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A home renovation project in Arizona turned into a risky game of hide-and-seek after a den of western diamondback rattlesnakes was discovered living behind the shower walls. It happened at a home in Tonopah, and video shared by the snake catching service Rattlesnake Solutions shows it took cutting holes in the wall and ceiling to catch the snakes. Four were removed in a series of hair-raising encounters in November and December, videos show. In one case, a worker stuck his hand in the ceiling to find a gas line and heard something rattling. Days later, he looked up to see...

A respected snake researcher who had been making significant discoveries about the species since childhood has died after being bitten by a timber rattler. John Sealy, a rattlesnake researcher from Stokesdale, North Carolina, who knew Martin for more than 30 years, said Martin was perhaps the foremost authority on timber rattlers, a species he studied since childhood. Age can also be a factor in a person’s susceptibility. “They save their venom for their prey,” he said.

It’s not uncommon for Sonoma County Reptile Rescue director Al Wolf to receive a call from a resident about a snake or two in their home. But even Wolf was surprised to discover nearly a hundred rattlesnakes underneath a Santa Rosa home on Oct. 2. He has led the Sebastopol-based nonprofit reptile rescue organization for more than 30 years and this was the first time he’d seen so many in one house, he said. Wolf used 24-inch snake tongs to remove 22 adult rattlesnakes and 59 babies and relocate them to areas where they’re welcome. “I go to specific areas...

<p>Albany, Texas — A Texas homeowner who reported seeing "a few" snakes under his home actually had dozens of rattlesnakes living beneath his house. That's according to Big Country Snake Removal, whose workers pulled 45 rattlesnakes from underneath the home near Albany, about 150 miles west of Dallas.</p>

A number of men working on a property in North Texas got an unwelcome surprise when they discovered at least 30 rattlesnakes underneath an old hunting cabin. The men were in Gorman, Texas, when they saw one snake slither under the cabin on Bobby Cowan's property. They decided to lift it up with a skid loader to get a better look at the snake, and discovered a giant nest. They slammed the building back down, only to lift it again to capture the nest on video.

A subdivision in a small Texas town north of Austin is facing a dangerous influx of rattlesnakes...Brown came across a baby rattlesnake in his own yard, where his two-year-old daughter and three dogs often play...According to KXAN, local authorities are aware of the issue, but to Brown's knowledge, they haven't done much other than recommend people take preventive measures by cleaning up any overgrown brush or getting rid of places where snakes can hide...As for Brown, he thinks the snakes are victims too and people should heed the recommendations from authorities. I don't want a child, adult, or dog to...

A rattlesnake interaction gets interrupted with an arrow and broadhead. You always hear “The only good snake is a dead snake.” And you will also hear “The only thing better than a dead snake is two dead snakes.” Well, if that is you, you will enjoy this video. The Red Arrow team is hunting in Texas when they come along some funky business going down between two rattlers. Kip draws back, sets the pin, and lets it fly. He misses the first shot and the snakes don't even flinch! He eventually connects with an arrow and might have just got...

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — Rattlesnake activity forced park managers to close Cottonwood Canyon Trail in North Table Mountain Park. The temporary closure started Friday. It wasn’t known how long it would last. Officials with Jefferson County Open Space said there is a concentration of rattlesnakes near the trail what are getting ready to hibernate. They closed the area for public safety. A man died two weeks ago after a rattlesnake bit him while he was hiking not far away in Mount Galbrath Park in Golden. It’s about two miles away from the Cottonwood Canyon Trail.

One of the most misunderstood creatures in this country is crotalus, a genus of venomous pit vipers most people simply call rattlesnakes. Crotalus horridus, also known as the timber rattlesnake or canebrake snake, epitomizes the deeply ambivalent relationship Americans have with this animal, which Benjamin Franklin considered a symbol of our nascent country-and which remains a symbol of freedom and defiance of unjust government-yet has been hunted to extinction or near-extinction throughout New England. The fear and loathing with which most Americans view rattlesnakes is illustrated most vividly by events like the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup, wherein thousands of rattlesnakes are...

A Jones County family experienced a nightmare come true when a rattlesnake slithered up inside their toilet last week. Big Country Snake Removal says the family contacted them after finding the adult snake in their toilet. When officials arrived on scene, the company investigated the property and found 24 rattlesnakes total in the family’s storm cellar and under the house. Five were babies and the rest were adults.

The Texas rat snake was just as much of a speed demon as deadly vipers, challenging long-held notions about snake adaptations. When a snake strikes, it literally moves faster than the blink of an eye, whipping its head forward so quickly that it can experience accelerations of more than 20 Gs. Such stats come from studies of how a snake lunges, bites and kills, which have focused mostly on vipers, in part because these snakes rely so heavily on their venomous chomps. "It's the lynchpin of their strategy as predators," says Rulon Clark at San Diego State University. "Natural selection...

