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Rattle Snake in my Driveway

TheFrogman

TheFrogman

Im just old
Sorry for the bad photos, I took these with my iPhone.(These were taken last month, I'm just getting around to posting them)

I had to get very close to take these pictures, his Rattle was going a mile a minute, afterwards I read that he could have bit me from where he was, as you can see he eventually lost interest in me.

This is not the first rattler I've seen on my property as I live in the mountains but Im a City Boy transplant so they still amaze me and I have never seen one this big.

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r3_zps296d7c30.jpg
 
Is that a timber? Nice! It's not going to attack you. You'd probably have to step on it or pick it up to get bit.
 
Oh, how cool! I would love to see more snakes outdoors. I think you need a better camera lol, but neat picture regardless.
 
ZoologyGirl said:
Oh, how cool! I would love to see more snakes outdoors. I think you need a better camera lol, but neat picture regardless.
Click to expand...

LOL, I have a great Camera but I used my Phone because I didn't want to take a chance of losing him because I went back for my Camera
 
Timber rattler, Crotalus horridus horridus....very nice! We've got Canebrakes here....lighter in coloration...they say there aren't subspecies anymore but they are definitely different....C.h atricaudatus.....here's one that I shot at a property we almost bought...
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So I need to ask, I have a lot of these running around in my back yard if I go deep into my woods, Its rare one comes to my house but they do wander up occasionally, If one bit me, am I screwed?
 
You lucky transplant you. Stuck in the city myself. I want to experience anything awesome, I have to shell out some dough and go to the zoo :(

*IF* one bites you, you're not totally screwed. There's actually a pretty good chance it's not even a venomous bite. Just as corns and other pet snakes exhibit "love bites", many wild venomous snakes will dry strike. It's all about the defense and survivability for the snake. You'll know if it's a venomous strike by rapid swelling and tingling/numbness around the area of the bite. If it was a venomous strike, naturally you would want to seek emergency help. There's things you can do to prolong the onset of the toxin.
Try to get as much out as possible, if possible. Do NOT use your mouth to "suck" it out.
Keep the bit limb/area lower than the rest of your body. This slows the flow of blood and spread of the toxin to the rest of your body.

A cool head and a quick phone call usually results in surviving. But that's a MASSIVE if, as Nanci pointed out you really pretty much have to just about step on one to get bit. Snakes are much more defensive than aggressive (except when dealing with food naturally). The rattle is there to scare you away, not to be a pre-emptive bite sign.

You should probably be careful if you're out hiking, as then it gets a little easier to get bit due to a lack of notice on both parts.
 
There is such a huge, huge misconception about Rattlesnakes and venomous Snakes, I assumed that If you got bit by a RS your doomed.
 
Far from doomed. If that was the case, we wouldn't have so many idiots trying to handle them improperly. (Yeah, I'm lookin at you, crazy Pentecostals!) I'd personally be more concerned with any necrotic tissue damage than death. Not a fan of dead tissue, especially when it's *my tissue*.
 
I have protocols for N. American pit vipers including horridus. While you'll most likely survive, Timber and Canebrake's have potent venom and are large enough to give a healthy envenomation. The hospital is certainly in order and hopefully someone there will be educated. This is the reason that not only do I have the protocols at home, but carry them in the field when I'm out. MD's are sadly undereducated and will often do treatments that are not only uncalled for, but dangerous (such as fasciotomies...). There is some talk that the Canebrakes have some neurotoxic properties to their venom. You're best bet is to leave them alone and they'll leave you alone. No one has ever been bitten by a snake that wasn't bothered in some fashion. In areas where copperheads/cottonmouths, canes/timbers easterns or pigmy's are common, most hospitals either keep or have access to crofab. It is true that many bites are dry or light, but never take a chance. While the larger crotalus species usually have immediate effects, smaller ones like the pigmy can take as long as 8 hours to manifest themselves.
 
Lol, yeah. Sorry, wasn't trying to underplay the importance of immediate medical attention. I wouldn't ever risk it, even if I wasn't feeling symptoms after an hour or two. Actually, that time frame isn't even an option since it would be like "Get bit. Go to emergency room."

I've read that crofab isn't as effective against timber venom? Any truth to that since you seem to be pretty darned educated on the matter?
 
crotalis40741 said:
If a timber was out in my driveway right now it would be an ice snake. I hate cold. But loves timbers.
Click to expand...
I live on the top of The Cotoctin Mountains which is the start of The Appalachian Mountains, I get them all the time, this was during a warm up, Its cold now, I don't see them as much now.
 
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