we were both abit nervous in this video as I usually do these alone, hopefully Garin will join me on a few more videos in the future and I'll order another mic or two...
I live in South Carolina in the South Eastern part of the US . Despite the claims of the video presenter I have found the Copperhead snake to be territorial and aggressive . Probably the most dangerous snake in my state is the Coral snake . They are small and look pretty with their bands of red yellow and black and seem harmless . But sometimes people pick them up and their small teeth inject a neurotoxin similar to that of a cobra .
@@victorwaddell6530we got a mountain kingsnake in California that looks like a coral but it's harmless I remember as a kid I went to a boy scout summer camp at a place called Hume lake there were troops from all over the country that year and I guess some from your part of the country and we just heard someone yelling about a coral snake and everyone got tense because we all know the name but one of the troop leaders was a park ranger and said either someone released a pet or that's a king snake. hahaha we all still checked our tents when we got back to camp
He is way off on that maximum size of rattlesnakes. Here in Alabama they regularly reach 6 ft in length but I personally have seen one that was at the very least 8ft and 8 inches in diameter at its mid section. Know quite a few people that have seen them this big and bigger. On the news quite a few years back there was a report and photo from a kids soccer game in Florida, where the police were called about a very large snake. People thought it was some kind of python or something but it turned out to be a rattlesnake. In the photo they had it stretched out and it was as long as a Ford Crown Victoria police car! If you like snakes that's your prerogative, to each their own, but personally I hate them. I actually have a friend named Howard Ditto, that use to love snakes and said they just got a bad rep. He had several until one of his Rattlesnakes bit him in the face when he opened their enclosure to throw rats in to feed them, and almost died. He spent a long time in the hospital and had health problems from then on. "and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall crush thy head, and thou shalt strike his heel" Genesis 3:15
@@victorwaddell6530 Same way here in Alabama with Copperheads. Extremely aggressive! Ours get pretty big here. Matter of fact, all of our snakes tend to be above average and I think it may be because they have more than enough to eat. Or maybe it's just something in the water. Lol
Collecting and storing venom to treat snake bites is something that the US has done diligently for a long time, and that probably explains the low number of fatalities.
True. Local education is also a help. I've lived all over the US and like being outside. One must be educated on the local dangers. It could save a lot of lives.
Also nearly everywhere in the U.S. hospitals are nearby with adequate supplies of antivenin for the bites of the most frequently-encountered venomous snakes. Snakes whose bites would kill in many other countries are survivable here because help is nearly always close at hand.
My Mother in law lost a dear friend to an Eastern Diamondback. She had a large collection of venomous snakes that she would "milk". She also was an educator. She taught not only how dangerous they can be but also thier importance to the ecosystem. After milking a large Eastern Diamondback, she was struck while returning it to its bin. She was barely scratched but it was enough. She was in her late '60s, her immune system just crashed.
According to yearly records, anywhere between seven and 8000 people are bitten by venomous snakes in the United States every year. Due to anti-venom’s and treatments the fatalities are very low.
I’ve known a couple of people who have been bitten by rattlesnakes, and they were working in their backyards when it happened. They were both hospitalized immediately and given antivenin, they are both fine now. If you’re out in the back country, where there’s no cell signal or emergency services, you may not make it.
Around where I live, you have to watch out for pygmy rattlesnakes. They are only as thick as your pinky and might only reach a foot long. Their rattles are so small that you can't even hear them.
Antivenom is usually readily available for most poisonous snakes in each region. This is probably one of the main reasons there are relatively few snake bite fatalities in the US.
Yep. It's usually only people with compromised or weakened immune systems, such as children and the elderly, who are most at risk if bitten. In many cases, if an individual is fairly young and healthy, then they are likely to survive a snakebite as long as they get to a hospital and receive antivenin quickly. I live in WV, and Copperheads are fairly common around here, but they're also relatively passive and docile as long as you leave them alone. That's the case with most such snakes, as they'd rather not waste venom on a human if they don't have to, as we're a "waste" of venom to them since our size makes us far too large for them to consume. We do however have non-venomous snakes that are absolutely large enough to consume a human....namely the anaconda, which can grow so big that they can swallow an adult human whole. Fortunately, they tend to live in swampy regions where it would be rare for them to encounter a human, but the possibility does still exist. There are a lot of dangerous and deadly animals in the US, and most of them aren't even venomous (or snakes). But as long as you're smart and you respect the animals for what they are, there are very few that will go out of their way to intentionally attack or kill a human. Most, even predators, would much rather avoid humans entirely.
For context reasons, I live on the border of North and South Carolina in the Southeastern US. In the Carolinas you will find Copperheads, several species of Rattlers like the Eastern Diamondback, Timber and Pigmy. We also have Cottonmouth and on the East coast of the Carolinas you can find the Coral Snake. Coral snakes are small but highly venomous. I'm actually surprised it wasn't one of the three in the video.
That’s what I love about the Carolinas. I visited there three times now over the last four years on Herping trips and have been fortunate enough to have encountered every species you’ve mentioned. What’s nice about venomous snakes in the US, if you wanna look at it this way, is that they are typically not where they are a lot of people. you’re right about the coral snake too. I would consider that the most deadly venom of any snake in the US, but they are what they call rear fanged. Their fangs generate from further back in their mouth so they have to latch onto you and kind of chew to deliver a lot of venom. Also because of their living habits they are rarely encountered.
We only have one species of rattlesnake in South Dakota, and that's the Prairie Rattlesnake. It's actually the only venomous snake in the state. Hognose snakes are *technically* venomous, but their venom is so weak that it has no effect on humans and they're basically harmless, so they don't count.
Pennsylvania here---cottonmouths are everywhere here. If you suddenly smell cucumbers --you are close to a snake. The stronger the smell, the more that are around or you are near there "nests/dens" --not sure what it's called.
Eastern Copperheads are native to my neighborhood. When I take my dog out for walks I have to keep a close eye on the underbrush in case a copperhead is out.
The low fatality rate i feel is mostly due to the awareness and education everyone has growing up. Hearing multiple times from different people as a boy " Don't mess with snakes, Leave them alone, They will bite you". Being grown i have found myself saying similar things to younger people who might encounter them. Leave the nope rope alone or you will regret it.
As long as you can identify which are dangerous and which are not, that's all you really need to know. The Garder snake for instance is completely harmless to humans. Of course, it's always smart to respect any wild animal, predator or not, as even herbivores can be deadly if provoked. The moose for instance is infamously irritable, territorial, and aggressive despite them being herbivores.
I'm a bit surprised by the low number of fatalities, but happy too! As another commenter stated, it may be due to the fact that the U.S. stores venom. Several years ago, my husband found a Mojave Rattlesnake. It had 8-10 rattles on it, was about 5 ft long, and did not want any confrontation at all!
I used to live in TX and had 2 different dogs bitten by snakes. One pup was bitten by a copperhead and the other by a water moccasin(cotton mouth). They both recovered but it was touch and go.
Recently crushed a copperhead near my house. I have a small lake with natural stones we use to cross. Lil bastard popped right out of the water at me but I luckily had been moving my rocks and had one in my hand. Dropped it as my 1st reaction and crushed it lol
@@USMC-Goforth I don’t blame you. First reaction when you’re not expecting it. They are usually hiding in interesting places. The pup that was bit by the copper head was bit when he sat down on a walkway that had small gaps in the wood. His tail went in the gap and the snake was hiding there.
I think the biggest reason people in the U.S. aren't often bitten by snakes is the dislike of them by most. They just stay away from them. Even the non-venomous snakes can be aggressive and bite. I've been bitten by rat snakes and had to pry one off of my had.
Our most venomous snake is an elipid, the Eastern Coral Snake. But it's reclusive, mild-tempered, and seldom seen. And it has very small fangs.Nobody has died of a coral snake bite in nearly sixty years! In fact, antiivenin for the coral snake is hard to come by because it's so seldom needed!
I grew up in the Mid-West of the U.S., and have managed to personally encounter rattlesnakes, cottonmouth, and copperheads. Fortunately, my dad deeply impressed on us the importance of leaving snakes alone and always be vigilant in watery or forested areas. We also used to catch garter snakes, and when we went to camp as kids, rat snakes would guard our cabins from mice and rats.
I live and grew up in the SE USA and we are taught snake safety from a very young age. Like “don’t go just flipping stuff over in that tall grass you’ll find a snake”. If hiking or walking trails, being vigilant and paying attention to patterns on the ground. We have a speckled king snake that lives in our backyard and we regularly see rat snakes. We don’t run into venomous snakes very often. For the most part these snakes avoid civilization as much as possible. You really have to go looking for one to find one.
We moved from Massachusetts to Missouri in 1962. We knew nothing about venom snakes. My youngest sister was 1 year old at the time. Our neighbor took one look at her playpen and told Dad to cut the legs off of it. He said if you put the playpen out on the patio a copperhead could use it as a hiding place. If you approached the playpen or God forbid the baby dropped a toy and reached for it a bite could happen. Dad immediately did as he suggested. We had a copperhead in our living room one time and another lying beneath the step down from the back door. My brother shot both with a shotgun after Mum had taken my 3 sisters across the street to the neighbor's house.
