Reptile & Amphibian Forums

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS (Phoenix, Arizona) 06 April 05 Experience doesn't keep rattlesnake expert safe (Doug Murphy)
Tim Cronin has been studying and capturing rattlesnakes for half of his 22 years.
But more than a decade of experience didn't help him March 26 when the Ahwatukee Foothills man misjudged the length of a rattler and got bit on his left, middle finger.
"I knew what I was doing, and I still got nailed," Cronin said from Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center on March 29.
"It hurts more than I could ever imagine."
What's worse is Cronin said doctors tell him he might lose his fingertip.
He was bitten near Superior as he was trying to capture the reptile. He says he mostly photographs the creatures, and occasionally uses the hides.
At this time of year rattlesnakes can be seen almost anywhere, lying in the sun, soaking up the warmth.
Almost exactly a year ago Mike LeGault was walking out of his Ahwatukee Foothills home to empty the trash when he heard a suspicious sound.
The Mountain Park Ranch resident looked down to discover a 30-inch long Mohave, one of the more aggressive types of rattlesnakes, coiled near his front door.
According to Jerry Feldner, a volunteer with the Arizona Herpetological Association, rattlesnake safety begins with leaving them alone.
"Don't play with them," he said. "They aren't dangerous unless they bite."
Experts agree that rattlesnakes aren't aggressive and if left alone will slither away.
But rattlesnakes will attack if cornered, startled or if they feel threatened.
And if a rattler does bite, experts say don't waste time cutting the bite to suck out the venom or looking for ice to put on the wound.
"Go to the emergency room," Feldner said.
If a rattlesnake is discovered in a residential area, people can call the Herpetological Association's hotline (480) 894-1625 and they can help to make a positive identification of the snake and an available volunteer will relocate the snake.
Experience doesn't keep rattlesnake expert safe

Okay..Score one for the Rattlers!

I'd feel sorry for him if he didn't take ANY for their hides but in this case I don't.

Al
-----
Save a Rattlesnake...Skin a Sweetwater Resident!

>> "I knew what I was doing, and I still got nailed,"

I won't go so far as to dispue this statement, but let this be a reminder to everyone (including me). I've "misjudged the length" of rattlers several times myself... The result was that they missed me by a foot instead of 2 feet, which is all that happens in this situation if you're giving them the proper respect.

Evidently, when you begin messin' with hot snakes at the age of eleven, you aren't learning a whole lot for quite a spell.
Calling the Mojave (that, btw is the correct spelling) one of the more toxic rattlers would have been accurate. Calling it one of the more aggressive is not.

In light of the fact that cutting has been a contra-indicated method of treating snakebite since the '60's, I wonder why it is even flippin' mentioned nowadays.

~~Greg~~

>>In light of the fact that cutting has been a contra-indicated method of treating snakebite since the '60's, I wonder why it is even flippin' mentioned nowadays.

Because the old movies are still around... I get questions about this on a regular basis at the refuge...

I'm sure you do, Larry. I'm just wondering how bloody long it will take, what with the right information being out there, to get folks' minds right. I reckon it's a never-ending job. Keep up the fight, bro'.

~~Greg~~