My encounter with a snake...........

[Steph]

Yes, I screamed like the girl I am! I was going to unclip because I was coming up on a scary mound of dirt and I looked down and saw a snake striking at me! I don't know how I got unclipped, all I know is I dropped my bike on the snake and ran. My husband said he thought a bear was after me. We had to kill the snake because it kept going under my bike. It was very aggressive. I guess I would be too after getting ran over a couple of times. We were riding a neglected trail covered with leaves and rocks. Needless to say we hightailed it off of that trail! My husband was even freaked out and said every twig looked like a snake to him after that. I decided to do some research on snake bite first aid today. Believe it or not, I haven't really even thought about them in the two months we've been riding. The whole time I was praying for our safety and for me not to fall for a change. Well, I didn't fall off my bike and obtain a single bruise today and God protected me from getting bitten by an ankle eating reptile! BTW, we don't know what kind it is because it crawled away and died. Neither of us wanted to go pick it up or get close enough to see. It was gray with black diamond designs trimmed in a lighter color with no rattler. Very well camouflaged.

[chickwhorips]

wow! i'm glad your ok and nothing happened to you.

that is one thing i was afraid of when i lived in phoenix was snakes. took me forever to break the habit of looking on the ground here for them. now i make sure to look up and around for larger creatures.

wonder if nanci has any idea what kind of snake it was.... oh nanci....?

[Artisan]

Yikes, I would have screamed like a girl too! We go to an area that warns about alligators... I hope I never run across one, I wouldn't know what to do. We are going to start doing adventure racing next year, I think I'll join you on the research on snake bites first aid care, it could come in handy. I'm glad you did not get bitten.

[CyclChyk]

Steph, what state are you in? Could it have been a Diamondback? There are a few different "varieties" of this snake but it matches your description. They are not poisonous. Scary as all heck, and pack a mean bite tho.....

[fatbottomedgurl]

You RAN HIM OVER? Poor snake, I would snap too! We came up on a huge rattlesnake last week. Big around as my forearm and over 4' long. The business end of him was in the brush so we couldn't tell how big of a beast he was. Thankfully my friend in the lead stopped in time as we were on singletrack and no way to go around. We waited patiently for him to cross before we went on our way...

[rocknrollgirl]

YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

scream, run, throw the bike....

YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Nanci]

She said it didn't have a rattle, so it couldn't be a Diamondback Rattlesnake. (A lot of snakes _can_ rattle their tail even though they don't have a rattle, and do a very convincing rattler imitation!)

Could be a Grey Ratsnake, although they are not aggressive, or a Bullsnake. It is very unlikely that this was a venomous snake. It's probably better to wait for the snake to leave, or to remove it gently from the area with a long stick, than to kill it, which is likely illegal.

*****************

Snake venom poisoning first aid these days is wrap the bite lightly and get to a hospital for antivenin. Wrap with elastic bandage, (not tightly!) splint to immobilize, and rewrap the entire area.

Do not use a commercial snakebite kit- this only causes further damage. Do not cut open the wound and attempt to extract or suck out or squeeze out the venom. Do not ice the wound, although an icepack on the forehead may relieve the severe nausea that is often associated with venom poisoning. (This is relatively important if possible- the victim may otherwise vomit violently enough to start bleeding.)

Do not apply a tourniquet or attempt to cut off circulation.

Remove rings or shoes before swelling makes that difficult.

The great majority of the several thousand snakebites that occur in the US involve non-venomous snakes. All you need then is a tetanus shot. Because venomous snakes have control over whether or not they inject their toxins during a bite, envenomation doesn't always occur. 15% of the time in a bite from a pit viper (all poisonous snakes in the US except the Coral Snake) no venom is injected, and superficial envenomation is much more common than severe poisoning. Less than half of Coral Snake bites result in severe poisoning. Less than 1% of people who are bitten by a (native) venomous snake actually die.

From the moment venom enters the body it is almost instantly incorporated into the tissues surrounding its entry puncture. After more than a few seconds, it is no more removeable than ink dripped on a wet sponge. Because of this initial rapid bonding, most of the components of the toxin are no longer free to circulate, and beyond the general vicinity of the bite, they tend to disperse rather slowly throughout the rest of the body. The majority of the peptides and enzymes in the venom are there to predigest tissue, not to kill. This is very painful and can only be stopped by antivenin administered in a hospital.