I am in Tennessee and we grew up in the woods against a mountain. We would see many snakes in the yard each spring and summer. On many occasions we had snakes in the house and a few times we found baby snakes hatched out in the house. They would find a cool place inside out of the heat. I can only guess they got in from us kids running in and out of the house all day. All these years later it is still odd to me to not see snakes in the yard because I now live in a neighborhood in town with many houses.
Your son is so cute. You are a good dad. I base that on the things you have said before you had your son on your video. I am sure your son is proud to have you as a dad.
I grew up looking for and catching snakes. When my son was just 4, he came up to me with a little ring-neck snake he had just caught and he was so proud of himself - You two remind me of me and my son.
Love snakes. Have an 8 foot Black King Rat snake living in our backyard. We have named him "Baby", and he takes care of the mice, squirrel, and large bugs. We even have his shed skin. The skin design is beautiful.
Omg your son is adorable! I can say that because I'm an old lady, and if I was there I'd have to pinch his adorable cheeks! 😁 I'm glad you're teaching him to respect deadly animals by not messing around with them, and being aware of your surroundings. Good dad! Enjoyed the video even though I'm no fan of snakes. I hope to see more of your family too. ❤
If you are coming to Texas in March, Sweetwater has the world's largest rattlesnake roundup the 2nd week in March every year. It is used for controlling the population of snakes, education, venom collection for antivenom and all parts of the snakes are used.
Living in rural South Dakota the diamond back is a regular occurrence in our life. Just like any other wildlife, some years they are more populous than others. Unfortunately we lost one of our best dogs to a rattler. We've had other dogs and even a horse that were bitten, but survived with antivenom treatment and veterinary intervention. All that said, I've found that if given a chance they would much rather retreat than fight. We do as much as we can to prevent rattlers from wanting to be anywhere around the house and outbuildings, and that typically means keeping mice away. Therefore, every bullsnake and gopher snake we come across is brought to the farmyard and given a place where they can assist in keeping mice to a minimum. We are not cat people, but we do keep a healthy population of barn cats to keep the mice situation down, as well. It's been a few years since I've had my hair stand up on end and my blood run cold from hearing the sound of those ominous rattles when I'm out doing chores. LOL
I have noticed that in Mississippi there used to be many more Rattle Snakes. I have not seen one in years when I live now. In the 60s, you could see them several times a week in the summer crossing the road. There used to be a lot of frogs also, but not so much now. There are frogs but, when I was younger, you could go frog hunting and get a sack of frogs. These were huge frogs with legs larger than large chicken legs. We exclusively targeted sizable Bullfrogs.
Have all 3 here in Missouri....we use to find copperheads on our cement porches and steps all the time when I was a kid, we were taught to always look out the glass doors before opening them to go outside
12:41 My guess on this is that their venom sacs potency adapt to different environments or that different subsects of the timber rattlesnakes have various range of potency of their venom
Here in Colorado, a lot of us get our dogs “snake broke”. Only have to worry about rattlesnakes, and only below 9500’ elevation. I’ve seen some big ones down by Walsenburg
Here in Texas, snakes are plentiful! My brother saved me from picking up a copper head when I was 2 years old, I was always bringing snakes into our house and it drove my parents crazy. Years back, someone's (obvious pet) python slithered onto our patio. Very cool. Recently, a coral snake was found by the guy who mows for me...the raccoons ate it by next morning.. we have loads of garder snakes and when they're not eating the frogs, they are swooped up by the hawks. My brother got bitten by a cotton mouth in south texas and had to be airlifted to a hospital. We have rattlers too, you need to be alert.
I'm from Southern Arizona. The Tucson Valley. At one time it was an ocean. Dig in our dirt and sometimes you can find shark teeth. You need to look up our zoo called The Desert Museum. You will love our snakes, lizards, spiders and a lot of others animals. As young children we are taught in school to know the snakes, how to find water and basically stay alive until we are found. Most people don't know that there was a German Prisoner of War Camp there. It was just buildings. No fences at all. Where were they going to go? No water and they couldn't walk out. Our desert can hit 125° during the summer but drop below freezing at night. You have probably heard of a town in our Valley called Tombstone. It is still there. Have fun and watch where you step.
Good to see ya Jono! was a great idea including your son in this one! looking forward to future reactions from you or you and your son :D On a side note. I love snakes aswell ( I'm a Herpetologist by profession, Done some venom collection and that kind of thing) glad you are doing this video as it educates people who don't know much about snakes.
Clayton, Ga has a rattlesnake roundup where thousands of snakes are caught and milked to make anti venom. I’ve driven through the town during that but I never stopped and never would stop
Jono the American health care system has done diligent work with identification and treatment of snake bites including venomous bites. And to take it a step further a lot of the hospital care systems have anti-venoms on hand to treat bites for animals known to be in their region. If you happen to end up on the wrong side of the equation there are typically other extenuating factors like health and your ability to even call for help. I had a friend step on a copperhead, get bitten, got treatment, and was released from the hospital the following day. Remarkable.
For coral snakes, we’re taught as children “red touch yellow, kill a fellow”, since the colors of a coral snake closely resemble a different nonvenomous species of snake.
Wow! Talk about a little mini-me! That boy is the spitting image of his father! Wait till he gets bigger, grows a beard, and gets tattoos like his dad. You won't be able to tell them apart! No one can ever question who this boy's father is! LOL! Nice to see the little man love the outdoors as much as his father! Good job Dad!
Rattlesnakes are most dangerous in cool weather. They get spooked easy when they're half hibernating. They love dry, rocky areas. We had 3 that sunbathed on our wood pile. Eek.
I had western Garder snakes as a kid, they are the red and black one of their favorite things is to get some little goldfish and fill the tub with water and let them swim around and catch their food
Remember - when you generically say "Rattlesnake" in North America - you are referring to 36 separate species of snake with between 65 and 70 sub-species - there is a lot of variation. I always learned that being bitten by a younger snake was typically more dangerous, because a older, larger snake will limit the amount of venom it injects, whereas a young one will tend to inject all its venom.
Fun fact: in West Texas (probably other places as well) our rattlesnakes have started to evolve to not rattle anymore. Ive even heard of some being born without it entirely, though ive never seen that myself. Because of out of control wild pig populations, apparently the rattle was becoming a dinner bell and giving away their location. Pigs eat everything, rattlesnakes rattle, so it became a problem. My brother almost stepped on one while we were dove hunting in a cotton field and it never made a sound. To be fair he may have just startled it, and we certainly didnt give it time to bite much less rattle, but it seems to track with the studies.
We had a lot of chores to do in the heat of the Florida summer when children. Our treat when our chores were done was a swim in the local river. We would have to take sticks to knock the cottonmouth’s out of the trees and wait for them to swim off before we could swim. Didn’t think twice about the danger, just a daily occurrence 😂
I live in New Jersey. I have come across the Cottonmouth, Copperhead and the Eastern Diamondback (the largest of the rattlesnakes). I have also come across many different types of snakes in my travels as a Boy Scout. The Blue Garter you mentioned is near the Gulf Coast of Florida and Tampa Bay but where I live it's the common garter and the eastern garter. Snakes in the US are not known for their deadly venom.
Grew up in Jersey and I remember there was a huge rattle snake problem at one point not too far from where I was maybe a town over or something like that. (We were not too far from Philly, maybe 30-45 mins depending on traffic, for reference) Also I don't care what anyone says Central Jersey is a thing lol.
It is so cool this is something you and your son share. I am very interested and even studying herpetology in college. And snakes are my favorite. My step dad is afraid of snakes (though he tries to pretend otherwise). My mom is completely OK with my interest and hasn't hadn't had any issue with my pet snakes or me going out herping. But of all the wildlife I've studied and worked with, snakes are not at the top of her list.
Rattlers are very, very common here in Northern CA. If you have dogs and live near a field it is likely your dog is going to come home with a snake bite. It says that the Western Diamondback can get to about 6 foot long, but every 6 foot is not the same as the next. There was a show on TV a few years back about emergency medical in the Southwest and the rattle snakes and there was this guy that got bit by a large rattler. But what stunned the ER crew that flight lifted him to the hospital for antivenom was the fact that the snake was the same girth as a large limb of a tree! The guy barely survived and needless to say it was extremely painful for him. The can grow extremely large here.
In New York we have 17 species of snake 3 of which are venomous (Timber Rattlesnake, Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake, and Copperheads). It's funny your son wants a garter snake as I see them all the time and grew up catching them. You can find them pretty much anywhere in the suburbs or rural areas in such abundance that if you know where to look an hour of searching could easily turn up several dozen.
