scottsbluff and rattle snakes (Sidney: house, living, garden)

[checotah44]

I'm thinking of moving to Scottsbluff, Ne but have to ask about the rattle snakes...do you see them in town? If they bite your dog,would it be okay? ie would the dog die? stuff like that. I've heard you rarely see them and that they are a "gentleman's snake". I lived in Oklahoma for a while and was more worried about copper heads there. Any info on this would be helpful. Guess this is probabaly soemthing stupid to worry about. You all are used to them but I'm one of those people who just cant get over the fear of snakes. I think the littles ones freak me out more cause they are so quick. Thanks again.

[chimney rock newfoundland]

We are 6 miles out of Scottsbluff and we see them often. I don't find them very gentleman like. They do not slither off like a bull snake. The ones around our place wait for you and strike with little warning.
Dogs can survive depending on where they are bit and if you take them to a vet.
There is a so called rattlesnake vaccine. It is suppose to keep your dog from getting sicker from a bite however you are still suppose to treat the dog the same way at the vet once bitten. We have only given one dog that vaccine with disastrous results and will never use it again. Her story is on the link below.
www.dogsadversereactions.com/vaccinesurvivors9.html

I don't think you would encounter to many if you lived in town.

[checotah44]

I've had some horror stories myself with vets and I find often they are practicing beyond their scope of knowledge and often times, their common sense goes out the window. I"m so sorry that happened to your dog.

[chimney rock newfoundland]

She is retired and very lucky to be one of a very few to survive AIHA.

We have friends that ranch south of Scottsbluff on the Banner Co. line. They have lost 3 horses and 4 head of cattle to rattlers. They know there is a den somewhere but so far haven't found it.

[itsMeFred]

Usually what kills livestock is the fact that they get hit in the nose which then swells up to the point that they can't breath. So long as you can keep a tube up their nose or something to keep their air passage free, they'll be fine...

We had a dog (heeler/border cross) that got struck in the neck one year when she was hunting prairie dogs. Her head swelled up like a cantaloupe, but a little penicillin and she was fine.
Prairie rattlesnakes aren't terribly deadly, but obviously you do want to seek medical attention in the case of a strike.

~Erin

[IsThisOneTaken?]

A friend of mine from Sidney forwarded me these photos. His claim is they came from a vet and were taken somewhere outside of Scottsbluff. True? I don't know. I get forwarded wildlife photos all the time, particularly mountain lion, that claim to be from conflicting locations.

Take it with a grain of salt. However, it wouldn't surprise me if it was from the panhandle.

[itsMeFred]

I saw these on another board a couple of weeks ago claiming to be from central WY (taken by power co. workers). Either way, they look to be prairie rattlesnakes, so either location is quite possible.

[SCGranny]

EEEEEK! That is a LOT of snakes!
We just came from a place where snakes were prevalent; when we moved there 23 years ago, there were signs denoting it as "The Snake Capitol of the World!" Every single poisonous snake except two that could be found in North America could be found there; snake hunters from all over the world used to come there to hunt them. We had copperheads everywhere; I came home from work one day and found an eight-foot one lounging on my front steps. My sheltie once kept a six-foot rattler at bay in our backyard, dodging its strikes, until someone could get close enough to shoot it. I had chicken snakes in the chicken yard; they would eat the rodents that were drawn to the coop, but would scoot away when we came up. I would be digging in the garden and had greenies come out of the grass; one I got to curl around my hand. He didn't bite, just seemed curious.

Most snakes I give a wide berth to - you leave me alone, I'll leave you alone - but poisonous ones I kill on sight because I don't want them living and breeding around me, getting comfortable. Was walking the dogs the other day and went past a small stream, and saw a two foot snake swimming in it. Round-headed, dark brown with a long yellow stripe down his side. He went away from us upstream, seemed to know where he was going, and had no interest in us. That sort of attitude I can live with!

But I can't imagine you would find a lot of snakes around people or towns unless there is a food/water source and comfortable breeding spot, like an abandoned basement or something. I won't make pets out of them, they are wild animals after all - but some can be useful. However, as Dad used to say - it isn't the one you kill that is the problem, it's the ten others that come to the funeral! It seems like there is never just one.

[alligatorboy]

Is your dog anything like the type of dog that would like to hunt? Even if it isn't, your dog might have the instinct to attack a snake if it sees one. Someone I know said that their dog would grab a snake in its mouth and shake it violently until it was dead. The snakes that this dog killed weren't poisonous, so I'm not sure what would happen if a dog did that to a venemous snake.
As far as you being safe around snakes, here are some suggestions:

1. Make your steps loud when you are outside. If the snake knows you are coming, it probably won't attack you.
2. If you do see a rattlesnake, don't bother it. I know it's hard to ignore a snake when you see one, but if you do ignore it, it probably won't pay any attention to you.

I live in a big city in Nebraska, and I at one time had a house where garder snakes would occasionally come into the basement, so this might happen to you too.
Maybe you can start a business and sell rattlesnake meat if they become a problem. Just kidding, of course, but some people like rattlesnake. The one time a co-worker told me how to prepare rattlesnake so it is safe to eat, and how to cook it.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by SCGranny

We just came from a place where snakes were prevalent; when we moved there 23 years ago, there were signs denoting it as "The Snake Capitol of the World!" Every single poisonous snake except two that could be found in North America could be found there; snake hunters from all over the world used to come there to hunt them. We had copperheads everywhere; I came home from work one day and found an eight-foot one lounging on my front steps

What?!?!? Im curious, where did you live where "all but 2" VENOMOUS species could be found? Thats impossible. The states with the most snake species are Arizona and California, but they dont have copperheads, so I know you didnt live there. And there are no 8 foot long copperheads (Agkistrodon contortrix). Youre either making this up, or are mistaking a copperhead for some other snake, which would be pretty hard to do considering copperheads have unique patterning. Copperheads are small venomous snakes (no snakes are poisonous), with very mild venom.