Foo - Idn't he cute!!

I took this pic on a recent mtn bike ride (I think it was on Oct 21) which is pretty late for these guys to still be out and about.

He was only about 12" long and maybe 3/4" in diameter at his fattest. Looked healthy and well fed for a 1st year baby. He was in the middle of a fire road trail and we "tickled" him with a long grass stem (about 24" long) to get him to move into the brush and off the road after taking his pic.* The "rocks" in the pic are about the size of fish-tank gravel.

*Note: No critters were harmed in the taking of this photograph or afterward either.

That's pretty cool. I've never seen one out in nature. Probably just as well. When it came to snakes, it's almost as though I was born without fear. Healthy respect is intact, but that wouldn't have sent me screaming.

That's pretty cool. I've never seen one out in nature. Probably just as well. When it came to snakes, it's almost as though I was born without fear. Healthy respect is intact, but that wouldn't have sent me screaming.

Me too.....................high plces are another story

Cute snake

Wow, what a beautiful snake!

You might think me cruel, and in this regard you might be right, but I can't say I would have done the same.

Not a fan of reptiles for the most part.

He's very cute!!

Thanks for sharing!

rob, thats awesome!

is it poisonous?

is it poisonous?

This is a pet peeve of mine, snakes are not *poisonous.* In this case, it's a venomous snake.

is it venomous?

oh you already answered.

Yeah, venomous...beautiful though, eh? I actually like reptiles, spiders not so much though. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotalus_atrox

Seeing as the OP is in California, I'm guessing it's the Western style of the species.

Snakes are one of my current obsessions hehe. Yea that looks poisonous. The only snake I've seen on a bike ride was a road killed one though...

You might think me cruel, and in this regard you might be right, but I can't say I would have done the same.

Not a fan of reptiles for the most part.

I am also not a "fan" of reptiles. However, I do have a very healthy respect for life and nature and do not kill or destroy without cause or need. (Yes, I have caught and eaten my own dinner on occasion which also includes fish and things with soft brown eyes.)

So, anyway, my trail buddy and I just moved the lil guy into a safer place as this particular trail is highly traveled by some who don't look at what's ahead or care if they hit something. (Some of these wiseacres even leave the cattle pasture gates open even though you don't have to go through the gates at all. :troll: )

Snakes are one of my current obsessions hehe. Yea that looks poisonous. The only snake I've seen on a bike ride was a road killed one though...

Repeat after me: VEH-NEH-MUS.

I am also not a "fan" of reptiles. However, I do have a very healthy respect for life and nature and do not kill or destroy without cause or need. (Yes, I have caught and eaten my own dinner on occasion which also includes fish and things with soft brown eyes.)

So, anyway, my trail buddy and I just moved the lil guy into a safer place as this particular trail is highly traveled by some who don't look at what's ahead or care if they hit something. (Some of these wiseacres even leave the cattle pasture gates open even though you don't have to go through the gates at all. :troll: )

Chill out.

Did I say I would have killed it? More likely would have unceremoniously shoved it off the trail with a stick.

Repeat after me: VEH-NEH-MUS.

Oh yeah, certainly. I should have said in my OP - it's a Western Diamondback rattlesnake. DO NOT TOUCH!!! (which is why we "tickled" it with a grass stem to get it to move rather than picking it up or poking it with our fingers.)


Chill out.

Did I say I would have killed it? More likely would have unceremoniously shoved it off the trail with a stick.

Whoa, slow down there hoss, not flaming you or anyone.

when poking it with the grass, how did you know it wouldn't jump up and bite you on your nose?

That makes my skin crawl....as someone who has had several close calls with the eastern version of that critter.....all I can say is YIKES! and you are nuts for getting close enough to shoo it off the road.

A little side note. At least with the EDRS, the LD50 of its venom is about 150 mg and the avg. bite can deliver 450 mg. You do the math. If you don't get to the hospital pretty damn soon after getting bit is gonna make for a very bad night.

