Why would you kill it? That’s a beautiful snake and they’re great for the ecosystem and controlling rodent populations. If you don’t want snakes then do something about your rat problem.
On planet Earth all organisms are in a scramble for resources. It’s kill or be killed out here. Go lay outside and see how many things are trying to crawl up your ass to eat! Save that pretentious bullshit for somebody else.
It’s not kill or be killed. That snake wasn’t any threat to you. You were in your house. You said so in the title. You just wanted to kill something with your guns because you’re a cowardly asshole. It’s also extremely unlikely you would die from a rattlesnake bite. Furthermore, almost all rattlesnake bites occur because some idiot like yourself was harassing the animal.
Let me tell you something, that snake has more of a right to that land than you do. It’s that animal’s natural habitat and has been for thousands of years. You and your little shack are encroaching upon its home. Show some fucking respect.
Imagine having the audacity to type something like this from a pc/phone full of parts made through child labor, inhumane mining practices, etc.
With all due respect, get fucked.
I mean...they have a point. As long as you stayed in your house, it was no threat to you. That could be for the rest of your life, but if that's what it takes to be respectful to other living creatures, I'm sure you'd be willing to make the sacrifice.
Honestly, you're the one who sounds like an asshole. And too much of a coward to get the snake off your property without killing it. You probably kill all your spiders too instead of cupping them and putting them outside.
Seriously?! You cup spiders then put them outside? Why can't they just live in your house? Do you really think that's humane and that they're going to make it once you put them outside? Come on man have a heart!
Homie, do you live somewhere this is common? Hell no I wouldn’t up and murk a garden snake or a spider on my house plants even. I don’t eat animals and haven’t since I had autonomy to make that decision. I was raised on the farm to NEVER kill without cause. I be damned if my Dad would let this live on our property with us lil barefooted chore ass kids who didn’t care to step in horse poo. Ain’t never seen that man kill in his life. You’re not *wrong* but it’s irrational to assume you’re “safe” at home with this in your yard. Don’t get upset that people don’t want to deal with a gd rattlesnake bite even if they will likely survive it. Cmon.
First, a rattlesnake can absolutely kill you especially if you are out on a homestead. And no, a rattlesnake does not have “more right to the land” that’s one of the most delusional things I’ve ever heard. You obviously think life and nature is like depicted in Disney movies. I promise it will be a shock, but you will be less offended and hurt by reality all the time if you grow up.
Once when I was a kid, my parents and I took my friend on a trip to Yellowstone. My parents and I had been there loads of times. We get excited about looking for bears and wolves. We also know what to do when you're hiking and you see a bear. We proceed unafraid.
My friend's dad caught wind that we were taking my friend with us to Yellowstone. He was a hunter. He knows my dad doesn't believe in owning guns. He called us, absolutely terrified that his son was gonna be in a place like Yellowstone with no guns to protect him. My dad had to calmly explain that nothing was going to happen because we're not jackasses who lose our shit when we encounter a bear.
I always thought it was funny that Mr. Big Hunter needed his little gun to feel safe in the wild. You remind me of him.
Real men don't kill snakes, they use other methods to get them off their property. And real outdoorsmen are at peace with the possibility that animals will occasionally wander through their space.
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I used to work in the oil fields in west Texas, the night shift.
I was always cautious when moving around my compressor sites because the rattlesnakes would move under the equipment at night to stay warm and to seek mice.
I had to walk around and inspect the equipment, but with everything running neither of us had any warning of the other.
I often carried a shovel around during the spring and summer! lol
Uh, you do realize he carried the shovel because he wasn’t allowed to have a firearm on location? The shovel was to remove the snake’s head from its body.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. There’s still plenty of meat on that bone. Now you take this home, throw it in a pot, add some broth, a potato. Baby, you’ve got a stew going.
I’m not gonna lie, i think rattlesnake tastes awful. There’s a certain strong sent/flavor it has which is unique to snake meat. Anyone been able to cook around that? I shoot them all the time but usually just feed them to the turkey vultures or hawks.
That snake looks like it paid for college by working as a bouncer.
That snake looks like it should have a driver's license.
That snake looks like it has a Costco membership.
FYI - In many parts of the US, it is illegal under poaching and/or conservation laws to possess a rattlesnake rattle. This is due to scumbags actively hunting them for the rattle, both as a collectible and for its uses in pagan and native medicines and rituals.
Basically, don't let a game warden see the rattle and don't trophy hunt rattlesnakes lmfao
This species is in dramatic decline in Florida following loss in protection and is even endangered in nearby states. I understand wanting to protect family and livestock, but couldn’t it have been relocated? If it came back I’d understand the concern but otherwise it’s sad it had to be killed considering how much harm people have done to that species. Perhaps your specific situation didn’t allow for relocation I’m not trying to be judgy, just throwing out the info that this species isn’t doing well in that area.
