nearly got killed out there today. not by the snake, but by the temps while i was trying to catch this snake. i do telemetry on eastern diamondbacks and found this supposedly gravid female as the male i was tracking was trying to get all up in dem guts.

i had to improvise a snake hook and all since i wasnt ready for it. 6.5 pounds is heavy as shit when you're trying to hold it far away from you and run back to your truck 100 yds away.

accidentally popped her rattle off when i had to grab her by the tail to keep her from getting away. it had approximately 12 segments and a button, for those who care.

and no, it will not be killed with fire.

8/7/2008 11:30:51 PM

Why did it have to be a snake?

8/7/2008 11:31:44 PM

i wish i could see some shit like that...i'd pick it up

8/7/2008 11:32:02 PM

badger badger badger mushroom mushroom snaaaaaaaake

8/7/2008 11:32:18 PM

Quote :

"accidentally popped her rattle off when i had to grab her by the tail to keep her from getting away."

and exactly why did you HAVE to keep her from getting away?

8/7/2008 11:32:20 PM

put it back

8/7/2008 11:32:27 PM

Wow, that's pretty cool. And a pretty good size rattler, too!

8/7/2008 11:32:38 PM

cuz it's my job, and part of my job is catching snakes.

the other part of my job involves catching tortoises, do you want stories about me catching tortoises?

8/7/2008 11:32:40 PM

My thread title would have been.. Look what I beat the hell out of with a shovel today.

8/7/2008 11:33:11 PM

probably a dumb question but since you popped off her rattle, will it grow back? Kinda like a lizards tail will grow back.


flame

8/7/2008 11:33:23 PM

so it's part of your job to mangle snakes? that doesn't seem right

8/7/2008 11:34:09 PM

Telemetry usually means "population estimates and tracking", so if you find one (marked or not), you want to take some data on it before releasing it. lol.... "mangle it"


Yes, I wanna hear some tortoise stories.

[Edited on August 7, 2008 at 11:35 PM. Reason : ]

8/7/2008 11:34:28 PM

had to keep her from getting away because we have a mark-recapture study going on for more than a decade now. and each piece of data on diamondbacks has a lot of value when you're trying to help create growth models on the species. that, and i think she's gravid, so she could produce a hell of a lot more data.

she was first caught in 1997, btw.

8/7/2008 11:34:31 PM

you can pop the rattle off a snake?

8/7/2008 11:36:20 PM

Quote :

"My thread title would have been.. Look what I beat the hell out of with a shovel today."

thats mean...made me lol though

8/7/2008 11:37:08 PM

snaaaaaaake snaaaaaaake hwoahhhhhhhhhhh its a snaaaaake

8/7/2008 11:38:24 PM

yes, you can "pop" the rattle off a rattlesnake. and yes, the rattle will "grow" back. each time they shed, another segment is added. so by this time next year, she'll likely have an extra 3 or 4 segments on the nub she has now.

and no, it isnt considered mangling her. rattlesnakes often lose their rattles time to time naturally. believe it or not, she can still make a rattling sound without her rattle, seeing as they often sit around dry leaves.

but i catch a hell of a lot more tortoises than rattlesnakes. they're a lot easier to find, and a lot easier to catch. but there usually isnt much more to the stories than, "i saw a tortoise, so i dove in after it and pulled it out of its burrow, took it back to the lab, and worked it up."

some recent tortoise catches:

8/7/2008 11:47:17 PM

I don't think I could possibly enter its burrow. I'd be afraid to draw back a nub.

But those are some nice pictures.

[Edited on August 7, 2008 at 11:59 PM. Reason : ]

8/7/2008 11:59:24 PM

gopher tortoises are extremely peaceful. but they're a bitch to pull out of a burrow by the time they get in. they're strong as fuck, but that comes with a burrowing lifestyle. you'd be surprised at their strength....definitely not your average turtle.

on the other hand, rattlesnakes are known to use their burrows in the cold months. so yea, there is some validity for being scared to dive after one.

[Edited on August 8, 2008 at 12:06 AM. Reason : .]

8/8/2008 12:05:23 AM

You have a cool job.
I love that 2nd picture.