Did a proposal to save a breed of poisonous snakes by giving them their own island in the Quabbin Reservoir make it all the way to the governor’s office? You bet it did. And Charlie Baker supports it. It is being called Rattlesnake Island, and it is soon to be inhabited by a group of lucky pit vipers called Timber Rattlesnakes.

Recently, though, a San Diego man thought it might be an idea to take a selfie with a rattlesnake. Some might think this has all the sense of taking a boa constrictor clubbing. However, as KGTV in San Diego reported, Todd Fassler picked a rattlesnake out of the brush and thought he might memorialize the event. The snake had other ideas and bit him.....His medical expenses could be described as expensive. KGTV’s Dan Haggerty tweeted Fassler’s bill — for $153,161.25. Of this, more than $83,000 was for “pharmacy.” His case reportedly depleted the antivenom supplies at two local hospitals.

In mid-March, she was bitten by a Mohave rattlesnake just feet from her apartment while trying to save her cat. "You can feel it grip on. It's like cutting through butter. It grabbed my thumb and went down through the tendon. When it turned around it nicked me on the other side," said Wallace. The Mohave's venom put Wallace in a coma. She spent a total of nine days in the ICU and had to be readmitted to the hospital three more times. Wallace was left with no feeling in much of her hand. A few months prior Wallace told...

PHOENIX -- Banner Poison Control Center treated four patients this past weekend for rattlesnake bites. There have been eight victims in the past week. Patrick Hotchkiss of Quartzsite, Ariz., was one of the victims. He had just stepped off his porch Sunday afternoon when he was struck. "I felt two sharp things, sort of akin to piece of broken glass that snaps off," said Patrick Hotchkiss, from his hospital bed at Banner Good Samaritan Hospital. Hotchkiss said this particular snake was about 2-and-a-half feet long and did not rattle prior to striking. "I should've been more vigilant. Usually I am,"...

The wonderful things of spring: the scent of a Tombstone rose, the burst of Mexican poppies on Picacho Peak and a cool breeze across an Arizona porch. The not-so-wonderful things of spring: the buzz of the killer bees swarming around those spring flowers, the rattle of a coiled diamondback as you hike the trail to the peak and the welt left behind by the bite of the black widow that's been nesting in your front-porch rocker. Warmer days ahead means it's time to watch out for critters best left undisturbed.

Some farmers collect large quantities of rattlesnakes Rattlesnake hunters are gathering in the Texas town of Sweetwater for what the town styles the "World's Largest Rattlesnake Round-up". The annual event began as a way to control the local snake population, but has grown into a four-day attraction luring thousands of visitors. Local farmers collect the deadly snakes, which are milked by handlers for their venom. Other attractions include skinning and eating the snakes. James Wells was first in the queue for the round-up on Friday, bringing in 1,200 pounds (540 kg) of rattlesnakes. The roundup pays $5 per pound...

980 Million trained Rattlers to patrol Texas/Mexican Border Nancy Grace on last night's show told the governor of Texas, Rick Perry that he "lost his darned mind" after Perry acknowledged securing clearance from the Department of Immigration to acquire, train and deploy nearly a billion deadly Texas rattlesnakes along the south Texas border adjoining Mexico. Grace asked Governor Perry, "Governor? Governor? How just how LONG has this totally illegal plan of yours been going on?" Governor Perry replied, "We deployed the border patrol snakes 2 days ago Nancy. Already we've reduced illegal immigration into Texas by 87%". United States Immigration...

WYMT Mountain News Camper Speaks Out About Snake Invasion An invasion of poisonous snakes ran some Floyd County campers out of their campsite twice in less than one week. Campers say they killed dozens of copperheads as well as one rattlesnake and a water snake at their favorite campsite. Quincy Cook has been camping with his friends and family at this campsite for years and says he's never seen poisonous snakes until a few days ago when they were invaded. "I had a light on my head and looked down and they was crawling everyway like night crawlers. We shot...

Group Aims to Save Rattlesnakes in New York Park Westport, New York: The ponytailed environmentalist hiked down the ridge, over the gray rocks and matted brown leaves, stopped among the hardwoods, and said, "Right down the side, it's prime country here." The warm, southeast-facing rock cliffs overlooking Lake Champlain mark the northern limit of the Timber Rattlesnake's habitat. Jaime Ethier, in boots and jeans, was bushwhacking from Champlain Palisades down to the pebbled shores of the lake - through terrain where he wouldn't see a coiled dark snake unless he nearly stepped on it. The Adirondack Council conservation director appeared...