I'm from Kentucky and we have 4 Venomous snakes here in this state alone. The Copperhead, Cottonmouth, Timber Rattlesnake, and the Pigmy Rattlesnake which they left out. Never seen a Cottonmouth in person because they are pretty shy and reclusive. Copperheads are literally everywhere. I've seen 2 timbers but a guy thats local has a few Eastern Diamondbacks that he milks for anit-venom. One of which is just shy of 7ft, as girthy as a large apple, and right at 25lbs. The sound it makes sends chills down your spine. It's the personification of intimidation.
I have seen rattlesnakes and copperheads in the wild, as I live and do a fair amount of hiking in the eastern U.S. If you do enough hiking on the Appalachian Trail, for example, you will see them for sure. It's a good idea to be careful during the warm months, in the middle of the day, when they are more active or sunning out in the rocks. In most areas in this part of the country, people are pretty close to medical treatment and can be treated with antivenom (in the case of rattlers).
When we were kids in Kentucky and fishing from a boat. We were watching the trees to make sure none fell from the trees. Back in the 90s they released some kind of australian birds that eat poisonous snakes there to keep population down
When I was in university in California we went out to Joshua Tree National Park, which is in a desert, with a group of students. At night, one of the guys set his flashlight on top of an ice chest and it rolled off the top and behind. He reached grab it as it was falling and was struck by a Mojave Green rattlesnake. It only cut his finger with the fang and wasn't able to give him a full bite. This guy was 6'4" (193cm), and about 240 lbs (108kg) and we pushed him in the car and rushed him to the hospital. Twenty minutes later when we got to the hospital, he couldn't stand up. The Mojave Greens venom is both a hemotoxin and neurotoxin. He survived but he had a couple of painful days.
I've been loving the reactions since I've subscribed about a month ago, thanks. And what a well mannered young lad you have. One day when I get these bills under control I'll contribute to your coffee fund. Cheers, from Texas. 🙂
American here. In my state, South Dakota, we only have one native venomous snake species: the prairie rattlesnake. We call them "rattlers" or "prairie rattlers". One nonvenomous species, the bullsnake, will actually kill a rattlesnake if it sees one. They eat a lot of the same things as prairie rattlers, so it's good to find one in your garden because it'll eat rodents and keep the rattlers away. IIRC, bullsnakes are constricters. We also have blue racers, a beautiful greenish-blue nonvenomous snake with a butter-yellow belly. I think we have 3 different species of garter snakes in South Dakota. We have hognose snakes, which are *technically* venomous, but their venom is so weak that it is harmless to humans unless you're allergic to it. Hognose snakes are super cute, with their little upturned snoots. At least I think they're cute, anyway! LOL!
I live in the State of Pennsylvania in the Eastern United States. Here in our state, we only have 3 species of venomous snakes. The Timber Rattle Snake (Featured in the video you are reviewing) The copperhead (also featured) and Eastern Massasauga Rattle snake (VERY VERY Rare... On the protected and endangered list...almost never seen). That said, while both of the common venomous snakes we have in Pennsylvania are extremely dangerous to receive a bite from, it is a very uncommon occurrence (Only a couple bites each year). In fact, here in Pennsylvania, we have a Venomous Snake Hunting season that is somewhat popular. The season is 1.5 months long, and runs from the middle of June until the last day of July. Any person, who purchases a fishing license in the state of Pennsylvania, may also optionally purchase a venomous snake permit for an additional fee (It's around $25 - $30). if they wish to hunt venomous snakes during the summer months. If you have this permit, you are allowed to hunt for and capture 1 (ONE) of each of the two venomous species, The timber rattler, and the copperhead. This is a very interesting process in the case of the Timber Rattle Snake. To legally "Tag" a snake during the season, the Timber Rattle snake must meet certain requirements. First, the snake must be 40 inches long or larger. Second, the snake must be a male only. There is no 100% certain way to determine the sex of a rattle snake, (unless it is probed internally by someone who knows what they are doing, and knows how to determine the sex, and also how not to harm the snake while probing) therefore, is has been determined by biologists that any snake over 40 inches and ALSO having 21 or more sub caudal scales (The large wide scales that span from the vent to the rattles) is considered to be a male snake. That consideration is more than 90% accurate when determining that a snake meeting those two requirements will most likely be a male, and therefor making it a legal snake to harvest and tag. A copperhead, has no length or sex requirements for harvest, only that you may only harvest 1 (ONE) each year. So... You have found a timber rattle snake. Now, you carefully capture it using snake tongs. You must then carefully guide the snakes head and 6-8 inches of its body up a clear plastic tube. Once in the tube, you can safely grab the snake allowing you to measure it and count the sub caudal scales to determine if the snake is legal to keep as your 1 snake for the season. If it's not, then you are required to safely release the snake back to its environment, and move on to continue your search for others that may be legal until the requirements have been met. What do people do with a legal snake that they have captured during hunting season? There are typically 3 ways people choose to handle their harvested snake. 1. A person chooses to kill the snake, tan the skin and display it in their homes, and cook and eat the meat from the animal as a rare treat. (If you enjoy eating snake) 2. A person chooses to take the snake home alive, and display it in a cage or aquarium for friends and family to see and enjoy for a few weeks, and then release the snake back into the wild before the end of summer, so that the snake may hibernate properly before the weather gets cold 3. A person chooses to take photographs of the snake, enjoy it for a few minutes, and then release it back into the wild simply happy to say that they have "harvested" their legal snake for the year. (This is a common option that most people choose) As a side note, there are several large contests in the State of Pennsylvania (Usually called "rattle snake round ups") for anyone wishing to participate, in which a hunter may pay an entry fee, and then harvest a live rattle snake meeting all of the legal criteria. The hunter then brings their snake to the official event, where the snakes are measured and weighed and the hunters who harvest the largest snakes of the season win large money prizes (Sometimes $5000 - $7000) depending on the size of the event. The snakes are then put on display at the event for the weekend, and everyone can enjoy seeing the unique colors and patterns of the animals and marvel in the size and beauty, and then the snakes are typically released back to the wild at the end of the event. Anyway, since you and your son are big snake fans... I just figured I'd give you (and your viewers who read this) a little extra perspective about two of the snakes you just reviewed, and what it's like over here in the United States. If you do happen to make it over here for a visit, and you get here in the summer, shoot me a message and I'll be happy to take you and your son on a snake hunting adventure in Pennsylvania just like the one described above. 🙂. Yes... Timber rattlers are, in fact, quite dangerous if you receive a bite..... But the sport of hunting them, is actually quite safe if done with common sense and knowledge. Take care guys! Great videos!
My best friend grew up in eastern Montana. Once a year they would have a rattlesnake round up because there was always a huge infestation in the summertime. My friend and his cousins would go out together and kill anywhere from a 100 to a 150 in one weekend. He said they would come back at the end of the day and the bed of their truck would be filled to the top.
I work in the oilfield- every day I'm at work I'm about 20 miles from any other person or town with no cell service. Prolly killed 100 rattlesnakes over the last 10 years- it sucks to do it but it always happens where they're right where I'm working. Major danger
I live in Reno, NV and it is surrounded be 1000's of acres of open desert. As a teen my buddy and I were out target shooting when out of nowhere we could hear the clear loud warning of a Rattler very close to us. Scarier than the rtttttt sound we couldn't see the S.O.B'!!!! We hopped/ran out of there like a couple of Jack Rabbits and never did see it. To the snake...Thanks for the warning Bro!
The reason the fatalities are low is generally where each snake is found people from the area are keenly aware of them. There is also the emergency medicine and antivenom. The hospitals around the US where venomous snakes live are usually stocked with antivenom or can get it or you to it pretty quickly, even with exotic snakes. Dealers and zoo's usually have antivenom for non native species.
I figure there were a lot more fatalities before advances in medical treatment, not to mention how fast you can reach a doctor- a cowboy in the 1800s, 6 hours on horseback from a town, is different from someone being 1 hour by car or far less by helicopter, to a modern hospital. Also, another diffidence is it used to be the vast majority of Americans lived on farms, and much of the work was done by hand, like leading a team of horses or oxen to plow a field, where you could step on a snake. Now, the small percentage of people that are farming, will spend much of their time in a tractor, so I bet even with a larger population, we just have fewer people actually spending their days out walking about.
Those holes under the eyes are not nostrils. Those are infra-red sensors. Rattlesnakes can "see" in that spectrum. Its called the Jacobson Organ. They can hunt you and strike a heat signature accurately in pitch dark.
A large part is antivenin but another part is that the venom usually is a slower acting type. With the mamba they have a fast acting neurotoxin - the closest we have to that is the coral snake which has tiny fangs, is relatively docile, and has a vibrant striking color pattern as a warning. The reason that the snakes have different venom properties is due to their diet - the animals differ in regions and the toxins they contain differ as well as how many of them there are. The best example of that is the poison dart frog, in their natural habitat their toxin is extremely deadly - but kept in captivity it's significantly less lethal. I have never seen a rattle snake where I live - back in the 50s they burned out a den of them when they were building the houses. I've seen a lot of garter snakes, black racers, corn snakes, milk snakes, green snake, ribbon snake, and a worm snake.
