TIMES NEWS (Lehighton, Pennsylvania) 21 August 05 SSSSssssssssssssss!!!! Rattlers slithering their way into our everyday lives (Josh Cusatis)
Pulled Quote: "We live in an area where these types of snakes are prevalent. They're going to come down off of the mountains looking for food, water and mates. That's the nature of the beast."........Jack Herman, snake hobbyist
They're always around us, tending to keep to themselves, but sometimes encounters between humans and snakes are unavoidable.
Susan Yaich of Jim Thorpe was returning to her Reservoir Road home only to find a rattlesnake about 10 feet from her driveway. Later that same day, she was out walking her dogs when one of her neighbors discovered another rattlesnake just feet from the road where she had walked only minutes before.
"It was right along the road," Yaich said. "It was kind of scary because I had just walked past there."
In talking with her neighbors about the two incidents, Yaich learned that there were three other incidents of rattlesnake sightings along Reservoir Road in previous days.
"I've lived here for 13 years and I've never seen a rattlesnake before," Yaich said.
In eastern Pennsylvania, there are only two types of indigenous snakes that are venomous to humans and pets, the timber rattlesnake and the copperhead. Another type of venomous rattlesnake lives in extreme western Pennsylvania.
Jack Herman of Jim Thorpe is something of a hobbyist when it comes to snakes. According to Herman, it's not uncommon for snakes to make their way into the valleys during this hot and dry time of year in search of food and water.
"We live in an area where these types of snakes are prevalent," Herman said. "They're going to come down off of the mountains looking for food, water and mates. That's the nature of the beast."
Given the likelihood that snake encounters will happen, it's important for people to know what to do in case they come across a snake.
"Snakes are not naturally aggressive towards humans," Herman said. "If you see one, you should just walk away slowly and calmly. They're not going to bite you unless you stop really close to them."
Dan Tredinnick, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission, offers the same advice.
"The saying that they're more afraid of us than we are of them is actually quite true," Tredinnick said. "They just want to get out of the way. If left to their own devices, they will avoid humans. Rattlesnakes particularly are shy. Copperheads to a lesser extent. Their brains are very small. They look at others and think prey or predator. Obviously, we're not prey since we're too big. So automatically they're on the defensive. Give them a wide berth. Just leave them alone and they'll go about their business."
Still, the fear of snakes and their bites can be too much for some.
"If someone really feels particularly scared or threatened by a snake they can call a licensed professional to come and remove the snake," Tredinnick said. He added that the FBC will not perform this service.
Humans are rarely bitten in the wild by venomous snakes in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Department of Health does not track incidents of snake bites in the commonwealth, however the department does track deaths by venomous snake or lizard. There were no deaths in 2003 and 2005, however there was one death in 2001.
"Actually, occurrences of people being bitten are very low," Tredinnick said. "The fear of being bitten is more common. Most people who are bitten are engaged in handling the snakes in some way rather than people out for a walk in the woods. The average person rarely gets bitten."
Debbie Neff, nurse director for the emergency department at Blue Mountain Health Systems, Gnaden Huetten Campus in Lehighton, said that both Gnaden Huetten and Palmerton Hospital have roughly 10 vials of a snake anti-venom called CroFab on-hand at all times. According to Neff, this anti-venom is good for bites from not only timber rattlesnakes and copperheads, but also diamondback rattlesnakes, which are sometimes imported to the area for snake rodeos, and water moccasins.
"It's a universal anti-venom that has a minimum of the side effects that older types of anti-venom had," Neff said.
Neff added that the hospital has a poster of various snake species in the area to help people identify the type of snake by which they may have been bitten. According to the FBC's website, all three of Pennsylvania's native venomous snakes had an indentation or pit on each side of the head between the eye and nostril, a vertically elliptical eye pupil resembling that of a cat and a single row of scales on the underside of the tail. Obviously, rattlesnakes have one or more rattles on their tails, however these can be missing due to a variety of natural causes. In addition, venomous snakes in Pennsylvania can be identified by an arrow-shaped head, rather than a slender head.
In the event of a snake bite, Neff said that getting medical treatment at a hospital as soon as possible is the most important thing to be done. She also warned against treatment methods such as tourniquets. Once at the hospital, depending on the type of snake, the time since the bite and the severity of the bite, an initial does of four to six vials of CroFab will be administered. It is possible that up to two more doses could be administered, however the second dose would not be given for at least six hours giving ample time to obtain more anti-venom, if necessary.
"So far this year, we've had no bites," Neff said. "Last year, we did have one incident where someone was bitten by a pet snake, but that's it. We've had a lot of incidents with bees though. Bees are horrible this year."
The FBC's website offers the following recommendations in the event of a snake bite. Calm and reassure the victim, and keep the victim immobile; call the Poison Control Center at (800) 222-1222; apply a light, constricting band above the bite area and do not release the band unless it becomes too tight from swelling and move the victim to a medical facility without delay. The website also warns do not use ice, cold packs or sprays; do not incise and suction the wound unless directed by a physician; do not use a tourniquet; do not give alcohol or drugs and do not wait to see if symptoms develop.
But it isn't necessarily humans that Yaich is concerned could be bitten by a snake.
"I've got three small dogs and if they see something, they're going to go for it," Yaich said. "This is a very real danger for them. My backyard is fenced, but that's not going to keep a snake out."
Of the eight veterinary clinics and animal hospitals listed in the yellow pages of the Lehighton area phone book, only two, Cherryville Animal Hospital in Walnutport and St. Francis Animal Hospital in Tamaqua, has snake anti-venom on hand, although St. Francis only has a small amount because the hospital has not seen a snake-bite case in as long as three years. While not having anti-venom on-hand, Mahoning Valley Animal Hospital in Andreas does carry a vaccine for pets that would reduce the amount of anti-venom necessary in the event of a snake bite. Also, several clinics mentioned that Valley Central Emergency Veterinary Hospital in Fullerton has anti-venom on-hand.
According to Tredinnick, timber rattlesnakes are protected by the FBC, as they have been for at least 15 years, as a candidate species, which means that they are on the cusp of being placed on the threatened or endangered species list. This is due to a lose or fragmentation of the snake's habitat. Under this protection it is illegal to kill a timber rattlesnake, although there is a hunting season for them just as with deer or wild turkey.
"With a permit, you can legally kill one rattlesnake annually," Tredinnick said noting that the legal season to hunt rattlesnakes is from the second Saturday in June to July 31. "We recognize that there is a recreational value to hunting this snake."
The penalty for killing a timber rattlesnake in Pennsylvania is a $50 base fine plus court costs for each offense.
Tredinnick added that copperheads are not protected as rattlesnakes are and that it is legal to kill two copperheads per day.
"It's legal, but we actually discourage it," he said.
Rattlers slithering their way into our everyday lives