Rattlesnakes are part of a subfamily of poisonous vipers, and are found in various parts of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. In Central and South America, they are found in practically all wild places. Contrary to popular belief, rattlesnakes do not hunt humans deliberately. Their diet consists of rats and mice, citelli, small birds, frogs and occasionally fleshy insects. At the same time, a snake's instinct is to protect itself. Think about it, a snake is a very vulnerable creature, it has no legs or ears and is small in size. The key mechanism for self-defense is that of poison, which is injected through sharp fangs as soon as a threat approaches. For this reason, your job is to act responsibly and promptly. Be circumspect and stay safe.
Steps
Step 1. Get to know your snakes
Is it a rattlesnake or another type of snake? To stay safe, if you don't know, don't approach to try to determine if you can't from a distance, don't even think about it. It may be helpful to know what the snake looks like, first of all to know what to do in case someone in the group dies. From a safe distance, look for these features:
- A flat and triangular shaped head (although it is not enough to understand it), wider at the base, than at the front.
- A strong thickness.
- The opening between the nostrils and the eyes act as heat sensors.
- Squinted eyes and elliptical pupils, may not be noticeable, you should be very close to see them.
- The coloring. Usually light brown with brown spots. The rattlesnake of palm trees is green, however, and has white stripes on the tail end. If you can see these streaks, you are probably too close.
- A rattle at the end of the tail (of different sizes). Young rattlesnakes often have only some parts of the rattle already formed. Be careful because even newborn snake bites are poisonous. Rattles can also be broken, malformed, or silent. Don't rely on the rattle as your only form of identification. Hear the rattle sound kindly offered by the San Diego Zoo: Rattlesnake Sound Byte.
Step 2. Know when and where a rattlesnake is most likely to collide
The highest odds occur when hiking, climbing, camping, or even on a walk to visit a tourist landmark.
- Most rattlesnakes prefer warm environments, while some prefer arid climates, but others like the western rattlesnake (better known as rattlesnake), prefer humid climates. Most of them live in the southern United States and Mexico, although some have been found in the desert regions of the Canadian Badlands, Alberta and British Columbia, around Hedley, Keremeos and Osoyoos.
- Rattlesnakes especially prefer summer afternoons, as soon as the sun is setting and when it has set. In summer they are more active at night. Unfortunately, this coincides with the loss of visibility that affects humans when the sun sets, so be careful. Use a flashlight when walking and wear a suitable pair of shoes.
- Rattlesnakes like hot days, period. Regardless of the season, even in winter, the rattlesnake ventures out of its den in search of warmth. The pleasant temperature for the rattlesnake is between 21 ° C and 32 ° C.
- Many rattlesnakes do not normally stay crouched outdoors, if they are outdoors it means that they spend most of their time there. Rattlesnakes prefer to avoid contact with predators that could easily notice them outdoors, including humans and large animals. For this reason, it is much more likely to collide with a rattlesnake around rocks and bushes, or wherever there is a niche in which it can hide. However, on sunny days, you may find some rattlesnake that heats up on a rock or asphalt.
Step 3. Dress appropriately
When you are in a place where it is possible to collide with a rattlesnake, don't underestimate the way you dress. Most bites occur on the hands, feet, and ankles. So, in addition to not putting your hands where you shouldn't, remember that clothing is a powerful ally to stay protected:
- Throw off your sandals. It's time to put on a nice pair of thick hiking boots, and some decent socks. You are better off covering the ankle, because ankle bite is very common. Do not wear sandals, open shoes and do not go barefoot when walking in the desert. There are things far worse than rattlesnakes waiting for recklessness like this.
- Wear long, comfortable pants.
- Use spats if possible. Especially if you decide not to wear long pants.
Step 4. Behave appropriately when hiking, climbing or walking
When you are in rattlesnake territory, think like one of them and know how it might behave to know how you will have to behave accordingly:
- Always hike with at least one companion. If you are alone and get bitten, you will be in very big trouble. Bring a mobile phone that works and warns family or friends that you are planning to go on a hike and how long it will last.
