WORDS FOR WILDLIFE ARTICLE #16

Four foot Timber rattler relocated by author heads for cover in a straight line. Rattlesnakes get one more rattle every time they shed their skin.

Photo by Author

Words For Wildlife
by State licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator, James Orr

RATTLE SNAKE

Poisonous Snakes aren’t as bad as you might think

Snakes are not on very many “Favorite Subject” lists but they really are pretty amazing creatures. They live a life that on the surface sounds pretty good. They only have to worry about finding a meal once a month or so, they sleep in during cold weather “hibernate” saving themselves to bask in the sun on warm days. As if that was not good enough they have no toes to worry about getting stepped on.

They have the ability to “taste the air” by means of a Jacob's Organ that would make an Air Quality Control Scientist jealous. They take air particles from the air with their tongue and place them on this organ in the bottom of their mouth. They are able to analyze the air in extreme detail learning who and what is in the area, how close it is and just about everything except time and temperature. On second thought they probably do have the temperature covered.

One of the things I do as a Wildlife Rescuer and rehabilitator is to relocate snakes that are in the wrong place at the wrong time. Snakes are different from other animals and that scares a lot of people. There are a lot of misconceptions and fears that for the most part are not justified.

All snakes are fairly slow, after all they do not have legs and that makes it impossible for them to run, ride a bike or drive a car. Their top forward speed is generally only 5 miles an hour. Of course they can strike very fast but only to a distance of about half their length. Since most snakes are less than 4 feet long as long as you stay at least 2-3 feet away the snake cannot reach you with a strike. Most snakes travel in a zig zag “S” route that makes them have to cover twice the ground area to proceed forward as one going in a straight line. The faster snakes are able to travel in a straight line but even so are capable of less than half the speed of the average human.

Snakes are able to hide in plain sight. They are so well camouflaged and so still it is easy to overlook them and never know they are there. They are very unlikely to strike a person or pet unless you actually step on them or get extremely close making them feel threatened. They are smart enough to know better than to attack an animal 10 times their size and will not unless they feel they are being attacked. Their primary defense is Stealth so they tend to move only as a last resort.

When I have to capture snakes to relocate them, most of them have no desire to strike as long as I handle them gently and do not scare them. Of course I do use tools and safe guards unlike a certain Australian Crazy man you see on TV.

In the United States we have four types of poisonous snakes, Rattlesnakes, Copperheads, Water Moccasins “Cottonmouth” and the Coral snake. In Arkansas we have all of them but the Coral Snake is very rare and only found in the Southern most edge of the State. In my experience the Water Moccasin is the most short tempered. If you mess with it, it will return the favor even coming after you in some cases if you make them mad.   Most other snakes try to do everything possible to simply get away once they determine you are after them.

With the exception of the Coral snake which has a neurological poison that can paralyze the nervous system stopping the heart and breathing all the other snakes in the US have a venom that is more like a Bee sting/meat tenderizer. It is slow acting and no were near as toxic as most people imagine it to be. Although it can be fatal in some cases it is more likely to cause ugly skin and muscle damage if untreated along with a painful throbbing, hallucinations and illness. Unless you are actually allergic to the poison most Arkansas snakes are not capable of killing a person with their poison. It can destroy “rot or digest” the skin in a large area around the bite which may require plastic surgery to look right again.

Believe it or not more people die every year from nonpoisonous bites out of shock, fear or heart attack than from actual poisonous bites. Even most average size dogs can survive a poisonous snake bite untreated although a few Benadryll pills will greatly increase their chances and reduce muscle damage and swelling.

Getting back to the very rare Coral snake for a minute, you pretty much have to want to get bit for them to actually bite you. They are so small about the only part of your body they can get their mouth around is a little toe or small finger. Unlike other poisonous snakes that can inject poison, the Coral snake has to chew it in with multiple bites. They also has very short fixed fangs as opposed to longer folding fangs of the other venomous snakes. Coral snakes are also quite timid so unless you pick one up and stick your finger in its mouth it is not a very real threat to humans despite its deadly neurological poison.

Coral snakes are Bright Red, Yellow and Black striped. We have scarlet snake in this area the same size and color that is nonpoisonous. Its color pattern is in a different order than the Coral snake. If the red and yellow bands touch “Red and Yellow kill a fellow” it is a coral snake. If the red and yellow bands do not touch, separated by black bands it is the harmless Scarlet snake.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU GET BIT BY A POISONOUS SNAKE
If you do get bit by a poisonous snake it is not uncommon to have a “dry bite” that is to say no venom is injected. Nevertheless assume the worst and stay calm, running simply speeds up the blood flow which of course speeds up the effect of the poison. Ice will also slow down the reaction a great deal to give you more time to get to a doctor.

I keep an “Extractor” in my First Aid kit, available in the Walmart sporting goods department. It is a suction device that looks like a syringe with a cup on the end instead of a needle. You simply place it over the bite (It also works great on bee stings), push the plunger and it creates a vacuum that painlessly draws out the venom. They only cost about $10 and are a great addition to any medicine box. They come with different shaped cups to use depending on whether you have a bee sting or snake bite and they are reusable indefinitely.   Its a whole lot better than razor blades tourniquets and suction cups.    Luckily, I have never had to use my Extractor on a snake bite, but I know they work having had great success with bee and wasp stings. The pain goes away as the venom beads up inside the little cup. (OK Wallmart, don’t forget the Witter Wildlife Refuge can always use a donation as you sell a million extractors this week)

Please remeber next time you see a snake, it has no desire to hurt you so please do not hurt it. It is probably looking for rats and mice. We have a lot of Speckled King snakes in this area that actually eat poisonous snakes. They can get fairly large and look kind of like a gray/silver speckled belt. If you want a snake to move use a broom or stick to point it in another direction and keep at least a three feet away to avoid strike range. You can also call a wild life rescuer to come relocate it.

The Game and Fish Commission also lists other licensed rehabilitaors in the State.

DONATIONS NEEDED If you would like to help any donation amount it is greatly appreciated. Donations should be made out to Witter Wildlife Refuge and can be sent to P.O. Box 1118, Huntsville AR 72740.

See web page under "HOW YOU CAN HELP" for specific ways you can help us help wildlife