The Timber aka "Pine" Rattlesnake
- Thread starter NJSnakeMan
- Start date
Bobbleton said:
I should acknowledge that I got that gem in 1960 from the father of a college friend. The father was a biochemist with Wyeth pharmaceutical corp. and worked on several projects related to their production of "Nearctic Polyvalent Crotalid Antivenin"
Criley ! Dr. Criley - father of Dick Criley. That was his name. I've been wracking my head for ten minutes trying to remember it.
(Thought I was having a senior moment, but I guess I was wrong ... and that's an unfamiliar sensation ...... Juuuuuuust kiddin' !)
Dave
almost stepped on a rattler
In lebanon forest in back of the presidential lakes development,i was walkin down a trail that winds through the hillside along a swamp,and i moved a bush that was overhanging the trail,when all of a sudden about a foot from me,that unmistakable sound.A RATTLER! I didnt give it time to bite,i jumped 10 feet back.I dont like snakes to begin with,especially rattlers.Ive hunted in that area for 20 yrs,that was the 1st and hopefully last one ill ever see.
In lebanon forest in back of the presidential lakes development,i was walkin down a trail that winds through the hillside along a swamp,and i moved a bush that was overhanging the trail,when all of a sudden about a foot from me,that unmistakable sound.A RATTLER! I didnt give it time to bite,i jumped 10 feet back.I dont like snakes to begin with,especially rattlers.Ive hunted in that area for 20 yrs,that was the 1st and hopefully last one ill ever see.
Rattler
Did you actually see it? There are Timbers in that area, you should feel fortunate to have seen a live one in the pines as not many people have (took me 16 years to see my first one). As a reference though, many other snakes "rattle" their tails and if in dried vegetation, will sound like a rattler though not as loud.
k
Did you actually see it? There are Timbers in that area, you should feel fortunate to have seen a live one in the pines as not many people have (took me 16 years to see my first one). As a reference though, many other snakes "rattle" their tails and if in dried vegetation, will sound like a rattler though not as loud.
k
I"ve caught four rattlers,only one in the pines.the one in wv was quite docile,only tried to get away.2 in tennessee,one was docile one was psycho,it actually left the road by a couple inches when it struck,the jumping snake of cocke county
.the one i caught in the barrens near batsto was the smallest and the tie for meanest snake i ever caught,right up with the tenn rattler.he wanted a piece of me bad.needless to say he didnt get it.so far manumuskin 4 rattlers 0
Al
.the one i caught in the barrens near batsto was the smallest and the tie for meanest snake i ever caught,right up with the tenn rattler.he wanted a piece of me bad.needless to say he didnt get it.so far manumuskin 4 rattlers 0Al
Timbers
The one I found in Jersey was found at Warren Grove, actually in a hole and cornered, but she never rattled or struck. She must've been having a good day. Since then, I never go anywhere without a camera!
k
The one I found in Jersey was found at Warren Grove, actually in a hole and cornered, but she never rattled or struck. She must've been having a good day. Since then, I never go anywhere without a camera!
k
i saw it
I saw the snake,it was coiled up,and rattling,i jumped back first,then looked! LOL,i heard it and reacted before asking questions
I saw the snake,it was coiled up,and rattling,i jumped back first,then looked! LOL,i heard it and reacted before asking questions
One day (about 2-3 years ago I guess) I was working on an archaeological survey near Jackson, NJ. I think it's now a housing/golf devolopment, but that's besides the point. As a co-worker and I were making our way through the long grass, he suddenly screamed. About two feet away was a pine rattler, rattling away. He was small, but mad. We didn't have a camera with us, so there's no picture to share.
In fact, I've been bitten by a poisonous snake (copperhead) before, so the end of the story was that for safety purposes, I had to go to extreme measures to prevent another snake bite. So, while digging, I had to wear snake guards (not comfortable) and bring along a snake bite kit which is basically just epi-pens and pepcid.
At the same site, we also saw many tree frogs. It was pretty amazing.
In fact, I've been bitten by a poisonous snake (copperhead) before, so the end of the story was that for safety purposes, I had to go to extreme measures to prevent another snake bite. So, while digging, I had to wear snake guards (not comfortable) and bring along a snake bite kit which is basically just epi-pens and pepcid.
At the same site, we also saw many tree frogs. It was pretty amazing.
Ariadne, bitten by a copperhead...cheez. Can we get some more detail on that event? What happened? What kind of reaction did you have? What did they do to you for treatment? Also, do you know if those tree frogs you saw were pine barren tree frogs or grey tree frogs? very interesting!
