Thirty species and subspecies of rattlesnakes occur in the United States, more than half of this number being found in the Southwest. Because they have been killed on sight for years, their numbers have been considerably reduced in densely populated areas. For this reason, together with emphasis placed upon their poisonous characteristics by some writers of western thriller fiction, rattlesnakes are considered by many people to be a serious menace in the thinly populated portions of the arid West[8].

Where rattlesnakes are found

In the hot desert regions of the Southwest rattlesnakes are usually abroad at night during the summer months, as they have no controlling system for body temperature and cannot endure the heat at ground surface during the hours of sunlight. In spring and autumn they may be encountered in the daytime but during December, January, and February they are in hibernation and are rarely or never seen.

Their food consists principally of lizards and small rodents such as ground squirrels, rats, mice, pocket gophers and young rabbits. They are sometimes found along irrigation canal banks where they go for water, and because they find rodents congregating there for the same reason. Unless surprised, cornered, teased, handled, or injured, a rattlesnake usually will try to remain hidden or will endeavor to crawl away rather than strike. Because they are attracted to places where small rodents abound, they are sometimes encountered around barns and outbuildings. They occasionally enter abandoned structures in search of food or to escape from the heat of the sun.

Protective clothing

Because a rattlesnake may be met at almost any time, except during the winter months, by a person who lives, works, or visits in the desert, he should be ever alert. If hiking or climbing through country where rattlesnakes are known to be abundant, he should wear clothing that will protect him from a possible bite.

Pope[9] states that records kept during 1928 and 1929 show that 98 per cent of snake bites occurred below the knee or on the hand or forearm. When in snake country, the hiker should wear knee-high boots or leggings, and should never place his hand on a rock or ledge above the level of his eyes. In other words, watch your step, and look before you reach! Apparently rattlesnakes may strike at a quick movement and are very sensitive to the body warmth of a nearby warm-blooded creature.

Rattlesnake relatives

Rattlesnakes belong to the group known as the pit vipers, which includes the cottonmouths and the copperheads. The latter do not occur in the desert, so they do not come within the province of this publication. Snakes of the pit viper group are characterized by a noticeable depression, or pit, found almost halfway between the eye and the nostril, but slightly lower, on each side of the head.

Of the several species found in the desert, some, such as the western diamondback rattlesnake have a wide range, while others are restricted to limited areas. Some species attain large size, while others are quite small; some are inclined to be pugnacious, while others are more or less docile. All are dangerous!

It is not within the scope of this publication to enter into a discussion of the many species, so the reader who wishes to pursue that subject further is referred to Klauber’s publication on the rattlesnakes[10].

The Sidewinder

There is one rattlesnake of the desert that should be especially mentioned: the sidewinder, or the little horned rattlesnake. It is called sidewinder because of the peculiar method of locomotion that enables it to progress in the sandy habitat which it frequents. Unable to get sufficient traction in loose sand by moving as other snakes do, it throws a portion of its body ahead as a loop, thus serving to anchor or pull the rest of the body ahead. Thus it progresses sideways in a looping, or winding, motion most interesting to observe.

Although the term sidewinder is often used loosely in referring to other species of rattlesnakes, it actually applies only to this particular species—Crotalus cerastes.

Helpful precautions

In snake country, it is important to take a flashlight along whenever there is occasion to go outside at night in summer to be sure that there are no rattlesnakes lying across your path. If you sleep out of doors. keep your bed off the ground if possible. The widely believed statement that, “a rattlesnake will not crawl across a hair rope” is not true, although such a statement will often precipitate an argument.

Persons much in the field should provide themselves with a suction-type snakebite kit, and should know how to use it. Although you stand 200 chances of being killed by an automobile to one of dying from snakebite, the price of a suction-type kit is cheap insurance against that possibility.

First aid for rattlesnake bite

If, in spite of all precautions, you or some companion should be bitten by a rattlesnake, first-aid should be rendered at once. This is not difficult if you have a snakebite kit, and it is possible even if you do not.

The following steps are quite universally accepted:

1. Apply a tourniquet a short distance above the bite (that is between it and the heart) but do not make it too tight. This prevents the blood and lymph carrying the poison from being spread rapidly through the body. The tourniquet should be loosened for a few seconds every 20 minutes.

2. Make a short cut about one-fourth inch deep and one-fourth inch long near each fang puncture with a sharp, sterile instrument. A knife or razor blade sterilized in the flame of a match will do.

3. Apply suction to the cuts. If no suction cup is available, the mouth will do if it contains no open sores.

4. If antivenin is available, administer it according to instructions, but, if possible, this should be left to a physician. (Recent experiments with antivenin indicate that, in some cases, its reaction may be harmful and that it should be administered only under the care of a physician.)

5. Get the patient to medical help as soon as possible, continuing the first-aid treatment enroute. Keep the patient quiet and do not let him get frightened or excited. Rather than require the patient to walk or otherwise exercise, medical aid should be brought to him.

6. If medical help is not available, and if Epsom salts can be obtained, apply cloths soaked in a strong, hot solution of Epsom salts over the cuts. The sucking, however, should be continued for at least half an hour, preferably for an hour or more. Never give alcoholic stimulants or use permanganate of potash. Snakebite kits give complete instructions; follow them carefully.

1. Poison gland.

2. Hollow fang.

3. Poison duct.

4. Constrictor muscle.

5. Eye.

6. Nasal opening.

7. Pouch enclosing fangs (not shown in drawing).

8. Tongue.