+Dr.Scissortail Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 Geocachers have to take special precautions all the time, but it seems that this year is especially bad for snake bites. Here in Central Oklahoma, we've already had about 44 inches of rain this year. That means lots of tall grass (sometimes over 6 ft high) and weeds. The result of all the vegetation is more insects and small animals. That spirals right up the food chain to rattlesnakes and copperheads. Hospitals here report a very high number of poisonous snake bite victims. Most of these were people doing yard work. Antivenin treatments run $15,000 and up per treatment. Locals also report a high number of venomous snakes in their yards. I'm being super cautious this summer, but mostly because of the heavy load of chigger bites I've had. In Oklahoma the roadside grasses are very high because livestock can't get there and the mowing crews are way behind. These roadsides are common places for caches. I sometimes find a stick to probe ahead where I'm walking, and I never stick my hand down where I can't see to grab a cache. I haven't seen any snakes, and I don't want to. Have any of you noticed more snakes? Quote Link to comment
+kunarion Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 (edited) Have any of you noticed more snakes? It's the year of the snake in Georgia. Until this year, I had only seen one venomous snake (a copperhead). This year, I've already seen two copperheads and a cottonmouth. And several non-venomous snakes. Plus there seem to be more road kills. Water Moccasin - Cottonmouth (Venomous) Copperhead (Venomous) This one was at a lake shore where I was scouting cache locations. I heard a rustle of animal movement, then an intermittent "buzzing" sound. This snake was shaking its tail like a rattlesnake might in the weeds. I had unintentionally cornered the snake. So I backed off and left. (Non Venomous) Edited August 27, 2013 by kunarion Quote Link to comment
+Gitchee-Gummee Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 Point-Of-View... Don't you mean it is a "good" year for snakes? The food chain is booming. Lots of lovin' and baby-makin'. It's just that those darn humans keep gettin' in the way. But, you are correct, extra caution is advised. Be safe... walking stick sales are booming, too. Quote Link to comment
+kunarion Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 Point-Of-View... Don't you mean it is a "good" year for snakes? The food chain is booming. Lots of lovin' and baby-makin'. It's just that those darn humans keep gettin' in the way. When I see a cache report of a snake sighting, I go check it out . Quote Link to comment
Space*Cadet Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 Funny you should ask?! I have had this discussion with my geocaching partner a few times this year, after we have encountered another snake! I have had 2 baby rattlesnakes in my yard this year! First time in a long time I have found a rattlesnake in my yard, and to find two at different occasion's?!? Also, we have walked by 3 rattlesnakes while geocaching. All 3 times we heard them before seeing them. Thank goodness they weren't in our direct path but a few feet away. And we have seen several non-venomous (i.e.: Hognose, Texas Rat snakes, green grass snakes, etc) It's been an active year for snakes. Isn't it the Chinese "year of the Snake" this year? Quote Link to comment
+tisourway Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 Rumor has it that the rattlesnakes have stopped rattleing. I do not know if it is true, but one of my co-workers went to his land in West Texas and said that he killed several that did not rattle. Quote Link to comment
+Scratch Ankle Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 Rumor has it that the rattlesnakes have stopped rattleing. I do not know if it is true, but one of my co-workers went to his land in West Texas and said that he killed several that did not rattle. I've heard that rumor for years and it is anecdotal. Rattlesnakes have never always rattled to warn you. There is some suggestion that if there is something to that rumor that maybe natural selection is favoring rattlesnakes that don't rattle and therefore draw attention to themselves to get killed by people. Quote Link to comment
+Don_J Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 Geocachers have to take special precautions all the time, but it seems that this year is especially bad for snake bites. Here in Central Oklahoma, we've already had about 44 inches of rain this year. That means lots of tall grass (sometimes over 6 ft high) and weeds. The result of all the vegetation is more insects and small animals. That spirals right up the food chain to rattlesnakes and copperheads. Hospitals here report a very high number of poisonous snake bite victims. Most of these were people doing yard work. Antivenin treatments run $15,000 and up per treatment. Locals also report a high number of venomous snakes in their yards. I'm being super cautious this summer, but mostly because of the heavy load of chigger bites I've had. In Oklahoma the roadside grasses are very high because livestock can't get there and the mowing crews are way behind. These roadsides are common places for caches. I sometimes find a stick to probe ahead where I'm walking, and I never stick my hand down where I can't see to grab a cache. I haven't seen any snakes, and I don't want to. Have any of you noticed more snakes? I won't go three feet off the road without my hiking stick. Quote Link to comment
