By Kristy McCaffrey
I live near open desert north of the Phoenix metropolitan
area in Arizona and we have frequent interactions with rattlesnakes. I thought
I’d share a few pictures with you all and perhaps dispel a few myths.
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| A baby rattler we found near a water puddle beside our house during a hot summer morning. They sometimes look like a cow patty when sitting in the dirt. My husband captured it to show our children, then we released the little guy. |
We have Western diamondback rattlers. Their distinguishing
feature is a series of black and white rings on the tail. This has helped me to
quickly identify a snake I encounter, since bull snakes appear almost identical
in markings but aren’t poisonous. Western diamondbacks aren’t aggressive unless
cornered and will try to escape you at the first possible opportunity. However,
when we find them on our property we do capture and relocate the reptiles since
we have dogs.
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| We found this one buried in our backyard garden. |
One myth is that snakes hibernate. We’ve not found this to
be the case. In colder weather, they are less mobile but we’ve nevertheless
seen them. If we’re in the desert, these encounters are benign because the
snake is too cold to coil and can’t strike. But if the snake is near our house—usually
resting against a wall to get warm—they can be a bit more feisty.
Rattlesnakes are pit vipers. They have a heat sensing pit
located behind each nostril that can detect temperature differences, sometimes
only a fraction of a degree apart. The heat given off by an animal can be
sensed by the snake to determine if it is predator or prey. In captivity, they
can live as long as 20 years. Their main source of food is mice, rabbits,
lizards, gophers and other small animals.
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| Once we begin handling them, they usually get quite mad. |
Another myth dispelled—you can tell the age of a rattlesnake
by counting the number of rattles it has. Each time a snake sheds its skin, a
new rattle is added. However, these can break off. Also, the frequency of
shedding varies from snake to snake, so counting rattles isn’t a reliable way
to confirm age.
How do we capture such a strong and dangerous creature? My
husband uses a long stick with tongs at the end. He wrangles the snake, then
lifts it into a tall garbage can with a tight lid. In the past, we've loaded the can
into our truck, driven several miles away, and let the snake go while remaining
in the truck bed to avoid it slithering toward us. But we’ve recently learned
that this can be a death sentence for the rattler because it will be unable to
find its water source. We now transport the snakes about a mile away, but still
within their territory.
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| My husband grabs the snake with a snake catcher and deposits him into a tall garbage can with a tight lid. |
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| There's a snake inside there. We're trying to coax it to leave and escape to the desert. |
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| When trying to wrangle a snake, it's best to clasp as close to the head as possible to avoid the snake striking. |
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| Snakes will flatten their body (as seen here) as a means of escape. It was a cold November night when we found this rather large rattler against our garage door trying to get warm. |
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| My husband trying to stay as far away from the snake as possible! |
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| We released this one from the bed of our truck. |
I’m sure you’re wondering—why don’t we kill them? Many of
our neighbors do. While they aren’t my favorite desert critter to encounter,
they do have every right to be here. Moving them from our property allows my
husband and I to honor their presence as an important link in the desert
ecosystem.
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| A western diamondback rattlesnake. |
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Although we have rattlesnakes in our valley, we live on the floor of the valley and there's too much water. But we have had neighbors with lots of gritty tales of encounters, too. One friend had to check outdoors every time her kids wanted to go out and play -- but we have bull snakes and garden snakes, which are never intimidating. Thanks for the great photos, esp. of your hubby!
ReplyDeleteI've heard that different species of rattlers can be very aggressive. You just need to know and understand your surroundings, I think. I don't worry too much about the rattlers around us, but we always keep ours eyes open.