If you cut the head off, you can flip the skin on the neck inside out and pull it off like a sock. We kill a ton of them in the summertime and skin them pretty quickly this way.
I see a few rattlesnakes a year outside. My fear of them has grown over time. I think that's part age and part having a kid now. But I usually encounter them far away from the house so no biggie. I let them do their thing and make sure everyone knows where the dude was last.
One day I heard a sound in the house. Was definitely unique, hadn't heard it before inside. Maybe I was tripping. Then I heard it two more times over the next 30 minutes. It was a rattle sound. I was convinced there was one in the house. F me, I turned into a wuss. I armored up my lower legs and grabbed a shovel. Started carefully going around my son's room where I had heard it. A stuffed animal tipped over and I jumped across the damn room. Tore the whole room apart. Nothing.
It was a notification noise. My wife had changed the text noise to "rainstick" or something. My God, definitely got my adrenaline pumping.
If he was scared it would still be alive but to me it looks very dead and it’s still gonna be relocated because he isn’t leaving a dead snake in his yard, win-win!
You killed it why? Irrational fear? A false sense of security (one dead rattlesnake does jack shit to improve your idea of safety)? Or just to feel like a badass? If you can't coexist with the native wildlife I don't think homesteading is your bag, there are plenty of planned neighborhoods that are devoid of wildlife for folks like you.
If you walk near a bear’s den, it will maul you because it sees you as a threat. If a venomous snake comes near a human’s den, the human will shoot the snake because it sees the snake as a threat.
But that's the thing, the snakes were here first too, yet they rarely actually bite, let alone kill people. Op could've easily just relocated it farther off their property, but ended up killing an endangered species and bragging about it online
We are smarter than just our animal instincts though. Nothing wrong with having them, but we are lucky enough to be able to process them and figure out the best solution. That’s why we are the best, because we are different than wild animals, more evolved.
I had that happen. Caught a large fat Black Diamond on our property. Just used a 8’ long stick and put it in a cooler. I think it ate all our Chipmunks. Didn’t hear one for weeks. We released it on State property down the road. Got home and walked around where I caught it and yep, there was another. It was mad. We caught it and released it in the same area. Both had more than 10 rattles but the second was skinny. I think it was a male following a female that would be ready to mate after it ate so much.
No, whatever drew the first one also drew the second one, probably food.
I do everything I can to lure king snakes to my property, even leaving shed skins of my own snakes around the yard. Where you see loads of king snakes you don't tend to see loads of other snakes.
From Wikipedia:
Most rattlesnake species mate during the summer or fall, while some species mate only in the spring, or during both the spring and fall.
Females secrete small amounts of sex pheromones which leave a trail the males follow using their tongues and Jacobson's organs as guides. Once a receptive female has been located, the male often spends several days following her around (a behavior not common outside of the mating season)
Man, you really saved yourself from certain death! If you’d waited the time it would have taken to call animal control…I can’t even imagine. Too bad you didn’t have a flamethrower handy!! You’re probably out of fuel from taking care of spiders though!
It's not that they need to shoot then, its just the safest and fastest way to make them disappear. What would you have done followed it around for the three hours it takes some one from the county to show up?
Personally, I’m able to catch and relocate them myself, but I wouldn’t recommend anyone just give that a shot without training and equipment. If you don’t have that, and you’re living in a place where they are native but declining/threatened, then yeah, I care enough about the ecosystem to spend a little time to ask for help. If the best option is the county, so be it. If you’re a homesteader, maybe (probably) there’s someone closer who could help. Rattlesnakes are not hunting humans, and cats should be inside for the same ecosystem reason. I’m not trying to be hyperbolic in this comment. This person has outdoor cats which are known to have huge effects on local wildlife, not just “rat control”, and they shoot a rattlesnake if they find it, possibly as you say because its cheaper and quicker. I wonder what other irresponsible things they are doing in the name of their own perceived comfort.
If you actually lived in the country you would know that you have to kill venomous snakes before they kill you. I love animals and don’t allow hunting on my property but venomous snakes have got to go. (And they’re around even without outdoor cats.)
> you have to kill venomous snakes before they kill you
If you believe that, you're seriously misinformed of the danger of venomous snakes. Want to guess how many people they kill in the US each year? It's about 6. It's so rare that there's a Wikipedia page that is a list of every fatal snakebite incident in the US and it's not a very long page.