+tisourway Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 I've heard that rumor for years and it is anecdotal. Rattlesnakes have never always rattled to warn you. There is some suggestion that if there is something to that rumor that maybe natural selection is favoring rattlesnakes that don't rattle and therefore draw attention to themselves to get killed by people. We heard that it beacuse of feral hogs not humans, the hogs are a bigger problem here than snakes and they will eat snakes (and anything else). Quote Link to comment
+Gitchee-Gummee Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 We heard that it beacuse of feral hogs not humans, the hogs are a bigger problem here than snakes and they will eat snakes (and anything else). Turkeys also... just follow a flock of turkeys... they leave NO snakes behind -- not any live ones, anyway! Quote Link to comment
+wimseyguy Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 2008 was a bad year for snakes. That was the summer I got too close and personal with a copperhead and got bit on the finger. Haven't seen more snakes than normal this year, but we did see a 16" copperhead on the trail during our dog walking event this evening. Quote Link to comment
+Ladybug Kids Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 Rumor has it that the rattlesnakes have stopped rattleing. I do not know if it is true, but one of my co-workers went to his land in West Texas and said that he killed several that did not rattle. My brothers, nephews and I were vigorously rattled at by a beautiful Mohave rattlesnake outside of Phoenix in May. Caught it on video with audio. Quote Link to comment
+Ambrosia Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 I'm not sure if it's a worse year or not. But I've always found it interesting that even though I live in a place that has lots of rattlesnakes, I don't see them while hiking. Up until this year, I had only seen two live rattlesnakes and one dead one while caching. One of the live ones we found because we were looking in every rock hole on the way to a cache just to try and find a rattlesnake. Even though I hike a lot, I've only seen rattlesnakes out and about one time before caching, as well. I know they're out there, especially since I've seen too many to count in my own backyard. I finally found another one this month while looking for a cache in Colorado. He was trying to curl up under a few small rocks, not very successfully. Made my heart go pitter-pat when I started to reach for the rocks around him. He was barely awake, though, and didn't seem concerned with me at all. It's interesting, his eyes are partly closed (yes, I moved the rocks around him so I could get a better picture): Quote Link to comment
+edscott Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Before anyone goes off searching for a rattlesnake to kill better check your state laws. In many states they are a protected species. Quote Link to comment
Clan Riffster Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 (edited) It's interesting, his eyes are partly closed I don't think any species of snake is capable of closing their eyes, even a little bit? In many states (rattlesnakes) are a protected species. I wish this were true across the board. They are such awesome critters. I just don't get the, "I'm ignorant & afraid! Kill it!" mentality. Edited August 30, 2013 by Clan Riffster Quote Link to comment
+Ambrosia Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 It's interesting, his eyes are partly closed I don't think any species of snake is capable of closing their eyes, even a little bit? Well, he has some sort of lid over the top 2/3rds of his eyes, which I've never seen before in rattlesnakes. Perhaps it's a different variety than in Washington? Quote Link to comment
+edscott Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 (edited) Well, he has some sort of lid over the top 2/3rds of his eyes, which I've never seen before in rattlesnakes. Perhaps it's a different variety than in Washington? There is a bit of a ridge above the eye that obscures it in your photo. Had you gotten lower and closer the whole eye would have been visible. The eye does have a covering called a brill that is like a clear contact lens that protects the eye while allowing him to see, but that is usually only visible just before he sheds and it causes the eye to look cloudy. ...and yes there are different species in Colorado from those in Washington, however the eye structure is similar. Edited August 31, 2013 by edscott Quote Link to comment
