Forcefeeding a rattlesnake

[trb]

There was a guy who stopped on the highway near Roundup to play with a rattler. One bite is all it took.
Heck of a legacy.

I got lots of unwanted experience removing a wonderful variety of venomous snakes from my open-air house in Panama during my time in the Peace Corps. My house was on a small hill and during the rainy season (half the year) all the critters (snakes, rodents, scorpions, etc) would find refuge inside. Justifiably or not, encounters with fer-de-lance/bushmasters/"equis" have left me confident picking up a rattlesnake on a lengthy stick.

Now that I've typed this...I'll probably accidentally fling one in the air and have it latch on to my face next time I try.

 

[D_Walt]

Very cool, if somewhat disturbing, story. I’m not a snake lover, but I don’t hate them either. We come across big diamondbacks fairly regularly In the spring and fall, usually only kill them if they’re around the house. The kids do like to catch the big indigos when they can though.

 

[Gellar]

That's wild. Tried it on my kids tonight at dinner, didn't work...

When you grab them by the neck and force them to open their mouth it’s a fine line between getting it to to work, and choking.

 

[Gellar]

We

We had a pet bull snake for awhile as kids (Larry). He would get about a mouse per week. One week we ended up with a black mouse and he wouldn’t eat him, he finally killed him but still never ate him. Always thought that was kinda strange..

I’ve had that happen but I didn’t think it was because of color. I couldn’t get mice one time so I got rats. When I was telling my rodent guy he said sometimes if they are used to eating something the smell of the other animal will turn them off.
The first timber rattlesnake snake we had we would just trap ground squirrels. It was amazing watching it take one down hole.

 

[Gellar]

There was a guy who stopped on the highway near Roundup to play with a rattler. One bite is all it took.
Heck of a legacy.

About 75% of venomous snakebites are males, 18-25 years old and intoxicated.

 

[Gellar]

Very cool, if somewhat disturbing, story. I’m not a snake lover, but I don’t hate them either. We come across big diamondbacks fairly regularly In the spring and fall, usually only kill them if they’re around the house. The kids do like to catch the big indigos when they can though. View attachment 213216

We don’t have indigo rat snakes, but our black rat snakes can get about 10 feet long.

 

[Laelkhunter]

That's wild. Tried it on my kids tonight at dinner, didn't work...

Were the mice dead? My kids can't keep the mice down if the mice are alive.

 

[Hem]

About 75% of venomous snakebites are males, 18-25 years old and intoxicated.

Its pretty snakey around where I live. I run in to rattlers every year. The Prairie rattlers are mostly well behaved. The only ones I have killed have been on the property or around the house, otherwise I leave them alone. I'm pretty conscience as a result , always on guard. I worry more about the dogs.

 

[MarvB]

Nope…the only thing I’m feeding one is the curved end of a shovel!

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Also, catching rattlesnakes on sticks is the spice of life. Almost stepped on this fine specimen on a hike along the Middle Fork.

View attachment 213212

Lake Pleasant Az.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Any Rattler under 4ft. I leave alone, over 4ft. are dinner!

 

[hank4elk]

I kept some snakes and a caiman as a kid. Mom insisted I give them to the Zoo when the boa hit 8' and the caiman got 5' long and bit me.Hand feeding it burger. LOL I still have that scar too.

Been around a lot of snakes & reptiles too. Dealt with them and the Publick daily as a PR.
Almost bit by 3 rattlers in the wild. Once hunting Big Sur by a coastie that struck off a rock and missed my cheek and twice now here by Mojave Greens. Killed the 2 greens after they literally attacked me.

I see less snakes in NM than other places I have lived . Way less than CA. Reptiles too.

Let them go in the wild. Sorry, I don't think I would even go to the zoo anymore. I like nature,in nature.

 

[Redmt]

We live in a snake rich environment, but maybe not so much after the SCU fire. We would kill up to 20 every year in our yard and shop areas. I have not found a practical use for rattlers yet.

