How to Capture Poisonous Rattlesnakes Safely
Being wildlife biologists, my wife and I usually are requested to move quite a few venomous snakes just about every week considering that it is a part associated with our occupation as well as doing favors for our families or neighbors.
As herpetologists we capture snakes, ascertain its variety, weigh it, measure the animals, determine their sex, and after that let them go to a secure site away from buildings in the area as well as roads. To achieve this we should utilize an assortment of quality serpent handling equipment. When handling snakes, we always bear in mind that many incidents involving snakebite take place when “pro’s” become complacent. We always attempt to minimize the danger to ourselves by minimizing the actual touch time with the snake and using quality snake handling equipment.. Working experience has proven to all of us the importance connected with owning the finest products available in the market for this task. A snake hook or tong that bends under the weight of a good sized Western Diamondback Rattlesnake is not a good tool to have in your arsenal. The equipment that we use is designed with our safety and that of the snake in mind. Good snake hooks and snake tongs are made of aircraft-quality aluminum so it would take quite an ordeal to damage them.
We are regularly asked exactly what are the ideal tools intended for capturing snakes, especially poisonous snakes. The simple reply would be brains! Novices must not be moving poisonous snakes and if you fail to see whether it’s poisonous or not, leave it alone! The best procedure would be to clearly watch the snake in their environment and when you’re finished, walk away.
When a snake has to be relocated, we urge using rattlesnake grabbers and snake hooks. Commercial snake hooks vary in size from 24 to around 50 inches long whereas proffessional snake tongs range from about 24 to 60 inches in length. With tongs, shorter is best when it comes to control, but we do acknowledge that most people might not be secure getting that close to a poisonous snake. The longer the tong is, the tougher it is to handle. To be able to remove an adult rattlesnake using a 52 or 60 inch tong, almost all people would have to use a second hand on the shaft, which may negate the advantages of the longer tong. Long tongs are probably a lot better utilized for extracting snakes out from below bushes or perhaps a buildings. Keeping these things in mind, we will endorse using a 40-inch snake hook and 40-inch snake tong for working with snakes. The tong ought to have the broadest jaw grip possible because this disperses amount of pressure across a more extensive area of the snake’s body, reducing the possibility of direct pressure between various bones in addition to cutting down on the potential risk of injury to the snake. The broader, more comfortable jaw definitely enables more rapid gripping which is often a advantage for handling water snakes or tree dwelling snakes, which are usually notoriously quick and challenging to restrain.
Before you try and catch any snake, be sure that you now have a secure container along with the top off and ready to receive the snake. For this purpose, coolers and open buckets are not great selections. We all use 5 gallon dog food buckets with screw top lids that usually are {for sale in} various pet stores. You punch air holes through the top and also attach a handle which should enable us to screw the top on tight. Always remember not to place your fingertips near the air holes since rattlesnakes as well as other venomous snakes could very well strike through the holes.
To capture a snake, the snake really needs to be grabbed with the tong in the first third of the its body right behind the head. This allows control. The hook should preferably then be utilized in the back half of the snake for support. If you catch the snake in the tail half when using the tong, you should utilize the hook to pin the snake’s head down until you can adjust the tong to the proper end of the snake. Several manufacturers now make collapsible snake hooks for convenient transport when traveling or experiencing the outdoors. Do not use these hooks for pinning snakes down during capture. They’re just created for lifting and moving the snake, not pinning – they might loose along the joints if pressure is placed on them during the pinning process with dangerous consequences in the event the snake is dangerous or venomous. After confining the snake within your container, it may be taken and let go at a acceptable site away from structures and paths.
Whether you are working with snakes in the field or with caged individuals in your reptile room, getting proper snake handling equipment is very important to both you and the snake. Be sensible. Pay a bit more to get a high quality, dependable product. After all, when safety counts – quality counts.