I know its called Rattlesnake Ridge... but I think killing 5 by the 5th of June is a little overboard don't you? I confess the timing was interesting... my new snake boots came today. So I saw the thing... and where it was... right up against the brick wall I couldn't take the shot with my sidearm. It had people ammo... not snake ammo... and people ammo bounces off of things like brick and concrete.
So I ran in... slid on the new snake boots... because they were sitting right there and not doing so seemed really... really stupid. I grabbed the tracker which I now keep loaded with snake shot... calmly walked back to where the snake was and gave it two shots.
Then... fittingly... we dumped his dead carcass in an empty snake repellent container. Because irony.
All of these are things to remember should you ever be really mad at something I say on the internet and decide to come see me. And did I mention this one was curled up in the corner of the door?
I should skin his carcass and make mat out of him...
Except we don't do welcome mats. For obvious reasons.
18 comments:
I have a proposition for you Nate. You skin him and ill put him on the limbs of my recurve!
Are you threatening me? I'll be there tomorrow. Heh.
I like the no welcome mat idea. My door says "beware of dog". I'm the dog.
By the way, Nate, I'm glad you started blogging more. There is you me and Res that I know of taking up the slack for Vox's book stuff.
SHOW US THE BUTTONS!
There is no point in doing a rattle snake post without pics of the buttons.
There's a pic of the carcass Res. The next one I kill I'll get the buttons for you.
I can't tell from the pic, is that a 3 or 4 footer? It's got a nice skin you should make him into a hat band or something.
Res, I saved it and blew it up in windows picture viewer. It is a coontail rattler with three buttons.
That is your typical west Texas rattler. About 3.5 ft long and coontail (stripes just above the buttons). Biggest I ever killed was a little over 4.5 ft long. We have a few Velvet tails, but in east Texas there also are timber (red) rattlers.
Also that is a young rattler, our rattlers that long will have 6-7 buttons. I'd hate to meet a full grown one there.
Any one out there an electrical engineer? If you could put a rubber mouse in a snake trap, and heat to a constant 98 degrees farenheit or so, the snake would think it was a live rodent and go in the trap after it.
I am working on an attractant to lure a snake up to a trap, but from what I have read in the scientific literature, you need to engage the snakes' heat sensing organ to trigger an attack response against a possible prey source.
Nate,
If I ever come to see you, it would be to help you shoot rattle snakes,
sincerely
cheddarman
Cheddarman,
You might consider something like an electric sock warmer. I've not used them so I don't know how hot they actually get, but it might be the right size to fit inside a decoy. It's expensive, but it's also reuseable.
Another option to consider is a chemical source, such as they use in hand warmers for skiing. I have used these, but again I don't know if the temperature is sufficiently high to mimic a mouse's body temp.
The chemical option is cheaper, plus it offers the opportunity to play around with the formula to achieve the optimum heat level for your needs.
We mostly have the prairie rattlers around here. I guess we have some western diamond backs in the state too but I haven't seen one.
The largest prairie rattlers I have seen were stuffed. They have a 6 footer in the gift shop at Devils Tower. For one of our snakes to get that big they have to be over 8 years old, and they had to have everything perfect in terms of diet and climate and a good den.
I've seen alive on the side of the road a bull snake that was over 12 ft. Our bull snakes look a lot like a rattler, except for the tail. They are more aggressive than the rattlers and will strike at you without warning. Good thing they aren't poisonous.
Chedderman,
I have kept snakes and other reptiles. A good way to catch them is to put a light (full UV Spectrum) onto a piece of tile and heat it up or actually get one of those reptile warmers. Next think you know you look over and there is the reptile heating itself. It works really well. Old timers tell me cat urine is a repellant so keep the cats away from the trap.
Bullsnakes will scare the shit out of you. They make a sound that sounds just like a rattle snake with their rattling hiss., they will also use their tail to rattle any loose dry leaves. They sound very convincing.
What if you electrified a reptile warmer somehow?
Dad (an electrician) used to string a bare copper wire about 3-4" above the ground, then plug it into the hot side of an extension cord at night. This would greatly inconvenience the muskrats that liked to raid the corn in the garden.
although not venomous, bullsnakes are the shiz (did I really type that). I once had one challenge my f250...and they eat rattlers for breakfast
btw, that's a pretty snake...looks like a diamond back. hope you preserved, at least, the skin
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