Ga. Man Killed By Rattlesnake! Any Venomous Snake Encounters Of Your Own? (Atlanta: living in, dangerous)

[ulver]

Just curious... I have beaten a general fear of snakes, but incidents like this one, with dangerous ones, always creeps me out.

Man, 82, dead after rattlesnake bite » Local News » Tifton Gazette

Not that I hate even the venomous snakes. It's that they can ruin your day. Not that they want. It's just Mother Nature gave them such camouflage, that sometimes you just don't see them in time. Now, that scares me!

[mccarley]

You are more likely to get bitten maybe multilated or even killed by a bad dog.

[AuburnAL]

A few months back I was walking in a city park that followed the course of a creek. There was a little island of mud and stone with two ducks sleeping on its bank. I crossed a bidge over the creek and see this funny looking knob ended stick sticking out of the water. It was so wierd. After a minute or so I realized it was a snake's head. His body was on the creek bed with a little part going straight up so that only his head was above water, and he held it parallel to the water. I never knew snakes would do this. I think he was thinking about going after the ducks, but I guess after I watched him for a few minutes he got scared because he pulled his head underwater and crawled away on the creek bed (again something I'd never heard of a snake doing). It was a diamondback rattler (at least it had the diamondback pattern). About three feet long and 3-4 inches wide.

[Iconographer]

I believe that the elderly are particularly susceptible to snakebites because of their diminished immune systems. My mother had a friend (76 yo) that was bitten by a Copperhead while cleaning an ivy bed. He survived, but never fully regained his health and died a couple of years later.

[ulver]

Some people just go lookin' for trouble!


YouTube - Herping With Dylan: Junkyard Timber

[Searcher521]

I would take my dog for a walk in the desert just before sunrise in the coolest part of day. We had would run across as many as a dozen western diamondbacks each summer. Most times it wasn't exciting and the few close calls I had the snake took off to set up a defense under a bush or rock instead of striking me. On the cooler mornings we would find them coiled up in the open with their tails tucked under them waiting for sun-up.

My dog learned about snakes the hard way and she always looked before she would leap on something rustling in the weeds.

I guess it is your liver that has to process the toxins but I now they fight to keep the tissue damage from advancing. My sisterinlaw got bit last year and they really had a bad time. I agree if you are older your organs are not in the best shape to deal with all the damage and toxins and the outcome is likely to be a lot worse.

[mikepayne]

i have been living in south Ga. for 62 years. i have been hunting and fishing in the woods all my life and have never ran up on a rattler. the only ones i have ever seen were crossing a road while i was driving and that has been only 4 or 5.

[Ellwood]

Originally Posted by ulver

Just curious... I have beaten a general fear of snakes, but incidents like this one, with dangerous ones, always creeps me out.

I have an insane fear of snakes! How did you beat it?

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by ulver

Man, 82, dead after rattlesnake bite » Local News » Tifton Gazette

Odd story because Rattlers generally won't strike more than once unless the person literally just stands there and keeps messing with it. I have to wonder if the older man was literally trying to pick the thing up to remove it, resulting in the multiple bites in the wrist area (?)

Atlanta area has mostly Copperheads and Cotton Mouths as the poison variety. To my knowledge no one has ever died of a bite from one, though. They claim Rattlers aren't in the immediate area here anymore, but a few years back a man was bitten by one in Smyrna on the Silver Comet walking/biking trail (he survived).

[ulver]

Originally Posted by Ellwood

I have an insane fear of snakes! How did you beat it?

I just studied them. I came to understand they were as afraid of me, as I was of them. Eastern Diamondbacks and Cottonmouths will from time to time hold their ground. That's only of they feel they can't escape. All you have to do, is move away. Copperheads are fairly docile. Even if bitten, a healthy adult will need treatment, but death is almost unheard of. The last venomous snake in Ga., is the Coral snake. It's venom is VERY potent, but it's small in size, and it's fangs, not really able to inject venom like a Rattlesnake. Plus, aside from being extremely docile, it is also quite reclusive.

My fear is simply that with any of them, each of us doesn't see the other, before we have a chance to run! When I hike trails, I always do-so with a walking staff. If I am going to be off-trail, I have my snake-boots.

Now, I have to work on my fear of heights.