8/8/2008 12:35:05 AM

this is wayyyyy more badass than the POC theme

8/8/2008 12:38:25 AM

i like turtles

8/8/2008 12:39:11 AM

i see baby rattlers snakes in front of my house every time it rains, which is like 4 days a week this time of year.


should I touch them or take one inside?

8/8/2008 12:39:43 AM

you should let them seek refuge in your urethra

8/8/2008 12:42:40 AM

lol

are you serious, B? you shouldnt mess with them unless you know what you're doing, G.

do your rattlesnakes have rattles, or do they just shake their tails when you approach them? cuz most rattlesnakes arent common, especially in urban areas.

oh, and my job is the sh!t. it just doesnt pay well.

[Edited on August 8, 2008 at 12:48 AM. Reason : !]

8/8/2008 12:46:17 AM

got some better pics of the diamondback today, although as soon as i got out, the clouds rolled in. now i gotta hope for some good light over the weekend to get better pics.

8/8/2008 8:01:38 PM

Is that what herpes looks like these days?

8/8/2008 8:03:04 PM

8/8/2008 8:04:11 PM

I'm used to copperheads around here but if I ever saw a rattler I would crap in my pants.
WHERE did you find that thing?

8/8/2008 8:24:55 PM

i live at the southern tip of south carolina. north carolina diamondbacks are pretty damn rare. but i hear one was found recently.

8/8/2008 8:27:38 PM

oh ok, as long as they stay down there.
I asked in another thread if you wanted my copperheads, but I guess not if you life in SC.

8/8/2008 8:32:25 PM

losing your rattle doesnt suck for the snake...it sucks for the fool who fucks with the snake and doesnt get the warning

8/8/2008 8:32:51 PM

rattlesnakes actually often dont rattle until you're already fucking with them. with this one, it didnt try to start rattling until i already had a hold of its tail.

what thread did you offer me copperheads? are these captive copperheads? or are you offering me to catch all the copperheads in your yard?

8/8/2008 8:35:57 PM

Quote :

"My thread title would have been.. Look what I beat the hell out of with a shovel today."

I laughed really hard.

8/8/2008 8:37:49 PM

the profile one. catch em in the yard. mom and dad get em out of the neighbors wooded yard alot. Even had a two headed one once
I have become very proficient with a shovel

8/8/2008 8:38:49 PM

too bad...you could have made a shitload of money off the two-headed one. freaks of nature bring in big bucks, and it's extremely rare to find shit like that in the wild.

8/8/2008 8:53:08 PM

me and my lil sis just said oh sh!t! and ran. I mean we couldn't pin TWO heads. damn!t don't tell me I coulda made money. sh!t.

8/8/2008 8:59:46 PM

holy shit tacos

8/8/2008 9:01:46 PM

This was the last thread I looked at before going to bed last night.

I dreamt last night of being in a house in the sonoran desert with a rattlesnake keeping me from leaving

8/8/2008 9:02:40 PM

Gorgeous.

8/8/2008 9:03:31 PM

more pics!-of stuff you catch

[Edited on August 8, 2008 at 9:05 PM. Reason : specific]

8/8/2008 9:03:32 PM

8/8/2008 9:05:53 PM

Quote :

"more pics!-of stuff you catch"

dude, i catch waaaay too much to post it all...what do you want? snakes? frogs? lizards? turtles? salamanders?

8/8/2008 9:13:07 PM

Quote :

"My thread title would have been.. Look what I beat the hell out of with a shovel today."

winner.

8/8/2008 9:13:47 PM

here we go again

9/25/2008 11:34:12 PM

Pretty.

9/25/2008 11:36:48 PM

it'll be prettier once it sheds and it's not overcast outside

9/25/2008 11:42:28 PM

i would have promptly run over that motherfucker

but that's because im a pussy

9/25/2008 11:45:05 PM

yay snakes!

9/25/2008 11:46:04 PM

that last picture is awesome!

[Edited on September 25, 2008 at 11:48 PM. Reason : so is the first one. actually they're all good ]

9/25/2008 11:47:27 PM