As a youth football coach in Colorado. 2 Players ran to me yelling about Snakes we had 2 rattlers a 5ft and a 3ft in the endzone. Moved practice and left them alone LOL. Hello and WELCOME to your boy. I am still in football as a football official for 14 years. Don't coach anymore, I just make them mad now, LOL As a boy my father and I were in a boat at night and had a cottonmouth drop from a tree into our boat. I don't remember even touching the water on my way to land. LOL
10:54 That's pretty sound advice in reference to Black Mambas Especially considering that their venom is lethal enough to kill 15 people with a single bite
The cotton mouth’s/water moccasin’s here in Texas are pretty aggressive. I’ve had them chase me & my brother. I had a coworker who was going some yard work last spring, reached under a bush to clean out the dead leaves & was hit by a copperhead. He said it was very painful & not a good time at all.
For herping channels I watch Desert Wolf Armory, Will Nace, Chandler's Wild Life, Snake Discovery, Brian Barczyk, Wickens Wicked Reptiles, N.E.R.D., Brian Kusko, and Tyler Nolan. Emzotic also shares herping info but she mainly showcases her ferrets, dog and geckos.
The gaboon vipers, rhino vipers and Philippine temple vipers are my fave....when it comes to appearance. I know Africa and Australia are known for their own venomous reptiles but Snake Island off the coast of Brazil takes the cake! According to a Mr. Ballen video in a 10ft³ area you are surrounded by highly venomous snakes.... the Golden lancehead.... on the ground and up in the trees. That's why they had to make the lighthouse automatic and replace the batteries yearly. Oh, and it's completely off limits. Although that doesn't stop the poachers from trying to catch the snakes.
I do herping here in California and we have 7 species of rattlesnake here with the western diamondbacks being the largest. I help a local lab actually with the catching as the snakes are milked there for anti venom creation. I love seeing the beautiful colors like the pacific rattlesnake or the speckled rattlesnake.
Growing up in Vermont we have Timber Rattlesnakes. They enjoy the slate quarry areas for the heat & to build their nests. We would find their rattle tails in the woods when we were younger. I have seen this species twice in my lifetime. It was good to see your son join you...Please, keep up with your research.
A kind of snake native to the U.S. that you'd probably love to encounter if you ever visited are Indigos. There's a couple subspecies, but the eastern Indigo is the longest native snake to the U.S. They're gorgeous animals, very intelligent for snakes (I got a chance to hold a baby Indigo at a reptile expo and once it had sniffed my fingers it arranged itself and then just started watching passerby curiously), and laid-back enough that even wild ones will often allow themselves to be picked up with minimal fuss. They aren't venomous, but have powerful jaws and will just crush the skulls of their prey, which often includes venomous snakes actually.
My husband's great-uncle was out hunting and got bit by a rattlesnake. He picked a nice shady tree, and sat against it. His leg was swelling and it hurt to walk. Sometime later, he woke up, felt better, and went home. He apparently had been unconscious for 3 days. The type of rattlesnake really matters.
we have these beautiful orange and blue garter snakes in our ponds and lakes in north Texas .... hard to find but in Burleson you can see them quite a bit at the hidden creek fishing park in the back ponds
I live in the Chicago area and we do have a rattlesnake here, the Missisauga rattlesnake. It lives along riverbanks, but its bite is not very dangerous to humans and is more like a bee sting. They have also become very rare.
Here, in southern New Jersey, we have quite a few snakes, but, only one venomous species, the Timber Rattlesnake. They're very shy, non-aggressive, unless cornered, or, otherwise threatened. I have lived in the South Jersey Pine Barrens my entire life, and, I've only ever encountered one in the wild.
I was at a house party-picnic in the State of Missouri when a 5 year-old kid walked up to me with a small bucket of baby copperheads, maybe 12, each maybe 200 mm (8 in) long. He had found a nest and picked them all up to put them in the bucket without getting bitten. He was very proud of himself His mother was flabbergasted and gob smacked. In the vernacular of the Southern US, "She didn't know whether to sh*t or go blind so she closed one eye and farted."
Shout out to your son for getting you to do a snake video! My son and I travel to national and state parks in the Midwest and along the East Coast in the US and actively look for Venomous snakes. I have handled all three of the species mentioned here. I wouldn’t suggest anybody else do this without a good knowledge of these animals and their behavior. In the animal kingdom there are only two reasons why another animal would bother you. Either it’s the same species that wants to mate, or it’s a predator that wants to eat you. Snakes figure out pretty quickly you don’t want to mate and so they treat you as if you’re attacking them. They will lash out. They will get defensive. Even nonvenomous snakes are the same way. Interestingly, after a few minutes they figure out you’re not hurting them. With few exceptions they quickly calm down and actually become curious about you. If you want a good Herping RUclips channel check out Risen Flame adventures.
I'm an American with a degree in wildlife biology with specialties in herpetology and botany. My old herpetology professor used to say that the cure for a copperhead bite was a fifth of scotch. It's very painful, and you would probably want to go to the hospital for pain management and possibly a flasciotomy. Apparently, you're more likely to suffer worse effects to the antivenom they give you than the venom itself. Also, I'm very familiar with eastern garter snakes. They are beautiful, but are very difficult to keep as pets because they need toads or other amphibians in their diet to survive longer than a few months.
I live close to one of the best zoos in the world in Nebaraska. They actually work with local hospitals to have Anti-Venom on hand for snake bites for snakes from all around the world, including the Black Mamba. I'm pretty sure other zoos around the US do the same. That is why the survival rate is so high in the US.
Odd that he left out the coral snake, which is our deadliest snake in the US. It looks like a king snake with the colored rings, but as the saying goes "Red next to black, friend of jack. Red next to yellow, kill a fellow". I was bitten by a small copperhead once and yeah it hurts real bad. I've been around a lot of snakes but honestly I'm more worried about spiders because you usually gotta step on a snake for it to bite you and spiders can bite you while you sleep or..put a boot on. I remember someone saying that in Texas, everything is trying to kill you. It's kinda true. haha
I live in a southeastern state, I recall walking in my suburban neighborhood and a cottonmouth was just slithering down the street coming toward me. It was pretty big and we do have a creek running nearby I thought he had come on the street for a sunbath, but he ignored me and I made a wide circle around him, but he wasn't shy at all he was tending to his agenda for the day I guess. I think most people don't get bit unless they are near the water that they live in, same as the desert snakes, not many people walk in the desert to be able to possibly get bit and if they do usually they have the proper attire of having their high top hiking boots on in case they encounter a snake.
We have between 7 and 8 thousand rattlesnake bites annually and 5 to 7 deaths yearly. In Arizona, we have the western diamondback the Mojave and black rattlesnake very closely related to the timber rattlesnake. I have had both the Mojave and diamondback at my house over the years. I just pop them with a 410 shotgun.
Hello Jono, little tid-bit of additional info on rattle snakes, the Santa Catalina rattlesnake has no rattle, at least not anymore, one theory why is predators may have been using the rattling sound to locate the snakes, so evolution stepped in and the rattle has been discarded.
we were both abit nervous in this video as I usually do these alone, hopefully Garin will join me on a few more videos in the future and I'll order another mic or two...
I live in South Carolina in the South Eastern part of the US . Despite the claims of the video presenter I have found the Copperhead snake to be territorial and aggressive . Probably the most dangerous snake in my state is the Coral snake . They are small and look pretty with their bands of red yellow and black and seem harmless . But sometimes people pick them up and their small teeth inject a neurotoxin similar to that of a cobra .
@@victorwaddell6530we got a mountain kingsnake in California that looks like a coral but it's harmless I remember as a kid I went to a boy scout summer camp at a place called Hume lake there were troops from all over the country that year and I guess some from your part of the country and we just heard someone yelling about a coral snake and everyone got tense because we all know the name but one of the troop leaders was a park ranger and said either someone released a pet or that's a king snake. hahaha we all still checked our tents when we got back to camp
@@victorwaddell6530 I agree. I grew up in Texas and found the Copperhead to be aggressive. Not as aggressive as the Water Moccasin, but aggressive.
He is way off on that maximum size of rattlesnakes. Here in Alabama they regularly reach 6 ft in length but I personally have seen one that was at the very least 8ft and 8 inches in diameter at its mid section. Know quite a few people that have seen them this big and bigger. On the news quite a few years back there was a report and photo from a kids soccer game in Florida, where the police were called about a very large snake. People thought it was some kind of python or something but it turned out to be a rattlesnake. In the photo they had it stretched out and it was as long as a Ford Crown Victoria police car!
If you like snakes that's your prerogative, to each their own, but personally I hate them. I actually have a friend named Howard Ditto, that use to love snakes and said they just got a bad rep. He had several until one of his Rattlesnakes bit him in the face when he opened their enclosure to throw rats in to feed them, and almost died. He spent a long time in the hospital and had health problems from then on.
"and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall crush thy head, and thou shalt strike his heel" Genesis 3:15
@@victorwaddell6530 Same way here in Alabama with Copperheads. Extremely aggressive!
