Admin nuggethunting Posted February 18, 2016 Admin Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 Here is a short article from CBS 5 online on Rattlesnakes - Quote PHOENIX (KPHO/KTVK) - If our record-warm spring days have been coaxing you out of your winter fog, you're not alone. "Really, the desert comes alive when the temperatures warm up," Daniel Marchand of the Phoenix Herpetological Society said. It may only be February, but try telling that to the rattlesnakes that are waking up from hibernation. "They don't know it's February. They don't understand a calendar. They just see that it's warm," Marchand said. All it takes is a week of temperatures in the 80s for the snakes to come out. "They’ve been in the ground for months so they are hungry and they are out on the prowl, looking for food," Marchand said. Arizona is home to 15 different species of rattlesnakes, and several of them can be found right here in Phoenix. "If you hear one or see one we want you to take one step away," Marchand said. A rattlesnake's strike range is up to half its body length, so if you are out gardening or cleaning up your yard, be on guard. "Don't put your hands and feet out in something if you can't see where they are going," Marchand advised. Hikers need to be aware, as well. "Stay on the trail as you are hiking because snakes hide in the bushes and on the side of rocks," David Metzeler, a park ranger for the City of Phoenix, said. "Don't poke at the snake. Don't kick the snake. And don't try and take a selfie with the snake." The rattle is your warning, but if you don't heed that warning and get bit, there are some things you need to know. "Don’t put anything around the hand that will restrict blood flow to the hand," Marchand said. "Snakebites today are very survivable. We just have to get you to the hospital in a reasonable amount of time." Copyright 2016 KPHO/KTVK (KPHO Broadcasting Corporation). All rights reserved. Read more: http://www.cbs5az.com/story/31239052/rattlesnakes-come-out-of-hibernation-early#ixzz40UCzfF40 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldies1955 Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 Dern it...all too soon! I hate those things. I always wear snake gators even in the winter. Keeps the stickers off and the knee pad up Tom H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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