Talk:Rattlesnake

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==Number of species==cool man rattle snakes The article says there are 50 species of rattlesnake but the sidebar says there are only 27. Any clue which is the correct number? Cryo921 10:05, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

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[edit] Sucking the poison

In many American films and television shows, particularly those with the setting of the "old west" that a person that has been bit by a poisonous snake, particularly a rattler, could have the venom "sucked out" of the wound. One particularly notable scene occurs in "Lightning Jack" where Paul Hogan gets a nip in the butt, and needs certain attention. Anyways, is there any merit to this mentality, and would mention of it in regards to treatment be pertinent to the article? I'm particularly fond of the warnings and precautions in this article, and think that the common idea of the ability to suck out the venom ough to be approached, whether in favor or not. Kingerik 17:41, 19 November 2005 (UTC)

I stand corrected. Department of Health and services from 3 different states lists "sucking the poison" as a first aid measure. "Venom is a protein and can be taken orally with no ill effects." --Surreal 12:31, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Sporting goods stores also sell an inexpensive device that resembles a suction cup for removing rattlesnake venom. Durova 20:33, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

Using a suction device for "sucking the poison" is a good first aid measure. But you do not want venom in your mouth. If I am not mistaken, the skin under your tongue is very good at absorbing chemicals into the blood stream (which is why nitro can be administered that way). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.196.221.79 (talk) 21:23, August 29, 2007 (UTC)

I recall reading the concern about orally removing the poison was if you had a cut on your lip, or mouth, you could be in trouble. Jokem (talk) 13:38, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Wiki Question

After searching and reading a few separate articles on rattlesnake species I noticed they all have the same category, pit vipers. When I searched the cat list for rattlesnake i came up short, but I did find a category for "rat snakes". I'm new here and don't know about guidelines for categories (or how they should be created/used). But should there be a rattlesnake cattegory to fit the various species that have existing articles? Surreal 1/10/06

Well, I added the category- after reading up on as much info as I could find. If I made a mistake please leave me a message explaining it. Some categories/sub cats confuse me a little.


=I have a question. The area I live in is the mountains of Tennessee called the Cumberland Plateau. We have rattlesnakes here and my brother was bitten by one many years ago. My question is about the possible length of a full-grown rattlesnake. I see only one reference to size on your site. Could a rattlesnake grow to be 15ft in length? I was told "NO". I do not think this is true. Please reply to this site or contact me at cyndisherrill@frontiernet.net. Thank you

[edit] Amazing.

I started reformatting the article in a word processor and I really didn't think it required such an overhaul until I started making changes. That will teach me to read more carefully. The tag is definitely warranted. There plenty of factual errors as well as structural problems... I removed some redundant information and kept all the facts I was unsure of. The information on "safety" concerns me because I'm not sure if it’s pertinent to the article-- though it’s informative and useful. I placed my edit here: User:Surreal/New Rattlesnake Edit because I realize a lot of time and work has been put into the article and I didn't want to tyrannically stamp my version over it. Please critique and let me know if I should replace it. --Surreal 10:58, 18 February 2006 (UTC)

  • I think you need to be bolder - that's a good edit, and as it's not likely to be controversial, you should just make that edit to the article. One thing, though: why did you capitalize "Rattlesnake" every time? rspeer / ɹəədsɹ 16:55, 13 April 2006 (UTC)
Good point. Reverting isn't all that difficult. Thanks for the reassurance. I'm going to work on it again when I get the chance and make the swamp. As for naming; I realize there's no consensus and much debate over the capitalization of fauna. I made an inquiry some time ago and was directed here: [Wikipedia talk:Naming conventions (fauna)].
Personally, I don't feel its important if fauna is capatilized or not (I prefer it capitalized though; aesthetically matching article names). But I constantly find pages that do BOTH. When editing I usually adhere to the majority of instances within the individual article. I have no objection to anyone making it lowercase if they want to take the time to change all the instances in any article. --Surreal 22:30, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
Appears the article has been worked on and greatly improved already. Ah, well.

[edit] RfC

I changed the phrasing in my section about safety per Wikipedia:Avoid weasel words. All rattlesnakes are pit vipers and all pit vipers have diamond-shaped heads. Therefore the shape of the head is a true sign that a snake is poisonous. Durova 20:12, 4 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Regions?

This article needs to say a bit more about where rattlesnakes occur than simply mentioning that they are New World snakes. Arbitrary username 20:58, 14 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "Rattler"

If, as I suspect, "rattler" is slang, then it should be mentioned once as a slang term, and thereafter avoided. 80.229.160.150 22:40, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Hibernation Question

Do rattlesnakes in the American Southwest hibernate in winter?

[edit] Taste?

Personally, I didn't think it tasted anything like chicken; it was more like a very meaty fish. I'm tempted to add a comment to this effect, but I'd rather have a source, so if anyone knows of any cookbooks that address the flavor of rattlesnake, please add a reference. JdwNYC 00:17, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] The "Diamond-shaped" Head Fallacy

The above statement (RfC) is one of the most common misconceptions regarding snakes and is completely erroneous. It belongs in folklore rather than an encyclopedia. I have been studying reptiles for over 30 years and am familiar with many species of snake with straight heads that are highly venomous and visa-versa. In fact, I have a pet python that has a "diamond-shaped" head, as do most members of Boidae and Pythoninae, and is completely harmless. Please do some research and edit your article accordingly. 125.225.23.136 09:28, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

WP:SOFIXIT. Make sure to cite sources other than yourself that are reliable (given the issues noted above...), though. (hopefully I'm not talking to someone long gone by now) --Thinboy00 @114, i.e. 01:44, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Habitat?

I came upon the article hoping to learn more about rattlesnake habitat for a children's book that I am working on. In particular, I was hoping to learn if rattle snakes ever live in holes. Having grown up in Montana, I have seen my share of "rattlers." I found most of them under rocks, or sunning themselves in the middle of footpaths (Yikes!), but sometimes I would come across an old gopher hole and wonder if a rattlesnake might like to camp out in there too. So a section on habitat would be greatly appreciated!

[edit] Disambiguation

This page needs a link to a disambiguation of all the different kinds of rattlesnakes and locations with Rattlesnake in the name. I'll try to get to it later. Oh Snap 17:01, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Rattle less?

I saw a promo for a National Geographic program that said that rattlesnakes are less likely to rattle now because of our selective killing of ones that do rattle. If that is correct, could it be in the article? Bubba73 (talk), 02:41, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

That sounds like pure speculation, and I would avoid adding it until it's published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. Mokele 03:19, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

Quoting from the National Geographic show "but now there are signs that some may be evolving into more deadky forms, with accidental help from us". But I'll leave it there. Bubba73 (talk), 04:15, 22 November 2007 (UTC)
Corey Fincher from Oklahoma State Univ. was the person on the show, but I couldn't find any publications on it. Bubba73 (talk), 05:03, 22 November 2007 (UTC)
Probably just in preliminary stages, then. I'd avoid citing it until the publication comes out. The hypothesis is plausible, though I remain skeptical, but sometimes controlled experiments will reveal that there's really nothing there. Null results are frustrating, but happen. Mokele (talk) 05:57, 22 November 2007 (UTC)
What was shown on the show was definitely not a good controlled experiment. Bubba73 (talk), 05:59, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Predators

Kingsnakes are immune or resistant to the venom. Are any of the other rattlesnake predators like that? Anyone knowlegable enough to comment? Also, it would be nice if someone would go into detail about why the Kingsnake is immune. Jokem (talk) 13:42, 3 April 2008 (UTC)