New "Green Mojave" Gold Prospecting Coil

[Terry Soloman]

Photo by Rob Allison. Be careful out there!

 

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[Jim Hemmingway]

Terry... WOW... you always seem able to come up with something unusual or interesting!!!! I've never seen one of these snakes but certainly have read plenty about them. What a gorgeous photo too!! This one goes into my files with thanks.

Jim.

 

[roadapple]

That new gold detector coil should be known as "the claim jumper special"....LoL

 

[Jim in Idaho]

Something I read said that herpetologists are starting to find Western Diamondbacks with the same nerve toxin component in their venom that Mojaves have. They were amazed at how quickly the venom changes in snakes, as their prey become more immune to their venom. Much more quickly than they had previously thought. Pigmy Faded rattlesnakes of northern Utah, and SW Wyoming, also have a nerve toxin in their venom. Really cool pic, Terry!
Jim

 

[Terry Soloman]

It's nasty. There was a snowbird staying out at Stanton, on the west side of Rich Hill, that took his dog for a walk, saw a green in the road, tied his dog to a rock, then went to move the snake off the road so it wouldn't bite the dog. Needless to say, when the helicopter arrived he was already bleeding from his eyes, ears, nose, and probably every other orifice. His arm looked like a watermelon, and the dog was still tied to the rock.

Oops! Sorry everyone. Got the photo of my ex-wife and her boyfriends mixed up with the rattlesnake shots somehow.

 

[Jim in Idaho]

LOL...a snake that big doesn't need venom...Ha!
Jim

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

People that claim to know how to handle snakes are the ones that usually get bitten.
Good way to end up in the hospital (if your lucky).

 

[605dano]

I was metal detecting on the 4th and almost stepped on a prairie rattler. My foot was coming down as the snake struck and I pivoted in the air as the snakes head went past my leg. Woke me up. My dog had walked by it and didn't even see it. They must not have much of a scent as the dog has a good nose. The worst part, no gold.

 

[Jim in Idaho]

Fortunately, Dano, Prairies rattlers are more laid back than mojaves or diamondbacks. I really worry about taking heidi into snake country when they're out, even though all we have here are Prairies. She has the rattler shots, too, but I still keep her out of snake country, for the most part. I never used to worry about it with my dogs, and never had one bitten, but I worry with Heidi. Maybe because she's smaller...only 40 lbs, and thus more vulnerable. In any case, glad you or your dog didn't have a problem.
Jim

 

[Lanny in AB]

Got a good laugh Terry, thanks.

Looks like that coil's way better for bites than for finding nuggets.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[bobw53]

Fortunately, Dano, Prairies rattlers are more laid back than mojaves or diamondbacks. I really worry about taking heidi into snake country when they're out, even though all we have here are Prairies. She has the rattler shots, too, but I still keep her out of snake country, for the most part. I never used to worry about it with my dogs, and never had one bitten, but I worry with Heidi. Maybe because she's smaller...only 40 lbs, and thus more vulnerable. In any case, glad you or your dog didn't have a problem.
Jim

I've said this in other threads.. But dogs are far far more resilient to snake venom than humans are.. I had one bit, under my back porch a little less than 2 years ago.. Got
her to the emergency clinic in under an hour. They didn't seem overly concerned, (it was Thursday) she was the 6th since Monday, and they had 7 of them over the weekend.
By "not overly concerned", I don't mean they didn't care, but it wasn't a life threatening emergency, and it wasn't the "this isn't good" type of thing I usually end up at the clinic for.

Molly was the only dog they had that night, so she got wined and dined and rubbed and sang to, except for being in pain, she had a great time.. Then off to my regular vet,
the clinic closes during normal business hours.. They gave her some pain pills and some IV's (just fluids), some antibiotics.. and wined and dined her for the day..(my vet is
awesome)...

So.. I didn't ask at the clinic, but I did ask my vet.. She has been "practicing" since '84, and in all that time and the 100's of snake bites, she has only ever lost one dog.
The dog didn't back down and was bit a couple dozen times, and then the owner didn't bring the dog in for over 24 hours.

