Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all, good forum here where I have been doing some searching in the archives! I live about an hour north of Sacramento in the north valley of CA. I live on a large south facing parcel that is partially on a hillside with lots of gophers/moles and other wildlife and thousands of lizards!!

A couple of months ago during a hot spell one of my GF's dog's was bit by an adult Rattle snake as she walked thru some tall grass about a 100 yards from the main house. The dog was not aware of the snake and got bit on her underside as she walked over it best we can tell...well dog went to the vet and got anti-venin and good follow up care and now two months later is much better...but we still worry about them and keep a very close eye. I have spotted one other baby Rattler that was dead (think I ran over it with lawn mower while clearing brush) and just this last week found the two following snakes very close to the house (about 5 feet of one and 15 for the other)I think they are King and Gopher snakes, I let them be and hope they take care of the rodents and the Rattlers...can anyone confirm this...Also any other tips to keep ourselves and the pets safe from the Rattle snakes? Thanks!

Here is the other snake that was about 15 feet away from the house, think it is a CA King Snake. When I got kinda close to this guy to better check him out he waved his tail in the leaves, I guess trying to make me think he was a Rattler...very interesting!!

The first is a gopher snake...harmless, eats lots of rodents. the 2nd is a cal king...can eat rattlers! they are harmless also. Nice looking snakes!

cali king

Your Id's are dead-on. Good job letting them be! They will help control Rodent and Rattler populations around your property.
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Diego

Diego & Tiffany's Zoo:
SNAKES
1.2.0 Corn Snakes (Different morphs)
1.1.0 Hypo Everglades Rat Snakes
1.1.0 Trans-Pecos Rat Snakes
1.1.0 Salt and Pepper Bull Snakes
0.1.0 Amel Pacific Gopher Snake
2.1.0 Sonoran Gopher Snakes
0.1.0 Amel Sonoran Gopher Snake
1.1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnakes
1.0.0 Gray Banded Kingsnake
1.0.0 Hypermelanistic California Kingsnake
0.1.0 Albino High White California Kingsnake
0.1.0 California Kingsnake
1.1.0 Thayeri Kingsnake
4.2.0 Rosy Boas (Harquahala, Mexican, Temecula, & Mid Baja)
1.1.0 Kenyan Sand Boas
0.1.0 Indonesian Dwarf Pacific Boa
1.1.0 Cape York Spotted Pythons
1.1.0 Western Hognoses
1.1.0 Red Sided Garter Snakes

LIZARDS
2.0.0 Bearded Dragons
0.1.0 Eastern Collared Lizard
1.0.0 African Fat-Tail Gecko
0.1.0 Merauke Blue Tongue Skink
1.4.0 Leopard Geckos
1.0.1 Yellow Niger Uromastyx
1.1.0 Chuckwalla
0.1.0 Banded Gecko
0.0.1 Gold Dust Day Gecko

AMPHIBIANS
1.0.1 Green Tree Frogs
1.0.0 Bubbling Kassina
0.0.1 White's Tree Frog
0.0.2 Gold Frogs
1.0.0 Fire Salamander

As stated, both i.d.'s are correct. Both are good controlling agents for rodents, with the king also having snakes on the menu. Both genera will rattle the tail when perturbed. The gopher will also hiss loudly.

~~Greg~~

Yes its important to remember most large snakes in your area will rattle their tail violently when disturbed, not just rattlesnakes.

The gopher snakes eat a lot of rodents which will compete with the rattlesnakes, hopefully out-compete them for you.

The kingsnakes will gobble up any rodents or reptiles they come across.

As far as keeping your dogs safe from rattlesnakes its kind of hard to do, completely. When you do come across a gopher or kingsnake get the dog and train it to keep its distance. Sounds like it might have already learned its lesson! Also don't have any flat boards or sheet metal laying around your property. Those are prime hiding places for snakes.

Thanks everyone for the tips and confirming the ID's....I will try and keep things cleared and we only let the dogs hang out on the lawn directly in front of the house and I watch them closely when they are up here visiting with me! (They do not live here full time) Next time I come across one of the harmless ones I will try and train the dogs a bit.

One last question about the Rattlers and their territory! My landlord said he had a few around but they were killed when he lived here. I have read there are only so many in one area and they have their own territory...so if they are now gone from the immediate area, are they likely to return or just go elsewhere. I have no neighbors nearby and my property backs up to literally thousands of open acres so plenty of room for them elsewhere.
Thanks!

Since your property abuts a wlderness area, keeping it free of snakes will be nigh impossible. Best advice I can give you is to keep your property, or as much of it as possible, clear of hiding spots (shelter),& rodents (food). Snakes need very little..safe haven, food, water, & occasionally a chance at breeding.

Snakes are territorial to a degree, but will wander in search of new territory or a chance to breed.

~~Greg~~

Thanks again for the tips and ideas....well today it looks like I did come across a Rattler...thing startled me while I was working in the garage...was a baby....or juvenile anyways, about a foot long and barely a rattle on the tail....is this one a western diamonback??

I really don't want to kill these things, but do not want them around the house/garage, and I do not really feel safe trying to capture and release them elsewhere...or is there a safe method for this?

That's not a wdb. Seeing the head might help, but I think that's either one of the Pacific rattlers (Southern or Northern depending on where you are) or perhaps a Mojave. All three have a venom that is considerably more potent than that of the wdb.

~~Greg~~

If the snake is small enough try laying a large bucket or box (plastic, rubbermade box) down and pushing the snake into it with a broom or stick. Or you could get a big piece of pvc pipe about 4 feet long with one end open and coax the snake to enter it. Many times they will if you lay it down in front of them because it looks like a good place to hide. Then once they go in all the way close that end and you have a snake in a tube! The box idea is easier though. Its good that you don't want to just kill them all. Maybe drive them to a remote location and release them.

Next one you come across a rattler get a stick and harass it as much as possible. Then you can get familiar with their body language and striking limits. Once you get comfortable with that then scooping them into a large box isn't so scary.

Also, snake tongs are about the best method, but can be kind of expensive.