Ours get pretty big here. Matter of fact, all of our snakes tend to be above average and I think it may be because they have more than enough to eat. Or maybe it's just something in the water. Lol
Collecting and storing venom to treat snake bites is something that the US has done diligently for a long time, and that probably explains the low number of fatalities.
True. Local education is also a help. I've lived all over the US and like being outside. One must be educated on the local dangers. It could save a lot of lives.
Also nearly everywhere in the U.S. hospitals are nearby with adequate supplies of antivenin for the bites of the most frequently-encountered venomous snakes. Snakes whose bites would kill in many other countries are survivable here because help is nearly always close at hand.
Now that Crofab is available (it is the go to treatment for multiple venomous snakes in the US) fewer fatalities happen.
It also helps that its not Australia 😂
My Mother in law lost a dear friend to an Eastern Diamondback. She had a large collection of venomous snakes that she would "milk". She also was an educator. She taught not only how dangerous they can be but also thier importance to the ecosystem.
After milking a large Eastern Diamondback, she was struck while returning it to its bin. She was barely scratched but it was enough. She was in her late '60s, her immune system just crashed.
According to yearly records, anywhere between seven and 8000 people are bitten by venomous snakes in the United States every year. Due to anti-venom’s and treatments the fatalities are very low.
I’m not a fan of snakes but I can appreciate a kid like yours who knows to respect and appreciate nature!
I’ve known a couple of people who have been bitten by rattlesnakes, and they were working in their backyards when it happened. They were both hospitalized immediately and given antivenin, they are both fine now. If you’re out in the back country, where there’s no cell signal or emergency services, you may not make it.
Around where I live, you have to watch out for pygmy rattlesnakes. They are only as thick as your pinky and might only reach a foot long. Their rattles are so small that you can't even hear them.
Antivenom is usually readily available for most poisonous snakes in each region. This is probably one of the main reasons there are relatively few snake bite fatalities in the US.
"venomous" snakes
Yep. It's usually only people with compromised or weakened immune systems, such as children and the elderly, who are most at risk if bitten. In many cases, if an individual is fairly young and healthy, then they are likely to survive a snakebite as long as they get to a hospital and receive antivenin quickly.
I live in WV, and Copperheads are fairly common around here, but they're also relatively passive and docile as long as you leave them alone. That's the case with most such snakes, as they'd rather not waste venom on a human if they don't have to, as we're a "waste" of venom to them since our size makes us far too large for them to consume. We do however have non-venomous snakes that are absolutely large enough to consume a human....namely the anaconda, which can grow so big that they can swallow an adult human whole. Fortunately, they tend to live in swampy regions where it would be rare for them to encounter a human, but the possibility does still exist.
There are a lot of dangerous and deadly animals in the US, and most of them aren't even venomous (or snakes).
But as long as you're smart and you respect the animals for what they are, there are very few that will go out of their way to intentionally attack or kill a human. Most, even predators, would much rather avoid humans entirely.
For context reasons, I live on the border of North and South Carolina in the Southeastern US. In the Carolinas you will find Copperheads, several species of Rattlers like the Eastern Diamondback, Timber and Pigmy. We also have Cottonmouth and on the East coast of the Carolinas you can find the Coral Snake. Coral snakes are small but highly venomous. I'm actually surprised it wasn't one of the three in the video.
That’s what I love about the Carolinas. I visited there three times now over the last four years on Herping trips and have been fortunate enough to have encountered every species you’ve mentioned. What’s nice about venomous snakes in the US, if you wanna look at it this way, is that they are typically not where they are a lot of people. you’re right about the coral snake too. I would consider that the most deadly venom of any snake in the US, but they are what they call rear fanged. Their fangs generate from further back in their mouth so they have to latch onto you and kind of chew to deliver a lot of venom. Also because of their living habits they are rarely encountered.
I dont think the coral snake fatalities are that high, I think theres only been like, 1 in 60+ years if I recall.
We only have one species of rattlesnake in South Dakota, and that's the Prairie Rattlesnake. It's actually the only venomous snake in the state. Hognose snakes are *technically* venomous, but their venom is so weak that it has no effect on humans and they're basically harmless, so they don't count.
@@Dildo_Baggins. although their venom is just as deadly, they are not as easily aggravated as a copper head or rattle snake
Pennsylvania here---cottonmouths are everywhere here. If you suddenly smell cucumbers --you are close to a snake. The stronger the smell, the more that are around or you are near there "nests/dens" --not sure what it's called.
I’ve never heard that. Interesting.
Cottonmouths are quite agressive in my experience. I've had one chase me about 20 meters.
Eastern Copperheads are native to my neighborhood. When I take my dog out for walks I have to keep a close eye on the underbrush in case a copperhead is out.
The low fatality rate i feel is mostly due to the awareness and education everyone has growing up. Hearing multiple times from different people as a boy " Don't mess with snakes, Leave them alone, They will bite you". Being grown i have found myself saying similar things to younger people who might encounter them. Leave the nope rope alone or you will regret it.
As long as you can identify which are dangerous and which are not, that's all you really need to know. The Garder snake for instance is completely harmless to humans. Of course, it's always smart to respect any wild animal, predator or not, as even herbivores can be deadly if provoked. The moose for instance is infamously irritable, territorial, and aggressive despite them being herbivores.
I'm a bit surprised by the low number of fatalities, but happy too! As another commenter stated, it may be due to the fact that the U.S. stores venom.
Several years ago, my husband found a Mojave Rattlesnake. It had 8-10 rattles on it, was about 5 ft long, and did not want any confrontation at all!
I used to live in TX and had 2 different dogs bitten by snakes. One pup was bitten by a copperhead and the other by a water moccasin(cotton mouth). They both recovered but it was touch and go.
Recently crushed a copperhead near my house. I have a small lake with natural stones we use to cross. Lil bastard popped right out of the water at me but I luckily had been moving my rocks and had one in my hand. Dropped it as my 1st reaction and crushed it lol
@@USMC-Goforth I don’t blame you. First reaction when you’re not expecting it. They are usually hiding in interesting places. The pup that was bit by the copper head was bit when he sat down on a walkway that had small gaps in the wood. His tail went in the gap and the snake was hiding there.
Glad they recovered 😊
Tenn boy under
I think the biggest reason people in the U.S. aren't often bitten by snakes is the dislike of them by most. They just stay away from them. Even the non-venomous snakes can be aggressive and bite. I've been bitten by rat snakes and had to pry one off of my had.
Our most venomous snake is an elipid, the Eastern Coral Snake. But it's reclusive, mild-tempered, and seldom seen. And it has very small fangs.Nobody has died of a coral snake bite in nearly sixty years! In fact, antiivenin for the coral snake is hard to come by because it's so seldom needed!
I grew up in the Mid-West of the U.S., and have managed to personally encounter rattlesnakes, cottonmouth, and copperheads. Fortunately, my dad deeply impressed on us the importance of leaving snakes alone and always be vigilant in watery or forested areas. We also used to catch garter snakes, and when we went to camp as kids, rat snakes would guard our cabins from mice and rats.
First time seeing your son good dad to you
I live and grew up in the SE USA and we are taught snake safety from a very young age. Like “don’t go just flipping stuff over in that tall grass you’ll find a snake”. If hiking or walking trails, being vigilant and paying attention to patterns on the ground. We have a speckled king snake that lives in our backyard and we regularly see rat snakes. We don’t run into venomous snakes very often. For the most part these snakes avoid civilization as much as possible. You really have to go looking for one to find one.
Hunting and capturing snakes is one of the coolest hobbies I have ever heard of
We moved from Massachusetts to Missouri in 1962. We knew nothing about venom snakes. My youngest sister was 1 year old at the time. Our neighbor took one look at her playpen and told Dad to cut the legs off of it. He said if you put the playpen out on the patio a copperhead could use it as a hiding place. If you approached the playpen or God forbid the baby dropped a toy and reached for it a bite could happen. Dad immediately did as he suggested.
We had a copperhead in our living room one time and another lying beneath the step down from the back door. My brother shot both with a shotgun after Mum had taken my 3 sisters across the street to the neighbor's house.
I am in Tennessee and we grew up in the woods against a mountain. We would see many snakes in the yard each spring and summer. On many occasions we had snakes in the house and a few times we found baby snakes hatched out in the house. They would find a cool place inside out of the heat. I can only guess they got in from us kids running in and out of the house all day. All these years later it is still odd to me to not see snakes in the yard because I now live in a neighborhood in town with many houses.
Your son is so cute. You are a good dad. I base that on the things you have said before you had your son on your video. I am sure your son is proud to have you as a dad.
Great DAD there, lucky young man.
I love reptiles, usually from a distance 😂. Looks like you have a young scientist there! ❤
I grew up looking for and catching snakes. When my son was just 4, he came up to me with a little ring-neck snake he had just caught and he was so proud of himself - You two remind me of me and my son.
Love snakes.
Have an 8 foot Black King Rat snake living in our backyard.
