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Old 06-18-2018, 05:38 PM
 
511 posts, read 616,407 times
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I've recently returned from Placitas/ABQ with the intention of deciding whether or not to move to there.

I was there for a week in April and returned a month later and stayed May into June. I took my large dog with me both times. We walked the local Placitas hills every day early mornings for a couple hours. The walks were the highlight of my days - endless trails, never saw anyone, the serenity just stunning. However, I was never completely relaxed for my dog. She sticks her nose everywhere...once anyway. She quickly discovered what cactus spines were all about and I only had to pull them out once from her nose!

The owners of the casita I stayed in Placitas told me they'd lost their dog last September after he got bit by a rattlesnake while they had him on a leash walking to their car not too far from their front door. And the casita I stayed in was about 100 feet from their front door. And to top things off, while we were there, they were trying to get a "red racer" out of their house. The snake had come in, through what they believe was their open front door, and was now knocking vases off top shelves of their house. They wished their dog was still alive...the red racer wouldn't have a chance, they told me.

I'm not worried about red racers and their ilk, but rattlers, oh yeah. My dog is very young, very, very curious, and yes, I will enroll her in a snake-aversion class, as hard as that will be to do. But still...I wonder if that will be enough to keep her safe.

I have two major concerns regarding snakes and my dog. First, we will likely live in a pueblo style house, the kind with those low-ish walls built around the the house and the courtyard and more, sometimes. Do rattlesnakes tend to climb those kinds of walls and then enter the yard? Would a dog be safe from snakes within that kind of enclosure? Or is there something people do to the walls to make them impossible for snakes to climb? Or...?

Second, we will have acreage, and I'm wondering if there's a way to snake-proof an acre or so. Currently, we have fenced in one acre of our property for our backyard where our dog runs free, but we don't have rattlesnakes where we live. The fence keeps out the coyotes and deer, and the dog in. We'd like something similar in Placitas, where we are most likely to buy, and wonder if there's any way we can reproduce a similar safe place for our dog there. We do wonder if there is any way to discourage snakes from entering a fenced-in acre, but we do believe it might be possible to keep the snakes out of our house courtyard area if we had those pueblo-style walls surrounding it.

Any thoughts? Any personal experiences that worked for you and your dog?
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Old 06-18-2018, 06:05 PM
 
Location: 5,400 feet
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We've lived here almost 20 years. We see rattlers 2-3 times a year, usually crossing the road or the driveway. The largest was a 4-5 foot western diamondback going across our driveway. We see more bull snakes (which can look a lot like a rattler without the rattle and triangular head). We sometimes see red racers and chased one around garage once for about half an hour. It came flying in when I opened the door.


We've had bull snakes and rattlers in our rear court yard twice each. In our case, they came under the gate or the drains in the walls. I screened the drains and the gate bottom and haven't seen any back there since I did that. I've not seen one go over the wall, but I suspect it may be possible if they're long enough and after something. Fortunately the rattlers in the courtyard were young and maybe 15-16 inches long. I scooped them into a tall container with a long handled shovel and removed them. The bull snakes left on their own accord.
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Old 06-18-2018, 11:22 PM
 
511 posts, read 616,407 times
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Originally Posted by jiminnm View Post
We've lived here almost 20 years. We see rattlers 2-3 times a year, usually crossing the road or the driveway. The largest was a 4-5 foot western diamondback going across our driveway. We see more bull snakes (which can look a lot like a rattler without the rattle and triangular head). We sometimes see red racers and chased one around garage once for about half an hour. It came flying in when I opened the door.

We've had bull snakes and rattlers in our rear court yard twice each. In our case, they came under the gate or the drains in the walls. I screened the drains and the gate bottom and haven't seen any back there since I did that. I've not seen one go over the wall, but I suspect it may be possible if they're long enough and after something. Fortunately the rattlers in the courtyard were young and maybe 15-16 inches long. I scooped them into a tall container with a long handled shovel and removed them. The bull snakes left on their own accord.

Hehehe, I've got to get a look at one of those red racers. They sound intriguing! I checked them out online. It says they're "bad tempered," and although not venomous, they can give a nasty bite and "tear flesh." Yikes!

I thought we'd screen the drain holes in the walls, but now you've got me thinking about gutters or any tubular things that end up inside the courtyard. It's quite a puzzle. I've heard that a snake getting over something isn't so much if the snake can slither up it, but like you say, it's more how long they are. The longer they are, the more chance they can get over something of a similar height.

I'm going to study photos of bull snakes, so I know the difference between them and rattlers. Thanks for your input, jiminnm - Oh, I'm assuming you live in Placitas, yes?
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Old 06-19-2018, 12:10 PM
 
Location: 5,400 feet
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Algiz View Post
I'm going to study photos of bull snakes, so I know the difference between them and rattlers. Thanks for your input, jiminnm - Oh, I'm assuming you live in Placitas, yes?

You are correct.


