OP
texasjohn
Super Member
Hmm... I looked into this and, found:
It is not recommended that anyone without proper training handle rattlesnakes. No rattlesnake, not even a dead one, should be picked up by hand. Reflex bites with envenomation can occur several hours after death.
alsol Rattlesnake strike behavior: kinematics
The strike is usually completed in less than 0.5 s, placing a premium on an accurate strike that produces no significant errors in fang placement that could result in poor envenomation and subsequent loss of the prey. To clarify the basis for effective strike performance, we examined the basic kinematics of the rapid strike using high-speed film analysis. We scored numerous strike variables. Four major results were obtained. (1) Neurosensory control of the strike is based primarily upon sensory inputs via the eyes and facial pits to launch the strike, and upon tactile stimuli after contact. Correction for errors in targeting occurs not by a change in strike trajectory, but by fang repositioning after the jaws have made contact with the prey. (2) The rattlesnake strike is based upon great versatility and variation in recruitment of body segments and body postures. (3) Forces generated during acceleration of the head are transferred to posterior body sections to decelerate the head before contact with the prey, thereby reducing impact forces upon the snake's jaws. (4) Body acceleration is based on two patterns of body displacement, one in which acute sections of the body open like a gate, the other in which body segments flow around postural curves similar to movements seen during locomotion. There is one major implication of these results: recruitment of body segments, launch postures and kinematic features of the strike may be quite varied from strike to strike, but the overall predatory success of each strike by a rattlesnake is very consistent.
Wikipedia says:
Bites often occur when humans startle the snake or provoke it. Those bitten while provoking rattlesnakes have usually underestimated the range (roughly two-thirds of its total length) and speed with which a coiled snake can strike (almost literally faster than the human eye can follow). Be aware that they can actually strike without pulling their body back into the famous "S" coil shape first and they may strike without any warning if feeling threatened.
Words for Wildlife says:
All snakes are fairly slow, after all they do not have legs and that makes it impossible for them to run, ride a bike or drive a car. Their top forward speed is generally only 5 miles an hour. Of course they can strike very fast but only to a distance of about half their length. Since most snakes are less than 4 feet long as long as you stay at least 2-3 feet away the snake cannot reach you with a strike. Most snakes travel in a zig zag “S” route that makes them have to cover twice the ground area to proceed forward as one going in a straight line. The faster snakes are able to travel in a straight line but even so are capable of less than half the speed of the average human.
So, this is all I can add on the subject....
It is not recommended that anyone without proper training handle rattlesnakes. No rattlesnake, not even a dead one, should be picked up by hand. Reflex bites with envenomation can occur several hours after death.
alsol Rattlesnake strike behavior: kinematics
The strike is usually completed in less than 0.5 s, placing a premium on an accurate strike that produces no significant errors in fang placement that could result in poor envenomation and subsequent loss of the prey. To clarify the basis for effective strike performance, we examined the basic kinematics of the rapid strike using high-speed film analysis. We scored numerous strike variables. Four major results were obtained. (1) Neurosensory control of the strike is based primarily upon sensory inputs via the eyes and facial pits to launch the strike, and upon tactile stimuli after contact. Correction for errors in targeting occurs not by a change in strike trajectory, but by fang repositioning after the jaws have made contact with the prey. (2) The rattlesnake strike is based upon great versatility and variation in recruitment of body segments and body postures. (3) Forces generated during acceleration of the head are transferred to posterior body sections to decelerate the head before contact with the prey, thereby reducing impact forces upon the snake's jaws. (4) Body acceleration is based on two patterns of body displacement, one in which acute sections of the body open like a gate, the other in which body segments flow around postural curves similar to movements seen during locomotion. There is one major implication of these results: recruitment of body segments, launch postures and kinematic features of the strike may be quite varied from strike to strike, but the overall predatory success of each strike by a rattlesnake is very consistent.
Wikipedia says:
Bites often occur when humans startle the snake or provoke it. Those bitten while provoking rattlesnakes have usually underestimated the range (roughly two-thirds of its total length) and speed with which a coiled snake can strike (almost literally faster than the human eye can follow). Be aware that they can actually strike without pulling their body back into the famous "S" coil shape first and they may strike without any warning if feeling threatened.
Words for Wildlife says:
All snakes are fairly slow, after all they do not have legs and that makes it impossible for them to run, ride a bike or drive a car. Their top forward speed is generally only 5 miles an hour. Of course they can strike very fast but only to a distance of about half their length. Since most snakes are less than 4 feet long as long as you stay at least 2-3 feet away the snake cannot reach you with a strike. Most snakes travel in a zig zag “S” route that makes them have to cover twice the ground area to proceed forward as one going in a straight line. The faster snakes are able to travel in a straight line but even so are capable of less than half the speed of the average human.
So, this is all I can add on the subject....
