We found a baby rattle snake in our yard, are there more nearby?

Question

My husband was just walking out the front door, down the steps...whoa!.....It was right there. Right at the bottom of the step. Praticaly knocking on our front door! He killed it with a shovel before he told me.....but now...I am all FREAKED OUT!!! We have 3 small boys who love playing outside. Am I paranoid or what?

Answer 1

Our kids grew up in rattlesnake country! We see them often. It is easy to mistake a gopher snake for a rattlesnake so make sure you know your snakes. I think you can count on seeing more. You need to teach your boys not to touch a snake, but to come tell Mommy or Daddy right away when they see one. We also have bears and mountain lions in our area. We just supervised the kids and we had rules about going outside at dawn and dusk. We called it "mountain lion time" which meant...play inside!

We try not to kill rattlesnakes as they do help keep the rodent population under control, but I can understand your husbands actions as he was only trying to protect his family!! We are fortunate to have a wildlife group in our area that will actually come to homes and remove snakes and relocate them further out in the canyon. We just put a bucket over the snake and make the call. You might take a look in your yellow pages for wildlife rescue or rattesnake removal. Good luck and enjoy those boys!

Answer 2

most likely there are some more nearby..i would just call someone to go and remove them

Answer 3

YAH thats what that means!!! Put out some poison or somethin!!!

Answer 4

Yes there are more not too far away.

if you have a fence, then i'd suggest getting a yard dog.

i'd also suggest getting a anti-venom kit for rattlesnakes, in the REMOTE chance you will ever need it.

P.S. it is NOT illegal to kill a rattlesnake or any snake that is on your property.

Answer 5

Try to calm down.  Snakes are an important part of the natural environment.  Without them we'd be overrun by mice and rats.  They're way more scared of you than you are of them.  They will not hunt you down, or your kids.  If they can, they will get out of your way.  Tell your kids to be careful where they put their feet and hands.  If a snake is surprised and feels threatened, it may bite.  Otherwise, if you come across one, just calmly back away and the snake will do the same.

Answer 6

yes.

Answer 7

don't kill them that illegal you could be arrested and prosecuted call a reptile specialist to remove them but yes there are more around don't kill them you could pay a hefty fine for that.  

Answer 8

The first thing to do is to be sure that hubby actually killed a rattlesnake. It's funny that whenever somebody calls in a report of a snake, it is always a venomous one -- until a herpetologist actually gets a look at it and tells the caller that the snake is a water snake or king snake or DeKay's snake -- something that is non-venomous. Look at the tail. Was there a button (the start of the rattle) on the end? Look at the head. There are nostrils in all snakes but rattlers have an extra pair of pits that they use to sense heat. If there was neither button nor naso-labial pits, it was not a rattler and your family is safe (except that you are allowed to rag your husband just a little.

Answer 9

Boy, everyone is all over the scale for this answer.  And it's easy to see why.

It presents many moral dilemmas.

But, they are all right, too.  It's hard to address this as a reptile hobbyist, and also as a mother.

But, it IS illegal to kill them.  If you saw one baby... there are more.  Trouble is - if there is a food source for them, they will linger.

Trouble with baby venomous snakes is - they are more dangerous than adults.  They haven't learned to meter out the venom they deliver in a defensive strike, and just let loose with all they have.

So, I'll have to add my vote to calling animal control and asking what your options are.  They may give you permission to kill the reptiles (I hate to even suggest this, but I understand kids in the yard).  I was given permission years ago to shoot tame dogs (yes, kids pets) which were shredding and killing my domestic rabbits.

There's never an easy solution (I expect the hate mail), and no matter what you do - you'll gather a group of supporters, and a group of disapprovers.

The snakes serve a purpose in the environment.  But sometimes - it does become a matter of wrong place, and wrong time.

If I had to choose between letting the snakes live, and risking my child being bitten?  Hands down - the snakes would lose.

Call animal control.  That's where you need to start, and make your decision from there after you talk to informed state officials.

Unless things have really changed since I dealt with animal control - they will be on the side of upholding the Federal strictures.

Good luck with this mess.  I wish I had a more reassuring answer for you.

**additional post.  I just came back and read the other answers here.  Some were removed.  You can't tell a kid to be careful... he could just pick up a sand bucket, and wham - the snake shoots out and nails him.  They blend into the surrounds, not to mention they hide.  Every toy becomes suspect.  I truly do understand both sides of this issue.