Snake Stories

[Shearwater]

The day I got bitten by a rattlesnake.


As I spent a few weeks every year kayaking in Massasauga rattlesnake country, I'm quite familiar with their insect-like high pitched rattle.
It's a medium volume "zzzzzzzt" unlike the rattlesnakes heard when growing up in the prairies.

My usual kayak tripping partner, Doug Harvey, and I were camping in Georgian Bay's Bustard Islands.
It had been raining for most of this two-week long trip and was a bit cold.
Thinking that terrestrial snakes would be safely back in the scrub keeping dry,
I was not as careful as I usually am when hiking in rattlesnake country.
Rather, I spent too much attention looking down at water's edge trying to find water snakes. Big mistake!

Suddenly, I felt a finger-like flick on my foot about ankle level. I jumped back and, as I looked down,
a rather young and very pretty little Massasauga rattler started to rattle.
I was fiddling with my camera trying to get that perfect photo when it dawned on me,
did I just get bitten by a rattlesnake?!

I walked slowly back to camp and asked Doug to take a close look for a couple of small pin-pricks
about 1/4 to 1/2 inch apart parallel to the ground, maybe a little tiny drop of blood, maybe not.
He said that, as he didn't have his bifocals on, he really couldn't tell anything different from mosquito bites.

The Bustards have cell phone coverage (go figure), so I phoned my daughter Michelle
and asked her to Google Massasauga rattlesnake to get the low-down on bite symptoms.
The information she provided was invaluable.
(And yes, I should have been carrying the info with me.)
Had we been near or able to get to a medical facility quickly, we would have gone straight there.
However, a rescue for me would have been either by speed-boat or helicopter so,
as I was wearing heavy wool socks with longjohns, tight-weave pants and rain pants and
since about 1/3 of Massasauga rattler bites are dry, I decided to take a wait and see approach.

In retrospect, this was a very dumb move. I was very lucky and should have contacted 911.
Had this been an envenomated bite, I could have been in deep trouble.
While waiting and keeping a close eye on the possible bite area,
Doug and I worked on evacuation plans and getting our kayaks and gear back to the put-in.
About a 1/2 hour later, my heart finally started to calm down. As nothing seemed untowards,
I called this as a tag rather than a bite.

I waited a full 2 hours before breaking out the black rum.
A little pour on the ground to thank the powers that be
and a big pour for me so I could salute and apologize to my cute little friend for scaring her.

 

[Bob B.]

Ummm … dang! That is some scary stuff.

 

[Mason]

My wife and I thought about moving to NC or TN, but the water moccasins and copperheads put and end to that to that thought.

Here in Montana, snakes aren't a problem. But we have grizzlies, cougar, wolves and Californians.

 

[Waterspyder]

Lots of snake stories.
First one when I was about 12 years old. My friend Marty and I were into muskrat trapping and Marty went to pick up what he thought was a muskrat by the tail. Turned out to be a water snake and Marty froze as the snake tired to get free with me yelling just drop the dam snake.
Second was hiking the Long Trail in Vermont. As I was walking a rattle snake went by my foot while being chased by a bird. I yelled my friend came running back to see what was wrong and the first thing I said was the bird saved my life.
Third - hiking up to Lions Head in CT. having read about rattle snakes in the area and not very fond of snakes. Might have been 15 to 20 foot onto the trail when a garter snake goes across the trail. That was it for me the rest of the hike I spent more time looking out for snakes than enjoying the hike.
Example four. I have a garter snake den in my front yard where they spend the winter. Every spring while raking and picking up leaves I'm bound to reach down to pick up some leaves and end up finding a snake. Being the brave he-man that I am I always jump back and almost die of a heart attack as harmless snake heads for cover.

