?Rattlesnakes?

Hibernation is over when the ground starts warming up. The farther north,the later they emerge. Were still getting snow above 2500 ft here so all the rattlers are still sleeping.
That bite doesn't sound like a snakebite Rather a spider. Necrosis is more common with recluse or black widows where the venom is concentrated around the point of injection. Snakebites will affect the whole leg if not the whole body. When I got bit my head swelled up as big as a basketball and my toes looked like big ripe black plums and I was just a kid!

I have spotted 2 so far this month...on the blacktop

Since spring is here and lots of Baja lovers are out and about in the desert, some snake info might be helpful:

All the dogs I have ever had in Baja managed to avoid any contact with snakes. We hunt doves a lot with some
German shorthairs and they will avoid the critters like the plague. Some training certainly helps, but mostly it is an inbred caution with dogs and snakes. A book by John Wolter might still be in print about dogs and snakes...you could search Google. A snake kit for the dogs (and us humans!) is always a good thing

Rattlesnakes are seen most frequently during the spring when they are coming out of hibernation and in the fall when they are returning to their dormant homes for the cold winter months.

In the desert, when temperatures are high, rattlesnakes become more active at night. Rattlesnakes have no control system for their body temperature and cannot handle excessive heat, so they remain underground during the day, hidden in burrows, under rocks or in the shade of shrubs. In the spring and autumn, when daytime temperatures are milder than summer months, rattlesnakes are seen sunbathing on rocks or hunting for food during daylight hours.

Spring is one of the most beautiful times of the year in the desert, but it can also be a time for caution. Rattlesnakes lie dormant during the cold fall and winter months and awaken from hibernation in the warm months of March and April.

Rattlesnake Statistics
Approximately 8,000 people a year receive venomous snakebites in the U.S., 9-15 victims die. (FDA)

25% of adult rattlesnake bites are dry, with no venom injected. (Brown, 1997)

Rattlesnakes can only strike a distance equal to 1/2 their own length

Symptoms of a Rattlesnake Bite:

One or two puncture marks
Pain, tingling or burning at the area of the bite
Swelling at the area of the bite
Bruising and discoloration at the site of the bite
Numbness
Nausea, weakness and lightheadedness.
Difficulty breathing
First Aid for Snakebites
(This first aid for snakebites information was provided by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the American Red Cross)

According to the American Red Cross, these steps should be taken:

Wash the bite with clean water and soap.
Immobilize the bitten area and keep it lower than the heart.
If the bite is on the hand or arm remove any rings, watches or tight clothing.
Get medical help immediately.
Most bites don't occur in isolated situations where the victim may be a long distance from medical help. Some medical professionals, along with the American Red Cross, cautiously recommend two other measures:

If a victim is unable to reach medical care within 30 minutes, a bandage, wrapped two to four inches above the bite, may help slow venom. The bandage should not cut off blood flow from a vein or artery. A good rule of thumb is to make the band loose enough that a finger can slip under it.

A suction device may be placed over the bite to help draw venom out of the wound without making cuts. Suction instruments often are included in commercial snakebite kits.

How NOT to treat a rattlesnake bite:

Snakebite first aid methods are not always agreed upon by U.S. medical professionals, but they are nearly unanimous in their views of what NOT to do.

NO ice or any other type of cooling on the bite. Research has shown this to be potentially harmful.

NO tourniquets. This cuts blood flow completely and may result in loss of the affected limb.

NO electric shock. This method is under study and has yet to be proven effective. It could harm the victim.

NO incisions in the wound. Such measures have not been proven useful and may cause further injury.




Lastly, if you do have to kill one, you are in luck...they are delicious!..but cook it first..not like these guys.

(I have posted this old rattler photo before on Nomads, but I couldn't resist this opportunity. )

[Edited on 4-9-2007 by Pompano]

Rattlers, Springtime, and Short Shorts!

Quote:

SWEET shorts, Pompano! Have you still got those hanging around, waiting for a "Seventies Party" maybe??? Cameron Lastly, if you do have to kill one, you are in luck...they are delicious!..but cook it first..not like these guys. (I have posted this old rattler photo before on Nomads, but I couldn't resist this opportunity. )

cardon man

Cascabel

cardon man

You're describing two males competing for a territory or female. I've seen that once in my life and it was very cool.

Male rattlesnake mating competition

Cardon Man & ursidae69, you are both fortunate to have witnessed this seldom-seen event.

I found this photo of another rattler competition ritual. Seems like the one who gets his head above the other wins the right to mate. Hey, we can find Animal Planet and Discovery right here on Nomads!

Something like boney potato chips comes to mind.

The picture

Snake photo

That picture of the intertwined rattlers....

Rattlesnake dinner

In some areas folks believe the head of a dead rattler should be removed and buried. Something about yellow jackets ingesting the poison and being able to pass the rattlesnake venom on when they sting someone.

A decapitated rattler should be treated as a "very short snake".

REVENGE OF THE UNDEAD!

Rattlesnakes can strike you from beyond the grave--and this bizarre form of posthumous revenge is surprisingly common.

Say you killed a rattler for lunch and you cut off the head. Watch out!

Studies have shown that an isolated rattlesnake head will try to attack objects waved in front of it for up to an hour after death. This is believed to be a reflex action, triggered by infrared sensors in the "pit organ", a structure between the nostril and eye that detects body heat.

A rattlesnake's body has touch sensors that can also trigger a reaction after death. There was an instance where a headless body jumped, smacking an unsuspecting observer with its bloody stump. Get that sucker skinned and in the pot quick!

Given that rattlesnakes rarely attack people unless they are provoked, the problems could usually be avoided if people didn't feel the need to kill them in the first place. Break out the Spam and spare that campsite rattler.

I don't know why my stomack muscles are contracting and my mouth is watering? In one instance I feel like having a Rattler BBQ and the next I feel like, what the heck am I thinking. Truth is I have never run into a rattler but I have always been curious about catching or hunting one. I don't know if it is the danger of the whole thing or what but I know that traveling to the Desert lands of Baja enough is going to put me in front of one of these ccritters sooner or later. I just hope I have enough sense to stay away from it, I have a tendency to approach dangerous situations.
What do they taste like? And please don't say chicken... Not everything exotic tastes like chicken, does it?

Your are right..not everything 'tastes just like chicken'..

Hmmm, sound pretty good. It kind of sounds like a abolne type of flavor rubbery and a little sweet??? Pampano or maybe like a shrimp or deer jerky?? What do you think?? Just wondering...

SoCal...

On the subject of eating rattlesnakes, I must say that they are pretty low on my choice of dinnerfare...right before spotted owl. Like Crocodile Dundee said in his movie when asked about eating a dungbeetle or something equally nasty.."Tastes like crap, but you can eat them."

I will let others pursue the culinary aspects of snakes.

This bunch would make a good-sized stew, I expect.

If Rattlesnake meat was a tastey treat there'd be a franchise serving it up. Snakes have way more rib bones than most critters. There isn't much meat between the bones.

rattlesnake sausage