[Lonesome in Massachussets]

I've read that about 90% of people bit by snakes in the U.S. are handling them ir teasing them. Your chances of being bitten are remote.

[Ditter]

We hunt in south Texas where there are LOTS of rattlesnakes. Their natural camo is amazing. You can walk right up on one without seeing it. I know, I have done it. I startled a snake that was traveling on a trail and he stood up and danced on his tail while hissing at me. That is a maneuver that I had only seen depicted in western paintings but I saw it happen for real. It about scared me to death but the snake didn't live to talk about it. heh

[tiki]

I always joke that I have seen very few rattlesnakes. That is because I'm always preoccupied and I forget to pay attention. The only time I see them is when I walk right up on them and they rattle. So I'm sure their goal is not to bite me but I don't like them anyway.

My husband has had encounters with thousands of them in his outdoor life and has only been hit by a rattler once, it hit at the top of his boot and so caused no harm but he didn't live to strike again, very few of the snakes he encounters live to see another day.

[calex59]

You've read about people getting bitten, but how is your personal experience. I know about 5 people who have been chomped by snakes and not one of the people were playing or handling snakes! They were bitten in the wild by snakes that were in the wild. Chances of being bitten are low if you are not where the snakes live, if you are where they live chances go up exponentially.