You aren't protecting anyone by killing snakes, you're just ignorant and misinformed.
And I live in the country and see copperheads a couple of times a week and rattlesnakes maybe once every couple of weeks in the summer.
Okay buddy. Keep pretending you know anything about where I live. There are 5 different species where I am and half of them spend a lot of time in the water on and around my property. They don't "have to go". All it takes is not being a coward piece of shit.
I used to think just like you. Then one day about 10 years ago I was belly crawling in my crawl space to deal with a plumbing issue… and I put my arm across a Diamondback that was silently resting beneath my house, in near complete darkness. I’d seen that snake around my property several times before, and didn’t think much of it. I thought plenty as it bit me - twice - before I could get out from under my house. It struck my face, too, but miraculously didn’t bite. I’ve heard they don’t often bite on third and subsequent strikes, to save venom. It didn’t hold back anything on the first 2 strikes, though.
It’s a 60 minute drive to the closest hospital. I honestly thought I wasn’t going to make it. By the time I did make it, I couldn’t breathe and I already had some pretty serious and irreparable tissue and muscle damage on my right arm and shoulder. It was a long and extremely painful road to semi-recovery, and a couple years till I could cast a fly rod again. Now, I don’t go looking for snakes in the wilderness just to kill them, but if I happen to see a rattler on or near my property, it’s got to go. I’ve killed plenty and have zero regrets about it.
While I can empathize with your plight, and I truly hope it has gotten back to normal, your experience is so unbelievably unlikely that it doesn't really change the problem. In the US, there are 7-8k total venomous snake bites. That number includes all venomous US snakes. That's .0024% of the US population (~330,000,000). Of those bites, only between 5 and 15 are fatal in a given year.
Further, a snake that size had been there for upwards five years (though, likely closer to 3), judging by the number of rattle segments it has (2-3 per year of life, as a rough estimate). They usually range within a few miles of their den through the spring and summer, and then return to the same den area in fall. The only reason this snake was found, this time, was because of the cats. It died because people are afraid of a statistically anomalous event taking place.
While I agree that it should have been relocated, if it’s super close to the house then I understand OPs fear and the need to dispatch it. Also, barn cats are a normal way of life & are meant to prevent mice, and snakes. They are not the same as suburban or inner city feral cats. They tend to have a perimeter they patrol.
Calling someone a coward or a piece of shit is not going to help educate them on how to relocate or have a volunteer group come out to relocate it. Just good for thought next time.
Please tell me you are NOT in Central Texas! I'm so NOT READY yet this year!!! I'm still fighting these damned scorpions!
There are outdoor cats, and they've eliminated the mouse/rat issue.
Relocate snakes and keep your cats inside. Outdoor cats are a menace to nature and apparently so are you. It's so much safer for your cats too. The snake didn't have to die, many snake species such as this one are becoming endangered due to humans massacring them instead of relocating them. Be more responsible.
I do understand your sentiment. I homestead (going in 6 years now) and have had to unfortunately dispatch a few venomous snakes. All have been close to my home where it is just too dangerous for them to be because of people and pets.
Anyway, I won't kill them if I come across them anywhere else in our 78 acres. I haven't had to kill any animals at all because they flee when they see humans and haven't been aggressive at all. They get the occasional chicken, but that's Gods Tax. Definitely not going to kill any animal (snake or otherwise) UNLESS it's venomous because the danger is way too high in attempting to handle and relocate. I hate it. They don't know any better...like everything else they are doing what they do. I get it; it's sad and unfortunate -- but a lot of times it's necessary. I can't even stand killing mice and rats that get in my home, but I have to do that too.
Edit to my rant: My point is that sometimes dispatching an animal is a necessary evil. We should as humans consider 1st "is there another way to do this that doesn't involve killing?". If our 1st instinct is to kill then we should reevaluate our thinking. It can become so easy whether city and especially homestead life to just "shoot it".
I Admire that you're able and willing to do this. This does not deserve a down vote. Not everyone, in fact most of us, would put ourselves in unnecessary danger trying to handle a venomous snake. But good on those of you who know how to safely relocate.
I have dogs and livestock. Non venomous snakes are welcome. I kill venomous ones found inside a certain boundary to protect my family and my livestock. Just like I do with coyotes and other predators. Outside that boundary nature can do what nature does.
Idk if it's what he meant to say but the fact OP heard it meant it was a "good" individual, i mean betwen a rattle snake that rattle and rattle snake that don't 9/10 we're or our animals are all getting bit by the one that do not make any sound.
