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Oh My! Rattlesnake! Advice?


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One of my cats killed a baby rattlesnake. It was less than 1/2" in diameter, maybe a foot long, and had one rattle.

 

Hubby just found it today. However, one of the smaller cats barfed two nights ago. Hubby cleaned up the barf after I'd gone to bed. He said it looked odd. I've seen that cat eat grasshoppers.

 

Should I worry yet?

 

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We used to have a cat named Lucky that was Hell on snakes. Numerous times he left snake heads and rattles on the doorstep as evidence. He ate them. I was working out in the shop one day and noticed him about to pounce on something across the driveway and he did and it was a rattlesnake. Lucky made short work of it and took it into the garage and ate it, leaving the head and rattle. Our other cat Bo got part of it.

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Unless that was a pygmy rattlesnake, which I seriously doubt, there will be others.....snakes don't just lay one egg. If the cat had been bitten, I doubt that it be just sick but I guess that's possible. Might want to keep an eye out for other rattlers, adult or otherwise.

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I’m here!

 

 If the snake bit the cat it should be evident quickly, lots of swelling around the bite and a very sick (maybe dead) cat.  The snake meat should be ok for the cat to eat, the snake’s poison is in the glands and fangs in its head.  So if none of the cats are showing symptoms they probably did not get bitten.
 

Rattlers incubate their eggs internally and give live birth to their babies:  ovoviviparous is the fancy name for the process.  So if you see one baby you are likely to see more in the same neighborhood.

 

 

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50 minutes ago, J-BAR #18287 said:

I’m here!

 

 If the snake bit the cat it should be evident quickly, lots of swelling around the bite and a very sick (maybe dead) cat.  The snake meat should be ok for the cat to eat, the snake’s poison is in the glands and fangs in its head.  So if none of the cats are showing symptoms they probably did not get bitten.
 

Rattlers incubate their eggs internally and give live birth to their babies:  ovoviviparous is the fancy name for the process.  So if you see one baby you are likely to see more in the same neighborhood.

 

 

 

Thanks J-Bar. Never knew that about rattlers.....guess I never stuck around long enough to find out.....I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no rattler's.

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Hey Allie.

I ain't a snake person but I've managed to use this technique in the past to ensure none get in my basement without me knowing.

 

Spread lots of sugar or flour or salt or similar substance around your steps, walkways, etc..... and smooth it out.

If you have bad weather, this won't work well.   But if you have nice, calm weather, if a critter walks or CRAWLS across that sugar/flour/salt

surface, you'll be able to see the markings.

If anything, if might help give you some notice if any unwelcome guest are in the area, or have visited recently.

 

Keep your snake shot in your pistol..... ;)

 

P.S. - if you notice any crawl markings about 1 foot wide, forget the snake shot and pistol routine..... carry your shotgun with 00 buck.

:D

 

..........Widder

 

 

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6 minutes ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said:

 

............................................  Keep your snake shot in your pistol..... ;)    ......................................

 

 

When you say pistol, you mean a sawed off  10 ga .... yes?   :P:P

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15 minutes ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said:

Hey Allie.

I ain't a snake person but I've managed to use this technique in the past to ensure none get in my basement without me knowing.

 

Spread lots of sugar or flour or salt or similar substance around your steps, walkways, etc..... and smooth it out.

If you have bad weather, this won't work well.   But if you have nice, calm weather, if a critter walks or CRAWLS across that sugar/flour/salt

surface, you'll be able to see the markings.

If anything, if might help give you some notice if any unwelcome guest are in the area, or have visited recently.

 

Keep your snake shot in your pistol..... ;)

 

P.S. - if you notice any crawl markings about 1 foot wide, forget the snake shot and pistol routine..... carry your shotgun with 00 buck.

:D

 

..........Widder

 

 

Thanks, Widder!

 

With four cats, that wouldn't work too well. We did find a small rattler in the "house" during framing. Now the only critters that get in are brought by the cats. So far, they've brought in mice, rats, bats, frogs, and lizards.

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Zelda was bit other day she doing good now. Cats are aggressive predators and snakes are a common target. I wouldn’t worry unless I see something wrong with cat such as obviously Ill or injury. Cat throwing up is also common and could look odd depending on what they ate. I have learned you cannot completely control a cats diet. I have neighbors that feed strays and my cats get a share. I only feed them science diet neighbor doesn’t. Then how much they kill and eat I have no clue. I only get to see what they bring home as trophies and had to finish what they started. Daxter gets real upset when I finish killing his toy.

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1 hour ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said:

Hey Allie.

