Gilbert Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 Not something you get to see everyday, or even in a lifetime..... Got the pictures from a friend back home in South Texas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Are rattlesnakes like those diamondbacks common in your backyard? I mean, do you have dogs and let them roam without fear? Nice picture though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel's wife Posted June 18, 2007 Moderators Share Posted June 18, 2007 I hate snakes.[:S] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 That is one cool picture! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbsl Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 I grew up in Laredo and we would find those suckers out on friends ranches all the time. Nothing the 22 would not take care of. It's the ones you don't see that are the problem like my dad found out. He grew up in the Alabama countryside about a hour outside of Montgomery. One day his dad was walking up front, then his friend, and then my dad in back just walking on their property. They think my dad's friend stepped on the rattlesnake and then my dad stepped by the snake and it bite him on the ankle. My grandfather had to carry him about half a mile to the road and then get him to the hospital. Luckly for my dad(and for me cause I would not be here) they think the snake did not eject much venom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel's wife Posted June 18, 2007 Moderators Share Posted June 18, 2007 I have never heard of rattlesnakes in this part of the country, however we do have lots of water moccasins! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 That's a great picture................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Ain't love grand? Makin' baby snakes...and they already have the rattles for junior to play with! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 The best snake is a dead snake. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 snake love. scary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 get a hotel room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel's wife Posted June 18, 2007 Moderators Share Posted June 18, 2007 The best snake is a dead snake. JJK Well said..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Watch out for the dreaded, Michigan Drain Cobra!! This one has been secured so it can't uncoil and strike... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZAKO Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 We have Snake Ranch,s here in Mo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilbert Posted June 18, 2007 Author Share Posted June 18, 2007 Are rattlesnakes like those diamondbacks common in your backyard? I mean, do you have dogs and let them roam without fear? Nice picture though. Yes, Jay, they are diamond back rattlesnakes. I had a dog (Gretchen) that use to kill the crap out of them. She was german short hair the got bit only once, and when she recooped, she had it in for all snakes. She'd scoop them up and violently shook them until they were either dead or torn into pieces. She got bit on the cheek and her head swelled up like a basket ball. I did think she would die, but the vet drained the bite area, and she fully recooped in about a week. Had it been a coral snake, she'd a died for sure, corals are the worse, but their not aggressive snakes at all. Now a days, it's not that bad. You just have to shock the area of the bite with a cattle prod. The high voltage has a neutralizing affect on the venom. I know this for fact, and watched my brother-in-law in Laredo do this to his dog. The dog was screaming bloody murder as he shocked it (and himself accidently,... so I started laughing uncontrolably), but the next morning, the dog was fine. Swelling was barely noticable, but you could tell. No where near as bad as my dog Gretchen swelled up. The trick with the cattle prod is to get to shock the area within minuets of the bite, before it distributes and starts to break down the musscle tissue. The old snakes are not as bad as the young ones. The old ones only bite in self defense and as a result, they will only inject a small amount of venom, the young ones on the other hand will dump the whole lot into you, and mother nature makes their venom more potent, or at least that's what I was once told by an old ranch hand. My oldest sister and I use to catch them when we were kids. She was 16, I was 12. We'd sell the live snakes to an old man that would give us $20 bucks a snake. Not bad money for a kid in the early 1970's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 I always thought diamond backs were really poisonous and should not be messed with... I learn something new everyday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilbert Posted June 18, 2007 Author Share Posted June 18, 2007 I always thought diamond backs were really poisonous and should not be messed with... I learn something new everyday. They are very poisonous, and will kill you if attention is not seeked out immediately. Dog's are just alott tougher, or something to do with their immune system, I dunno. I have heard of dogs dying from a bite, but I have never personally lost one. My sister's a vet back home, and she see's them all the time, especially this time of year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 do you keep antivenom with you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipsched with Yamahas Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Is it the picture, or are they actually that HUGE? WOW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 Yes, those are South Texas diamondbacks seen them 6 to 8ft all the time. My father and I used to catch them on our ranch, and we have old 8mm movies of them doing that mating ritual as Gilbert has photographed. We did lose one dog at the ranch that got bit. We knew something was wrong when he laid down in the water at one of our tanks, my dad rushed him to town a good 20 minutes away but he did not make it. The vet said the fang marks were about an inch and half apart so it was a big snake. Ever had rattlesnake meat? My dad served some at my stepmom's bridge party once they loved it until he told them what it was, he made it like chicken salad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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