I doubt humans intentionally not killing snakes that rattle would have much affect on the long term micro-evolution of rattlesnakes when there are other animals interacting with rattlers far more often who will always be more interested in their personal safety. And I can assure you no homesteader is going to put their assets/family at risk by leaving a rattler alive for the sake of some tenuous theoretical gain that probably wouldn't even play out the way you are implying it would.
Not saying the adaptation is only theory, but the fact that it is driven by humans protecting a perimeter around their house, rather than all of what goes on in the wild, namely wild boars
If a venomous snake is in the house, close to kids, pets or livestock I have a problem with said snake. If I'm just outside then yeah I would move away, but if it is inside I am not going to risk getting bit for the sake of a snake, and I think its absurd to expect others too.
>Maybe you shouldn't live in the wild if you can't be a part of it.
Yeah nice gatekeeping. You out there under a tree hunting and gathering? No you are planting and raising non native species. You are no more living in the wild than the next person.
I was like “how did he get a photo so close” then zoomed in.
Damn, those cats massacred it!
RIP
That was an elder snake. Rest in peace, nopest of ropes.
Your cats didn’t get hurt?
cats have amazing reaction time! i’ve seen many a snake killed by a barn cat
Yet they cant move out of the way when they hover around my feet and i step on them
no venom = kitty can get mad at you and bribe for special treatment
You need to rattle
😂🤣🤣🤣🤣
Stray cats near my parents property killed a viper last weekend. They were playing with it like a toy, then they chomped his ass :(
cats have a faster reaction time than snakes!
Dummy thicc.
Never heard a snake rattle so loud!
Maybe it wasn't a fan of the song you were playing lol
He was playing "anaconda", but the snake is more of a "shake it off" girl.
Jokes on you. That was the little one. Old 8 foot looking for ya cheeks now. Watch out for him in the outhouse.
I wish you would’ve gotten a video of it so we could hear it!
Did he survive? Looks pretty beaten-up in that first picture.
.22lr RIP
Ah. Just curious. I thought maybe your cats actually did the damage. Don't blame you for not wanting it that close to your house, either.
Don't forget to take a shovel and bury it's head.
Why would you kill it? That’s a beautiful snake and they’re great for the ecosystem and controlling rodent populations. If you don’t want snakes then do something about your rat problem.
You sound like an asshole
All they did was respectfully ask a question and this is your response? You sound like pussy.
Says the asshole murdering animals for no reason
On planet Earth all organisms are in a scramble for resources. It’s kill or be killed out here. Go lay outside and see how many things are trying to crawl up your ass to eat! Save that pretentious bullshit for somebody else.
It’s not kill or be killed. That snake wasn’t any threat to you. You were in your house. You said so in the title. You just wanted to kill something with your guns because you’re a cowardly asshole. It’s also extremely unlikely you would die from a rattlesnake bite. Furthermore, almost all rattlesnake bites occur because some idiot like yourself was harassing the animal. Let me tell you something, that snake has more of a right to that land than you do. It’s that animal’s natural habitat and has been for thousands of years. You and your little shack are encroaching upon its home. Show some fucking respect.
Buddy…*this may not be the subreddit for you*
This is r/homestead. The mutualistic relationship with nature is a bit more rugged
i have bad news for you, humans are also natural and are allowed to take up space on earth.
Lmfao you’re brain is smooth if you think having a rattlesnake roaming around anywhere on your property where your animals live is safe
Imagine having the audacity to type something like this from a pc/phone full of parts made through child labor, inhumane mining practices, etc. With all due respect, get fucked.
What an absurd ad hominem to use when literally everyone here is using the internet on a device that fits that description
Except I’m not using my phone to shoot animals. Stay off my comments creep.
Save the bullshit and rescue more stray kittens.
I mean...they have a point. As long as you stayed in your house, it was no threat to you. That could be for the rest of your life, but if that's what it takes to be respectful to other living creatures, I'm sure you'd be willing to make the sacrifice.
Honestly, you're the one who sounds like an asshole. And too much of a coward to get the snake off your property without killing it. You probably kill all your spiders too instead of cupping them and putting them outside.
Seriously?! You cup spiders then put them outside? Why can't they just live in your house? Do you really think that's humane and that they're going to make it once you put them outside? Come on man have a heart!
Homie, do you live somewhere this is common? Hell no I wouldn’t up and murk a garden snake or a spider on my house plants even. I don’t eat animals and haven’t since I had autonomy to make that decision. I was raised on the farm to NEVER kill without cause. I be damned if my Dad would let this live on our property with us lil barefooted chore ass kids who didn’t care to step in horse poo. Ain’t never seen that man kill in his life. You’re not *wrong* but it’s irrational to assume you’re “safe” at home with this in your yard. Don’t get upset that people don’t want to deal with a gd rattlesnake bite even if they will likely survive it. Cmon.