Most folks never even bring their dogs in, they let them tough it out and they are fine.. I had a friend who's lab had been bit 7 times, he never brought
him to the vet. He was fine.

The dog will be fine.. What you have to worry about, if you bring her in, and it sounds like you would.. Is the bills. As much as having my dog get bit sucked,
it was actually kind of nice going to the emergency clinic knowing (for a change) that there was a 99.5% chance that I would actually be bringing home a healthy
living dog.

If I couldn't afford to do the full treatment with IV's, and anti-venom and all that.. I would still go in and get pain pills and antibiotics... Molly was fricken MISERABLE.
You could tell that it HURT, and it HURT BAD!!!!

She was a little woosey for about 3 days, then a little sore, and back to full speed in a week or so.
I never found the ******* that bit her, I wanted to make a collar for her.

This pic was at the clinic, approximately an hour after she got bit.

 

[mike(swWash)]

Mmmmmmmm...........dinner and a new hat band in one
This is why I pack a pistol full of birdshot.....I'm damn near deaf and won't shoot my coil....but I will shoot his

 

[Jim in Idaho]

Did Molly have the venom resistance shots before she was bitten? From what the vets tell me that really helps. Cheap, too....about $30/year. My bird hunting buddies that hunt in Montana say the same as you...dogs might swell up quite a bit, but in a few days they seem OK. Vet told me to give her Benadryl to reduce swelling if she is bitten....about 1gram/lb of body weight. Heidi may have been bitten in Wyoming last week. She had a badly swollen lymph gland in her jaw Saturday, and the tissue under her jaw was swollen, and full of fluid. They did a biopsy on it and it was infected. Antibiotics seemed to have knocked it down, and it's almost back to normal. She's only 2 so her teeth aren't an issue. Could have been a snake, but she runs around so much while I'm prospecting, I don't know what she gets into, besides rabbits.
Jim

 

[bobw53]

Did Molly have the venom resistance shots before she was bitten?

No Shot.. I should really look into that. Every few years, I get a rattler in the shop.. This one was behind the fridge,
shot that one, .22 shot shells. The second one, I had just sat down at my desk, I looked to the right and there was
a snake about 8 feet away.. He got squished with a 70lb slab of steel. Landed perfect, nothing sticking out but his
rattles.

Like you, I take my other dog out with me when I'm digging or playing in the desert.. She's light brown and blends in really well..
I'd loose sight of her all the time.. My better half got her one of those flourscent vests down at the Petco. She looks like a goober
with it on, but when I've got my head down in a hole, the fluorescent color really shows up in my peripheral vision, and if I do lose
track of where she's at, just a quick look around and the color pops right out. Supposed to be able to get it wet or something
and helps keep 'em cool also.

Camouflage dog.

 

[Terry Soloman]

 

[Jim in Idaho]

The trouble with that, Terry, is the vets will tell you half the dogs that come in with snake bites have been avoidance trained. I'm sure the dogs were just running around, and ran by a snake and got nailed. But, every trick helps. I'd take 50% over 0% anytime. I looked into it, but would have had to drive 5 hours to the nearest place they did it around southern Idaho.
Jim

 

[Jim in Idaho]

No Shot.. I should really look into that. Every few years, I get a rattler in the shop.. This one was behind the fridge,
shot that one, .22 shot shells. The second one, I had just sat down at my desk, I looked to the right and there was
a snake about 8 feet away.. He got squished with a 70lb slab of steel. Landed perfect, nothing sticking out but his
rattles.

Like you, I take my other dog out with me when I'm digging or playing in the desert.. She's light brown and blends in really well..
I'd loose sight of her all the time.. My better half got her one of those flourscent vests down at the Petco. She looks like a goober
with it on, but when I've got my head down in a hole, the fluorescent color really shows up in my peripheral vision, and if I do lose
track of where she's at, just a quick look around and the color pops right out. Supposed to be able to get it wet or something
and helps keep 'em cool also.

Camouflage dog.

