Revisiting the Rattlesnake

[Y-BUC-BILL]

Rattlers in the Pines

TeeGate.You are right Pitman was the guy.Remember reading him pulling out 20 to 30 rattlesnakes out of a den.Lots of rattlers aroud Mt.Misery many years ago.Dave Amato said when they were fighting forest fires along the railroad between Atsion and Chatsworth they encountered many rattle snakes.Over 50 years ago we were picking wild blueberry's in a bog off route 206.We found a skelton of a rattler,fangs and all.We had a lot of rattlers back in the old days.

 

[Jerseyman]

TeeGate.You are right Pitman was the guy.Remember reading him pulling out 20 to 30 rattlesnakes out of a den.Lots of rattlers aroud Mt.Misery many years ago.Dave Amato said when they were fighting forest fires along the railroad between Atsion and Chatsworth they encountered many rattle snakes.Over 50 years ago we were picking wild blueberry's in a bog off route 206.We found a skelton of a rattler,fangs and all.We had a lot of rattlers back in the old days.

Y-BUC-BILL:

Here is a thread I posted back in 2006 featuring a newspaper article about Pittman:

http://forums.njpinebarrens.com/showthread.php?t=3308

I thought the article might interest you.

Best regards,
Jerseyman

 

[grendel]

I got bit on the right cheek (not on my face) by a pygmy rattlesnake years ago in Florida without warning. Well, if it did warn me I didn't hear it because their rattle sounds almost like a bumblebee. Anyway, the swelling and pain was terrible....immediately, getting worse the next two days. I received anti-venom at the hospital for it. Just a few days later I was bitten on the toe by a water moccasin but it didn't do anything but swell a little. Probably because of the anti-venom which, incidentally, does not feel good either.

Funny thing was, I wasn't concerned about a scar, I was worried by butt would stick that way (swollen on one side).

Now you all know why I was so concerned about snakes when I moved up here!

Did anyone try the old "suck the poison out" remedy....have to be a pretty good friend.....

 

[grendel]

Did anyone try the old "suck the poison out" remedy....have to be a pretty good friend.....

After poking fun at star for getting snake bit I went fishing in The rappahanock river here in VA weekend before last and guess what happened?
I was wading in the shallows with a cast net looking for some minnows when something clamped down on my ankle. I reached down to grab it, got tangled in my net, fell on my butt and it finally let go. I never saw the snake but it left a bite mark that was a half circle on one side and what looked like two fang marks on the other. I was thinking moccasin. Really bled good also. I went back to fishing and it did not swell or anything so I figure it was just a water snake. My kids are always worried about the snakes when we go out and I always tell them that you couldn't get bit by a water snake if you tried, that you would have to pick one up for it to bite. I guess I managed to step on this one.
When I got home Sunday night I started watching Dirty Jobs and it was the episode where he was helping the lady in Ohio with her Water snake study. He got bit a least 7 times, and the bites looked exactly like the one I had.

 

[Teegate]

I bet you will look around more when you walk from now on

Guy

 

[manumuskin]

Grendel.
water moccasins as far as the experts can tell extend no further north then Richmond city park where the northernmost colony currently resides.Their definitely a flatwater lowland type snake.The rappahannock at fredricksburg is at the fall line an is quite fast water for what their used to.If theirs rocks theirs probably no moccasins and your too far north also.The only venemous snakes in that area would possibly be timber rattlers and norther copperheads.You'd be more likely to encounter a copperhead in the water then a rattler though both are possible.Likely you were bitten by a water snake.probably a northern from the genus nerodia.They are similar looking to a moccasin except the head and have quite a temper.they are non venemous but their bites sometimes become infected because their known to eat rotten fish they find in the water.They would not leave fang marks but a classic horseshoe shaped mark of little bristle teeth that barely break the skin.
Al

 

[grendel]

Grendel.
water moccasins as far as the experts can tell extend no further north then Richmond city park where the northernmost colony currently resides.Their definitely a flatwater lowland type snake.The rappahannock at fredricksburg is at the fall line an is quite fast water for what their used to.If theirs rocks theirs probably no moccasins and your too far north also.The only venemous snakes in that area would possibly be timber rattlers and norther copperheads.You'd be more likely to encounter a copperhead in the water then a rattler though both are possible.Likely you were bitten by a water snake.probably a northern from the genus nerodia.They are similar looking to a moccasin except the head and have quite a temper.they are non venemous but their bites sometimes become infected because their known to eat rotten fish they find in the water.They would not leave fang marks but a classic horseshoe shaped mark of little bristle teeth that barely break the skin.
Al

The bite had the look of two fang marks at first, After it stopped bleeding I could make out smaller maks next to the large punctures. If you happen to see the episode of dirty jobs his bites have the same look. Water snakes must have a larger set of teeth in that area of their mouths. I was not aware that moccasins were no further north than Richmond. Snakes are not something I worry about. People here in VA. have a huge phobia about them. When we first moved here my brother came down for a visit and we went out to lake Anna to fish.We parked by a bridge that was full of local boys and decided to fish on the bank. We started walking along the bank which was covered in rocks. The guys on the bridge got all excited and start yelling at us " yall better get out of there, them rocks is full of snakes!" me and my brother just kinda of looked at them, and my brother said "so?" At work any black snake sighting will have guys running in panic for the nearest hoe, shovel our other club. Once at Quantico I caught a garter snake in the parking lot, You would have thought I had a king Cobra The way the guys acted. The thing that gets me down here is the black widows, I spend time in crawl spaces when I do side jobs and the things are every where.

 

[manumuskin]

I've seen maybe ha;f a dozen widows in my life.one was wrapping up a bug and another lived in an old hippies teepeee that I used to hangout with in the 80"s.he let the thing live with him and raise an eggsack up in his teepee.he lived in the woods on a friends property.he was a vietnam vet that got a monthly psycho check.he was a survivalist and cool but he was psycho,you see it in his eyes.he moved to oregon to work on a ranch.I miss the crazy sob.he built a right nice sweat lodge on the banks of menantico creek.used to sweat in the winter and jump in the crik.i was so hot the water just felt cool.that would probably kill my old self if i did it now
Al