 

[memaquay]

Not canoe related, but when I was around 20, me and my pal rented a house, the basement was full of creepy crawlers, spiders and mice. After too many brews one day (Alexander Keith's, I was in Nova Scotia at the time), we caught a couple of gardener snakes and put them in the basement. Over the next couple of months, they were doing a pretty good job of pest control. Then our furnace crapped out, and we had the furnace guy come in. Of course we had mostly forgotten about the snakes by then. He came running up the stairs, white as a ghost and said "Hey you've got snakes down there". He wouldn't fix the furnace till we removed our little friends. Of course, if it had happened in current times, he could have pulled a Samel L Jackson and told us to get those mutha bleeping snakes out of the mutha bleeping basement.

 

[alsg]

The day I got bitten by a rattlesnake.
View attachment 134273

As I spent a few weeks every year kayaking in Massasauga rattlesnake country, I'm quite familiar with their insect-like high pitched rattle.
It's a medium volume "zzzzzzzt" unlike the rattlesnakes heard when growing up in the prairies.

My usual kayak tripping partner, Doug Harvey, and I were camping in Georgian Bay's Bustard Islands.
It had been raining for most of this two-week long trip and was a bit cold.
Thinking that terrestrial snakes would be safely back in the scrub keeping dry,
I was not as careful as I usually am when hiking in rattlesnake country.
Rather, I spent too much attention looking down at water's edge trying to find water snakes. Big mistake!

Suddenly, I felt a finger-like flick on my foot about ankle level. I jumped back and, as I looked down,
a rather young and very pretty little Massasauga rattler started to rattle.
I was fiddling with my camera trying to get that perfect photo when it dawned on me,
did I just get bitten by a rattlesnake?!

I walked slowly back to camp and asked Doug to take a close look for a couple of small pin-pricks
about 1/4 to 1/2 inch apart parallel to the ground, maybe a little tiny drop of blood, maybe not.
He said that, as he didn't have his bifocals on, he really couldn't tell anything different from mosquito bites.

The Bustards have cell phone coverage (go figure), so I phoned my daughter Michelle
and asked her to Google Massasauga rattlesnake to get the low-down on bite symptoms.
The information she provided was invaluable.
(And yes, I should have been carrying the info with me.)
Had we been near or able to get to a medical facility quickly, we would have gone straight there.
However, a rescue for me would have been either by speed-boat or helicopter so,
as I was wearing heavy wool socks with longjohns, tight-weave pants and rain pants and
since about 1/3 of Massasauga rattler bites are dry, I decided to take a wait and see approach.

In retrospect, this was a very dumb move. I was very lucky and should have contacted 911.
Had this been an envenomated bite, I could have been in deep trouble.
While waiting and keeping a close eye on the possible bite area,
Doug and I worked on evacuation plans and getting our kayaks and gear back to the put-in.
About a 1/2 hour later, my heart finally started to calm down. As nothing seemed untowards,
I called this as a tag rather than a bite.

I waited a full 2 hours before breaking out the black rum.
A little pour on the ground to thank the powers that be
and a big pour for me so I could salute and apologize to my cute little friend for scaring her.

This is horrifying! (Not the snake bite; I'm referring to the fact that this was a kayak trip.)

 

[yellowcanoe]

This is horrifying! (Not the snake bite; I'm referring to the fact that this was a kayak trip

I for one are sick and tired of the name calling.. The Bustards are kayak territory. You take a canoe out there and you better pray your rabbit's foot is with you.

 

[scoutergriz]

We see snakes frequently, Eastern Garters and Butler's Garters, and usually warming themselves in the autumn sunshine. Garter snakes are common around here. I/we have encountered Northern Watersnakes on canoe trips, as they are idly swimming by our canoe or campsite minding their own business. Which is fine by me. Always amazed how easily they move through their watery environment.

Yup, I honestly can't remember a canoe or backpacking trip where I haven't seen one of them, watersnakes especially seem to love to sun themselves on the rocks near portages. I've also had the pleasure of seeing several massassauga rattlers, every time it was near water and tried to get away from us.
In Ontario it's actually a protected species and killing one can cost up to$250,000 and/or a year in jail...

