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Rattlesnakes
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by Franko on January 7, 2004
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I often come across rattlesnakes on the Deschutes River in eastern Oregon, USA. I have (carefully) caught a few to show my kids what to look for, and then I have released them. How dangerous are these for children? Thanks.
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RE: Rattlesnakes
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by HELERI on January 8, 2004
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Hello Franko. Most likley you are encountering the Northern Pacific rattlesnake. At the southern tip of the river, you MAY encounter the Great Basin rattlesnake.
As for a rattlesnake bite toward a child, it would be severe. With ANY rattlesnake bite, medical treatment of the bite should be sought IMMEDIATLEY. The bitee should remain calm as to not alter the heart rate and circulate the venom any further than needed. Lay the bitee down so that the bitten area is at heart level. Do not apply tourniquets. Remove jewlery. Do not cut and suck the wound, do not apply ice or electrical shock. Doing the above will alter the severity of the bite. The EXTRACTOR is a suction product sold as first aid for snake and insect bites, it's use is only advised if medical treatment of the bite is expected to be delayed for a long period of time (a couple of days). If you anticipate using the EXTRACTOR, buy two to apply one to each fang puncture or buy the newer modified EXTRACTOR which is designed to cover both fang punctures.
I hope that I was of some help. -Robert
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RE: Rattlesnakes
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by Snakeman1982 on January 8, 2004
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Robert Villa is correct on all of those aspects concerning snake bite. Also it is said to put the bite site at a lower level than the heart if possible, but whatever you do, don't put a pressure bandage or anything on it because it is mainly a hemotoxin (although oreganus and lutosus both have some neurotoxins in their venom).
Any bite will most likely be non-life threatening but you'll still want to go to the hospital to keep from losing fingers etc...
Here is a link to the Rattlesnake protocol. If you have the possibility of getting bit by a venomous snake in the U.S. then you need to carry these around with you. Because even if you know how to take care of a venomous bite, you could be unconscious or the doctor might not take your advice and screw something up. Medical doctors are very ignorant when it comes to envenomations so don't trust them to know what to do. This protocol was written by medical doctor and herpetologist Dr. Sean Bush, M.D. http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic540.htm
He also did a study showing the venom extractors did little good on snake bites. He also concluded that they might also do more harm than good in that they send the venom at the bite site and cause more necrosis than if it were allowed to circulate through. I for one plan on using one whenever I get envenomated until they come up with some better research but whatever you decide.
Hope this helps,
Robert Jadin
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RE: Rattlesnakes
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by Crotalus64 on January 9, 2004
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The best thing to do is get to the emergency room ASAP. From my experiences here in Nor-Cal, Northern Pacific Rattlesnakes are usually quiet and docile (there is always a cranky exception), I'm not telling you to go pic one up or that they are not dangerous, just be careful because a lot of the time they do not rattle. I went on a hike with one of my classes, and there was a 4 ft. Rattler on the side of the trail, everyone walked right passed it (within 2ft.), of course everyone freaked out when I picked the thing up (with tools) to show them what they had missed. Out of the about 500 northern pacific rattlesnakes I have caught in my life, about 20 have rattled, and about 10 of them took a swing at me. They can be one of the most beautiful rattlesnakes, we have found some that are almost lime green.
I'm glad to hear someone treating rattlesnakes with respect and teaching their children about them, instead of trying to protect their children by killing all the snakes in the area.
Cheers,
-erik
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