Rattlesnake bite near here

[DonTom]

Also, I sent the photo to a herpetologist at the University of Arkansas and asked him why a Cottonmouth w

No qualified herpetologist will say the photo below is a cotton mouth ,aka water moccasin. They may not be able to tell you what is by the lack of detail in the photo, but they can certainly tell you what it is NOT, and it is NOT a cotton mouth.

It's not even close.

-Don- Tulare, CA

 

[Jackiemac]

No qualified herpetologist will say the photo below is a cotton mouth ,aka water moccasin. They may not be able to tell you what is by the lack of detail in the photo, but they can certainly tell you what it is NOT, and it is NOT a cotton mouth.

View attachment 178435
It's not even close.

-Don- Tulare, CA

Is it a steak? Couldn't resist

 

[DonTom]

Is it a steak? Couldn't resist

By the time I get done with Mike, he will owe me the entire stock of the Tack Room Steak House in Buckeye, AZ!

-Don- Turlock, CA

 

[LarsMac]

No qualified herpetologist will say the photo below is a cotton mouth ,aka water moccasin. They may not be able to tell you what is by the lack of detail in the photo, but they can certainly tell you what it is NOT, and it is NOT a cotton mouth.

View attachment 178435
It's not even close.

-Don- Tulare, CA

Well, all I'll say is that I never saw Cottonmouth with that coloration.

 

[DonTom]

Well, all I'll say is that I never saw Cottonmouth with that coloration.

I am not even looking at the coloration. That varies too much, sometimes to an extreme, such as here.

Or here.

Types of scales, number of scale rows, head shape and other such things is what is best to go by.

That said, I can tell what most USA snakes are with just one quick glance.

BTW, would you know below is a genuine cottonmouth by its coloration? I would instantly know just by the pit viper head. I would have no need to take a closer look at its eyes (vertical pupils) or scales.

-Don- Turlock, CA

 

[LarsMac]

I am not even looking at the coloration. That varies too much, sometimes to an extreme, such as here.

Or here.

Types of scales, number of scale rows, head shape and other such things is what is best to go by.

That said, I can tell what most USA snakes are with just one quick glance.

BTW, would you know below is a genuine cottonmouth by its coloration? I would instantly know just by the pit viper head. I would have no need to take a closer look at its eyes (vertical pupils) or scales.

View attachment 178443

-Don- Turlock, CA

Yeah, head is a giveaway. I tell the grandkids that's a "Leave-me-alone" snake. I would not immediately guess it to be a Cottonmouth, But I would know it was a Pit Viper. Close enough for me.

 

[KnightEagle]

Best advise if you don't know what it is stay far away as you can. A rattler can strike believe its 2/3 there length. Cottonmouth's come in different colors we have these kind's in south Texas.

 

[DonTom]

Yeah, head is a giveaway. I tell the grandkids that's a "Leave-me-alone" snake. I would not immediately guess it to be a Cottonmouth, But I would know it was a Pit Viper. Close enough for me.

Yeah, and that is what I should have said myself, because the above Cotton Mouth (in post 45) looks more like a Copperhead to me by the coloration. But they are both Pit Vipers and that is all I need to know to realize it is a venomous snake.

-Don- Turlock, CA

 

[DonTom]

A rattler can strike believe its 2/3 there length.

A little less, between a third and half of their length would be the expected norm with less than one third being more common than half.

-Don- Turlock, CA

 

[DonTom]

A rattler can strike believe its 2/3 there length.

I decided to look that one up and I now see the Diamondbacks really can do 2/3 of their length. But that snake is the exception.

"Diamondbacks are also very strong and powerful. They can easily strike half the distance of their own body length and, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, can even strike up to two-thirds of their body length."

For most other rattlesnakes:

"A rattlesnake can strike anywhere from one-third to one-half its own body length. The average adult rattlesnake is between 3 and 6 feet long."

-Don- Turlock, CA

 

[KnightEagle]

I will stay back willie you go and measure it. Also have a shovel near by. Best advise stay away from them. At home keep your yard clean we don't have bushes near the house all in the effort to keep them away and try to keep the cover for them down to the medium we live in a hot rattler zone.

 

[Tulecreeper]

Got a photo? Sound like you found the very first water snake with fangs.

-Don- Tulare, CA

No, this is the only photo as I took it down and threw it in the tiny farm pond on the property next to us. But I know fangs when I see them. Keep in mind, I blew the **** out of it's head with two rounds of up close snake shot. The bottom side under its head is basically non-existent.

 

[DonTom]

But I know fangs when I see them.

That could be, but you certainly do NOT know a cotton mouth water moccasin when you see one!

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[Derby6]

Dead snakes are good. Lol

 

[LarsMac]

Dead snakes are good. Lol

I actually like having snakes around the farm. They keep the rodent population down a bit.

 

[Derby6]

I grew up on farm. Hated and killed them then. No change now.

 

[DonTom]

Hated and killed them then.

Did you hate them because you have a bad case of snakephobia?

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[Derby6]

I’d say yes. Mom hated em too so I was supported. Lol
Now me shooting birds and rabbits mom wasn’t so supportive. Lol
Not hunting birds and rabbits or protecting garden. But me as a young one just shooting them just cause they was in yard and I could. Oh the good old days.

 

[LarsMac]

When I was a kid of about eight, I had long been a student of Reptilian life and particularly of Serpents, I encountered a Hognose Snake in our back yard. I decided that I wanted to see it roll over and play dead, so I began blocking it from escaping, and harassing it with a stick. My friend Jimmy came over. Seeing what I was doing, He shouted something, grabbed my stick, and shoved me away, and started beating the poor snake to death. "Those are poisonous and it could KILL YOU!"
For the record, I knew that Hognose snakes had venom, but I also knew that their fangs were placed back in the latter area of their mouth and are more for subduing a capture prey than for defense.
I actually never forgave Jimmy for killing the little guy.
Some snakes may be dangerous, but Ignorance is more so.

 

[old RV guy]

I decided to look that one up and I now see the Diamondbacks really can do 2/3 of their length. But that snake is the exception.

"Diamondbacks are also very strong and powerful. They can easily strike half the distance of their own body length and, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, can even strike up to two-thirds of their body length."

For most other rattlesnakes:

"A rattlesnake can strike anywhere from one-third to one-half its own body length. The average adult rattlesnake is between 3 and 6 feet long."

-Don- Turlock, CA

The thing to do is always have a tape measure and snake identification manual handy.