[Az-Geocaching] Rattlesnakes

[EvilFISH]

Jim there be inflation in your words...



that be more than .02 worth :)



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jim Scotti" <jscotti@pirl.lpl.Arizona.EDU>
To: <listserv@azgeocaching.com>
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2004 2:33 PM
Subject: Re: [Az-Geocaching] Rattlesnakes


> Here's my rattlesnake $0.02.  First, the statistic I've heard is that
> something like 90% of snakebites are due to the moron actually trying to
> interact with the snake.  Keep in mind that the snake can only jump about
its
> own length, so if you give it plenty of room, you should be safe, even if
you
> have to walk past it.  Also, most snake bites are dry.  The snake actually
> has to be in contact and squeezing, I think, to inject venim (but that
> shouldn't slow you down from seeking medical attention if bit....).  In
all
> the years I've been out and about, I've never seen a live rattler on the
> trail.  My wife saw one once (but by the time I caught up to her and its
> location, it was gone), and I've seen them in the road a couple times,
most
> recently last summer up near Toroweap Overlook when we saw one in the dirt
> road within a mile of the ranger station there.  It was in the middle of
the
> road, so I got out of the car after stopping about 15 or 20 feet short of
the
> snake, took a couple pictures (the best with the zoom, of course), then I
> tossed some small rocks generally at it to get it to move off the road so
we
> wouldn't run over it.  I never got closer than about 12-15 feet and we did
> get some decent pix too.  Other "signs" of a rattler besides the sounds
> mentioned by others is that you can sometimes see the trail of a snake
(don't
> know if it was a rattler, though it was "S" shaped going down a wash one
time
> while out in the wilds when I saw that a couple years ago - while
> "Geodashing", BTW.  The snake trail was within a few hundred meters of the
> dashpoint, though it did not log its earlier visit to the dashpoint on the
> internet, so I got credit for the first arrival.... :-) ).
>
> I've been known to leave snake bite kits in geocaches from time to time.
> They can be found at most camping stores or even WalMart for only a couple
> bucks and are usually yellow rubber and have some instructions inside and
are
> used to suck the venim out.  Not sure how useful they are, but I suspect
the
> best thing to do is to seek medical help as soon as possible in any case.
> Better yet, give the snake a wide berth - it is more likely to be more
afraid
> of you than you are of it and usually, you will see or hear it long before
> you get within striking distance.  It's also a good idea to keep your eyes
> and ears open, especially with kids or pets since they don't know the
rules
> of dealing with snakes (though I have heard of anti-snake training for
> dogs...).
>
> Jim.
>
> On Mon, 24 May 2004, SquishyGecko wrote:
>
> > While reading the logs for GCJFPP, I noticed that the first two people
to
> > attempt this cache saw "signs" of a rattlesnake ahead.  Being from a
> > place where rattlesnakes aren't a huge issue, and being accident prone
> > (I've had two cactus incidents while caching so far, one pierced a
> > muscle), I'm wondering just what exactly the signs of a rattlesnake in
> > the area are, other than the obvious rattle.
> >
> > Also, I've been searching the internet for information about how to deal
> > with a rattlesnake bite, and so far there doesn't seem to be much other
> > than to keep the wound below the heart, don't cut it open or use a
> > tournequette, and call for help.  Anyone have any other suggestions?
> >
> > If you don't hear from me by tomorrow, it's probably 'cause I'm going to
> > attempt GCJFPP this afternoon, and Mr. Rattlesnake might decide to eat
> > me.
> >
> > Signed,
> > Dumb Desert Dipstick :-)
>
> Jim Scotti
> Lunar & Planetary Laboratory
> University of Arizona
> Tucson, AZ 85721 USA                 http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~jscotti/
>
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