 

[OntarioHunter]

My snake attack story. When Mom got terminal brain cancer I moved back to Montana to help my brother care for her. Then a permanent USNPS ranger position came up five hours away and I took the job. Working twelve hour days, I could drive back and be with them three days a week. After Mom died my wife and kids flew out for the funeral and then stayed with me for several days where I was working. Before they left for home I took them for a scenic drive down to the Missouri Breaks and across one of the ferries (manned by a very colorful one-armed woman). None of them had seen a rattler so I drove down a stretch of road that was notorious for snake roadkills. You have to find them quickly before the birds clean them up. We weren't having any luck until I spotted one dead in an intersection. I rolled up beside it and opened my door. Darn, it was only a piece of black poly baling twine. Hmmm. "Here, I'll show you what they look like." I reached down and picked up the twine. Then, "Nyeah!! Damn thing is still alive!" as I flung it in the car. Screams. Then my late sweet little (4'10") wife who never cursed anyone or anything: "Gawdam you. That wasn't funny!" Oh really? Seems the kids in the back seat disagree. My daughter still laughs about it.

 

[LuketheDog]

Were the mice dead? My kids can't keep the mice down if the mice are alive.

It was elk tacos, I wiggled them a little to make them look alive, maybe that was the problem. Need a big plastic tube too I think.

 

[MarvB]

It was elk tacos, I wiggled them a little to make them look alive, maybe that was the problem. Need a big plastic tube too I think.

I’ve found the Corrugated HDPE Culvert Pipe works well, Tractor Supply has them in 18 and 24 inch depending on the size of your kids

 

[hank4elk]

We live in a snake rich environment, but maybe not so much after the SCU fire. We would kill up to 20 every year in our yard and shop areas. I have not found a practical use for rattlers yet.

Like in the Salinas Valley , San Antonio? More rattlesnakes per acre than than anywhere I have been, the Salinas Valley.
We had nests in the walls in winter of our shop at Santa Margarita Lake.
I would kill them regularly leaving the shop on the tractor. They'd sleep under the tires in there in summer. I do not know how no one got bit in the shop.

 

[Redmt]

Like in the Salinas Valley , San Antonio? More rattlesnakes per acre than than anywhere I have been, the Salinas Valley.
We had nests in the walls in winter of our shop at Santa Margarita Lake.
I would kill them regularly leaving the shop on the tractor. They'd sleep under the tires in there in summer. I do not know how no one got bit in the shop.

We are East of Mt Hamilton about 8 air miles. 4 miles south of Alameda county and 1/2 mile West of Stanislaus. Here's the view out the dining room window. The good outweighs the bad most of the time.

 

[Gellar]

I kept some snakes and a caiman as a kid. Mom insisted I give them to the Zoo when the boa hit 8' and the caiman got 5' long and bit me.Hand feeding it burger. LOL I still have that scar too.

Been around a lot of snakes & reptiles too. Dealt with them and the Publick daily as a PR.
Almost bit by 3 rattlers in the wild. Once hunting Big Sur by a coastie that struck off a rock and missed my cheek and twice now here by Mojave Greens. Killed the 2 greens after they literally attacked me.

I see less snakes in NM than other places I have lived . Way less than CA. Reptiles too.

Let them go in the wild. Sorry, I don't think I would even go to the zoo anymore. I like nature,in nature.

Our conservation officer called me one day wanting help. He had a tip that a guy was keeping an alligator in his house. Since it was winter we wondered if it was true. Sure enough the guy had the critter in his basement and all the papers to keep it. He said in the summer he let it go in the small pond he had by his house.

 

[Gellar]

We are East of Mt Hamilton about 8 air miles. 4 miles south of Alameda county and 1/2 mile West of Stanislaus. Here's the view out the dining room window. The good outweighs the bad most of the time.

There’s Probly a snake under the wood pile!