DeleteOh my Kristy, I confess to a dislike of all snakes. Still, I also agree with you, they have a right to be here. We also have rattlesnakes here where I live, but for the most part they are at lower elevations. Doris
ReplyDeleteDoris,
DeleteI'm not a huge fan either, but it seems terribly wrong to kill them unless necessary. When they encounter a human, it usually ends badly for them. On the other hand, since my husband and I don't kill them they do seem to hang out at our house. :-)
Our Oregon farm does not have western rattlers, although if the climate changes, that might also. They aren't far from us. We have been a little too wet. In Tucson, of course, we can have them all but for years never saw a single one at the house itself. That changed last January when our neighbor, who deals with the pool when we're not here, encountered one in the pool yard. He killed it as renters were due in a few days later. I am more concerned about them than i used to be for the cats and keep them out of the pool yard unless we've thoroughly inspected it. I want one of those snake catchers. Currently, if we didn't want to kill them, we'd be dependent on the pool net, not nearly as good, I think. Since a mile from our house would involve other homesites, I don't know where we'd take one if we did come across but agree with your method of trying to keep them alive if possible. They are important to the ecosystem.
ReplyDeleteRain,
DeleteWe catch and release as long as it is safe to do so. But they are sneaky. We've had 3 in our backyard, and it's completely bricked in except for the gate, which we've tried to block with chicken wire. It's hard to keep them out. Removing their food source helps, but that is a whole other story.
Snakes have always frightened me, no matter the species or size. The only way I handle (and not literally) worms is knowing how good they are for the soil. Many years ago a gopher snake appeared on our patio. Told my ex to get rid of it or I'd never set foot in the pasture again. Considering I was the one usually moving the irrigation pipes, he dispatched it immediately. You are a brave woman!
ReplyDeleteDiana,
DeleteI certainly get the heebee jeebees when we see them, but remaining calm does help. I love the bull the snakes. We've had some beauties around the house.
What a dangerous job catching rattlers must be--and so is having them show up any time, anywhere. I am so glad you don't just kill them. They have a purpose on the Earth, just like every other critter.
ReplyDeleteWe have copperheads here in NC. They have no rattler and can strike without warning.Because I live in the city, my chances of encountering any wildlife is rare.
Great blog.
Sarah--there are definitely more dangerous snakes than rattlers. They usually make their presence known, but there have been times I've walked right by one. They camouflage very well.
DeleteThank you for your compassion, Kristy. Rattlesnakes are typically not aggressive unless threatened. Interested in finding more about a species that is. My firefighter husband response need to many hysterical hill-dwelling homeowners who'd thrashed a rattler into attack, then wanted it killed. 😡.
ReplyDeleteTanya--our experience is that the snake will leave as soon as it can get away from you. We only handle them when they're near the house. When we've seen them in the desert, we leave them be and they back off.
DeleteYou've given me the creeps! I know snakes have their uses--blah, blah, blah--but they simply creep me out. Great post!
ReplyDeleteKeena--LOL. My husband does all the capture and release. I would never do it by myself.
DeleteWhat a great post Kristy! I love snakes, but I think I'm glad I live in UK where the chances of stumbling over a poisonous snake are very rare indeed! We only have adders, although their bite can also be deadly. Those are lovely pictures.
ReplyDeleteThank you Jill! I don't know much about adders. So many snakes, so little time... :-)
DeleteI am not a fan of snakes poisonous or otherwise. Your husband is very brave. We tend not to kill the ones that live here because they do eat pests.
ReplyDeleteThanks Barb. I think it's a challenge to him to wrangle the beast and save it. :-)
DeleteKristy, I'm not scared of rattlesnakes, but I have a healthy respect for them. It was because of an encounter with a rattlesnake a few years ago that I discovered the extent of my "aging" hearing loss: I can't hear them rattle. 0_o That's a bit scary considering I live in a rattlesnake area.
ReplyDeleteKaye--the rattling is much quieter than what's portrayed in movies and tv, and far less dramatic. It would be easy to not hear them unless right on them. I think respect is the key word. :-)
DeleteI admire your dedication in resettling the snakes, Kristy. I could never do it. The copperheads in my area are very dangerous, though I haven't seen on in a long time. We have a lot of black racers, too. They're not dangerous but they scare me so much that I can't sleep for a night or two after seeing one. I might as well admit, I'm afraid of big worms.
ReplyDelete