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hunter1828 — Rattler
Published: 2008-05-22 00:17:46 +0000 UTC; Views: 517; Favourites: 23; Downloads: 0
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Description
It's that time of year. The rattlesnakes have made their appearance. I had to catch and relocate one that was right in front of the front doors of the visitor's center the other night. This one was crossing the road and almost to the other side when I photographed it.Canon EOS 350D Digital Rebel XT
Tamron 75-300mm lens
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Comments: 55
Wonderful shot! Is that a Crotalus viridis? Where was this taken? It almost looks like a Mojave rattler, but the saddles on the back seem to small...
Anyhow...wonderful shot. Great focus on the eye. Nicely done!
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Yes, it's a Prairie Rattlesnake (c. v. viridis), taken in Montana. We have tons of them here. Saw the first one April 11th this year.
Thanks!
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Very nice! I would love to see a viridis in person one day. Don't get me wrong...I have fun with my Panamints, Sidewinders, oreganus and atrox, but...tough to beat a pretty little viridis.
Again, excellent capture!
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Not that being featured in my journal does any good 
Featured here: [link]
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That came out really good. Beats having a photo of a snake face with an open mouth at'cha.
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Awesome shot! Always thought they were a beutiful animal, Sadly had to kill several of them in recent weeks on a buddies ranch.
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LOL. Thanks John. Not as close as it seems. I was using my 75-300mm zoom.
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I have a friend that we call snake cause he love to photograph rattlers with a small lens. His photos are spectacular but I would never get within a few feet lying on the ground. The photo made me think of his shots.
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I'm not about to get too close to them with a smaller lens. I've seen what they can do.
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I am so not into rattlers or any snakes, for that matter, however you managed to take a really good picture.
Keeping the head away from you is a good things.
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Thanks, Gloria! Yup, that's just common sense, to stay away from the head. A prairie rattler can strike up to half its body length, so a 4 ft. snake can strike up to 2 ft. away.
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When my mother worked at a museum in Kansas City, she once got the responsibility of feeding a rattlesnake that had been rescued. If I recall right, it had been defanged. It also lost a couple of its rattles during its time at the museum, so my mother used the old reliable method of reattaching them: Elmer's glue!
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Have to be careful with defanged snakes, as the fangs do grow back eventually. A lot of the rattlers I see are missing segments from the rattle. They lose them in fights, to close escapes from predators, smashing them against rocks, etc. Everytime the snake sheds - which can be anywhere from a couple of times a year to five or six times a year depending on how much food and water it gets - it adds a new segment to the rattle, so it's constantly replacing what it loses.
Which, of course, completely blows out of the water the old myth that you count the number of segments to tell how old a snake is.
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That's really interesting. I didn't know that losing rattle segments was such a regular occurrence.
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Yup. Rattles are just keritan, just like our fingernails.
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Dah! I've learned too much in one day! Please make it stop!
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Man... I hate snakes.... I was walking back ot the office last week, and my friend had a rattler strike the side of his boot. They like to crawl up under the skids in the process area of the plant and its really loud so you can't hear the stupid things... Thats when full body FRC jumpsuits come in handy...
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Studies are showing that rattlesnakes are actually not rattling as often when humans are around anyway. It is believed that rattlesnakes are adapting to the human as predator by not alerting humans to their presence. Naturally, this makes it more dangerous for people who either can't see them for some reason or are just dumb and unobservant.
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Wow. Be careful. We're suppose to have rattlers in AL but I've never seen one. Not that I want to...but it's strange really, we have thick woods right behind our house & we've lived here for 4 years now & not me or anybody in my house has seen a snake in our yard. Which is nice, but strange. I guess our noisy dogs keep them driven off.
But anyways, great photo! I like how his head is cocked to the side & you can see that one eye^^ He's gorgeous!
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I grew up in Tennessee and walked all over the mountains and river bottoms and never saw a single specimen of the Eastern Timber Rattlesnake, though they were present as I know people who were bitten.
I spent 10 years in North Dakota and walked all over the river bottoms and badlands and never saw a single specimen of the Prairie Rattlesnake, they were all over the place.
Wasn't until I moved out here that I finally actually saw a rattlesnake. And they really are all over the place.
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Interesting. Although they are smart creatures & move away from human contact - that's probably why I haven't yet seen one.
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The Timber rattler can actually be pretty agressive. They are among the most agressive rattlesnakes, actually. The good thing about the Prairie rattlesnake is that it is the least agressive of all rattlesnake species.
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But the question is, have you been properly trained and certified in rattlesnake removal?
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So they trust you to capture and move a rattler, but not run a riding mower? Red tape is great, isn't it?
Granted, a similar problem happens in large corporations as well. You have to be certified on every piece of equipment you use. I'm surprised they don't certify people on proper computer use!
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Not that I agree with it, but I have had the rattlesnake training, not the mower training. I know what the red tape is trying to accomplish, and where it leads (or blocks), I just don't agree it's there. The rattlesnake issue, though, is one that I fully agree with the training on. Not something someone should do without knowing how.
As for the computer training, well, the Feds make everyone take a very lame, impossible to fail, Internet security training every single year...
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Everything I know about snakes, I learned from Steve Irwin. 
Granted I do live in an area where there are rattlers, so I really should spend the time to learn more about them. Last summer the whole family went on a walk on a tracks-to-trail path in the evening, and on the way back to our car a rattler had settled on the warm pavement.
So, of course, we had to navigate through the grass and rocks on the side of the trail to avoid him, which made us all very nervous. We were careful to put the adults in the first 3 walking positions, and one on the rear to watch the kids, going off the knowledge that a rattler usually bites the 2nd or 3rd person in a party when startled.
Fortunately he was lethargic and non-threatened and just sat there perfectly still as we non-threateningly went by.
P.S. - I know why they make everyone go through all the red tape too, it just is very frustrating that society has come to that.
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Some quick rattlesnake safety tips for you. I think it's the Pacific Rattlesnake in your area, and if I'm correct it's very closely related to our Prairie Rattler. If you see one (as you did) stop and stand still. Immediatly look around to see if you see another one nearby (they sometimes come in pairs) before you start moving again. Often, if you just wait a minute or three, the snake will leave. The Prairie Rattler and it's cousin the Pacific Rattlesnake don't like people and will usually (but not always) abandon an area in which people are present. If it doesn't leave, then do as you did, and go around (after visually scanning the area for other snakes).
The worst thing you can actually do is to try and kill it. That just pisses them off and makes sure they fight back. Most people that get bit by a rattlesnake are doing something stupid, like poking it with a stick, trying to pick it up in their hands, or trying to kill it with shovel, hoe or stick. Remember that a rattlesnake's head can still bite you and inject venom even after the head has been removed from the body.
PS - I received my mower safety training today, so I can do again what I've been doing for years.
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No, not at all. And not as close as it seems. I was using my 75-300mm zoom lens.
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WOW , your to brave , ohhh okay , cool
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LOL. I wouldn't call myself brave. I'm just respectful of the wildlife.
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you got closer to that snake then i ever would so in my eyes your brave , that helps
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Oh no. I'm very much used to being around rattlesnakes. They're just like any other wild animal; treat them with respect, give them their space, and don't do anything stupid.
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lol, the only problem with that is I wouldn't know what the snake thought was stupid.
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Trying to pick it up or poke it with a stick are pretty much it. It's all common sense, really.
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Forgive me, but, how does one relocate a snake like this one without trying to pick it up?
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By using a snake stick to pick it up and put it in the container.
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