Jeff
Jeff
woodjin said:
Oddly enough, the copperhead biting incident took place in Lumberton, NJ, which is not really in the right range for that species. I had a meeting a bank to ask for a loan, which I incidentally did not get, and I was dressed up to impress the loan agents – this is an important part of the story, because I was wearing very high heels which ultimately saved me from a more serious event. It was late spring and my parents’ home, where it occurred, had flagstones paving the way through the courtyard garden. I stepped off the front step onto the flagstone, right onto a copperhead, who immediately struck. Due to the height of my heels, the strike hit right on my ankle bone, rather than into the fleshy part of my leg. I didn’t know what it was, but I knew snake bites in general are bad, and the pain was immediately intense. I went inside, told my boyfriend of the time, who took one look at the very apparent fang marks and said we need to get to the hospital NOW. He was a herpetologist (amateur), so that ended up being quite helpful, as I could very clearly describe the snake that had bitten (I am pretty good with detail as a general rule). He took me to the hospital where they immediately took me into the ER and a doctor asked me a few questions that, I kid you not, went something like this:
“Ma’am, are you sure it was a snake?”
Me – “Yes. A copperhead. I saw it.”
“Not a spider?”
Me – “No. I saw the snake.”
“Maybe a spider by a snake?”
Me – “GAAAAHHHH!!!!”
I started to panic, they gave me a tetanus shot while they got on the phone with someone from New York (specializes in anti-venoms, etc.). The pain was pretty intense, but mostly the color of my leg freaked me out. It was purple, and stripey. They gave the anti-venom, which they actually had on hand (very lucky for me). The only lasting damage is that I have a “dead spot” on my ankle where I can’t feel anything at all and which, for some unknown reason, does not tan particularly well.
And that’s the snake-bite story. Not too interesting.
As for the tree frogs of Jackson, both types were there, and we DID take tons of photos of them. I was pretty amazed by them. I actually didn’t know that Jersey had tree frogs at the time!
Ha! No, that was an excellent story! I especially like the "maybe a spider by the snake?" part . . . .
Now I live in Jackson and I'm both very happy and pissed off at reading all this. I knew there were pbtf's on that side of town and i've suspected a population of rattlesnakes SOMEWHERE over there. Learning that i'm right is excellent. I have a few places to investigate when spring rolls around. But . .
How did an area with TWO endangered species (the treefrogs were technically still endangered back then) get plowed for a f-ing golf course?? Does this not seem right to anyone? I'm really starting to hate the way NJ is turning out.
Ben, you may eventually have to register a new domain and switch this forum over to "NJSuburbanRetirementVilliages.com".
-Bob
Now I live in Jackson and I'm both very happy and pissed off at reading all this. I knew there were pbtf's on that side of town and i've suspected a population of rattlesnakes SOMEWHERE over there. Learning that i'm right is excellent. I have a few places to investigate when spring rolls around. But . .
How did an area with TWO endangered species (the treefrogs were technically still endangered back then) get plowed for a f-ing golf course?? Does this not seem right to anyone? I'm really starting to hate the way NJ is turning out.
Ben, you may eventually have to register a new domain and switch this forum over to "NJSuburbanRetirementVilliages.com".
-Bob
Timbers
That was a great story, very descriptive LOL! I am aslo a herpetologist (amateur) hiking and exploring south Jersey for 25 years. Seen a lot of development where I know endangered species live... or used to live. And it's more than a shame.
Thanks BRUSET for posting the etiquette about snake dens. Unfortunately you don't know who to trust. I'd love to take people to see these animals where I know they exist, but I don't cause I can't be sure it'll be kept quiet. I am also fearful of people posting GPS coordinates for the DENS. It only takes one unscrupulous collector/poacher to impact a colony forever!
k
That was a great story, very descriptive LOL! I am aslo a herpetologist (amateur) hiking and exploring south Jersey for 25 years. Seen a lot of development where I know endangered species live... or used to live. And it's more than a shame.
Thanks BRUSET for posting the etiquette about snake dens. Unfortunately you don't know who to trust. I'd love to take people to see these animals where I know they exist, but I don't cause I can't be sure it'll be kept quiet. I am also fearful of people posting GPS coordinates for the DENS. It only takes one unscrupulous collector/poacher to impact a colony forever!
k
Saw one of these on Thursday when I was out on my Earth Day hike north of Batsto. He was just off the side of the trail in the leafy undergrowth. Didn't even see him at first. Walked within 3 feet of him before he rattled at me. I moved back a distance to give him some space. He just kept his eye on me while I watched him and "hissed" once at me when I got a little too close. After that, I decided it was time to move on and let him continue his day in peace. It was only after walking another half a mile and letting the adrenaline calm down that I realized I had stood there for 10 minutes looking at him....and never took a picture. Oh well, hopefully one day I'll see another and not be too enthralled to remember the camera.
I saw a dead one last July 09. It seemed to unfortunately been run over on a sand road near the Bass River.
Went back to the same spot the next year after I found the dor Rattler (see post above) and found a live T Rattler this time. Got a good pic of it. You can see it here:
http://www.johnstyner.com/reptiles_amphibians.htm
Been going to the NJ barrens since the mid seventies and these are the only 2 rattlers I found.
http://www.johnstyner.com/reptiles_amphibians.htm
Been going to the NJ barrens since the mid seventies and these are the only 2 rattlers I found.
I'm really starting to hate the way NJ is turning out.
I have been arpound for 66 years and its been going on a LONG time. I remember when they put in rt 80 and rt 287 and there was hardly a car on the road!