- Get out of the way. The easiest way to avoid a rattlesnake is to not get in its way. Stay alert when you are taking a hike, a walk or a climb. Stay on the marked paths and do not wander around in tall grass, bushes and weeds, where rattlesnakes might hide.
- Don't put your hands in the wrong places. Don't stick your hands into hollows, under rocks or ledges, don't even stick them into bushes when you're walking around them. When hiking, you may want to bring a stiff stick or at least a light, stiff branch to avoid sticking your hands into places where a snake might hide.
- Do not sit on stumps or tree trunks without first checking the inside. You could sit on a rattlesnake …
- Step on and don't step over. When you have to walk past a stump or rock, it is better to step on it than to climb over it. In this way you can determine if there is a rattlesnake hidden under it and you can quickly take an evasive action.
- Look before you jump. Pay attention to where you land with your feet. A foot that lands near or on a snake is just trying to get bitten. Snakes rely on vibrations to hear and although they can hear you if you are stepping on the floor loud enough, they cannot move fast if you run fast and give little warning of your approach.
- When you walk, bring a stick, and nudge the bushes and low vegetation before walking on or approaching them, and the snakes will go away. They will immediately hide in dense grass or under a bush, so don't step into them! If you have to step on them, tease them a bit with your stick, so the snake will have the opportunity to go away.
- Get away. If you get within range of a rattlesnake, quietly back away as fast and quietly as possible.
- Be careful when you are near the water. Rattlesnakes know how to swim. Anything that looks like a long stick could be a rattlesnake.
- Don't provoke a rattlesnake. Angering a snake will only have one answer, you will become its target. Remember, the snake tries to defend itself from an attack in these cases, and if you poke it with a stick, throw a stone, kick it, or hop around, you're just looking for trouble. Worst of all, there could be a big difference in terms of venom between an angry rattlesnake and one that reacts quickly in self-defense, it could increase toxicity, while a surprised rattlesnake could bite without injecting venom (possible but not certain). Whatever the potency of the venom, an angry rattlesnake is more likely to strike.
- Leave the snake alone. Many people are bitten in an attempt to heroically rid the world of another irritating snake. Aside from the snake being not irritating, he is going to bite you to try and defend himself. Live and let live. Step back and give him the space to crawl away. And be careful, a deric snake is much, much more dangerous.
Step 5. Be vigilant when camping
There are risks you face that you need to be aware of.
- Check the camping area before putting up your tents. Arrive with daylight and set curtains with daylight. On warm nights, rattlesnakes may wander around and if you don't see what you are doing, you are at risk.
- Close your tents at night if you are camping in rattlesnake territory or you may wake up with an unwelcome surprise. Always check before going to bed if there are unwanted guests in the tent, attracted by the heat or by the shelter possibilities represented by the tent.
- Make sure anyone who uses the curtains always keeps them closed when entering and leaving.
- Shake the sleeping bag before you slip into it. Many people have been awakened by unpleasant surprises.
- Be careful about collecting wood. Stacked branches are a great place for a rattlesnake to hide.
- Use a flashlight every time you go for a night walk.
Step 6. Be responsible for all the children who are with you
Children are naturally curious and courageous. While this is useful in a safe environment, these traits can create problems in a dangerous one. Make sure the children understand the danger posed by rattlesnakes, know what not to do and how to behave to avoid colliding with a rattlesnake, "as well as" knowing how to behave if they encounter one. In a group of hikers with children, one adult must always walk in the lead and one must close the line.
Step 7. Obey the warning signs
This means the signs that let you know that there are snakes around and those that the staff in charge of alerting you to the presence of rattlesnakes gives you:
- Know when a rattlesnake is about to strike. These signals are indicative, because sometimes a rattlesnake is able to strike from any position, if it needs to:
- The rattlesnake has assumed the spiral position. The spiral allows the rattlesnake to strike more effectively.