The Pursuit of Rattlesnakes

on the Bruce to dispel myths about the maligned Massasauga rattlesnake.

ontarionature.org

 

[Odyssey]

We once came across a large garter on the trailside. At first I thought it was dead, but saw it struggle to get away as I leaned in for a closer look. A length of intestine had escaped from a small wound on its belly. Either it had been trod on or attacked, in any case it seemed worth rescuing. I rinsed it with water and gingerly tucked the guts back in. We didn't see it anywhere in the grass where I'd left it when we returned a couple hours later. It's a tough wild world.
I/we seldom are in rattlesnake country. I wonder how their world is changing, given other species see shrinking habitat and expanding range?

 

[scoutergriz]

The day I got bitten by a rattlesnake.
View attachment 134273

As I spent a few weeks every year kayaking in Massasauga rattlesnake country, I'm quite familiar with their insect-like high pitched rattle.
It's a medium volume "zzzzzzzt" unlike the rattlesnakes heard when growing up in the prairies.

My usual kayak tripping partner, Doug Harvey, and I were camping in Georgian Bay's Bustard Islands.
It had been raining for most of this two-week long trip and was a bit cold.
Thinking that terrestrial snakes would be safely back in the scrub keeping dry,
I was not as careful as I usually am when hiking in rattlesnake country.
Rather, I spent too much attention looking down at water's edge trying to find water snakes. Big mistake!

Suddenly, I felt a finger-like flick on my foot about ankle level. I jumped back and, as I looked down,
a rather young and very pretty little Massasauga rattler started to rattle.
I was fiddling with my camera trying to get that perfect photo when it dawned on me,
did I just get bitten by a rattlesnake?!

I walked slowly back to camp and asked Doug to take a close look for a couple of small pin-pricks
about 1/4 to 1/2 inch apart parallel to the ground, maybe a little tiny drop of blood, maybe not.
He said that, as he didn't have his bifocals on, he really couldn't tell anything different from mosquito bites.

The Bustards have cell phone coverage (go figure), so I phoned my daughter Michelle
and asked her to Google Massasauga rattlesnake to get the low-down on bite symptoms.
The information she provided was invaluable.
(And yes, I should have been carrying the info with me.)
Had we been near or able to get to a medical facility quickly, we would have gone straight there.
However, a rescue for me would have been either by speed-boat or helicopter so,
as I was wearing heavy wool socks with longjohns, tight-weave pants and rain pants and
since about 1/3 of Massasauga rattler bites are dry, I decided to take a wait and see approach.

In retrospect, this was a very dumb move. I was very lucky and should have contacted 911.
Had this been an envenomated bite, I could have been in deep trouble.
While waiting and keeping a close eye on the possible bite area,
Doug and I worked on evacuation plans and getting our kayaks and gear back to the put-in.
About a 1/2 hour later, my heart finally started to calm down. As nothing seemed untowards,
I called this as a tag rather than a bite.

I waited a full 2 hours before breaking out the black rum.
A little pour on the ground to thank the powers that be
and a big pour for me so I could salute and apologize to my cute little friend for scaring her.

more often than not, massassauga defensive bites are dry because it takes a lot of energy to produce venom and they save it for prey. if the first strike doesn't make you move the second bite will surely have venom...
when I worked doing land restoration in the Bruce, I got tagged twice, luckily they were both dry. one of our guys got a wet bite and the first thing to show up was massive swelling and blisters, the swelling literally started within minutes and is usually a good indicator of a wet strike. Fortunately Massassauga bites are rarely fatal, his symptoms were mild enough that he got no anti-venom, spent a night in hospital, and had what he describes as the "worst flu ever" for about a week, the only mark left after a year or so was actually from the blisters which got infected and needed debridement.

 

[Shearwater]

I just love having staring contests with water snakes. But they usually win!