We have named him "Baby", and he takes care of the mice, squirrel, and large bugs.
We even have his shed skin. The skin design is beautiful.
Love how you casually say you’ve been bitten by a couple of poisonous snakes like it’s common lol 😂
Omg your son is adorable! I can say that because I'm an old lady, and if I was there I'd have to pinch his adorable cheeks! 😁
I'm glad you're teaching him to respect deadly animals by not messing around with them, and being aware of your surroundings. Good dad! Enjoyed the video even though I'm no fan of snakes. I hope to see more of your family too. ❤
Little Jonas. Gotta bring him to the swamps. He'll love it!
If you are coming to Texas in March, Sweetwater has the world's largest rattlesnake roundup the 2nd week in March every year. It is used for controlling the population of snakes, education, venom collection for antivenom and all parts of the snakes are used.
Living in rural South Dakota the diamond back is a regular occurrence in our life. Just like any other wildlife, some years they are more populous than others. Unfortunately we lost one of our best dogs to a rattler. We've had other dogs and even a horse that were bitten, but survived with antivenom treatment and veterinary intervention. All that said, I've found that if given a chance they would much rather retreat than fight.
We do as much as we can to prevent rattlers from wanting to be anywhere around the house and outbuildings, and that typically means keeping mice away. Therefore, every bullsnake and gopher snake we come across is brought to the farmyard and given a place where they can assist in keeping mice to a minimum. We are not cat people, but we do keep a healthy population of barn cats to keep the mice situation down, as well. It's been a few years since I've had my hair stand up on end and my blood run cold from hearing the sound of those ominous rattles when I'm out doing chores. LOL
Don't understand anyone disliking cats... They keep the rodent population way down and thus keep other predators away.
@@ryanjacobson2508 to be fair they didnt say they disliked cats
also cats kill so many native birds
@@ryanjacobson2508 We just have bad allergies so they can't live in the house. But there's always at least one that thinks it's a housecat....lol.
I have noticed that in Mississippi there used to be many more Rattle Snakes. I have not seen one in years when I live now. In the 60s, you could see them several times a week in the summer crossing the road. There used to be a lot of frogs also, but not so much now. There are frogs but, when I was younger, you could go frog hunting and get a sack of frogs. These were huge frogs with legs larger than large chicken legs. We exclusively targeted sizable Bullfrogs.
Have all 3 here in Missouri....we use to find copperheads on our cement porches and steps all the time when I was a kid, we were taught to always look out the glass doors before opening them to go outside
Its so awesome to see u guys sharing an experience.. I loved raising my sons and really appreciate seeing u 2 getting on so well..
12:41
My guess on this is that their venom sacs potency adapt to different environments or that different subsects of the timber rattlesnakes have various range of potency of their venom
Here in Colorado, a lot of us get our dogs “snake broke”. Only have to worry about rattlesnakes, and only below 9500’ elevation. I’ve seen some big ones down by Walsenburg
Here in Texas, snakes are plentiful! My brother saved me from picking up a copper head when I was 2 years old, I was always bringing snakes into our house and it drove my parents crazy. Years back, someone's (obvious pet) python slithered onto our patio. Very cool. Recently, a coral snake was found by the guy who mows for me...the raccoons ate it by next morning.. we have loads of garder snakes and when they're not eating the frogs, they are swooped up by the hawks. My brother got bitten by a cotton mouth in south texas and had to be airlifted to a hospital. We have rattlers too, you need to be alert.
Are you in East Texas??? I lived north of Houston and experienced the same.
@@franciet99 when young , I was in College Station. Now I'm in San Antonio.
@@wendellgee11 yeah, you’ll see more rattlesnakes there than in east Texas.
I'm from Southern Arizona. The Tucson Valley. At one time it was an ocean. Dig in our dirt and sometimes you can find shark teeth. You need to look up our zoo called The Desert Museum. You will love our snakes, lizards, spiders and a lot of others animals. As young children we are taught in school to know the snakes, how to find water and basically stay alive until we are found. Most people don't know that there was a German Prisoner of War Camp there. It was just buildings. No fences at all. Where were they going to go? No water and they couldn't walk out. Our desert can hit 125° during the summer but drop below freezing at night. You have probably heard of a town in our Valley called Tombstone. It is still there. Have fun and watch where you step.
Good to see ya Jono! was a great idea including your son in this one! looking forward to future reactions from you or you and your son :D
On a side note. I love snakes aswell ( I'm a Herpetologist by profession, Done some venom collection and that kind of thing) glad you are doing this video as it educates people who don't know much about snakes.
Clayton, Ga has a rattlesnake roundup where thousands of snakes are caught and milked to make anti venom. I’ve driven through the town during that but I never stopped and never would stop
Jono the American health care system has done diligent work with identification and treatment of snake bites including venomous bites. And to take it a step further a lot of the hospital care systems have anti-venoms on hand to treat bites for animals known to be in their region. If you happen to end up on the wrong side of the equation there are typically other extenuating factors like health and your ability to even call for help. I had a friend step on a copperhead, get bitten, got treatment, and was released from the hospital the following day. Remarkable.
A good identifier for the cottonmouth/water snake is the bands on the lower jaw of the water snake, the cottonmouth has a clean jaw
For coral snakes, we’re taught as children “red touch yellow, kill a fellow”, since the colors of a coral snake closely resemble a different nonvenomous species of snake.
Learned it from a book this way red on yellow kills a fellow red on black your ok jack.
Apparently the rhyme only differentiates between coral and milk snakes found in USA.
Here in northwest Florida the juvenile water moccasin are orange in color. Copperheads are aggressive and do blend in very well.
Wow! Talk about a little mini-me! That boy is the spitting image of his father! Wait till he gets bigger, grows a beard, and gets tattoos like his dad. You won't be able to tell them apart! No one can ever question who this boy's father is! LOL! Nice to see the little man love the outdoors as much as his father! Good job Dad!
Father and son are nearly perfect lookalikes.
Obviously your son doesn't have a beard. I'm just going by the shape of the eyes, nose, and mouth.
Rattlesnakes are most dangerous in cool weather. They get spooked easy when they're half hibernating. They love dry, rocky areas. We had 3 that sunbathed on our wood pile. Eek.
I had western Garder snakes as a kid, they are the red and black one of their favorite things is to get some little goldfish and fill the tub with water and let them swim around and catch their food
The kid is smart as hell!
Remember - when you generically say "Rattlesnake" in North America -
you are referring to 36 separate species of snake with between 65 and 70 sub-species -
there is a lot of variation.
I always learned that being bitten by a younger snake was typically more dangerous,
because a older, larger snake will limit the amount of venom it injects,
whereas a young one will tend to inject all its venom.
Fun fact: in West Texas (probably other places as well) our rattlesnakes have started to evolve to not rattle anymore. Ive even heard of some being born without it entirely, though ive never seen that myself. Because of out of control wild pig populations, apparently the rattle was becoming a dinner bell and giving away their location. Pigs eat everything, rattlesnakes rattle, so it became a problem.
My brother almost stepped on one while we were dove hunting in a cotton field and it never made a sound. To be fair he may have just startled it, and we certainly didnt give it time to bite much less rattle, but it seems to track with the studies.
We had a lot of chores to do in the heat of the Florida summer when children. Our treat when our chores were done was a swim in the local river. We would have to take sticks to knock the cottonmouth’s out of the trees and wait for them to swim off before we could swim. Didn’t think twice about the danger, just a daily occurrence 😂
When I was a kid in Oklahoma 1 year I went out on a rattlesnake hunt and they caught over 5000 snakes to cut down the population of them.
I live in New Jersey. I have come across the Cottonmouth, Copperhead and the Eastern Diamondback (the largest of the rattlesnakes). I have also come across many different types of snakes in my travels as a Boy Scout. The Blue Garter you mentioned is near the Gulf Coast of Florida and Tampa Bay but where I live it's the common garter and the eastern garter.
Snakes in the US are not known for their deadly venom.
Grew up in Jersey and I remember there was a huge rattle snake problem at one point not too far from where I was maybe a town over or something like that. (We were not too far from Philly, maybe 30-45 mins depending on traffic, for reference)
Also I don't care what anyone says Central Jersey is a thing lol.
As a snake lover, this video was so wholesome and cool. Love watching you teach your son in such an engaging way!
It is so cool this is something you and your son share. I am very interested and even studying herpetology in college. And snakes are my favorite. My step dad is afraid of snakes (though he tries to pretend otherwise). My mom is completely OK with my interest and hasn't hadn't had any issue with my pet snakes or me going out herping. But of all the wildlife I've studied and worked with, snakes are not at the top of her list.
Rattlers are very, very common here in Northern CA. If you have dogs and live near a field it is likely your dog is going to come home with a snake bite. It says that the Western Diamondback can get to about 6 foot long, but every 6 foot is not the same as the next. There was a show on TV a few years back about emergency medical in the Southwest and the rattle snakes and there was this guy that got bit by a large rattler. But what stunned the ER crew that flight lifted him to the hospital for antivenom was the fact that the snake was the same girth as a large limb of a tree! The guy barely survived and needless to say it was extremely painful for him. The can grow extremely large here.