- The upper part of the body (the head) is raised.
- The rattle rings and makes rattles noise.
- Just to complicate matters further, it is important to know that rattlesnakes do not or cannot always use the rattle to warn of an impending attack. For example, if you startle one before it has time to play the rattle, it will bite you first and then play it. Sometimes they don't play it at all, perhaps because they are even more defensive, for example during mating, scaling or childbirth. They may also choose to rely on their coloring as camouflage, only to realize they won't protect them from intrusive human feet. In addition, wet rattles do not emit noise. There must be at least two rattle segments in order to make a sound, so rattlesnake hatchlings are unable to make rattles until they become adults, but they are still very poisonous anyway. Consider these possibilities. Otherwise, if you hear a rattle sound, you have been clearly warned, back off.
- Pay attention to the signs of the park authorities. When you are warned of the possibility that there are rattlesnakes in the area, take the appropriate safety measures.
Step 8. Note the attack distance of the rattlesnake
The attack distance of the rattlesnake can reach from one third to half of its overall length. It doesn't help to underestimate the length of the rattlesnake, however, as it may strike farther than you expect. The shot of a rattlesnake is so fast that it cannot be followed with the naked eye.
Step 9. If you or someone else gets bitten, stay calm
If you are bitten by a rattlesnake, even if it is something serious, the most important thing is to remain calm and still. If you fidget or run you just make the snake's venom flow faster. The key elements are to remain calm, immobile and to reach the hospital as quickly as possible. This helps prevent the poison from spreading. Keep the bite lower than the victim's heart (do not lift the bite, otherwise it will speed up the circulation and make the poison spread more quickly), wash the affected area and remove any type of constrictions, such as rings (when the area swells it could create constrictions that cause loss of blood flow or tissue necrosis).
Step 10. Review these passages before entering a territory populated by rattlesnakes
Share this information with anyone traveling with you to warn them to be cautious, calm and responsible about what they do.
Advice
- Most bites occur between April and October, the months in which the rattlesnake are most active.
- It is often said that in the United States more people die from wasp and bee bites than from rattlesnake bites.
- Snakes scare many people. However, the essential role they play in nature must be recognized. Snakes keep the rodent population low, which could grow to disastrous proportions in some places, destroying crops, supplies and spreading disease. Removing snakes from their territory often follows an increase in the number of rodents. In addition, rattlesnakes are a source of food for other predators.
- Do not let your dog run in tall grass or bushes. Snakes also bite dogs, and dogs die more often than people when bitten, because they are smaller.
- The crotalus cataliniensis is a rattlesnake without rattles, it lacks the typical features of rattles.
- If you try to remove a rattlesnake from the garden, call a professional. Stay calm if you are in front of the snake when you are in the garden, it is the essential key to managing any dangerous situation.
- Sometimes, smaller snakes can slip into boats like kayaks without you noticing. If such a thing happens to you, stay calm and pull over to the shore. Get out of the boat and using an oar or stick steer the snake out of the boat.
- It is a legend that the younger rattlesnakes are even more poisonous. The venom glands are much larger in adults, so even if a young rattlesnake runs out of venom, it consumed less and less than an adult one.
Warnings
- Never harvest what appears to be a dead rattlesnake. He may just be resting deeply or simply not moving to not be visible. Leave him alone.
- Never pick a freshly dead rattlesnake. He may bite by reflex even if he is dead.
- Rattlesnakes are a protected species in many areas. Don't kill them unless the situation involves a human or pet in immediate danger. It makes no sense and you could end up in jail for harming a protected animal.
- NEVER put a tourniquet on a snake-bitten limb. It could cause necrosis and loss of the limb. Stay calm and seek medical help right away.
- Don't cut, suck, or drain snake bites. These "old-fashioned" methods don't work, it's been proven.
- The asphalt remains warm after sunset. Rattlesnakes may choose to walk a warm trail on a cool afternoon to keep warm. Be careful after dark when walking on a paved road or sidewalk.
