Venomous Rattlesnakes
Talking with Dr. Emily Taylor gave us so many great insights into the world of snakes, and her research allows us to get closer to snakes than ever before with Rattlecam.org. Let's break down everything we learned in episode 79.
A prairie rattlesnake
There are ~8,000 venomous snake bites in the U.S. per year to humans: 1,000 are from rattlers, and about 5 people on average (3-12 pear year) die; Those 5 people that die from bites typically do not receive medical attention. The most severe bites are from rattlesnakes, and the least severe are from Copperheads (but of course these are still medical emergencies). However, your dog is much more likely to be bitten - there are around 35,000 cases per year in the U.S. of dogs being bitten by venomous snakes.
Venom has evolved to kill and, depending on the species, tenderize prey. Not each snake venom is made the same, and snake venom can be incredibly specific to the population of snakes. The reason it's so toxic is because it is designed to be more toxic than necessary because most prey of venomous snakes have co-evolved some sort of venom-resistance (so venom has become more toxic as prey have become more resistant). And speaking of venom, it is possible to be bitten by a venomous snake and the snake can choose not to inject venom; It is estimated that 10-15% of defensive bites are dry (meaning the fangs have penetrated the skin, but there was no venom injected).
We got into quite a bit of myth-busting in this episode, which started with the myth that rattlesnakes want to bite people and are aggressive. Dr. Taylor clarified that rattlesnakes are defensive, meaning they don't actively seek out people to bite (because we are not a prey source for them, so why would they come after us and waste their venom?). She also clarified that baby rattlesnakes can control their venom, and they do not inject more venom than adults - however, their venom can be more toxic per drop, but adults inject more venom anyways (snakebite severity scores are higher in adult snakes), so it's an irrelevant point. And finally, she clarified that rattlesnakes are NOT evolving to get rid of their rattler and they are NOT evolving to stop rattling; This myth came from the concept that people kill rattlesnakes that they can hear rattling, and the snakes that don't rattle (and therefore are not seen) are less likely to be killed, so they pass on to their offspring the trait of not rattling - there is no evidence supporting this. In fact, rattlesnakes often don't rattle because their first line of defensive is camoflauge, so they intentionally try to stay hidden. There are some snakes that can make the rattling sound (like milk snakes) that are not rattlesnakes. but they're not necessarily mimics of rattlesnakes (but some species do mimic rattlesnakes, such as gopher snakes).
Now, let's get into the worst possible encounter with a rattlesnake - someone is bitten and venom is injected. First of all, if a dog is bitten, remove the collar and rush your dog to the emergency vet (and no, Dr. Taylor does not advise getting your dog a rattlesnake vaccine, as they are not shown to be effective and can possibly make reactions worse). Do not give any medication like Benadryl, rush them to an emergency vet. Now, if a human is bitten, immediately call emergency services like 911 (make sure if you're going out of cell service that you have a satellite GPS or know how to use your cellphone's emergency SOS system). If someone is bitten on the hand, take off any jewelry or watches before swelling begins. Keep the limbs at heart level (not below), do NOT use a tourniquet, do NOT try sucking venom out or sucking venom out (these often make envenomation worse), and, I can't believe we even have to say this, do NOT try electrocuting yourself after being envenomated. You need antivenom as soon as possible. A majority of people who are bitten and get medical treatment quickly make a full recovery.
If you are interested in snakebite treatments or want support for a snakebite to you or a dog, check out the Facebook group National Snakebite Support.
If you'd like to deter rattlesnakes from entering your property and making a home there, here are the three things you need to remove:
Sources of water (birdbath, pool)
Food (rodents, especially birdfeeders or wood piles that attract them)
Low shade (wood piles, pieces of tin, big bushes, crawlspaces with holes)
If you live in rattlesnake country, have tall spindly plants instead that won't make a lot of shade. You can also build a special fence around your property to keep them out, called rattlesnake-proof or rattlesnake exclusion fencing, and Dr. Taylor's company is one of many that will do that service for you.
If you do find a snake in your yard, the best thing to do is capture it and relocate it about a half mile away into its preferred habitat (but this may depend on what state your in and what species of snake it is). If you are one of the many people who have no idea how you safely capture a rattlesnake, check out FreeSnakeRelocation.org and see if there's someone near you willing to help. You can also take a course on how to safely handle rattlesnakes if you're interested.
But at the end of the day, in places where rattlesnake antivenom is readily available (like the U.S.), rattlesnake venom is actually now doing more to help humans than harm; If you've been treated for a heart attack, it's possible you were given a drug that contains rattlesnake venom because it's an anti-coagulant, and can help reduce the risk of blood clots in patients. Their venom is also being studied for use in cancer medicine, and this is just the beginning - there is so much left to learn about their venom, so if you're interested, get into the field!
She even recently co-authored a study titled Effects of relational and instrumental messaging on human perception of rattlesnakes (2024), which found that if you are trying to convince someone to hate snakes less, you need to know who you're talking to. Age, sex, and religion all factor into how you should cater your messages about rattlesnakes. For example, women were more likely to have a more positive outlook on rattlesnakes after explaining to them that rattlesnakes (specifically Timber rattlers) are great mothers that watch after their young. Dr. Taylor also made the point that anti-venom wasn't widely used until the 1950s, so our grandparents or great-grandparents grew up without this life-saving medicine, so their potential fear of snakes is very real and valid.
Please check out Rattlecam.org, and stay tuned later in 2024 for the documentary The Americas on NBC, which is the biggest nature documentary ever made, and Dr. Taylor and her team were part of the filming process.
If you buy her book from her website you'll get a signed copy, and all of the purchases made there help fund snake outreach, rescue and rehabilitation.
