7'-6" Rattler bites man in Morganton

Well today i was making my trip to my brothers Buisness to pick up a plastic order.Well as i pulled up in the lot i noticed two EMT trucks in the rear lot where my plastic is dropped off.As i pulled around my brother approached me to let me know one of their shop guys was unlocking there out building ( he is a machine engineer) to get some steel stock he was bitten on his ankle by a very large 7 1/2 foot western diamond back rattler.I quickly asked if they guy was ok followed by " wheres the snake?!! he pointed it out laying on the parking lot as another guy had killed the snake.I went to get a better look at the rattler and i "assumed it was a female due to the size it was HUGE ! ! ! ! ! it had 10 rattlers on its tail and a head like a gaboon viper and was almost as big as a 20oz drink bottle.It was a shame that the snake had to die but i understand the circumstances in its death was warranted. The shop guy last i heard was in critical but stable condition and was being watched closely and being given antivenom i didnt get to see him as he was already in the ambulance and they were leaving when i got there .My brother told me that he was already having difficulties breathing very shortly after the bite so no doubtthat it was a full envenomation(sp) i surely hope that he pulls through because judging from the size of this rattler im sure it packed a very serious punch.I will let you know what happens as i hear more on his status .we have had several copperhead bites in the area this year with two being in schools ( baby copperheads) this is the first rattler bite here this year and unfortunatly a very bad one .

On a another note just last week the NCFWL released over 100 georgia rattlers loos in the mountains to reduce the turkey population ( to eat the eggs ) so will be interesting to see what happens this year with hikers in the woods .. 200 rattlers in linville gorge is a LOT of snakes

I live in Dallas, NC and we have a lot of rattlers around here. I walked into my 2 yr. old daughters daycare last summer and the director of the daycare was standing with a clear plastice cup over a baby rattler in the hallway of the center!!! i asked what she was planning on doing with the snake which was still alive, and she said I dunno'. i lifted the cup up carefully and put the rim on the snakes neck and moved it back and forth until I seperated the head from the body. I felt bad for killing the snake but when it comes to my kid or the snake which one would you chose. The very next day I called in to work and found a different daycare.

It just really surprised me that the people who I am paying 150 dollars a week to make sure my child stays safe, didn't do anything to prevent the children from being harmed.

Anyway, i hope this guy pulls through. my thoughts and prayers go out to him and the family.

Kelly G.

Alan, did you mean Eastern Diamond Back Rattler? Kinda big and far east for a Western...

This occured in NC? A WDB?..was this an escape from someones collection?

After seeing my post i saw what i did ... i was in a hurry posting . it was a eastern DB it was quite the shame the snake had to die cause he/she was a "Beaut" nice light silvery/ green coloration with the big thick black zigzag bands. if i had been a little earlier i might could have saved the snake as i always keep my Extra long snake tongs in the suburban now that i live in the " hills" . I talked to one of the guys that work there after all this and he tells me he has many many rattlers around his house up on south mountain and invited me out there to do some hunting , he said i wouldnt have to hunt long to find them as he has lots of rock outcroppings in the ground and he has alrady seen 3-4 rattlers this yr basking on the rock and is sure they have a den there somewhere so i might head up there this weekend and see what i can muster up i wont be catching to keep any ( is allergic to antivenom) but would like to get some pictures of them .

Alan,I have a friend that lives in Concord(not sure how close that is to ya) that would more than willing to come help you move some of them.I'll send him a link to this thread so he can see.

There was NO REASON to kill the snake. It would not have bitten anyone else unless it was stepped on or harrassed, and foolishly attacking the animal is an invitation to more people being bitten. The proper thing to do would have been to call wildlife authorities and have an expert safely remove or relocate the snake. That is the safest thing to do for everyone on the scene, as well as the most humane course of action.

The concept of getting revenge on an animal just for defending itself is a remarkably stupid one. If you threaten to step on a fragile snake (deliberately or not), it will bite. If it doesn't defend itself, it will die - even a rattler that size would be severely injured, most likely with fatal results in the long term, by the full weight of a human stepping on it. So it is simply doing what normal wild animals do. Innocent wild animals should never be made to take the blame for humans who don't look where they are stepping in rattlesnake territory.

I think you mean it was a Timber rattller. Thats too far west for an Eastern and Timbers dont get quite that big. The zig zag is a sign of the Timbers.

Im not " upto snuff" on rattlers i will be getting a copy of the pictures sometime thursday and will post them here .All i know is it was a BEAUTIFUL snake.


Tanith ,

Iagree that the snake shouldnt have been killed , as i stated i would have been more then happy to have removed the snake from there property and relocated it around my area i live in a rather safe area for it to be relocated to as i live between the lake here and river and its all state parkland and no building will be done here for atleast 10 years.As i stated i havent kept any hots in 10 yrs but i do have the proper tools to safely remove them from harms way .I might look like the "tin Man" doing it lol as i have to be VERY careful cause a bite from anyofthem would probably be fatal since i am allergic to antivenom depending on the bite and or snake.So i have these reallll fashionable leg cuffs i wear when i know im going into "snake territory" or areas that may conceal the crafty lil weed layers . (stove pipe) i wear over my boots ... you laugh but it WORKS . im sure once the pics get posted you all to will have your heart drop cause minse sure did when i saw ( her)

I hope the guy recovers but there is probably more to this story...
Anyone who has spent time around EDB's or Canebrakes in the field knows that they are very even tempered and extremely difficult to piss off.
This guys either stepped on a snake that large without seeing it (unlikely) or he was fu**ing with it.

Kelly,
During your heroic effort to save the daycare by decapitating a baby pigmy rattlesnake with a dixie cup...did it ever occur to you that it might be safer to just sweep it into a garbage can with a broom and release it somewhere else?
You would have kept your hands at a safe distance from the snake while teaching the children that it's not always necessary to kill everything that you fear.