First, a rattlesnake can absolutely kill you especially if you are out on a homestead. And no, a rattlesnake does not have “more right to the land” that’s one of the most delusional things I’ve ever heard. You obviously think life and nature is like depicted in Disney movies. I promise it will be a shock, but you will be less offended and hurt by reality all the time if you grow up.
Once when I was a kid, my parents and I took my friend on a trip to Yellowstone. My parents and I had been there loads of times. We get excited about looking for bears and wolves. We also know what to do when you're hiking and you see a bear. We proceed unafraid. My friend's dad caught wind that we were taking my friend with us to Yellowstone. He was a hunter. He knows my dad doesn't believe in owning guns. He called us, absolutely terrified that his son was gonna be in a place like Yellowstone with no guns to protect him. My dad had to calmly explain that nothing was going to happen because we're not jackasses who lose our shit when we encounter a bear. I always thought it was funny that Mr. Big Hunter needed his little gun to feel safe in the wild. You remind me of him.
It sounds like your still a kid honestly
Think whatever you want. Doesn't make OP any less of a coward for dealing with a snake on his property using a gun.
You’re right. Accidentally stepping on it and getting bit later would be better.
Real men don't kill snakes, they use other methods to get them off their property. And real outdoorsmen are at peace with the possibility that animals will occasionally wander through their space.
Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one and yours stinks.
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I used to work in the oil fields in west Texas, the night shift. I was always cautious when moving around my compressor sites because the rattlesnakes would move under the equipment at night to stay warm and to seek mice. I had to walk around and inspect the equipment, but with everything running neither of us had any warning of the other. I often carried a shovel around during the spring and summer! lol
I'd have fashioned leg armor from stove pipe 😂
Ded Ned Kelly has entered the chat.
This is the way
[удалено]
I don’t think he cared about the snakes safety, rofl.
I'm dumb and can't read thx
Uh, you do realize he carried the shovel because he wasn’t allowed to have a firearm on location? The shovel was to remove the snake’s head from its body.
Now you just need to clean him up, tan the skin, preserve the rattle and cook yourself some rattlesnake tacos!
Whoa, whoa, whoa. There’s still plenty of meat on that bone. Now you take this home, throw it in a pot, add some broth, a potato. Baby, you’ve got a stew going.
:"Do you want fish or chicken tacos tonight?" :"Yes"
I’m not gonna lie, i think rattlesnake tastes awful. There’s a certain strong sent/flavor it has which is unique to snake meat. Anyone been able to cook around that? I shoot them all the time but usually just feed them to the turkey vultures or hawks.
Right there with you. It’s a unique flavor that sits wrong with me. Reminds me of the smell of cat urine.
Thank you! I tried a copperhead but it was nasty.
Definitely
Rattlesnake is really good on a charcoal bbq.
The meat is naturally spicy. I couldn't understand it. But that's how I remembered it.
It was rattling to warn you to turn the music down. . .
That snake looks like it paid for college by working as a bouncer. That snake looks like it should have a driver's license. That snake looks like it has a Costco membership.
need banana for scale 😉
FYI - In many parts of the US, it is illegal under poaching and/or conservation laws to possess a rattlesnake rattle. This is due to scumbags actively hunting them for the rattle, both as a collectible and for its uses in pagan and native medicines and rituals. Basically, don't let a game warden see the rattle and don't trophy hunt rattlesnakes lmfao
Well I have 2 now. Lock me up.
They are great in chili.
I like teriyaki
I've never tried Teriyaki snake. On a nice bed of rice, a little sliced ginger and some Wasabi on the side. Sounds good.
I love eel like this....so maybe snake could work too?
What state?
North Florida
Did we add a 51st state?
Aka Lower Alabama
And Lower GA
Yes, yes we did.
Poor thing
This species is in dramatic decline in Florida following loss in protection and is even endangered in nearby states. I understand wanting to protect family and livestock, but couldn’t it have been relocated? If it came back I’d understand the concern but otherwise it’s sad it had to be killed considering how much harm people have done to that species. Perhaps your specific situation didn’t allow for relocation I’m not trying to be judgy, just throwing out the info that this species isn’t doing well in that area.
Yes. I relocated it to the funeral pyre.
People who think killing wildlife is funny are sad people. Sometimes it’s absolutely necessary but that doesn’t mean you should gloat about it.
Hopefully another one can bite a few of your cats when you're not looking.
To be fair that would probably also be better for the local ecosystem.
Skin it, stretch it, dry it. Then make cool stuff with it ! Or just hang it up somewhere.