+Ambrosia Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 Well, he has some sort of lid over the top 2/3rds of his eyes, which I've never seen before in rattlesnakes. Perhaps it's a different variety than in Washington? There is a bit of a ridge above the eye that obscures it in your photo. Had you gotten lower and closer the whole eye would have been visible. The eye does have a covering called a brill that is like a clear contact lens that protects the eye while allowing him to see, but that is usually only visible just before he sheds and it causes the eye to look cloudy. ...and yes there are different species in Colorado from those in Washington, however the eye structure is similar. Interesting. I don't think I've seen a ridge like that on any snake here in Washington. Here's the last pic I took of a rattler: Quote Link to comment
+Ambrosia Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 It's funny because after I posted the rattler pic earlier, I went outside and almost stepped on a garter snake in the grass. Gave me a start, after all the talk of rattlesnakes. Little guy waited for me to go and get the camera too, how polite. Quote Link to comment
+jellis Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 I was talking to a CO on the phone and looked down and found this youngster. NP Rattlesnake Quote Link to comment
+DonB Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 There are rattlesnakes in Wisconsin and I have lived here all of my life and I have yet to see one while in the boondocks. When I was a kid we spent hours in the woods in the summertime and still never seen a rattler. Quote Link to comment
+E_ZIG_A Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 When I'm caching in conditions where I am likely to run into snakes (being Australia, we have more than our fair share of aggressive and venomous sorts!) I wear leather GP boots, long pants and thick canvas gaiters. I figure the snakes can't bite me through that and it gives me a chance. Quite a few times I've narrowly avoided stepping on a big Tiger snake (very aggro and extremely venomous) and Red Bellied Blacks (not quite so bad, but still not to be messed with). Quote Link to comment
+onthegomom Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 It's interesting, his eyes are partly closed I don't think any species of snake is capable of closing their eyes, even a little bit? In many states (rattlesnakes) are a protected species. I wish this were true across the board. They are such awesome critters. I just don't get the, "I'm ignorant & afraid! Kill it!" mentality. Well some of us that are afraid of them wouldn't spend that much time around it to try and kill it, I would be miles gone LOL I don't even like seeing the racers, I leave the area. We live in copperhead land with some rattlers, I stay out of the woods from like April-November, I may venture in if gps says 30ish feet, but that is the furthest, I have a slight fear of them LOL Quote Link to comment
+Fridge01 Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 (edited) When I moved to Florida I was surprised at the positive attitude about snakes. It's not uncommon to se a log bragging "I saw a pygmy rattlesnake!" or something , like it was a good experience to be desired. The next finder will complain that they didn't see the snake. After a couple years of geocaching here I've overcome my fear of snakes. One of my favorite caching experience took me 15 feet from a huge alligator. Once you are familiar with snakes habits they are less scarey. They prefer not to attack people we're not on the menu. they'll run away unless they feel trapped. Use caution and watch where you're going so you don't startle them at close range Edited September 8, 2013 by Fridge01 Quote Link to comment
+Anansi Joy Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 I haven't spotted any of the copperheads that are so abundant in my area, but I did have the privilege of finding a large yellow-bellied racer curled up in a small tree today. I thought at first that it was the cache, but I think now that it probably wasn't. Quote Link to comment
+Konza Coyote Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 Rumor has it that the rattlesnakes have stopped rattleing. I do not know if it is true, but one of my co-workers went to his land in West Texas and said that he killed several that did not rattle. This is true, especially in the Southwest. Due to the yearly rattlesnake roundups, those without rattles have survived, passing on their rattle-less genes. Quote Link to comment
+Ambrosia Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 Of all the numerous rattlesnakes that we've found in our yard over the years, only a couple have rattled. I've come to the opinion that they'd rather hide and blend in than to point out where they are. They're very good at being still and quiet. I've almost touched them (one actually went over my brother's hand) several times without knowing they were there. Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.