P.S. - if you notice any crawl markings about 1 foot wide, forget the snake shot and pistol routine..... carry your shotgun with 00 buck.

:D

 

..........Widder

 

 

Let her know to carry her cell phone also...If it gets her, we dial her phone up and find out where she is at.....

 

Texas Lizard

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54 minutes ago, Perro Del Diablo said:

Nala was bit other day she doing good now. Cats are aggressive predators and snakes are a common target. I wouldn’t worry unless I see something wrong with cat such as obviously Ill or injury. Cat throwing up is also common and could look odd depending on what they ate. I have learned you cannot completely control a cats diet. I have neighbors that feed strays and my cats get a share. I only feed them science diet neighbor doesn’t. Then how much they kill and eat I have no clue. I only get to see what they bring home as trophies and had to finish what they started. Daxter gets real upset when I finish killing his toy.

Rita is the predator-in-chief. She is the one who barfed night before last.

 

Hubby said she brought in a mouse once, saw him, picked it up, and took it back out as he always kills her toys. :lol:

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Just catch the rattlesnakes and take them somewhere a bit remote and turn them loose.  I wouldn’t expose my animals to snakebite.

 

Cat Brules

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Our cat Spooky is a stray that adopted us.  I saw him hanging around our motor home for several months.  In June of 2017 we had a 50th wedding anniversary barbecue at Dead Broke Ranch.  My daughter & daughter in law noticed him & some how animals can tell which people are animal whisperers.   He let them pick him up & he was in sad shape.  We put him in a larger dog crate with food & water.  On Monday we took him to our vet for a check out & treatment for any ailments.  He was severely undernourished but otherwise OK.  We set up a cat house on our front porch.   He preferred to sleep at night on top of our Kia Soul.  He wasn't scared of our doxidoor or golden retriever males.  Eventually he found the pet door in our bedroom.  We found him in the house & put him back out. Within 5 minutes he was back in the house.  Since, we couldn't keep him out, he became an indoor/outdoor cat.  Mostly indoor.  The 1st year he would catch birds & eat them after he was tired of the play.  Then he'd bring them in the house to play.  Two times it took me 30-45 minutes to catch the birds to release them outside.  Eventually he totally lost interest in hunting.  This CAT follows my wife around inside & outside.  He isn't interested in any normal cat play, laser pointer & light spots.  feathers on a string, etc.  But he sure craves affection.  He reacts to specific cues.  If I am sitting in my recliner or standing near it he'll come over and meow for me to sit down.  Then he climbs up & lays on my chest.  He'll stay there for 10-15 minutes.

 

P.S. it didn't take long for his motley dull black fur to thicken and get shinny & his body to thicken.  His fur is like stroking rabbit fur.  He is not much bigger than a 12 week old kitten.  He was also neutered when we found him.

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37 minutes ago, J.D. Daily said:

...

P.S. it didn't take long for his motley dull black fur to thicken and get shinny & his body to thicken.  His fur is like stroking rabbit fur.  He is not much bigger than a 12 week old kitten.  He was also neutered when we found him.

We were between cats  :( when we went to a party at a friend's house. We saw a starving cat and asked if we could have her. He said he didn't care.

 

I took her to the vet the next week. She was a mess with ear mites and malnutrition. Vet said he didn't think she would live very long. So, he wouldn't bother neutering her. Well, she went into heat within a few months (we had neutered) and lived with us for 16 years.

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Saw a small snake out on our patio the other day.  I had just gotten up when my wife saw it before she let our two small dogs out.  By the time I got out the thing was gone, and I have no idea where it went...obviously somewhere in the bushes around the back of the house.  No sign of it since.  Dogs were NOT anywhere near it, but the chi-aussie terrior sniffed around where the snake had been.  Not sure what kind it was..  Looked about 1/2-3/4 inch in diameter, but is was coiled and I couldn't see the head nor tail, nor whether it was packin' any "tail jewelry".  I do know the Eastern planes of Colorado has pigmy rattlers, but we have never seen any around close to us.  Nearest I ever heard of was at least 20 miles away near a public gun range and state park!  Have to keep a lookout, I guess.  The chi-terrier has been known to bring dead mice and even a rabbit in through the doggie door!  :unsure:

Stay well and safe, Pards!

