Please dont laugh... well okay, if you must. (Sheridan, Green River: for sale, homes)

[wolfmomma30]

I just thought of one thing before deciding the move on over. This thing is a scare to most and goes hisssssss. Yes Im a weinie but quite honestly I have only came across 2 snakes in my life and hope to only see them in a distance in the future.
Now, having said that and get the heebity jeebities out of my system. Can a gal get a descent size land ( less than 5 acres) and not have to worry about the kids thinking " oh lets poke the rattler"?? I know the more urban you are the less likely, however, I am yet to see any urban homes for sale with barely an acre in my price range.
Also, does it differ in the locale? I would think the dryer the land, the more rattlers there would be. However, probably goes the same with wooded areas too.
LOL just help me steer clear of them, pretty please.

[NVDave]

Depends. There are two types of rattlesnakes in Wyoming - the Prairie Rattlesnake and the "Midget Faded" Rattlesnake.

Specifically, snakes in general and pit vipers (eg, rattlesnakes) are found more heavily where there is more food, and food for snakes are vermin and varmints. Ground squirrels, mice, rats, frogs, lizards, etc. For the largest of rattlesnakes, they'll live near prairie dog towns. If you don't have much in the way food in your area, you won't have much in the way of snakes. The closest I've come to getting struck by a rattler would be when I'd be cleaning tumbleweeds off our fencelines in Nevada. Not by coincidence, there are high numbers of ground squirrels that have their dens near or directly under the fencelines because it prevents raptors from making an easy snack of the squirrels. From direct experience, I can tell you that you rarely hear rattlesnakes make a "rattle" noise. It is more a higher-frequency "bzzzzzzzzz" -- hence the Nevada nickname for rattlers: "Buzzworms."

The range of the Prairie Rattlesnake will be on the eastern side of the Great Divide, especially below 7,000 feet elevation, in all counties east of the Rockies. Supposedly they're also found in Carbon County.

The known range of the Midget Faded Rattlesnake is the Green River area of southwest Wyoming.

I won't bore you with the biochemical details, but my references say that the venom of the Midget Faded Rattlesnake is very potent, even compared to other rattlesnakes.

The most important thing about living in snake country is to watch where you put your hands and feet. It sounds really simple, but the people who get bit rarely just stomp on a snake and get bit. They're climbing or hiking around and they put their hands or feet where they can't see everything - in my example of clearing the fencelines of tumbleweeds, I could not see the ground. The tumbleweeds were a thick mass I was pulling off the fences with a hayfork and sometimes I had to wade into the pile. Those times I'd hear a snake go off, I was very happy to be wearing real boots -- White Boots, made with rather thick leather, and known to turn a rattler's strike. Still, the better move would be to not put my feet into that situation.

There are plenty more non-venomous snakes in Wyoming, but they're not worth worrying about, IMO. Coming across a gopher snake or something similar wouldn't worry me at all.

The list of snakes known to occur in Wyoming:
- Plains hog-nosed snake
- Eastern Yellow-Belly Racer
- Smooth Green Snake
- Black Hills Red-Belly Snake
- Pale Milksnake
- Great Basin Gophersnake
- Bullsnake
- Intermountain Wandering Gartersnake
- Red-Sided Gartersnake
- Valley Gartersnake
- Plains Gartersnake

and the two aforementioned rattlesnakes. Most of the above species will also be found in the eastern grasslands of the state, with the Great Basin and Intermountain species being found in western WY, especially the southwest quadrant of WY.

Sorry I can't give you more information. Snakes are just where you find them - nature of the beast and all that.

[wyolady]

Originally Posted by wolfmomma30

I just thought of one thing before deciding the move on over. This thing is a scare to most and goes hisssssss. Yes Im a weinie but quite honestly I have only came across 2 snakes in my life and hope to only see them in a distance in the future.
Now, having said that and get the heebity jeebities out of my system. Can a gal get a descent size land ( less than 5 acres) and not have to worry about the kids thinking " oh lets poke the rattler"?? I know the more urban you are the less likely, however, I am yet to see any urban homes for sale with barely an acre in my price range.
Also, does it differ in the locale? I would think the dryer the land, the more rattlers there would be. However, probably goes the same with wooded areas too.
LOL just help me steer clear of them, pretty please.

wolfmomma, I too absolutely hate snakes!!! But NVDave is right - they are where we find them. I live in WY eastern river valley and we have them, but I've only seen them twice in 8 years. I simply look down when walking outside. Funny you say this - we found 2 in our backyard the other day. I would post a photo, but don't want to give you the heebie jeebies.

