SNAKE!

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8 hours ago, Hawg said:

 

I caught this beauty in the garden last week. Let it go back into the garden later.

That’s cool!!!

[BilletHead]

Snakes are the best. The more the better.

[Ryan Miloshewski]

I used to do research on Timber Rattlesnakes in Eastern Kansas. Relocated them from a hibernaculum that was set to be destroyed by a new Target and tracked them via transmitters. They are easily the most docile venomous snake I've been around.

Only issue we had was a pregnant female took up residence under the deck of an old lady near the place we relocated them. One day we were following the signal and it kept getting stronger and stronger near her house. Walked up to the yard and there she was basking in the lady's flower bed, with two copperheads right next to her. We grabbed the TR and the copperheads went down into the lady's foundation. Clearly they were using it as a den. We told the lady and removed the TR but couldn't get the copperheads. We found tons of Cardinal and finch feathers in her scat, so she was laying out by the bird feeder and nabbing a meal.

We had a few snakes like that, with affinity to human structures, from the group we relocated. We ended up getting published internationally in the International Reptile Conservation Foundation's quarterly journal in 2011. 

You could be 5 feet from one of the snakes and they'd just sit there trying to blend in. Eventually most of the transmitters died or we removed them. It was really eye opening and definitely made me appreciate snakes a lot more. Here are some pics from 2010 I believe. 

[Hawg]

Am I the only one on this site that’s been bitten by a rattlesnake?

Funny story. I’ve handled thousands of snakes and while living out west I would routinely relocate Timber Rattlesnakes after removing them from my property.
 

One spring morning I was meeting the neighbor because we were going to do some fishing where a creek feeds into our river and a lot of two pounder rainbow would hold.

While waiting for my buddy to show up I started pulling some thistles that had grown underneath the running board of the barn. The thistle poked me a couple times and I thought to myself  ”I should walk up the hill to the truck and get my gloves” but as I reached down to pull more weeds I felt another poke and looked down to see that a tiny snake had reached under the board from the outside and had bitten me at the base of my thumb. I saw a tiny bit of liquid drip off the snakes fang as it retracted back from under the board. I imagine it was attracted to all the activity I was causing on the other side of the board thought my thumb was something to eat because it went out of its way to bite me. I looked down at my thumb and there was already instantly a black spot about the size of a dime.

After a 2 Hour drive back to town my arm had swollen all the way to my shoulder. What’s weird was my thumb was huge but my four fingers weren’t swollen.

When I got there the nurse asked me on a scale of one to 10 what my pain level was. I told her that my arm was about a seven but the rest of me felt like I was partying. She responded with “everybody says that” and proceeded to dump some morphine into my arm which knocked me unconscious.

 

I woke up and they told me they had given me four antivenin shots. Here’s your bill for 50 grand

 

 

edit: had to clean up the voice to text errors 

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52 minutes ago, Hawg said:

1. Am I the only one on this site that’s been bitten by a rattlesnake?

2. One spring morning I was meeting the neighbor because we were going to do some fishing where a creek feeds into our river and a lot of two pounder rainbow would hold.

1.  Well I certainly can't lay claim to that and I'm glad.😂

Now for #2.  This is a fishing website so.......   Pictures or it didn't happen.😁   GPS coordinates would be appreciated too.

[fishinwrench]

I was gifted a copperhead bite from a 14 incher on my 17th birthday.  I was panicked but felt ok until they gave me a shot at the ER at Audrain med center.   After the shot I got a giant lump in my throat that felt like I had swallowed a baseball, and everytime I stood up the room started spinning like crazy.   That lasted for a solid 14 hours.    The bite area never swelled or hurt at all but it did turn black/blue almost immediately.....I really don't think the snake let loose any venom.  The next day I felt ok but had no appetite whatsoever.  The bite area healed up as quickly as a mosquito bite.  

And before you ask I'll just admit it.......YES I was fukkin with it!  🙄 

Lesson learned 👍

[Ryan Miloshewski]

17 minutes ago, fishinwrench said:

I was gifted a copperhead bite from a 14 incher on my 17th birthday.  I was panicked but felt ok until they gave me a shot at the ER at Audrain med center.   After the shot I got a giant lump in my throat that felt like I had swallowed a baseball, and everytime I stood up the room started spinning like crazy.   That lasted for a solid 14 hours.    The bite area never swelled or hurt at all but it did turn black/blue almost immediately.....I really don't think the snake let loose any venom.  The next day I felt ok but had no appetite whatsoever.  The bite area healed up as quickly as a mosquito bite.  

And before you ask I'll just admit it.......YES I was fukkin with it!  🙄 

Lesson learned 👍

99% of copperhead bites on humans are dry bites (no venom injected). Wonder if they gave you something you didn't need (wouldn't surprise me)?

[fishinwrench]

4 minutes ago, Ryan Miloshewski said:

99% of copperhead bites on humans are dry bites (no venom injected). Wonder if they gave you something you didn't need (wouldn't surprise me)?

Whatever it was, was copperhead specific.   I told the doctor that it was for sure a copperhead......so he brings out this array of like 30 pictures and asks me to pick out the copperheads.   There were 3 and I passed the test 100% so he retrieved 2 vials and drew them both into the same syringe.   

My mom said that one was likely benadryl and the other a synthetic anti-venin.   

[fishinwrench]

Oh yeah......and just for comparison to TODAY......

That ER visit only cost 38.00  😂 and was paid for with a check.

 

 

I betcha that a copperhead bite would cost your insurance co. 2-4k today.  

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1 minute ago, fishinwrench said:

Oh yeah......and just for comparison to TODAY......

That ER visit only cost 38.00  😂

Well it was Audrain😂.   Probably doubled as a vet and barbershop.  😆.  Did they shine your shoes too.