I almost tripped over this one on our walk. Lucky the lead dog wasn't so no one got tagged.
A nice rattle snake this morinig
- Thread starter ecampbell
- Start date
It was hard to get a good picture while restraining 2 dogs. I count 16 buttons, and it looks like there were more. Can the age be determined by the number of buttons? Do they get a new one at each shed?
From what I have learned in the past few years if the female is gravid they stay very close to one location all summer. So from my point of view it had to be a male or a non gravid female and that one looks way to big to be a female this early in the year if she was gravid. So my guess was male.
You can tell a real old one if the rattle is totally square at end and doesn't go to a taper. That snake is old very squared off.
The number of buttons is not a reliable determining factor, as a single button is added with each shed, and the snake may shed multiple times per year. A snake with a disease such as snake fungal disease will shed even more often than average. The buttons are also subject to be broken off or fall off from time to time, further complicating it.
It's a Water snake, but they are not very mellow. Get to close to them and they usually come right after you.
Sweetwater Clifton was like a member of the family for years. He lived in the back yard down by the lake.
It was very sad, one spring he never showed up. Never saw him again.
When you walked to close to his den the head would pop out. He would not back down.
Sweetwater Clifton was like a member of the family for years. He lived in the back yard down by the lake.
It was very sad, one spring he never showed up. Never saw him again.
When you walked to close to his den the head would pop out. He would not back down.
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Something is missing from that story. I'm not sure what it is, but this is a rare event that must have had other factors in it.
The only reason the Timber was near the campfire was because it was in a bag.