I have to go kill it no matter what.

Ok, Dear.

:laughing:

 

[ovrszd]

I recently commented on another post somewhere that I'd love to see more kingsnakes and rat snakes on my property but venomous snakes were kill on sight because I'm not getting bit, my girl isn't getting bit, and my dog isn't getting bit... some jackhole started telling me how wrong I was and just WOULD NOT shut up when I told him I didn't care about his opinion and if he wanted to let all the venomous snakes live at his place that was his prerogative but it wasn't happening at my farm.

I finally just ignore him because he WOULD NOT let it go...

I'm fortunate to be far enough North that we don't have Rattlers. 40 miles South of me they do. I would kill one on site. Same with Copperheads. Our water moccasins are aggressive but non poisonous.

I absolutely agree with your stance. Try to ignore those who know more about your life than you do. It's a struggle to do so.

 

[s219]

If I had to shoot every snake my wife got scared of, we'd either have a lot of dead snakes, or I'd be shooting a lot of lead into the ground after secretly relocating the good snakes. I bet there are 7-8 good varieties around here that we see commonly.

I finally got my wife to appreciate that many of them are harmless, and some are actually good. The black snakes (rat snakes and racers) control mice and deter copperheads, so they are my favorites and I like seeing them around. Both of them have a pattern when they are juveniles, so it can make you do a double take and worry they are a copperhead from a distance, but a closer look at the head, eyes, pattern, and tail from 6-10' away will tell you whether they are OK. The good guys have a rounded head, circular eyes, standard color tail, and not-quite-copperhead pattern, while the juvenile copperheads have the triangle head, cat eyes, often have a green tipped tail, and the coloring is exactly what it should be for a copperhead.

The rat snakes will actually put on a show if they are scared, flattening their heads, raising up, and even making a hiss noise. Some of them are a dark gray/green color before they fully mature, so when those guys put on their show, they can resemble a water moccasin. Again, it will make you do a double take for sure.

My experience has been that when it's actually a copperhead or water moccasin, those are obvious and there is no mistaking them, even as far as 20-50' away. The look and/or behavior is unmistakable. But as I said up above, they are usually so well camouflaged, they are practically invisible unless they are moving or out of their element.

 

[pmsmechanic]

We have rattle snakes in southern Alberta. To my knowledge no one has ever died from a bite but you do hear of people getting bit from time to time. You end up going to the hospital mostly for observation as the apparently the anti venom is worse for you than the actual venom.

When I was younger I killed them all. Now a days they are a protected species and you aren't allowed to kill them. Lethbridge even has a person that will come and move them for people that so desire. YouTube "Lethbridge rattlesnake guy".

 

[ovrszd]

We have rattle snakes in southern Alberta. To my knowledge no one has ever died from a bite but you do hear of people getting bit from time to time. You end up going to the hospital mostly for observation as the apparently the anti venom is worse for you than the actual venom.

When I was younger I killed them all. Now a days they are a protected species and you aren't allowed to kill them. Lethbridge even has a person that will come and move them for people that so desire. YouTube "Lethbridge rattlesnake guy".

My curiosity is perked. Why would they be a protected species?

 

[2LaneCruzer]

The varmints and I have an understanding. If they stay off my property and out of my house and shop, and away from me and mine, they will be OK. If you are a copperhead, and violate my rules, or any venomous snake for that matter, you are dead meat if I have anything to say about it. If you are a harmless snake, and get killed for panicking the ladies, or are mistaken for the bad guys, you're dead meat also. For the most part, about all we see here is the occasional garter snake, or little ringneck. We live next to a creek, our house is probably 50 yards from it, and it's heavily overgrown. When we moved here, there was copperheads that showed up in the yard occasionally; our little Boston Terrier was bitten on the lip by one. I keep the yard mowed and the weeds cut, so we haven't seen one for years.

We used to live in Western Oklahoma, next to a sand pit, where my Dad was the Superintendent. The rattle snakes were pretty thick; we kept Dads old Model 12 twelve gauge handy, and I've dispatch many of the buggers. There was a RR siding that served the sand pit, and I've seen quite a few that crossed...or attempted to cross...the rails at night; the train cut them very neatly in two.

 

[Hroller]

I'm fortunate to be far enough North that we don't have Rattlers. 40 miles South of me they do. I would kill one on site. Same with Copperheads. Our water moccasins are aggressive but non poisonous.

I absolutely agree with your stance. Try to ignore those who know more about your life than you do. It's a struggle to do so.

Growing up in the KC area I never saw rattlenakes or copperheads... the only time I saw snakes (other than rat snakes and other beneficial ones) was when camping around Stockton Lake or where ever (Osceola, Table Rock, Lake of the Ozarks...) but the property I own now is about 30 minutes from Farmington (south of St. Louis) and I've seen copperheads and rattlesnakes there. I don't mind a non-venomous snake (not that I want to hang out with them, but unless they scare me they live) but the venomous ones get the lead poisoning.

My dad got called down to grandma's chicken coop one morning for a snake in one of the nesting boxes, grandma insisted on shooting it, so dad popped it with a shotgun, reached in to take out the dead snake, and the other snake he hadn't seen bit him on the knuckle (rat snake, so not venomous), dad gets them both out of the nesting box and his hand starts swelling up something awful later that day, the snake bite had caused an infection and he had to get antibiotics and have the wound cleaned out real good. Made an impression on me, I don't mind snakes in their place, but if they get too close to me or startle me.... well, I feel bad for killing them if they aren't venomous but they got too close for my comfort.
As far as your "water moccasins" ovrszd, they are probably one of the many non-venomous water snakes in MO. MO has venomous water moccasins (otherwise known as Cottonmouths). (And I don't know of ANY snake that is poisonous (will harm you if you eat them), but there are quite a few that are venomous (will harm you if they bite you).

 

[Bird]

My curiosity is perked. Why would they be a protected species?

The first time I visited in the state of Arizona, I was really surprised to find that rattlesnakes are protected by law in that state; just absolutely incredible in my opinion. Theoretically, I'm told, they are protected because they keep the rat population in check. On some trails in the wilderness, and on a golf course that I played, there were signs at the edge of the trail, and edge of the rough on golf courses that said, "Rattlesnakes have the right of way".

Of course I also heard that many people in Arizona use the three "S" system; Shoot, Shovel, and Shut-Up.