Rattlesnakes!

Indiana Jones and I have two things in common- We both prefer guns in a knife fight and we both hate snakes. In Montana, Idaho and Washington there is only one type of venomous snake. The Western Rattlesnake has a broad triangular shaped head, narrow neck with a thick body and has a rattle on their tail. They can reach sizes of up to 5 &frac12'² feet long and can strike at 2/3 their length (which means if the snake is three feet long it can strike you from two feet away).

Snakes avoid confrontation. They steer clear of humans as much as they can and when they do strike, it’s usually because they are caught off guard or feel threatened.

Snakes like rocks. They bask on outcroppings during the day (they are most active at 80-90F but can quickly die from heat stroke if they are exposed to 110F temps) and they hide from predators and rest in the shady rock crevasses. They also like tall grass and dense vegetation to hide and cool off when it’s hot. If you drop your hemostats in the rocks, you better double check those rocks for slithery critters.

What if you get bit?

While all rattlesnakes have venom not all rattlesnake bites are venomous. Sometimes they will "dry bite" (not release venom), but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Stay calm and seek medical attention right away. If possible, keep the affected bite below the heart. Don’t ever use a tourniquet or try to suck out the venom.

If you need to walk back to the car, do it slowly and take many breaks- the faster your heart rate is, the faster the venom will work through your body which is bad. Call 911 as soon as you can. 99% of rattlesnake bite victims fully recover if an anti-venom treatment is given within two hours.

Don’t let snakes get you down. If you see a snake, just go around it. They don’t see humans as prey so they aren’t going to follow and stalk you down just to bite you out of spite. 

Just be careful and don’t be dumb. Anti-venom runs about $1,000 per vial and takes at least 5-10 vials for a 'moderate’ treatment- not including any hospital time. Half of the rattlesnake bites in the country are from people who saw the rattlesnake but didn’t do anything to get away from it. Idiots.