Of the Florida poisonous snakes, no one has died from a Copperhead in the past ten years. 308 bites. Less than one person per year dies from a Cottonmouth bite. Pigmy Rattlers, like the Copperhead, do not have enough venom for a fatal dose to an adult. Timber Rattlers and Eastern Diamondback Rattlers both can deliver a lethal dose, though they almost never do. Diamondbacks are typically not aggressive. In a field study in Florida a biologist visited transmittered snakes 743 times, and was rattled at only nine times, and never struck at. The Coral Snake is shy and so nonaggressive that it poses no danger to humans if not handled. It can deliver a fatal dose of poison.

[Nanci]

Oh, and you don't need to kill the snake and bring it to the hospital with you- the antivenins they have now work on all pitviper venom, and the other kind of antivenin is for Coral Snakes.

The Antivenin Index, compiled by the Arizona Poison Center, has a list of all antivenins stored in the US, including foreign species. 24 hour number (602) 626-6016.

[CyclChyk]

I didn't mean a diamond back rattle snake, I meant a diamondback water snake. They are non poisonous, and not as brightly colored as rattlers but have the same color scheme Steph discribed.
http://herpcenter.ipfw.edu/index.htm...water_snake/&2

They are common in SEVERAL states which is why I asked Steph what state she lived in. And they do not exclusively stay in water.

[Steph]

We live in AL but were 30 minutes north in TN. We wouldn't have killed it but it was striking every time we got within 5 feet of my bike. Instead of running to the woods it would hide under my bike. I think it might have been that water snake CyclChyk posted a link too. I found some info that said they have a pretty nasty disposition.

[sarahkonamojo]

Part of a VERY long White Rim story BUT here goes abbreviated.

We needed to stash our bikes at the top of Horsethief for later retrieval. We didn't know when we'd be able to get the bikes. We did a pretty good job of hiding them way off among some rocks and locked to a scrubby juniper. While locking the bikes we noticed a snake rattling at us and moving away. Noted to self a snake lives here.

When we returned for the bikes a week later, the bikes where there as well as the snake! Same one not sure. They look the same to me in my ignorance. The snake had taken up residence between the bikes. When we approached he curled up between the tires and tried to wait us out. Jumping, yelling, and rock throwing didn't phase the snake. Eventually, we were able to push the snake out with some long (10') tarp poles we happened to have. Only then did the snake rattle as he crawled to his old favorite tree.

We were concerned about winning the Darwin Award, but we managed to retrieve the bikes and spare the snake.

sarah

[Nanci]

I'm pretty interested in the three water snakes we have in Florida. I'd sure like to have a shot at catching one, but the ones I see are always basking in water right at the edge of the creek/pool.

Lots of snakes can put on a great show to try to scare you off. The Hognose snake will flatten its head like a cobra and strike violently- but often with its mouth closed...

The Yellow Ratsnake is one that always manages to scare me off from a casual capture- they just go psycho! (They don'[t chase, just coil up and strike.)

[bcipam]

Sounds like a gopher snake (usually quite large, light beige with dark brown diamondback coloring). Big question; Why was it striking at you? Most snakes, even rattlers, are very non-agressive towards humans... did you run over it and wound it and it was hurt and scared? Are you sure you killed it - I would hate to see the snake crawl off severely wounded and left to die in pain (although it will tend become a good snack for an owl or raptor).

Sorry as you can tell I like snakes and hate to see even one injured. If you ride trail alot I would suggest you and your husband educate yourself in the local snakes and what to do when one is encountered. Most snakes are non-poisoness and will not harm humans (unless provoked). I do admit I'm not familiar with Southern snakes and it might been a poisoness snake that's not a rattler.

My best friend has a severe snake phobia so I understand how encountered one is frightening. We are working on her phobia and education is one way. Now that she is able to ID snakes, she doesn't freak out as much. Her fear of course is encountering a poisoness snake (ie a rattler) so now she knows most snakes we find are either gopher or king snakes, some rat snakes and racers. We seldom, if ever, see a rattler.

[salsabike]

I like 'em too.

[Steph]

Why was it striking at you?

I think my husband either ran over it or just startled it before I came along. I don't know if I ran on top of it or just landed right beside it because it happened so fast.

Are you sure you killed it

Pretty sure.

Sorry as you can tell I like snakes and hate to see even one injured.

I can't say I share your fondness, but I wouldn't want to hurt one either.
I didn't realize I was so afraid of snakes. I have handled them in zoos before. Maybe it was just the unexpectedness, not knowing if it was poisionous or not, and the striking that startled me so badly. We have been educating ourselves since yesterday and will better know how to handle the situation in the future. We wouldn't want to harm a snake unless necessary and didn't have a clue wether it was poisionous or not. Now we know better what to look for and how to respond. We both felt bad about it. Most trails we have ridden on are worn and clear,this one was not. I will think twice before I become so adventurous again!