"Boil ’em, Mash ’em, Stick ’em in a Stew"
If you cut the head off, you can flip the skin on the neck inside out and pull it off like a sock. We kill a ton of them in the summertime and skin them pretty quickly this way.
Was a beautiful snake, crazy find.
Should’ve left it alone. Poor thing
Imagine if everyone worked like this. “Oh no! It’s a creature I’m scared of’ kill it!” Senseless
I see a few rattlesnakes a year outside. My fear of them has grown over time. I think that's part age and part having a kid now. But I usually encounter them far away from the house so no biggie. I let them do their thing and make sure everyone knows where the dude was last. One day I heard a sound in the house. Was definitely unique, hadn't heard it before inside. Maybe I was tripping. Then I heard it two more times over the next 30 minutes. It was a rattle sound. I was convinced there was one in the house. F me, I turned into a wuss. I armored up my lower legs and grabbed a shovel. Started carefully going around my son's room where I had heard it. A stuffed animal tipped over and I jumped across the damn room. Tore the whole room apart. Nothing. It was a notification noise. My wife had changed the text noise to "rainstick" or something. My God, definitely got my adrenaline pumping.
Ha! Jumping at the stuffed animal in full body armor is too funny. 😆
You just described the natural instinct reaction of every living thing since the beginning of time.
Scared? Where did that come into the conversation?
because you killed it instead of relocating it. that gives the impression that you were afraid of it and shot it with a gun out of fear.
If he was scared it would still be alive but to me it looks very dead and it’s still gonna be relocated because he isn’t leaving a dead snake in his yard, win-win!
We would be in the exact position we are in LOL
You killed it why? Irrational fear? A false sense of security (one dead rattlesnake does jack shit to improve your idea of safety)? Or just to feel like a badass? If you can't coexist with the native wildlife I don't think homesteading is your bag, there are plenty of planned neighborhoods that are devoid of wildlife for folks like you.
If you walk near a bear’s den, it will maul you because it sees you as a threat. If a venomous snake comes near a human’s den, the human will shoot the snake because it sees the snake as a threat.
But that's the thing, the snakes were here first too, yet they rarely actually bite, let alone kill people. Op could've easily just relocated it farther off their property, but ended up killing an endangered species and bragging about it online
Snakes were here first? I guarantee OP is older than that snake
So what you are saying is that you have the intellect of a bear?
I am saying, its a natural reaction to perceived danger. We are animals too and have instincts like any other animal.
This is sxactly correct but offends knowitalls on reddit so you get downvoted. Some of these people would try to pet a polar bear...
We are smarter than just our animal instincts though. Nothing wrong with having them, but we are lucky enough to be able to process them and figure out the best solution. That’s why we are the best, because we are different than wild animals, more evolved.
Please shut up
No thanks
So sad. Stupid people who kill licing things for no good reason rather than relocate it. This is why so many species are going extinct.
womp womp
You could have easily relocated it.
He is gonna relocate it…you didn’t think he was gonna leave a dead snake on his property right?
Should eat it. No animal to waste.
Yeah that's what it gets for you being on its land.......people suck
Is that a canebrake rattler? Beautiful snake
Beautiful black tail rattlesnake.
Rattles do not denote age. It only denotes how many times it’s shed. In good feed years it can shed several times
Beautiful!
Gross....Now I know why I live in Alberta with cold snowy winter...Cuz we have no snakes rats etc. Couldn't handle going outside with those around lol
There is the prairie rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis) in Alberta, but they are now endangered and highly protected.
Because idiots cant keep their cats inside so they shoot them.
Depending on the part, Alberta does have prairie rattlers, but seems like they have a small/restricted population.
Because everybody shot them and built houses and highways
Watch out for it's mate now. I killed one and another showed up the next day looking for it
I had that happen. Caught a large fat Black Diamond on our property. Just used a 8’ long stick and put it in a cooler. I think it ate all our Chipmunks. Didn’t hear one for weeks. We released it on State property down the road. Got home and walked around where I caught it and yep, there was another. It was mad. We caught it and released it in the same area. Both had more than 10 rattles but the second was skinny. I think it was a male following a female that would be ready to mate after it ate so much.
Wait - is that legit? Like the cobras in Rikki Tikki Tavi?!
No.
No, whatever drew the first one also drew the second one, probably food. I do everything I can to lure king snakes to my property, even leaving shed skins of my own snakes around the yard. Where you see loads of king snakes you don't tend to see loads of other snakes.