That looks quite blue. Never seen a blue one. Seen a bunch of western diamondbacks though. A dead one on today's ride up Mt Hamilton.

repeat after me: Veh-neh-mus.

Di-ah-bee-tus.

when poking it with the grass, how did you know it wouldn't jump up and bite you on your nose?

Well, ya see, I have this cute nose. And no snake, no matter how ornery or PO'd is gonna ever bite me on my nose.

The whole "taking its picture" thing was both ultra safe and ultra dangerous at the same time. Basically the snake didn't know we were a threat so it didn't react to us more than making like a stick so we'd ignore it. However, because it was a juvenile it has no "self control" and could have reacted to us by biting or attacking. If it did, there was a great chance that it would have emptied its venom sack into the bite (mega venom dose) which would have really ruined my day.

So we stayed what we felt was a safe distance while I took the pic. And then used a really long grass stem at arms length to move it.

S here we are, herding this baby snake across a fire road and two hayhoos come bombing down the road. They wouldn't yield or move to the side even though we were yelling and waving at them to move over. Nearly hit both me and my riding buddy and one DID whack my bike seat with his pedal. How out of it can you get when riding on a riding/hiking/horseback trail?

Di-ah-bee-tus.

Wilfred? Your Sui? :eek:

Di-ah-bee-tus.
:roflmao2: Siu, you're such a brat! No banana bread for you! :roflmao2:

I am not a fan of snakes, venomous or not. I wouldn't come within 10 feet of that thing, it doesn't matter how small it is.

Bye-sick-cull. The most wonderful invention by which I would avoid said veh-neh-mus reptile by the simple expedient of hopping at speed. Don't care for the slimy-feeling little shats.

Snakes are not slimy. They are not wet nor secrete mucous from their skin.

he's very cute!!

Thanks for sharing!

+1 :)

Snakes are not slimy. They are not wet nor secrete mucous from their skin.

Yeah, that seems to be a really common misconception. If anything, snakes feel very dry and rubbery. I love snakes, though I tend to keep my distance around the venomous models. ;) The only rattlesnake I've seen in the wild was an Eastern Diamondback, about 5.5-6 feet long. I was with my friend and his dad, and his dad dropped a large rock on the snake's head. :rolleyes:

Bye-sick-cull. The most wonderful invention by which I would avoid said veh-neh-mus reptile by the simple expedient of hopping at speed. Don't care for the slimy-feeling little shats.

Not slimey, and ask yourself this question: would you rather have efficient, quiet predators or 1,000,000,000,000 disease-spreading rodents all up in your bidness?

To answer the thread title: NO!

I'm not a big fan of any critter that is mobile that doesn't use legs, wings, or fins.

And OP? I personally would not have done what you and your buddy did, let alone take a picture. However, I would like to think that you potentially saved someone from being bitten.

Most likely he saved the critter from getting squished. Remember these things aren't out there just waiting to bite somebody. First time I held one was as a kid (maybe 14?). It was a black diamondback and once I had it picked up I realized I hadn't given much thought to how I would put it down safely. Tense few minutes there but everyone went away happy.

That's kinda what I meant. If somebody had ridden over that critters tail, it probably would have struck in retaliation.

Wow, I didn't think that this would generate such strong feelings. Yeah, there are things which give me the creeps (like spiders in my shower) yet "wild things" in general, are not part of that. I think it's because I can usually get out of the way and that most creatures aren't interested in anything but being left alone.

I have been at close range to huge bucks (once within 20 feet), mtn lions, bobcats (saw one last Wednesday evening but didn't get a pic - he was too fast), bears, snakes, bald eagles, sea lions, otters, porpoises, whales and a few other things that go bump in your trashcan at night. ALL of these encounters were exciting and left profound memories. When done with care, most of the time you can do this without fear or risk of harm. And, if there is no risk of harm, there is no need to do anything other than watch or take pictures.

At least that is how I feel. Perhaps it is because I am, in part, a "wild thing" myself.