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I had a good hunting cat that stayed right with my youngest anytime she was outside.   We found him in the front yard.  Pooped, took a few steps , vomited and died.  I looked for bites but his fur was thick.  Its the only thing I could figure happened as he was fine earlier 

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1 hour ago, Tennessee williams said:

Looks like a good time to post my rattler picture again! I have seen 10 small snakes in my front yard so far this year. No poisonous ones....yet. This Rattler was 74" long. Head was about 3 1/4" wide.69170.thumb.jpeg.de7655e752dc70bf1e78652b19004545.jpeg

Heck I reckon everytime you put that pic up it's grown some more..I'm thinkin' glad it's in your yard & not mine !!

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We have copperheads on our  place.  Jeanie was bitten on her index finger, both of our Weimaraners were bitten on the nose.  

Treatment was:  Lasix to flush the poison through the body, benadryl and an anti-biotic.  Most hospitals do not stock anti-venin, and 

many people are allergic to it anyway.

Try to not get bit!

 

Duffield

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I don't have an animal/snake story, but:

 

Back in the summer of 72 we were hiking to summer camp. Took a week. Finished up hiking merit badge and got our 50-miler award.

 

Long about day 3 we have stopped for lunch. Where we stopped there was a large pile of pine cones. After reading EATING several of the boys went over and were jumping in the pile, like kids will jump in a pile of leaves.

 

After everybody was packed up and walking on down the road, I stayed behind to help scout master get everything put back in the van. Suddenly he reaches in and pulls out an axe, and swings down at the ground, cutting a small snake in two pieces. Then he brings out a 5 gallon bucket and a shovel, shovels up the snake and dumps it in the bucket, puts the bucket in the van and away he goes. And I hustle on down the road to catch up with the boys.

 

When we stop for the night he calls them all over. Says he has something they might like to see. Brings out the bucket.

 

WHAT IS IT?

 

Pygmy rattlesnake.

 

WHERE'D YOU GET IT?

 

He came crawling out of that pile of pine cones y'all were playing in. :o

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I have Killed 13 Black Mamba's in Uganda in the past 10 years ,,, I seem to find the young ones , still deadly ...

The biggest I have Killed was 16 inches long ....

Saw a King Cobra Crossing the Driveway one morning ,,, the head was just going into the grass on one side,and the tail was still in the grass on the other side ...

We tried to find it to kill it ,,, no luck ...Boy can they move fast ...

 

Jabez Cowboy 

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12 hours ago, Tennessee williams said:

Looks like a good time to post my rattler picture again! I have seen 10 small snakes in my front yard so far this year. No poisonous ones....yet. This Rattler was 74" long. Head was about 3 1/4" wide.69170.thumb.jpeg.de7655e752dc70bf1e78652b19004545.jpeg

 

From the historical archives of TN Williams, here are a couple of his unclassified notes on this event:

 

1.  The Rattlesnake was still alive in this picture.

2.  TN makes it known that bigger snakes are easier to catch than small ones.   (Ole Widder finds em easier to shoot too).

3.  He decided against a nice hatband but instead used the skin for a suitcase.

4.  Yes, this event picture was taken before his wife gave him his recent Mohawk haircut.

 

THE EVENT:  If you look behind TN, you will see a ditch.  The snake was in the ditch with only its tail and head

sticking up and the body was coiled up in the ditch.   TN remembered that his grandpa once told him that

a snake can't bite when it sneezes.   So ole TN, being wise to some good old Southern wisdom, went in the house

and grabbed a new 2.5 oz can of McCormick black pepper.   It was a full can cause the Bunkhouse Boss had just

brought it home from her Saturday afternoon shopping trip.

Now, I don't know about the rest of you folks, but here in Tennessee, McCormick black pepper is pretty potent

seasoning and we use it on everything we eat..... and I might add, we use it to catch snakes also.

 

ANYHOW, TN took to dashing that black pepper on ole Mr Rattles and after he emptied that new can of

McCormick's black pepper on it, that snake started sneezing.   And thats when it happened......... ole TN Williams

reached down in that ditch and grabbed that snake up by the neck and went to smacking it silly.

 

If you look real close, the snake got a little nose bleed from sneezing and getting smacked around a little.

 

Well, now you know how TN caught the snake and why he's proud of his picture being taken with it.

 

..........Widder

 

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8 hours ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said:

 

From the historical archives of TN Williams, here are a couple of his unclassified notes on this event:

 

1.  The Rattlesnake was still alive in this picture.

2.  TN makes it known that bigger snakes are easier to catch than small ones.   (Ole Widder finds em easier to shoot too).