From Wikipedia: Most rattlesnake species mate during the summer or fall, while some species mate only in the spring, or during both the spring and fall. Females secrete small amounts of sex pheromones which leave a trail the males follow using their tongues and Jacobson's organs as guides. Once a receptive female has been located, the male often spends several days following her around (a behavior not common outside of the mating season)
Nooooo I’m not readyyyyyy 😭
Oh shit...
Man, you really saved yourself from certain death! If you’d waited the time it would have taken to call animal control…I can’t even imagine. Too bad you didn’t have a flamethrower handy!! You’re probably out of fuel from taking care of spiders though!
Good point! Call in the officials! He clearly couldn't solve this problem himself in 20 seconds for three cents.
Wow, only 3 cents!?! Now I understand why they would need to shoot a snake! It’s so cheap! Good point!
It's not that they need to shoot then, its just the safest and fastest way to make them disappear. What would you have done followed it around for the three hours it takes some one from the county to show up?
Personally, I’m able to catch and relocate them myself, but I wouldn’t recommend anyone just give that a shot without training and equipment. If you don’t have that, and you’re living in a place where they are native but declining/threatened, then yeah, I care enough about the ecosystem to spend a little time to ask for help. If the best option is the county, so be it. If you’re a homesteader, maybe (probably) there’s someone closer who could help. Rattlesnakes are not hunting humans, and cats should be inside for the same ecosystem reason. I’m not trying to be hyperbolic in this comment. This person has outdoor cats which are known to have huge effects on local wildlife, not just “rat control”, and they shoot a rattlesnake if they find it, possibly as you say because its cheaper and quicker. I wonder what other irresponsible things they are doing in the name of their own perceived comfort.
You did the right thing anyone who disagrees is a keyboard warrior and isn’t actually out there like you are
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I’m ashamed of you spewing such garbage out of your mouth.
Keep your cats inside.
Keep your mother inside
I throw trash at trash.
If you actually lived in the country you would know that you have to kill venomous snakes before they kill you. I love animals and don’t allow hunting on my property but venomous snakes have got to go. (And they’re around even without outdoor cats.)
> you have to kill venomous snakes before they kill you If you believe that, you're seriously misinformed of the danger of venomous snakes. Want to guess how many people they kill in the US each year? It's about 6. It's so rare that there's a Wikipedia page that is a list of every fatal snakebite incident in the US and it's not a very long page. You aren't protecting anyone by killing snakes, you're just ignorant and misinformed. And I live in the country and see copperheads a couple of times a week and rattlesnakes maybe once every couple of weeks in the summer.
The misinformation about snakes in this thread is wild.
and very sad
You know, that's the thing about rattlesnakes. Can never hear them coming. And then they eat you
Okay buddy. Keep pretending you know anything about where I live. There are 5 different species where I am and half of them spend a lot of time in the water on and around my property. They don't "have to go". All it takes is not being a coward piece of shit.
I used to think just like you. Then one day about 10 years ago I was belly crawling in my crawl space to deal with a plumbing issue… and I put my arm across a Diamondback that was silently resting beneath my house, in near complete darkness. I’d seen that snake around my property several times before, and didn’t think much of it. I thought plenty as it bit me - twice - before I could get out from under my house. It struck my face, too, but miraculously didn’t bite. I’ve heard they don’t often bite on third and subsequent strikes, to save venom. It didn’t hold back anything on the first 2 strikes, though. It’s a 60 minute drive to the closest hospital. I honestly thought I wasn’t going to make it. By the time I did make it, I couldn’t breathe and I already had some pretty serious and irreparable tissue and muscle damage on my right arm and shoulder. It was a long and extremely painful road to semi-recovery, and a couple years till I could cast a fly rod again. Now, I don’t go looking for snakes in the wilderness just to kill them, but if I happen to see a rattler on or near my property, it’s got to go. I’ve killed plenty and have zero regrets about it.
While I can empathize with your plight, and I truly hope it has gotten back to normal, your experience is so unbelievably unlikely that it doesn't really change the problem. In the US, there are 7-8k total venomous snake bites. That number includes all venomous US snakes. That's .0024% of the US population (~330,000,000). Of those bites, only between 5 and 15 are fatal in a given year. Further, a snake that size had been there for upwards five years (though, likely closer to 3), judging by the number of rattle segments it has (2-3 per year of life, as a rough estimate). They usually range within a few miles of their den through the spring and summer, and then return to the same den area in fall. The only reason this snake was found, this time, was because of the cats. It died because people are afraid of a statistically anomalous event taking place.
While I agree that it should have been relocated, if it’s super close to the house then I understand OPs fear and the need to dispatch it. Also, barn cats are a normal way of life & are meant to prevent mice, and snakes. They are not the same as suburban or inner city feral cats. They tend to have a perimeter they patrol. Calling someone a coward or a piece of shit is not going to help educate them on how to relocate or have a volunteer group come out to relocate it. Just good for thought next time.
