Snakebite!

[REWahoo]

Here is a photo of a friend of a friend showing a rattlesnake bite in progress (zoom in on the hand of the young lady on the left). They had set the timer on the camera to take a family photo in the flowers outside their home near Victoria, TX.

The snake bit both the young mom and the dog, sending her to the hospital for several days. The dog did not survive.

Springtime in Texas...

 

[Senator]

Yikes!

Now there's an animal that I would not mind if it became extinct. 'Perfect' timing on the picture though.

 

[eytonxav]

Awful! Kind of surprised the dog didn't see or smell the snake approaching the woman before it got to her.

 

[MichaelB]

What a great photo!

 

[REWahoo]

Kind of surprised the dog didn't see or smell the snake approaching the woman before it got to her.

The grey on the dog's muzzle indicates advanced age, maybe lost considerable ability to detect potentially harmful critters.

 

[Car-Guy]

They must not be from around here and/or have no common sense. Looking at the cactus patch along an overgrown fence line seems to me to be a perfect setting for snakes, among other critters.

 

[haha]

Glad she is ok. Pretty good sized snake. I bet she had a very swollen hand for a while.

Ha

 

[MBAustin]

Have heard anecdotally of this happening a lot in Central Texas, but first time I've ever seen it captured in a photo. Wow!

 

[travelover]

How did they train the snake to bite on command?

 

[Nemo2]

Pretty good sized snake.

I'm unfamiliar with the size of rattlesnakes, but don't they get considerably larger than this one appears to be? (Also, is the venom of larger snakes more potent or roughly the same as smaller ones of the same species?)

 

[Helen]

Wow, the timing of the photo is incredible!

 

[fh2000]

I see a belt right below her right hand. Is that the snake with a white head? I get goose bumps just thinking of it.

Once I almost stepped on a curling rattle snake while hiking in SolCal hills. I am not sure if I would survive.

 

[Tailgate]

We got the rattlesnake vaccination for both our dogs (we're in central Texas hill country)... if bitten they still need to be rushed to the vet, but the effects of the venom are supposedly significantly less toxic.

Newspaper reported a golf tournament recently that suspended play until a rattlesnake could be removed safely from his sunny spot on the green.

 

[W2R]

That adorable little girl must be so terrified of snakes, after this incident. Poor kid! If the snake had bitten the little girl, she might not have survived like her mother did. So glad the mom did not die, even though she was hospitalized afterwards.

Amazing photo.

I really liked living in Texas for a dozen years back in the 80's and 90's. Still, I must admit that along with great salt-of-the-earth residents and natural beauty, Texas also has its share of dangerous critters and phenomena. I never saw any rattlesnakes in our yard, but we did have dangerous spiders IIRC.

Maybe if I was still living there I'd look into carrying a snakebite kit in my car.

Edited to add: I did a search and found a Wall Street Journal article that says snakebite kits can do more harm than good. I had no idea!
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124208165196508345

 

[audreyh1]

Neighbors here freak out each spring as suddenly several rattlers show up. Out of hibernation and moving.

We've removed a couple of small ones from our yard. I avoid the bushes.

 

[Sunset]

Amazing timing on the photo, scary to see the fangs of the snake.
Good thing the woman lived.

DW and I were just at Hontoon park in FL walking along a trail, I went to the river edge to just look, being careful to watch for alligators.
Glad I was watching for alligators.
I saw a rattle snake one step before I would have stepped on/beside it, I jumped back (and yelled like a little girl in surprise).

 

[rodi]

That is very scary and very sad.

We live on a canyon and there are rattlers - but they tend to scurry off the trails when people approach. I try not to stray off the canyon trails because of the snake risk. That said - in the last 5 years 2 dogs on our street have been killed by rattle snakes. Another reason we keep our dog on leash when we're outside our backyard.

 

[marko]

Neighbors here freak out each spring as suddenly several rattlers show up. Out of hibernation and moving.

We've removed a couple of small ones from our yard. I avoid the bushes.

I have an admittedly irrational fear of snakes. Even a garter snake in my yard is soon a dead one.

 

[Texas Proud]

I am surprised that the snake did not inform them he or she was there... it is not like rattlers do not give warnings....

Then again, I have only come across one so what do I know...

 

[harley]

I actually like snakes (Bio major and ex-naturalist), but I'm very wary of rattlers. They don't always warn before striking, and their strikes are so unbelievably fast there's very little chance of avoiding it. I'm really glad the mom survived. It's sad about the dog. The picture itself is amazing, if you don't consider the results.

We've got a lot of snakes in our SWFL location, but mostly good (non-venomous) ones. I've caught a number of Black Racers, and seen a few brown snakes and water snakes, and one beautiful scarlet king snake. And we have a bunch of cute little southern ringnecks around. I use those to teach kids not to be too afraid of snakes, because they're so small, pretty, and gentle. But so far out hiking I've also run across both copperheads and moccasins. I've been told there are lots of pygmy rattlers there, but I haven't seen any yet. And I really want to find a coral snake. I bet they're beautiful. I just have to remember the rhyme - red and yellow, kill a fellow.

Anyway, REW, no worries. I have no plans to move to central Texas. And I'll tell all my friends to stay away too.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

Sorry to hear that the dog died, glad the young lady is OK, a terrible accident.
It is good to remember that the snake is only interested in little furry rodents and other snakes of the opposite sex. My policy is live and let live with all kinds of snakes including rattlers.
P.S. To add - that was a striking photo.

 

[zinger1457]

(Also, is the venom of larger snakes more potent or roughly the same as smaller ones of the same species?)

My understanding is that the bites from the young rattlesnakes are often much worse than the adults, they have a higher concentration of the toxin that affects the nervous system. Also, adult rattlesnakes will often give a dry (no venom) bite, young rattlesnakes rarely do.

 

[youbet]

Here is a photo of a friend of a friend showing a rattlesnake bite in progress (zoom in on the hand of the young lady on the left). They had set the timer on the camera to take a family photo in the flowers outside their home near Victoria, TX.

The snake bit both the young mom and the dog, sending her to the hospital for several days. The dog did not survive.

Springtime in Texas...

Snake gona be OK?

 

[eytonxav]

I'm unfamiliar with the size of rattlesnakes, but don't they get considerably larger than this one appears to be? (Also, is the venom of larger snakes more potent or roughly the same as smaller ones of the same species?)

Yes, but even a pigmy rattler can do significant damage if bitten by one.

 

[MRG]

I'm unfamiliar with the size of rattlesnakes, but don't they get considerably larger than this one appears to be? (Also, is the venom of larger snakes more potent or roughly the same as smaller ones of the same species?)

Great photo.

This is truly a time where size does not matter.

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