tyflier
[Insert Witty Commentary]
There is also a HUGE difference in the level of understanding between a passionate observer, and a casual show-off.
I go out of my, as do many people on this forum, to find and document rattlesnakes in the wild. Observation of them, their habits, and their body language goes a LONG way towards being able to safely and confidently predict their behaviors. Just like dogs, rattlers will let you know, under no uncertain terms, if they are interested in being close to you, or not.
They are incredibly predictable, if you remember a couple of major things...
First and foremost...they don't want to be handled. In 99% of all instances, a rattlesnake does not want to interact with a human. There are very rare situations where captive rattlers have gone out of their way to get closer to their keepers, and I have seen this happen.
I watched an adult, long term captive Panamint crawl up the shaft of a snake hook(that was just sitting there, not being held), across the back of the couch, over to my good friend in a different chair, down his arm, and curl up in the crook of his elbow, and snuggle in for a nap. I can't explain it other than to say that this snake wanted to be held. You can believe it or not, it's all the same to me. I saw it happen.
Second thing to remember is that every action and reaction is dictated solely by instinct and comfort. There is never malicious intent in these animals...only a reaction to stimulation. Their body posture, tongue activity, movements, and level of alertness are easily interpreted, for the most part. Learning how, exactly, to interpret these body language cues is the key.
People with a passion for these animals, and experience in reading these cues are less likely to be caught off guard. People out to show-off to their friends because they think they are cool are FAR more likely to misjudge a snake and it's intentions, and therefor are more likely to get bitten.
In the end...stuff happens. After you've been bitten, your level of experience is fairly well a moot point. Venom doesn't care if this was your first handling experience or your millionth. It only takes one small mistake to land you in the hospital. All of the experience and passionate understanding in the world won't do a thing to stop that venom from doing it's job...
You can't keep a venomous snake in the terrarium when cleaning it, so you have to handle them sometimes but only with the hook.