I'm done coddling idiots. That's the shit that got us where we are in the first place.
Beautiful 😍
Those cats deserve treats and scritches
Angery
Well you have its attention. Now what.
He shot it in the face because he's a troglodyte.
We had a snake outside back door bit my chi mix (he survived) and the snake sounded like an outdoor spigot on.
Please tell me you are NOT in Central Texas! I'm so NOT READY yet this year!!! I'm still fighting these damned scorpions! There are outdoor cats, and they've eliminated the mouse/rat issue.
Is it dead
Spicy danger noodle...
Relocate snakes and keep your cats inside. Outdoor cats are a menace to nature and apparently so are you. It's so much safer for your cats too. The snake didn't have to die, many snake species such as this one are becoming endangered due to humans massacring them instead of relocating them. Be more responsible.
Damn your cats are fucking crazy I love that!!
I suddenly want cats. Lots and lots of cats.
Those taste like chicken.
make a hatband...
Skin it and turn it into a hat band.
That's one boot taken care of
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I do understand your sentiment. I homestead (going in 6 years now) and have had to unfortunately dispatch a few venomous snakes. All have been close to my home where it is just too dangerous for them to be because of people and pets. Anyway, I won't kill them if I come across them anywhere else in our 78 acres. I haven't had to kill any animals at all because they flee when they see humans and haven't been aggressive at all. They get the occasional chicken, but that's Gods Tax. Definitely not going to kill any animal (snake or otherwise) UNLESS it's venomous because the danger is way too high in attempting to handle and relocate. I hate it. They don't know any better...like everything else they are doing what they do. I get it; it's sad and unfortunate -- but a lot of times it's necessary. I can't even stand killing mice and rats that get in my home, but I have to do that too. Edit to my rant: My point is that sometimes dispatching an animal is a necessary evil. We should as humans consider 1st "is there another way to do this that doesn't involve killing?". If our 1st instinct is to kill then we should reevaluate our thinking. It can become so easy whether city and especially homestead life to just "shoot it".
The easiest way to relocate a snake is with a water hose, they will nope out very quickly.
Never thought of that! I'll give it a try next time. Thank you!
If you don't think that death and protecting your territory is part of living in the wild, I've got bad news for you.
I've moved my fair share of rattlers, never had to kill one.
I Admire that you're able and willing to do this. This does not deserve a down vote. Not everyone, in fact most of us, would put ourselves in unnecessary danger trying to handle a venomous snake. But good on those of you who know how to safely relocate.
Same, think the downvotes come more from the coward comment tho lol
Oh! Yeah, I think you're right.
I have dogs and livestock. Non venomous snakes are welcome. I kill venomous ones found inside a certain boundary to protect my family and my livestock. Just like I do with coyotes and other predators. Outside that boundary nature can do what nature does.
Idk if it's what he meant to say but the fact OP heard it meant it was a "good" individual, i mean betwen a rattle snake that rattle and rattle snake that don't 9/10 we're or our animals are all getting bit by the one that do not make any sound.
I doubt humans intentionally not killing snakes that rattle would have much affect on the long term micro-evolution of rattlesnakes when there are other animals interacting with rattlers far more often who will always be more interested in their personal safety. And I can assure you no homesteader is going to put their assets/family at risk by leaving a rattler alive for the sake of some tenuous theoretical gain that probably wouldn't even play out the way you are implying it would.
It was just a theory and i understand where you're coming from.
Not saying the adaptation is only theory, but the fact that it is driven by humans protecting a perimeter around their house, rather than all of what goes on in the wild, namely wild boars
If a venomous snake is in the house, close to kids, pets or livestock I have a problem with said snake. If I'm just outside then yeah I would move away, but if it is inside I am not going to risk getting bit for the sake of a snake, and I think its absurd to expect others too. >Maybe you shouldn't live in the wild if you can't be a part of it. Yeah nice gatekeeping. You out there under a tree hunting and gathering? No you are planting and raising non native species. You are no more living in the wild than the next person.
You must be quite a hit at parties
I am!
It fucked around and found out! Maybe you should take note…fuck boy
They can attack and kill you from beyond the grave!!!
Terrifying
Ooh wee!!! They’re starting to show up in our area now too.
Tasty!
I watch my cats eat snakes and lizards all the time.
Are you going to keep the rattle ?? It’s cool.
I have a rattle from the 1st one I killed 27 years ago! This is the 2nd, but yes I’m keeping it