I put a fluorescent oink collar on Heidi. The problem is she ranges so far, and she is below the level of a lot of the sagebrush, so is almost invisible. She would REALLY blend into the country in that photo of your camo dog.

 

[bc5391]

It's nasty. There was a snowbird staying out at Stanton, on the west side of Rich Hill, that took his dog for a walk, saw a green in the road, tied his dog to a rock, then went to move the snake off the road so it wouldn't bite the dog. Needless to say, when the helicopter arrived he was already bleeding from his eyes, ears, nose, and probably every other orifice. His arm looked like a watermelon, and the dog was still tied to the rock.

Oops! Sorry everyone. Got the photo of my ex-wife and her boyfriends mixed up with the rattlesnake shots somehow.

That looks like an Australian Speed Bump

 

[Clay Diggins]

It's not a Mohave "green".



It's a Blacktail rattlesnake.

Its uniformly dark tail distinguishes this snake from the Mohave Rattlesnake and Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake.

Mohave "green" rattlesnakes have a 2:1 white/black tail and only two scales between their eyes.

The angle of this snakes eye-stripe, its uniformly-colored blotches, and its relatively thin tail rings distinguish it from the similar looking Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake.

Either snake comes in quite a range of colors. Color is not an indication of which type of rattlesnake you are looking at.

I'm pretty sure Rob Allison knows the difference between a Blacktail and a Mohave. What you are seeing in that picture was Rob demonstrating the way he gently moves rattlesnakes out of his way when he is detecting. Rob takes the nuggets and leaves no trace.

Rattlesnakes are not aggressive towards humans and would rather move on when you encounter them. In Arizona where Rob took this picture more than 70% of rattlesnake bites are on the hand or the face. More than 80% of snake bite victims were inebriated when bitten. Most dogs are bitten on their face - probably because they don't have hands.

Don't get drunk and handle wild rattlesnakes and you will be safe. If you try to grab them or put your face up close to see if there are only two scales between their eyes they perceive a threat and they might be provoked to strike.

Rattle snakes can only accurately strike a little more than 1/3 of their body length when coiled, less if not coiled. The average adult rattlesnake in Arizona is less than 3 foot long. Rarely do they exceed 4 feet long.

Only about 40% of strikes against humans produce venom. Venom is used by these snakes to get food. They don't want to waste venom on something too big to eat. The more you poke at them with that stick or pour your beer on them the more likely they will strike with venom.

We see quite a few rattlesnakes each year. If they are in the wild we pass them by and wish them peace. If they are on the property or found around livestock we kill them. They do a lot of good in the wild. They kill a lot of rodents and they provide good eating for the coyotes. Around the house not so much good. Our resident bull snake kills most of them but she can only eat so many. The rest we kill with a shovel.

I know a lot of people are creeped out by snakes but your odds of dying from a rattlesnake bite are much less than the odds of dying from a bee sting or a deer.

Heavy Pans

 

[MadMarshall]

Before I learned to respect rattlesnakes I killed two, the first on the San Joaquin plain. He was coiled comfortably around a tuft of bunch-grass, and I discovered him when he was between my feet as I was stepping over him. He held his head down and did not attempt to strike, although in danger of being trampled. At that time, thirty years ago, I imagined that rattlesnakes should be killed wherever found. I had no weapon of any sort, and on the smooth plain there was not a stick or a stone within miles; so I crushed him by jumping on him, as the deer are said to do. Looking me in the face he saw I meant mischief, and quickly cast himself into a coil, ready to strike in defense. I knew he could not strike when traveling, therefore I threw handfuls of dirt and grass sods at him, to tease him out of coil. He held his ground a few minutes, threatening and striking, and then started off to get rid of me. I ran forward and jumped on him; but he drew back his head so quickly my heel missed, and he also missed his stroke at me. Persecuted, tormented, again and again he tried to get away, bravely striking out to protect himself; but at last my heel came squarely down, sorely wounding him, and a few more brutal stampings crushed him. I felt degraded by the killing business, farther from heaven, and I made up my mind to try to be at least as fair and charitable as the snakes themselves, and to kill no more save in self-defense.


JOHN MUIR