Change in rattlesnake behavior?

11/20/10

[Flycatcher]

Aside from the baby rattler in my backyard that got killed because our little Siamese cat was too curious near it, I won’t kill a snake either. I think about Hantavirus.

Wow! That's funny you should say that.

I've been dealing with a potential case of the hantavirus every day now for the last week. Deer mice (the chief carriers of the hantavirus in the Southwest) have invaded my remote desert home. I set some snap traps on Wednesday night and got one in the kitchen. Then last night I set some glue traps and caught two more mice: another deer mouse and a cactus mouse.

I don't fool with rodents. The hantavirus can kill you, and I don't hesitate for one second to KILL every rodent that comes near my house.

I seem to be winning this battle. So far, no more deer mice tonight! LOL!

[coon2000]

Water moccasins are the worst. They are mean and fearless.

[SlidingW]

“Dawkins is vindicated.”

Uh...Darwin maybe?

[The KG9 Kid]

Have you got a cat? Get a nice free one at your local shelter and let it out during the daytime to earn it’s keep. Keep it inside at night away from the coyotes.

[BIGLOOK]

The latest buzz. Or maybe not.

[Flycatcher]

Yeah, my wife and I have two cats, but they're both ancient and can barely make it to their food dish. Pathetic!

We had a dog, though, that seemed to keep the mice at bay. It was a beautiful border collie pup that one day a year ago strolled up my dirt driveway. Knowing it was lost and would be killed by coyotes that night if I didn't do something, I rescued her and drove around the desert to my (somewhat) near neighbors to see if they'd lost a dog. Nope. So long story short, we had a new member of the family!

It was a wonderful dog too. In early October, it was bitten in the face by a rattlesnake but survived the night it spent at the vet hospital. After she recovered, sadly, she wandered a little too far from our property and was killed by coyotes.

My wife and I both agree that we can't have another dog. It's just too heartbreaking to have something like that happen again.

[The KG9 Kid]

Ah, I'm sorry about that. I've heard so many lousy rotten coyote stories about people losing their pets to them.

I also understand those folks who respect and admire the coyote, but I'm just not one of them. Wasn't too long ago that there was one running down the street with half a cat in it's mouth. I'd chase it down with my truck and get even with it right there if it were my cat it grabbed.

So, snakes of all kinds get a reprieve from me... But if it came down to me dealing with coyotes, they get blasted and that's final.

Anyway, sounds like you folks need to hire a new cat. :)

[Flycatcher]

Thanks for your kind words.

Yeah, we'll probably get a new cat when our two old ones pass on.

I want a mountian lion, to take care of this ongoing coyote problem... ;)

Now I'm off to bed. Regards!

[Slyfox]

Can a cat die from biting a rat with hantavirus?

[JustaDumbBlonde]

"For the uninformed, pigs love to eat rattlesnakes."

For the record, pigs love to eat anything that does not eat them first.

" I have a neighbor ranching lady who was bitten 3 weeks ago 2 times by the same snake without any warning"

She should have hit him with the splat-o-matic after the first bite. Hopefully, lesson learned.

"The wild hogs are a problem (ferrule ..."

Just for the record, they are feral, not ferrule.

[blueplum]

the only good rattler is a dead rattler, like the one in this video:

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-18242

[TLEIBY308]

I had a cat the got nailed by a timber rattler. Didnt last ten min.The cat tried to catch it.

[Sherman Logan]

Not that I’m aware of. HV is passed to humans when they inhale dust contaminated with urine from an infected rodent. It’s primarily a disease of the rodents. Has done a pretty good job of wiping out prairie dog colonies.

It may have been much more virulent in the past and even transmissible between humans in some way, as it may have played a major role in the Great Die-off of native Americans during the 1500s.

[Sherman Logan]

Cancel that bit about HV and prairie dogs. The disease that wipes out their colonies is a different one.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

It’s not an intentional behavior, many other snakes vibrate their tails under stress. Only rattlers are equipped to make an audible signal.

[Dusty Road]

This story has been bouncing around for about a year now. I see no truth to it. I killed over 60 rattlers this year and most didn't rattle until they were shot or whopped with the shovel. Another poster mentioned them being caught in the open and I would have to back that up. They seem to be much less likely to rattle when in the brush than in an exposed area. We don't have any hogs on the big ranch just a few Javalina’s and I've never known them to mess with rattlers. The theory that a rattling snake draws attention by the hog's is amusing to say the least. Since the noisy ones get eaten how do they pass that info to the rest.

[Dusty Road]

A bull snake will vibrate his tail and even flatten his head out to mimic a rattler.

[Dusty Road]

I have no respect or admiration for coyotes, I try kill everyone of them I see. When I first took over the production on the big ranch I killed 42 the first year. Rattlers, hog’s and coyotes are shot on sight.

[diverteach]