[Darrow]

Hi Wolfmomma - I live in the foothills of the mountain on 1 1/3 acre, rural feel within town limits. We have garter snakes that will make their way into the yard from the ditch and draining culvert/ravine. They are harmless, but still spook me when I see them slither near. Very seldom do I see rattlers - usually run over on the road. My husband see rattlers often. He works in an oil field and they are abundant.

I don't see snakes in my yard often enough to have heebie-jeebies.

[georgiainwyo]

I don't mean to scare you more, but a couple of weeks ago a little girl (6 or 7 yrs. old) was bit by a rattlesnake on the playground at school in Billings. The school is in town, but in an area that has some sandstone cliffs nearby. She was just running and said it felt like a stick poked her. It was a small snake, only one button (rattle) so they were concerned that there was a den of "babies" close by. So, as has been said, they are where they are! You can find them anywhere, even in town.

[jkb826]

Has anyone else heard that this seems to be a bad year for snakes? I live outside of Sheridan and I have already seen more snakes this year than I have in all of the last several years. Some bullsnakes and some rattllers.

[jdavid93225]

When I was on my property in eastern Wyoming a few years ago, my daughter and my niece were walking up a small hill when they came across a medium sized rattler. They freaked and ran back to the truck, but that was the first encounter either of them had with a rattlesnake. They were of the belief that the snake was chasing them, which they don't really do. They were both a little shaken up, so I talked to them about what rattlesnakes mean when they rattle. It is simply a warning that you are getting too close, and you need to stay away. Once they understood this, and how to avoid rattlers in general, they were more at ease. In the three or four years since that time, we have not seen any other snakes on the property, though we only visit there a few times a year.

Where I currently live is similar in climate and geography, and I only occasionally see snakes. I once found a rattlesnake on my neighbor's driveway, and another time I found a gopher snake in my garage, of all places. Those are the only two snakes I've seen at all close to my home, and that is over a period of almost 16 years.

So, to sum up my response to the OP, yes, there are snakes in Wyoming, and it's likely you will encounter one at some time or another, but the encounters are not likely to be anywhere close to frequent. Don't let the possibility that you will see a snake once in seven years or so (give or take a bit) deter you from enjoying Wyoming.

[Claim Jumper]

Here in Southern Calif. there are lots of rattlesnakes. I killed 2 in 24 hours at our archery range and its right on the ocean. We can walk right down to the water.
The first one l killed was all black and he was good sized. I have never seen a black rattler before. I just threw rocks at his head. In most cases rattlers are good but when we were removing some arrows a calif racer snake came out so fast from underneath the pallet it made me a little cautious. I just don't want to get bit. The kings and bull snakes kill rattlers.
I have seen bull snakes in Worland when we were kids. They can coil and act just like a rattler.

The biggest rattler I ever saw must of been close to 6 feet long and as round as a fence post. He was sunning himself on a dirt road(he must have just ate). I almost stopped because it looked like a fence post laying in the road in Cody.
I ran him over but did not know you need to hit the brakes as you drive over and it will break him up.
We got out of the truck and there was no sign of him. He was green and the guy I was with said it was a prairie rattler the biggest he ever saw and he was an old man

[Froggie Legs]

Originally Posted by Claim Jumper

Here in Southern Calif. there are lots of rattlesnakes. I killed 2 in 24 hours at our archery range and its right on the ocean. We can walk right down to the water.
The first one l killed was all black and he was good sized. I have never seen a black rattler before. I just threw rocks at his head. In most cases rattlers are good but when we were removing some arrows a calif racer snake came out so fast from underneath the pallet it made me a little cautious. I just don't want to get bit. The kings and bull snakes kill rattlers.
I have seen bull snakes in Worland when we were kids. They can coil and act just like a rattler.

The biggest rattler I ever saw must of been close to 6 feet long and as round as a fence post. He was sunning himself on a dirt road(he must have just ate). I almost stopped because it looked like a fence post laying in the road in Cody.
I ran him over but did not know you need to hit the brakes as you drive over and it will break him up.
We got out of the truck and there was no sign of him. He was green and the guy I was with said it was a prairie rattler the biggest he ever saw and he was an old man

yep, that story does a lot to allay the fears of snake haters...

seriously though, can rattlers be shot at any time or is there a season, so to speak?

[Darrow]

seriously though, can rattlers be shot at any time or is there a season, so to speak?[/quote]

people I know use a shovel or a car to kill them. I've never heard of rattlesnake season. Sorry I don't know if it's "ok" to shoot rattlers.