As a boy I caught a Copperhead. It was in Upstate New York. Luckily, I caught it correctly. There is also a Pigmy Rattlesnake in Southern Florida
In New York we have 17 species of snake 3 of which are venomous (Timber Rattlesnake, Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake, and Copperheads). It's funny your son wants a garter snake as I see them all the time and grew up catching them. You can find them pretty much anywhere in the suburbs or rural areas in such abundance that if you know where to look an hour of searching could easily turn up several dozen.
I'm from Kentucky and we have 4 Venomous snakes here in this state alone. The Copperhead, Cottonmouth, Timber Rattlesnake, and the Pigmy Rattlesnake which they left out. Never seen a Cottonmouth in person because they are pretty shy and reclusive. Copperheads are literally everywhere. I've seen 2 timbers but a guy thats local has a few Eastern Diamondbacks that he milks for anit-venom. One of which is just shy of 7ft, as girthy as a large apple, and right at 25lbs. The sound it makes sends chills down your spine. It's the personification of intimidation.
Nice that you have a common interest with your son. Good looking and seemingly nice young man.
I have seen rattlesnakes and copperheads in the wild, as I live and do a fair amount of hiking in the eastern U.S. If you do enough hiking on the Appalachian Trail, for example, you will see them for sure. It's a good idea to be careful during the warm months, in the middle of the day, when they are more active or sunning out in the rocks. In most areas in this part of the country, people are pretty close to medical treatment and can be treated with antivenom (in the case of rattlers).
When we were kids in Kentucky and fishing from a boat. We were watching the trees to make sure none fell from the trees. Back in the 90s they released some kind of australian birds that eat poisonous snakes there to keep population down
When I was in university in California we went out to Joshua Tree National Park, which is in a desert, with a group of students. At night, one of the guys set his flashlight on top of an ice chest and it rolled off the top and behind. He reached grab it as it was falling and was struck by a Mojave Green rattlesnake. It only cut his finger with the fang and wasn't able to give him a full bite. This guy was 6'4" (193cm), and about 240 lbs (108kg) and we pushed him in the car and rushed him to the hospital. Twenty minutes later when we got to the hospital, he couldn't stand up. The Mojave Greens venom is both a hemotoxin and neurotoxin. He survived but he had a couple of painful days.
The king snake is my favorite. They target venemous snakes and kill them while the king snake is pretty chill if you don't mess with them too much.
I've been loving the reactions since I've subscribed about a month ago, thanks. And what a well mannered young lad you have. One day when I get these bills under control I'll contribute to your coffee fund.
Cheers, from Texas. 🙂
please don't feel any obligation, your support is more than enough. thank you.
American here. In my state, South Dakota, we only have one native venomous snake species: the prairie rattlesnake. We call them "rattlers" or "prairie rattlers". One nonvenomous species, the bullsnake, will actually kill a rattlesnake if it sees one. They eat a lot of the same things as prairie rattlers, so it's good to find one in your garden because it'll eat rodents and keep the rattlers away. IIRC, bullsnakes are constricters. We also have blue racers, a beautiful greenish-blue nonvenomous snake with a butter-yellow belly. I think we have 3 different species of garter snakes in South Dakota. We have hognose snakes, which are *technically* venomous, but their venom is so weak that it is harmless to humans unless you're allergic to it. Hognose snakes are super cute, with their little upturned snoots. At least I think they're cute, anyway! LOL!
I live in the State of Pennsylvania in the Eastern United States. Here in our state, we only have 3 species of venomous snakes. The Timber Rattle Snake (Featured in the video you are reviewing) The copperhead (also featured) and Eastern Massasauga Rattle snake (VERY VERY Rare... On the protected and endangered list...almost never seen). That said, while both of the common venomous snakes we have in Pennsylvania are extremely dangerous to receive a bite from, it is a very uncommon occurrence (Only a couple bites each year). In fact, here in Pennsylvania, we have a Venomous Snake Hunting season that is somewhat popular. The season is 1.5 months long, and runs from the middle of June until the last day of July. Any person, who purchases a fishing license in the state of Pennsylvania, may also optionally purchase a venomous snake permit for an additional fee (It's around $25 - $30). if they wish to hunt venomous snakes during the summer months. If you have this permit, you are allowed to hunt for and capture 1 (ONE) of each of the two venomous species, The timber rattler, and the copperhead. This is a very interesting process in the case of the Timber Rattle Snake. To legally "Tag" a snake during the season, the Timber Rattle snake must meet certain requirements. First, the snake must be 40 inches long or larger. Second, the snake must be a male only. There is no 100% certain way to determine the sex of a rattle snake, (unless it is probed internally by someone who knows what they are doing, and knows how to determine the sex, and also how not to harm the snake while probing) therefore, is has been determined by biologists that any snake over 40 inches and ALSO having 21 or more sub caudal scales (The large wide scales that span from the vent to the rattles) is considered to be a male snake. That consideration is more than 90% accurate when determining that a snake meeting those two requirements will most likely be a male, and therefor making it a legal snake to harvest and tag. A copperhead, has no length or sex requirements for harvest, only that you may only harvest 1 (ONE) each year.
So... You have found a timber rattle snake. Now, you carefully capture it using snake tongs. You must then carefully guide the snakes head and 6-8 inches of its body up a clear plastic tube. Once in the tube, you can safely grab the snake allowing you to measure it and count the sub caudal scales to determine if the snake is legal to keep as your 1 snake for the season. If it's not, then you are required to safely release the snake back to its environment, and move on to continue your search for others that may be legal until the requirements have been met.
What do people do with a legal snake that they have captured during hunting season? There are typically 3 ways people choose to handle their harvested snake.
1. A person chooses to kill the snake, tan the skin and display it in their homes, and cook and eat the meat from the animal as a rare treat. (If you enjoy eating snake)
2. A person chooses to take the snake home alive, and display it in a cage or aquarium for friends and family to see and enjoy for a few weeks, and then release the snake back into the wild before the end of summer, so that the snake may hibernate properly before the weather gets cold
3. A person chooses to take photographs of the snake, enjoy it for a few minutes, and then release it back into the wild simply happy to say that they have "harvested" their legal snake for the year. (This is a common option that most people choose)
As a side note, there are several large contests in the State of Pennsylvania (Usually called "rattle snake round ups") for anyone wishing to participate, in which a hunter may pay an entry fee, and then harvest a live rattle snake meeting all of the legal criteria. The hunter then brings their snake to the official event, where the snakes are measured and weighed and the hunters who harvest the largest snakes of the season win large money prizes (Sometimes $5000 - $7000) depending on the size of the event. The snakes are then put on display at the event for the weekend, and everyone can enjoy seeing the unique colors and patterns of the animals and marvel in the size and beauty, and then the snakes are typically released back to the wild at the end of the event.
Anyway, since you and your son are big snake fans... I just figured I'd give you (and your viewers who read this) a little extra perspective about two of the snakes you just reviewed, and what it's like over here in the United States.
If you do happen to make it over here for a visit, and you get here in the summer, shoot me a message and I'll be happy to take you and your son on a snake hunting adventure in Pennsylvania just like the one described above. 🙂. Yes... Timber rattlers are, in fact, quite dangerous if you receive a bite..... But the sport of hunting them, is actually quite safe if done with common sense and knowledge.
Take care guys! Great videos!
My best friend grew up in eastern Montana. Once a year they would have a rattlesnake round up because there was always a huge infestation in the summertime. My friend and his cousins would go out together and kill anywhere from a 100 to a 150 in one weekend. He said they would come back at the end of the day and the bed of their truck would be filled to the top.
I work in the oilfield- every day I'm at work I'm about 20 miles from any other person or town with no cell service. Prolly killed 100 rattlesnakes over the last 10 years- it sucks to do it but it always happens where they're right where I'm working. Major danger
I live in Reno, NV and it is surrounded be 1000's of acres of open desert. As a teen my buddy and I were out target shooting when out of nowhere we could hear the clear loud warning of a Rattler very close to us. Scarier than the rtttttt sound we couldn't see the S.O.B'!!!! We hopped/ran out of there like a couple of Jack Rabbits and never did see it. To the snake...Thanks for the warning Bro!
The reason the fatalities are low is generally where each snake is found people from the area are keenly aware of them. There is also the emergency medicine and antivenom. The hospitals around the US where venomous snakes live are usually stocked with antivenom or can get it or you to it pretty quickly, even with exotic snakes. Dealers and zoo's usually have antivenom for non native species.
I figure there were a lot more fatalities before advances in medical treatment, not to mention how fast you can reach a doctor- a cowboy in the 1800s, 6 hours on horseback from a town, is different from someone being 1 hour by car or far less by helicopter, to a modern hospital. Also, another diffidence is it used to be the vast majority of Americans lived on farms, and much of the work was done by hand, like leading a team of horses or oxen to plow a field, where you could step on a snake. Now, the small percentage of people that are farming, will spend much of their time in a tractor, so I bet even with a larger population, we just have fewer people actually spending their days out walking about.