3.  He decided against a nice hatband but instead used the skin for a suitcase.

4.  Yes, this event picture was taken before his wife gave him his recent Mohawk haircut.

 

THE EVENT:  If you look behind TN, you will see a ditch.  The snake was in the ditch with only its tail and head

sticking up and the body was coiled up in the ditch.   TN remembered that his grandpa once told him that

a snake can't bite when it sneezes.   So ole TN, being wise to some good old Southern wisdom, went in the house

and grabbed a new 2.5 oz can of McCormick black pepper.   It was a full can cause the Bunkhouse Boss had just

brought it home from her Saturday afternoon shopping trip.

Now, I don't know about the rest of you folks, but here in Tennessee, McCormick black pepper is pretty potent

seasoning and we use it on everything we eat..... and I might add, we use it to catch snakes also.

 

ANYHOW, TN took to dashing that black pepper on ole Mr Rattles and after he emptied that new can of

McCormick's black pepper on it, that snake started sneezing.   And thats when it happened......... ole TN Williams

reached down in that ditch and grabbed that snake up by the neck and went to smacking it silly.

 

If you look real close, the snake got a little nose bleed from sneezing and getting smacked around a little.

 

Well, now you know how TN caught the snake and why he's proud of his picture being taken with it.

 

..........Widder

 

   The bad part is, about 75% of that was true! 

    A couple things about Widder.

1) He never does let the truth get in the way of a good story. 

2) He ALWAYS gives good advice. Sometimes he's like an oracle and you don't know how to take the advice, but it's good nonetheless. For instance. Widders bird catching advice is thus: Take you a teaspoon of Morton salt. Sneak up on a bird and sprinkle that salt on its tail and you can catch it. Well. That is true enough. Aint got nothing to do with that salt being on its tail though. If you're close enough to sprinkle that salt, you're close enough to catch it. That's just the way his mind works ya see. Once you figure that out, you'll come out ahead.

 

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Well, this part is true:

A big 'shout out' to the Bunkhouse Boss for taking the picture.   She's sitting INSIDE a truck and won't get out

till TN gets rid of Mr.Rattlers.

 

And.....its believed there is a high probability that this was really 'Ms Rattlers'........ :o

Other, somewhat smaller rattlers have met their Waterloo around Fort Williams.

 

On a side note, TN tried to get the snake to 'smile' for the picture but discovered that rattlesnakes don't like to smile

when hanging upside down.

 

..........Widder

 

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Raised in the Sonoran Desert we learned at a very young age, give em plenty of room.  They are amazing creatures but still cause me discomfort.  

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On 5/10/2020 at 7:03 PM, Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217 said:

We were between cats  :( when we went to a party at a friend's house. We saw a starving cat and asked if we could have her. He said he didn't care.

 

I took her to the vet the next week. She was a mess with ear mites and malnutrition. Vet said he didn't think she would live very long. So, he wouldn't bother neutering her. Well, she went into heat within a few months (we had neutered) and lived with us for 16 years.

This is our small male stray CAT Spooky.  My wife says she thinks he may be related to a small black cat she has seen crossing the road our property is on, one mile east of our 1200 ft. driveway  The 1st time she saw it she thought it may have been Spooky; but we have never seen him wander more than 400 feet from the house.

 

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My understanding is that when rattlesnakes strike (bite), approximately fifty percent (50%) of the time, they do not inject venom.

 

Cat Brules

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3 hours ago, Cat Brules said:

My understanding is that when rattlesnakes strike (bite), approximately fifty percent (50%) of the time, they do not inject venom.

 

Cat Brules

So called Dry Bites do occur.  I am not sure how often.

Do you want to take the chance that the one that bites you will be dry?

Also, snake's mouths have lots and lots of bacteria.  You have a very good chance of complications from a dry bite.

I live in a densely populated area.  Venomous snakes are not welcome here.  There are copperheads and timber rattlers in the nearby mountains, and they are generally not molested there.

 

Duffield

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I keep my Gamo 1000 pellet rifle handy for water moccasins as we live near a lake. 
 

1,000 FPS topped with a Tasco scope, it’s legal to shoot in my yard, quiet, and a one shot kill on even the biggest snakes. 

 

I shoot them through the head then leave them for the turkey vultures to eat.

 

We don’t see many rattlers around here, but I suspect the Gamo could handle one if needed.

 

 

It works well on Chrysler 300s that do donuts in the road in front my house too. I suspect he’s still wondering how he ended up with all those little holes. Gotta be infuriating.

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12 hours ago, J.D. Daily said:

This is our small male stray CAT Spooky.  My wife says she thinks he may be related to a small black cat she has seen crossing the road our property is on, one mile east of our 1200 ft. driveway  The 1st time she saw it she thought it may have been Spooky; but we have never seen him wander more than 400 feet from the house.

 

I'd love to see that photo.

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