 

[Sweetfancymoses]

Most of the snakes we encounter while canoeing are water snakes, as seems to be be the pattern in this thread so far. For flavor, I'll post this photo of a milk snake which we encountered in the garage of a cabin we stayed at. We were getting some firewood and I lifted up a flat piece that seemed ideal for splitting into kindling when we encountered this fellow underneath. By reputation, milk snakes are "friendly", as was this one.

Below is a baby ring neck snake on our door mat. You can tell by the fibers how small Junior was.


I can't find the photo of a coiled up water snake at the edge of a creek we came across once. It had a leaf stuck to the back of it's head which made it look like a cobra.

Otherwise, most snake encounters in my neck of the woods involve garter snakes and black rat snakes which also rattle when agitated. I walked through a thicket once and and came eye to eye with the complete skin (including corneas) of a six foot snake.

 

[Marten]

Being from northern IL snakes are not usually on my radar. Years ago down in the Everglades I left my wife at a visitor center and went out for a long run on the wide and bright shoulder of the highway. About three miles out with my cardiovascular system pumping near max from a good pace and a warm sunny day I suddenly heard a rattlesnake. Now I had never been near a rattlesnake before but had watched enough " Rifleman" with Lucas and Mark that I knew it was a rattler. By the time it all registered I was several strides further on. I spun around to see this immensely thick Rattlesnake coiled and still rattling. I do not think I ran again until safely back in IL.

 

[stripperguy]

I like seeing snakes, they're pretty cool IMHO. Still waiting for my first sighting of a rattler...
Saw this guy along the trail (old road really) to Boreas Ponds (ADK's).
It's got some sort of lump part way down it's body, maybe a tumor.

 

[Alasgun]

Look like a well fed snake to me!

 

[scoutergriz]

I like seeing snakes, they're pretty cool IMHO. Still waiting for my first sighting of a rattler...
Saw this guy along the trail (old road really) to Boreas Ponds (ADK's).
It's got some sort of lump part way down it's body, maybe a tumor.

that tumor's probably furry and rat shaped...

 

[ppine]

I went to forestry school with a guy from Mississippi. He told the story several times about the time a water moccasin, fell out of a tree and landed in his aluminum canoe. He tried to push the snake out of the boat with his paddle but the snake bit him on the calf and chewed on him for awhile before he could get rid of it. He was pretty sick for about a week but recovered. It was obvious that is was a traumatic experience that still bothered him.

 

[alsg]

I've heard several stories about snakes "falling" out of trees into canoes. It seems odd to me. I have a hard time imagining snakes are hitching rides in canoes on purpose. And I have an equally hard time believing snakes are clumsy and prone to falling out of trees. And even if they were clumsy, why does it seem there is always a convenient (or inconvenient) canoe passing right underneath to catch the falling snake? Don't get me wrong, I believe the stories of snakes landing in canoes are true. But rather than snakes falling out of the trees, my suspicion is that these are instances of low overhanging branches where the paddler doesn't see the snake and brushes/pushes through the branches, knocking the snake out of the tree and into the canoe and pissing off the snake in the process.

 

[scoutergriz]

I've heard several stories about snakes "falling" out of trees into canoes. It seems odd to me. I have a hard time imagining snakes are hitching rides in canoes on purpose. And I have an equally hard time believing snakes are clumsy and prone to falling out of trees. And even if they were clumsy, why does it seem there is always a convenient (or inconvenient) canoe passing right underneath to catch the falling snake? Don't get me wrong, I believe the stories of snakes landing in canoes are true. But rather than snakes falling out of the trees, my suspicion is that these are instances of low overhanging branches where the paddler doesn't see the snake and brushes/pushes through the branches, knocking the snake out of the tree and into the canoe and pissing off the snake in the process.

snakes commonly fall out of trees, and most don't land in canoes. Many that do were probably watching the paddlers to see if they're a threat and over- extended or over- balanced.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I've never had snakes fall from above into my canoe, but when I used to sea kayak in the ocean, the raining down of those Chinese weather balloon fragments was annoying.