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Baja Bucko
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Registered: 9-23-2003
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Cascabeles (Rattlesnakes)
Have seen a bazillion rattlesnakes during my 40 yrs or so of traveling the Baja peninsula. I love them all-they are stunningly beautiful. From the
the nasties of Sierra San Pedro Martir to the pretty ones of Tres Virgenes and La Purisima-seen really really big ones (atleast 6' and 5" in
diameter!! in the lava beds around the volcano where there's a whole neighborhood of 'um to 2' little babies tho' cute and tiny very dangerous!!).
I just returned from a muletrip in the San Franciscos and thankfully it is winter time for these cold-blooded buddies and it was nice not having to
tread carefully at night when heading to the bushes. Most of my trips are March-April-May and in March they are just starting to wake up and they
are grouchy!!!! Most vaqueros let them be except when they are on the traveled path and then a quick rock takes them out....when it comes to
well-used trails there is a no-nonsense attitude towards cascabeles...ie viveras.
I have been on numerous muletrips on ancient rarely-traveled paths and the rattlesnake coiled in the center of the path w a 500' canyon drop on one
side and a straight up cactus patch on the other usually ends up escorted far and away by the use of the vaquero's mecate OR "rocked"....a very
dangerous situation....
One trip in the San Borjas a friend decided he would walk to his tent sans flashlite-after all it was a full moon....he stopped midstride as his next
step was right on top of a coiled rattlesnake which by the way was silent. Talk abt a heart attack.....
I used to sleep just out on the ground but nope, I rarely do that anymore....even the vaqueros are toting tents when they can. I have asked many
times if the cowboys I was with knew personally of people getting snake bit. One guy knew of 4 people-one who died the others made it to Santa
Rosalia. Carlos in Santa Marta showed me his great scar on his leg from his encounter w a rattlesnake...ugly scar. He was 5 hrs out of Santa Rosalia
but got to the hospital.
Then there was the awful early 1970s death of a very experienced hiker who should have known better in the San Pedro Martirs....24 hrs from a
helicopter and he died a horrible death.
I always wear my thick half-chaps from morning to bedtime in snake country and if it is snake season I watch where I step and put my hands when
climbing. Have added cool collapsible Black Diamond hiking sticks to my stuff (they fit perfect behind my saddle!!!) and they are great for alerting
snakes in the path or in tricky spots when climbing.
Then there was the time north of Santa Gertrudes on the way to San Borja when a certain "rockstar" vaquero had his son catch a 4' rattler and wrap
it around his neck---oh the things to do to impress the damsels on muleback!!! Let's just say we had a discussion abt NOT doing THAT EVER AGAIN!!!!
I love snakes-all snakes but I respect the rattlesnake. It is good at what it does and very deadly. Never underestimate what the the bite can do
especially in Baja. Anyone out and abt in the desert needs to always be on the alert.
Just my dos centavos worth-mileage may vary....
That is one major reason I never bring any of my dogs on these trips.....
 
My other 4WD is a Baja Mule!
La Mula Mil Survivor 2013-2014!
1000 miles by mule from the tip to Tecate!
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LancairDriver
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Interesting take on the snakes. I have often wondered how many Baja natives and also dogs are bitten each year, and what is the survival rate.
Particularly with the distances involved to get medical help. No helicopters to fly you to Yorba Linda Medical Center for treatment.
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by LancairDriver
Interesting take on the snakes. I have often wondered how many Baja natives and also dogs are bitten each year, and what is the survival rate.
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Lots of dogs, and most often right on the end of the nose since that's usually the closest part of a dog to a snake.
My vet says most dogs will survive a bite without intervention and I saw that happen last year.
My neighbor's stooopid dog got hit by a rattler and it ran home hyper ventilating and almost foaming at the mouth. She had an endless thirst as well.
She got settled in and went through the night with some discomfort, mostly anxiety, and was almost new the following morning.
She got some free avoidance training on that one.
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BajaGringo
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When we first started building here we saw rattlesnakes on a regular basis including a few who wanted to take up residence in the house before we got
the doors on. All were moved a good distance away back towards the volcano. Once we moved into the new place and brought the dogs and cats we haven't
seen any now in awhile.
One local here told me that the snakes really do not like cats and they are a good deterrent. Not sure if there is any truth to that theory but
whatever it is they haven't been a problem...
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bajaguy
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Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
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Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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Ron
Next time you are at the Vet, check on getting the dogs and cats the rattlesnake Anti-Venom vaccinations.....slows down the toxic effects of a snake
bite....but still need to get them to a Vet
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monoloco
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A certain percentage of rattle snake bites will be dry bites so it is important to wait for the signs of envenomation before administering anti venom
as the anti venom can cause serious side effects.
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vandenberg
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| Quote: | Originally posted by monoloco
A certain percentage of rattle snake bites will be dry bites so it is important to wait for the signs of envenomation before administering anti venom
as the anti venom can cause serious side effects. |
Also, they will not inject the full amount of venom if the threat to them doesn't require it. One of the reason the little ones are dangerous. They
haven't learned yet how to regulate their venom.
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DENNIS
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Again, I'll refer to what my vet said..........ordinarily they won't use anti-venom on a dog down here, maybe because they rarely have it.
Anyway, he says the dogs chance of natural survival are good. Let nature be the doctor.
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mcfez
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Interesting posts here (towards the bottom of the page).
http://www.theoutdoorsforum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2...
