Rattlers: Snakes On the Plain (and in the hills)

Our hills saw a bumper crop of rattlesnake babies a couple of years ago, and --guess what -- now they're all grown up.

In Southern California, we have only one snake that's poisonous to humans, but one is plenty when you're talking genus Crotalus, sub family pit viper. 

There are seven species of rattlesnake in Southern California; the one sunning himself on a local rock is the Southern Pacific Rattlesnake. 

The good news is, the rattler would just as soon not make your acquaintence. He preys on the smaller mammal, rodents, usually. And more good news, in the United States, snakebites are not a common occurrence. 

On to the bad news, of which there is plenty. 

When attempting to distinguish a rattler from a non-venomous snake, don’t rely on the rattle.  Some snakes are just not all that talkative. According to the Eaton Canyon Nature Center, anecdotally-speaking, the snake population seems to be in boom mode this year, and for some odd reason,  they're quieter than normal.

The most dependable way to distinguish a rattler from, say, a gopher snake, is to look at the snake’s head. The shape of a rattler head is triangular, and appears to be sitting on a slender neck.

The safest thing to do when you see a snake, both from a personal and environmental perspective, is to turn around. If that isn’t possible, then from a safe distance, make some noise, stamp your feet; they are sensitive to vibration and likely to slither away. To maintain a safe distance, keep in mind that, when threatened, a rattler can strike from six feet away.

If you do get bitten, guess what's the first thing you're supposed to do? That's right, "Stay Calm." Good luck with that. 

You'll have better luck with the second piece of advice: Keep your movements to a minimum. Also, remove any jewelry or other possibly constricting items, because you can expect some or much swelling. 

Most importantly, most critically, vitally, get immediate medical attention; 911 is certainly an option. On the way to the medical facility, move the affected limb as little as possible, gently wash the wound with soap and water and apply a cold wet cloth.

And if your companion gets bitten, sucking out the poison isn't an heroic measure, it's a dangerous one, for both of you. Not only will blood clotting be a problem, but the bacteria from the mouth can make what is already a bad situation that much worse. Also, don’t:  ice the bite, use a tourniquet, drink alcohol, or eat anything.

In most cases, treatment will be an IV of antivenin. Antivenin is a product derived from the blood of a horse, a horse that was gradually exposed to (injected with) snake venom and thus developed specific antibodies for protection.  The IV will likely be followed by a couple of days in the hospital.

All of this makes the rattler sound like a pretty evil fellow. But then he thinks you might be a pretty evil fellow, as well. People kill rattlers, sometimes out of fear, but often times for sport or as trophies. In other words, of the two, it's only the human who might enter the relationship with malice-aforethought.

There's no reason we can't and shouldn't share our hills and open space with all manner of wildlife, from rattlers to bobcats. Things hardly ever go wrong if we're willing to keep our distance and show some respect. 

NOTE:   This piece is a compendium of personal research and in no way should be used as a resource.  For factual information, start here:

California poison control systemhttp://www.calpoison.com/public/snakebite.html