I wasn't joking about him flying into the garage. Had I not been standing there and seen it come in, I would have never known he was there. He was also crafty and kept rubbing his tail against a box to simulate the sound of a rattler. I was familiar with black racers that were frequent sights when visiting in KY and TN, but the red ones were new to me. We still one every now and then, usually crossing the road.
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Old 06-20-2018, 02:53 PM
 
511 posts, read 616,407 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jiminnm View Post
You are correct.


I wasn't joking about him flying into the garage. Had I not been standing there and seen it come in, I would have never known he was there. He was also crafty and kept rubbing his tail against a box to simulate the sound of a rattler. I was familiar with black racers that were frequent sights when visiting in KY and TN, but the red ones were new to me. We still one every now and then, usually crossing the road.
I had such a laugh envisioning this snake flying into your garage! Whoah! I'd have jumped 3 feet straight up and screeched enough to scare him out, most likely. When I told my husband about your especially clever and crafty snake posing as a rattler, he said he'd actually had something similar happen to him. He really likes snakes and has handled many in the wild, esp as a boy- the garter variety, mind you. Just last weekend, he ordered me to "Stop!" I was driving down a one lane country road with him as my passenger.

In the road I saw a long, black stick. He saw a snake. He quickly got out and ushered the snake into the grass off the asphalt road. Until he saw the snake well ensconced in vegetation, he stayed put. Then he got back into the car. I can't tell you how many snakes he's saved from my driving over them. I just don't see them, but once in a while I do, and I make sure to avoid them. Poor things, they really are quite vulnerable.
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Old 06-20-2018, 06:48 PM
 
Location: 5,400 feet
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I was out today and, oddly enough, saw the remains of a red racer that had been squished on the road coming into our subdivision. A lot of people don't like snakes very much, but I'll put up with them if they take care of mice and pack rats. The bobcats do a good job controlling the population of jackrabbits and cottontails.
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Old 06-20-2018, 07:39 PM
 
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I lived in Placitas for 11 years and loved every moment of my time there. At first, I thought that snakes, lizards, even bobcats were rude when they entered our courtyard. Then I had an epiphany: realized that I was the one trespassing on THEIR property. After all, they had been here a lot longer than I.
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Old 06-21-2018, 11:42 PM
 
Location: Sunnyvale, CA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Algiz View Post
I'm not worried about red racers and their ilk, but rattlers, oh yeah. My dog is very young, very, very curious, and yes, I will enroll her in a snake-aversion class, as hard as that will be to do. But still...I wonder if that will be enough to keep her safe.
It doesn't sound like it, from the way you describe her behavior.

There are tons of rattlesnakes in New Mexico, especially in the foothills.
Quote:
Do rattlesnakes tend to climb those kinds of walls and then enter the yard?

Snakes burrow, so it doesn't matter what kind of wall you put up, snakes can always come in your yard.
Quote:
Second, we will have acreage, and I'm wondering if there's a way to snake-proof an acre or so.

Nope. Best hope you have is with hawks, if there's any living near your house.
Quote:
The fence keeps out the coyotes
Coyotes kill rattlesnakes.
Quote:
if there's any way we can reproduce a similar safe place for our dog there.
I'm going to be honest, with your dog being as curious as it is, and not "street-smart" it's not likely that you're going to be able to protect your dog.
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Old 06-25-2018, 12:45 AM
 
511 posts, read 616,407 times
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Originally Posted by 80skeys View Post
It doesn't sound like it, from the way you describe her behavior.

There are tons of rattlesnakes in New Mexico, especially in the foothills.

[/b]Snakes burrow, so it doesn't matter what kind of wall you put up, snakes can always come in your yard.

I'm going to be honest, with your dog being as curious as it is, and not "street-smart" it's not likely that you're going to be able to protect your dog.
Sigh...this is what I have pretty much concluded. All it takes is one time to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, just once.

I didn't think there'd be any way to snake-proof a yard, but I did think it could be possible to keep a snake from a courtyard, do something to the walls, you know like oil them. We had this horrible caterpillar invasion one year, and they'd climb up the tree trunk to eat the leaves, so we wrapped the bottom of our plum tree with Saran Wrap, then put car grease on the plastic wrap. The caterpillars would try to climb up the grease but fall off. I had this vision of being able to do something like this with snakes and courtyard walls, but I knew I was stretching it a bit, hopeful anyway. I hadn't thought about the burrowing...

I have a friend in Tijeras with dogs. On my last trip there, I asked her if she worried about snakes. She told me, with some resignation, that she'd decided not to have her dogs go through snake-aversion training, and that since they were small dogs, they were unlikely to survive a rattlesnake bite even if anti-venon were administered immediately. She said they're country dogs, and she knows the risks, and hopes they stay safe. They've yet to see a snake on their fenced 5 acres so far, and she hopes this remains the case.

I suppose you have to have a similar stance or keep your dog inside.

Hey, are you still in Sunnyvale? Half of my extended family is from Sunnyvale! Have you lived in NM long?
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Old 06-25-2018, 12:30 PM
 
Location: 5,400 feet
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Originally Posted by 80skeys View Post
Coyotes kill rattlesnakes.

Roadrunners also kill small rattlers.
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