My dog got it for 3 years. He got a minor bite before that
My current vet who has GSPs and hunts. She says all her dogs have been bit and she's never lost one. (of course they have a vet right there when it
happens) Anyway, she recommends against it on the basis that we are likely over vaccinating our dogs and that there is still no objective,
quantitative data regarding its effectiveness. She says all the information is still flowing from people who make money giving it. That said, I'm on
the fence... I may go ahead and give the ol boy his booster even though I agree we are likely overvaccinating based on what I've read. I'd like to see
vets offer affordable titers before just re-vaccinating. Best defense is don't get bit. The snake break clinics are a great thing.
I think the deal as to which species it works against is a bit complicated. My understanding is that it counteracts the hemotoxin that is typical of
Western Diamonbacks and most other species. Mojaves have a neurotoxin that is not affected by the current vaccine (I hear they are working on it). It
gets complicated because rattlesnake venom is a soup of some 20 proteins and while some species have nearly all hemotoxin, the Mojave is nearly all
neurotoxin. However, most species have a mixture that is variable by population within a species as well as between species. The Pacific rattlers
behind San Jacinto supposedly have relatively more neurotoxin than other pacifics. This accounts for much the wide variability of reactions to bites
Old people are like the old cars, made of some tough stuff. May show a little rust, but good as gold on the inside.
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David K
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Location: San Diego County
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Baja Bucko, you won a couple prizes at Itzel's dinner... one was a cirio (boojum) painting by Hugo Lopez... I took a couple photos of it, posted in
the Itzel Update thread.
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redhilltown
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Location: Long Beach, CA
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I quite agree they are fascinating creatures and worthy of respect. Now that I am older (ahem), I use walking sticks ( ok ok ok...ski poles) for
hiking and I've always wondered if they do any good as to whether a snake would hit them first before my leg entered it's strike zone... Either way I
figure the poles are a bit more noise and warning and I feel a "bit" safer hiking alone.
To be honest, walking around downtown Long Beach where I live is a hell of a lot more dangerous!
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TMW
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Several years ago a friend of mine was at Santa Veronica near Tecate and his dog got bit by a rattlesnake. Fearing the dog might die he took her to a
vet in San Diego. The vet treated the dog with the anti-venom and the dog was OK but he said the vet bill was $5,000. Does that sound right? Knowing
how much he loved that dog I never really questioned the cost.
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Baja Bucko
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I sold a bird dog pup a couple of yrs ago to a man in socal. First hunting season was near El Centro. Within the hour the poor dog was
snake-bit-nailed by what turned out to be the new "dreaded" mix-a cross between a Mohave Green and the pacific I believe, that's what the vet and DFG
said. This guy poured over $8000 into saving the dog-had to sell his fishing boat but the dog survived. It was extremely ill for weeks.....
Up here in the Oregon high desert where we hunt chukars and on the Snake-Hells Canyon and Owyhees I've never had a dog hit by a rattlesnake-had a few
misses as a dog was flying over boulders. The dogs I personally know that were bitten -one 4 times in the face (he was in bad shape for a month but
survived -was at the vets within an hour!!) and the others never knew what got them as they were hit in the elbow area as they ran over rocks.
Now I just wait for first frost then go chukar hunting.
My other 4WD is a Baja Mule!
La Mula Mil Survivor 2013-2014!
1000 miles by mule from the tip to Tecate!
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watizname
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Registered: 8-7-2009
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Keep the roadrunners around with a little ball of hamburger once in a while. They are good snake birds. After a while, they will come right up to
you for their little snack.
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Mexitron
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Location: Fort Worth, Texas
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| Quote: | Originally posted by BajaGringo
When we first started building here we saw rattlesnakes on a regular basis including a few who wanted to take up residence in the house before we got
the doors on. All were moved a good distance away back towards the volcano. Once we moved into the new place and brought the dogs and cats we haven't
seen any now in awhile.
One local here told me that the snakes really do not like cats and they are a good deterrent. Not sure if there is any truth to that theory but
whatever it is they haven't been a problem... |
I saw a documentary awhile back about the Saharan Desert cats (the wild versions of our domesticated cats) and they showed a cat going after what I
recall was a cobra---the cats are so fast they would jump in and do their rapid-fire b-tch slap on the snake then jump back before the snake could do
anything----after a few sessions of this beating the snake was worn out and the cat went in for the kill. Pretty amazing to see.
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woody with a view
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in oct we were 15 feet from the sand on the bluffs. this 4' snake came crawling past Bia and when she yelled the local boys came running. before she
could stop them they grabbed my shovel and you see the results. they said this snake is the only one worse than a rattler  is there
such a snake?
i know rattlers have a triangle shaped head. this doesn't so i would have moved him into the rocks and let him go if given the chance. unfortunatley
for the snake i was fishing off the rocks.....
[Edited on 12-16-2010 by woody with a view]
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by woody with a view
they said this snake is the only one worse than a rattler is there such a snake?
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I think the Rattler is as bad as it gets around here.
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Mexitron
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Here's a video of a cat going after a snake:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IPjp2AkoBA
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Mexitron
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Could that be coral snake Woody? We usually see sidewinders along the coastal bluffs but I think they have triangular heads (?)
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Pacifico
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| Quote: | Originally posted by woody with a view
in oct we were 15 feet from the sand on the bluffs. this 4' snake came crawling past Bia and when she yelled the local boys came running. before she
could stop them they grabbed my shovel and you see the results. they said this snake is the only one worse than a rattler is there
such a snake?
i know rattlers have a triangle shaped head. this doesn't so i would have moved him into the rocks and let him go if given the chance. unfortunatley
for the snake i was fishing off the rocks.....
[Edited on 12-16-2010 by woody with a view] |
That looks like a golpher snake...... Rattlesnakes are the only poisoness snakes in Baja according to the reptile books that I have. As far as coral
snakes go, the Arizona coral snake is found in Mexico but only on the mainland....
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