Rattlesnake Safety

Arizona has 13 species of rattlesnakes, more than any other state. Leave rattlesnakes alone if you find them, and be on the lookout when you are outside for them. 

Many people believe that you can tell how old a snake is by the number of segments in the rattle. However, this is incorrect. A snake gains a segment each time it sheds. Sometimes a snake can shed more than once a year. In addition, segments often break off. 

Rattlesnake Safety
Offer them respect, observe them from a safe distance, and then leave them to perform their valuable ecological function. The only good snake is a live snake!

Most rattlesnakes have relatively weak venoms when compared to the world's true vipers and cobras. Copperheads and water moccasins have comparatively weak venoms as well. 

Rattlesnakes will make every effort to avoid contact with people. We are far more dangerous to this secretive animal than it is to us. In almost every case, we are treading on the snakes' home territory when we encounter them, and in almost every case, the rattlesnake looses its life. Many bites are the result of someone trying to capture, kill, or handle the snake, and a good number of bites occur to snake keepers, both private and professional. The bite is a defensive reaction and should not be considered an act of aggression. The rattlesnake's rattle offers the snake a means of communication, designed to warn larger animals of their position.

In the United States, humans experience about 8000 bites from venomous snakes each year. Of those, an average of 12 per year, less than 1%, result in death. Far more people die each year from bee stings, lightning strikes, or almost any other reason. 

AVOIDING RATTLESNAKES/BITES
Rattlesnakes can be found in rock piles, woodpiles, shade areas when the temperatures are high and sunning themselves on rocks or in the middle of a trail during cool periods. Carry a long walking/snake stick, (for rustling brush or rattling doorframes before going in), a flash light, and wear heavy high boots. The key is situational awareness, and making sure you are heard and felt by the snakes, they have more fear of you and will flee.

Don't walk quietly or softly and never ever venture into a space you can not visually check. Don't walk through high brush, if you can't clearly see the ground. Most people step on snakes because they are not looking where they step. The same applies for climbing around, don't stick your hands in places you can't visually check. Insects can be a greater hazard then snakes in some places, so it is also advisable to blouse your boots to keep things from crawling up your pant legs.

If you go where snakes are likely to be found:
1. Wear over-the-ankle or calf high boots and loose fitting long pants or chaps.
2. Do not step or put your hands where you cannot see. (Don't place your hands on unseen ledges or into animal holes).
3. Don't turn rocks or boards over with bare hands. Use a tool.
4. Avoid wandering around in the dark.
5. Step on logs and rocks, never over them, and be especially careful when climbing rocks.
6. Avoid walking through dense brush or willow thickets, if you must use a long stick or branch to beat the brush before you as you go. Remember that the snake doesn't want anything to do with you either.
7. Be careful when stepping over the doorstep as well. Snakes like to crawl along the edge of buildings where they are protected on one side.
8. If you spend a lot of time in "snake country", locate a physician with snakebite treatment before hand, just in case, because even mild cases of envenomation often require eight or more vials of the anti-venom and sometimes these are in short supply

WHAT TO DO IN THE EVENT OF A SNAKE BITE
1. Try to remain calm and inactive.
2. Get to a hospital or doctor as soon as possible (have someone else drive).
3. Loosen or remove any restrictive clothing or jewelry (e.g. shoes, watch) from the area near the bite.
4. Watch the victim for signs of shock. Treat if necessary by lying flat with feet elevated and cover with warm clothes or blanket.
5. Identify or photograph the snake only if it remains visible from a safe distance.

WHAT NOT TO DO
1. Don't make incisions over the snakebite.
2. Don't constrict the flow of blood.
3. Don't immerse a limb in ice water.
3. Don't elevate the bitten area (this will increase the flow of venom to other tissues).
4. Don't use your mouth to extract venom. Sucking out the venom is no longer a recommended practice, and wastes valuable time (commercial venom extractors like the Sawyer snake-bite kit may be somewhat helpful if used properly, but should not be relied on. The important thing is to get to a hospital as quickly as possible).
5. Don't run or carry unnecessary items as you go for help, to avoid elevating your pulse rate.
6. Don't try to catch or kill the snake.
7. Don't administer any pain medications or antihistamines, unless instructed by a doctor or EMT.

Though uncommon, rattlesnake bites do occur. The first thing to do if bitten is to stay calm. Generally, the most serious effect of a rattlesnake bite to an adult is local tissue damage, which needs to be treated. Children, because they are smaller, are in more danger if they are bitten. Get to a doctor as soon as possible, but stay calm. Frenetic, high-speed driving places the victim at greater risk of an accident and increased heart rate. Remember, about one-third of all rattlesnake bites are "dry" bites, when no venom has been injected.

TREATMENT
Steps taken at a hospital or other medical facility to counter the effects of snake venom is called treatment. The most common treatment includes the injection of an antivenin (or antivenom). Injecting small amounts of venom into a horse makes antivenin. The horse's immune system provides a defense against the venom. The horse's blood serum is then used in antivenin and given to human bite victims to counteract the effects of the bite. Only qualified medical personnel should administer antivenin. There are often side effects to be considered.

Treatment may also involve care given to relieve swelling, tetanus, or local tissue damage. North American pit viper venom (rattlesnake, water moccasin, copperhead) is primarily hemotoxic, acting to destroy blood and muscle tissue.

 Michael R. Conover, William C. Pitt, K.K. Kessler, T.J. DuBow, and W.A. Sanborn. "Review of human injuries, illnesses, and economic losses caused by wildlife in the United States." Wildlife Society Bulletin. Vol. 23, No. 3. pp. 407-414. Fall 1995.
"Bee and Hymenoptera Stings." eMedicine. http://emedicine.com/emerg/byname/bee-and-hymenoptera-stings.htm
"Dog Bite Statistics." Northeast Arkansans for Animals.