Jeff Thomas
New member
Well, I have to throw in with Gopher .45 on this one. I was an amateur herpetologist myself for quite awhile, and kept quite a few hot (venemous) species ... including rattlers from all over the U.S.
And, every year, a good friend still comes to AZ to collect snakes for the zoo back in his home state.
Snakes, almost always, just want to be left alone. If possible, just walk away ... better for you and the critter. To be honest, IMHO hunters hurt their reputation when they kill anything other than the goal of their hunt. I find it especially ironic when folks kill every predator (including rattlers) that they find, and then complain about the number of varmints (gophers, squirrels, rabbits ...) damaging their land. Seems foolish to me.
If you decide to capture a rattler, don't use the 'forked stick' approach. First, practice on a nonvenomous snake - a mistake is no big deal with those. And, unless you have a 'snake stick', just find a sturdy branch that has sort of an 'L' at the bottom - rather like a golf putter. And, press gently if you don't want to hurt the critter. The bones in their head are supposedly fairly fragile.
For me, I just admire 'em when I'm lucky enough to catch a glimpse. They're amazing creatures, and like many animals, the world would be less interesting without them.
Take care. Regards from AZ
[This message has been edited by Jeff Thomas (edited May 07, 2000).]
And, every year, a good friend still comes to AZ to collect snakes for the zoo back in his home state.
Snakes, almost always, just want to be left alone. If possible, just walk away ... better for you and the critter. To be honest, IMHO hunters hurt their reputation when they kill anything other than the goal of their hunt. I find it especially ironic when folks kill every predator (including rattlers) that they find, and then complain about the number of varmints (gophers, squirrels, rabbits ...) damaging their land. Seems foolish to me.
If you decide to capture a rattler, don't use the 'forked stick' approach. First, practice on a nonvenomous snake - a mistake is no big deal with those. And, unless you have a 'snake stick', just find a sturdy branch that has sort of an 'L' at the bottom - rather like a golf putter. And, press gently if you don't want to hurt the critter. The bones in their head are supposedly fairly fragile.
For me, I just admire 'em when I'm lucky enough to catch a glimpse. They're amazing creatures, and like many animals, the world would be less interesting without them.
Take care. Regards from AZ
[This message has been edited by Jeff Thomas (edited May 07, 2000).]