Those holes under the eyes are not nostrils. Those are infra-red sensors. Rattlesnakes can "see" in that spectrum. Its called the Jacobson Organ. They can hunt you and strike a heat signature accurately in pitch dark.
A large part is antivenin but another part is that the venom usually is a slower acting type. With the mamba they have a fast acting neurotoxin - the closest we have to that is the coral snake which has tiny fangs, is relatively docile, and has a vibrant striking color pattern as a warning.
The reason that the snakes have different venom properties is due to their diet - the animals differ in regions and the toxins they contain differ as well as how many of them there are. The best example of that is the poison dart frog, in their natural habitat their toxin is extremely deadly - but kept in captivity it's significantly less lethal.
I have never seen a rattle snake where I live - back in the 50s they burned out a den of them when they were building the houses. I've seen a lot of garter snakes, black racers, corn snakes, milk snakes, green snake, ribbon snake, and a worm snake.
As a youth football coach in Colorado. 2 Players ran to me yelling about Snakes we had 2 rattlers a 5ft and a 3ft in the endzone. Moved practice and left them alone LOL. Hello and WELCOME to your boy. I am still in football as a football official for 14 years. Don't coach anymore, I just make them mad now, LOL As a boy my father and I were in a boat at night and had a cottonmouth drop from a tree into our boat. I don't remember even touching the water on my way to land. LOL
The month of September is when we really have to look out for water Moccasins in VA.
10:54
That's pretty sound advice in reference to Black Mambas
Especially considering that their venom is lethal enough to kill 15 people with a single bite
The cotton mouth’s/water moccasin’s here in Texas are pretty aggressive. I’ve had them chase me & my brother.
I had a coworker who was going some yard work last spring, reached under a bush to clean out the dead leaves & was hit by a copperhead. He said it was very painful & not a good time at all.
The bushmaster is super deadly
For herping channels I watch Desert Wolf Armory, Will Nace, Chandler's Wild Life, Snake Discovery, Brian Barczyk, Wickens Wicked Reptiles, N.E.R.D., Brian Kusko, and Tyler Nolan. Emzotic also shares herping info but she mainly showcases her ferrets, dog and geckos.
The gaboon vipers, rhino vipers and Philippine temple vipers are my fave....when it comes to appearance.
I know Africa and Australia are known for their own venomous reptiles but Snake Island off the coast of Brazil takes the cake! According to a Mr. Ballen video in a 10ft³ area you are surrounded by highly venomous snakes.... the Golden lancehead.... on the ground and up in the trees. That's why they had to make the lighthouse automatic and replace the batteries yearly. Oh, and it's completely off limits. Although that doesn't stop the poachers from trying to catch the snakes.
I do herping here in California and we have 7 species of rattlesnake here with the western diamondbacks being the largest. I help a local lab actually with the catching as the snakes are milked there for anti venom creation.
I love seeing the beautiful colors like the pacific rattlesnake or the speckled rattlesnake.
Growing up in Vermont we have Timber Rattlesnakes. They enjoy the slate quarry areas for the heat & to build their nests. We would find their rattle tails in the woods when we were younger. I have seen this species twice in my lifetime. It was good to see your son join you...Please, keep up with your research.
When I was in the 1st grade, many many yrs ago, we had a large cottonmouth come onto the playground. All us boys grabbed rocks and stoned it to death
I watch a lot of RUclips herpetologist. Clint's reptiles is my favorite channel. Definitely worth a watch.
A kind of snake native to the U.S. that you'd probably love to encounter if you ever visited are Indigos. There's a couple subspecies, but the eastern Indigo is the longest native snake to the U.S. They're gorgeous animals, very intelligent for snakes (I got a chance to hold a baby Indigo at a reptile expo and once it had sniffed my fingers it arranged itself and then just started watching passerby curiously), and laid-back enough that even wild ones will often allow themselves to be picked up with minimal fuss. They aren't venomous, but have powerful jaws and will just crush the skulls of their prey, which often includes venomous snakes actually.
My husband's great-uncle was out hunting and got bit by a rattlesnake.
He picked a nice shady tree, and sat against it. His leg was swelling and it hurt to walk.
Sometime later, he woke up, felt better, and went home.
He apparently had been unconscious for 3 days. The type of rattlesnake really matters.
we have these beautiful orange and blue garter snakes in our ponds and lakes in north Texas .... hard to find but in Burleson you can see them quite a bit at the hidden creek fishing park in the back ponds
On the east coast of the US, we also have Copperheads that are venomous.
I live in the Chicago area and we do have a rattlesnake here, the Missisauga rattlesnake. It lives along riverbanks, but its bite is not very dangerous to humans and is more like a bee sting. They have also become very rare.
Timber rattlers in the south central parts of the country often don't rattle. They will just strike and sometimes rattle afterward.
Here, in southern New Jersey, we have quite a few snakes, but, only one venomous species, the Timber Rattlesnake. They're very shy, non-aggressive, unless cornered, or, otherwise threatened. I have lived in the South Jersey Pine Barrens my entire life, and, I've only ever encountered one in the wild.
Timber rattlers seem to be fairly benign... Never heard of anyone having much trouble with them. Diamondbacks on the other hand....
Growing up in South Georgia (US) my grandmother always told me if a snake has vertical pupils or “cat eyes” to stay away
I was at a house party-picnic in the State of Missouri when a 5 year-old kid walked up to me with a small bucket of baby copperheads, maybe 12, each maybe 200 mm (8 in) long. He had found a nest and picked them all up to put them in the bucket without getting bitten. He was very proud of himself His mother was flabbergasted and gob smacked. In the vernacular of the Southern US, "She didn't know whether to sh*t or go blind so she closed one eye and farted."
Shout out to your son for getting you to do a snake video! My son and I travel to national and state parks in the Midwest and along the East Coast in the US and actively look for Venomous snakes. I have handled all three of the species mentioned here. I wouldn’t suggest anybody else do this without a good knowledge of these animals and their behavior. In the animal kingdom there are only two reasons why another animal would bother you. Either it’s the same species that wants to mate, or it’s a predator that wants to eat you. Snakes figure out pretty quickly you don’t want to mate and so they treat you as if you’re attacking them. They will lash out. They will get defensive. Even nonvenomous snakes are the same way. Interestingly, after a few minutes they figure out you’re not hurting them. With few exceptions they quickly calm down and actually become curious about you. If you want a good Herping RUclips channel check out Risen Flame adventures.
I'm an American with a degree in wildlife biology with specialties in herpetology and botany. My old herpetology professor used to say that the cure for a copperhead bite was a fifth of scotch. It's very painful, and you would probably want to go to the hospital for pain management and possibly a flasciotomy. Apparently, you're more likely to suffer worse effects to the antivenom they give you than the venom itself.
Also, I'm very familiar with eastern garter snakes. They are beautiful, but are very difficult to keep as pets because they need toads or other amphibians in their diet to survive longer than a few months.
I live close to one of the best zoos in the world in Nebaraska. They actually work with local hospitals to have Anti-Venom on hand for snake bites for snakes from all around the world, including the Black Mamba. I'm pretty sure other zoos around the US do the same. That is why the survival rate is so high in the US.
Odd that he left out the coral snake, which is our deadliest snake in the US. It looks like a king snake with the colored rings, but as the saying goes "Red next to black, friend of jack. Red next to yellow, kill a fellow". I was bitten by a small copperhead once and yeah it hurts real bad.
I've been around a lot of snakes but honestly I'm more worried about spiders because you usually gotta step on a snake for it to bite you and spiders can bite you while you sleep or..put a boot on. I remember someone saying that in Texas, everything is trying to kill you. It's kinda true. haha
Anti-Venom companies like Venom 1 and very good at their jobs and prevent 1000's of deaths here in America.
I live in a southeastern state, I recall walking in my suburban neighborhood and a cottonmouth was just slithering down the street coming toward me. It was pretty big and we do have a creek running nearby I thought he had come on the street for a sunbath, but he ignored me and I made a wide circle around him, but he wasn't shy at all he was tending to his agenda for the day I guess. I think most people don't get bit unless they are near the water that they live in, same as the desert snakes, not many people walk in the desert to be able to possibly get bit and if they do usually they have the proper attire of having their high top hiking boots on in case they encounter a snake.
We have between 7 and 8 thousand rattlesnake bites annually and 5 to 7 deaths yearly. In Arizona, we have the western diamondback the Mojave and black rattlesnake very closely related to the timber rattlesnake. I have had both the Mojave and diamondback at my house over the years. I just pop them with a 410 shotgun.
Hello Jono, little tid-bit of additional info on rattle snakes, the Santa Catalina rattlesnake has no rattle, at least not anymore, one theory why is predators may have been using the rattling sound to locate the snakes, so evolution stepped in and the rattle has been discarded.