Pit of Vipers

One day a female garter snake decided to use our corner garden as a place to give birth to her young.  We didn't know she had rented space in our yard until the following spring when a slew of tiny little snakes slithered around the yard and got the dog to barking.   Nothing funnier than a puppy confused by a tiny little snake.  Especially one that has no venom to inject if it bites the dog.

When I was in the Marines and stationed in the Mojave Desert in southern California, we used to go out and look for snakes.  It was an occupation designed to kill time.   The snakes that make that part of America home are a little more dangerous than the cute little wrigglers that eat bugs and toads here in the northeastern part of the US.  One among them is the the Western Diamondback.  It is an impressive animal.   It can grow to exceed seven feet in length and I've seen some that approach that massive size.  One night, running between Sierra Vista, Arizona and Bisbee, Arizona, a buddy and I were surprised when we came across a rather lengthy specimen that had decided to keep warm by stretching itself across almost the whole width of the warm asphalt of that lonely high desert highway. That stopped the car, I can assure you.

Unlike the TV shows that have the rattler sounding like a bunch of dice in cup on a craps table, rattlesnakes actually make a buzz when they shake the rattles on their tails.  It reminds me of cicadas which sound off in the eastern trees on hot summer days.  But, come close to an unsuspecting rattler and he will surely let you know they are there by that long and distinct rattle. It tells everyone around - BEWARE!  Sidewinders, another type of rattler, sound the same way.  Diamondbacks, though, are huge and their eyes are slits in  concave marbles which set near their sensory pits while their forked tongues flit out and sample all around to "see" if prey is near.  When the desert sun is high in the sky, they love to rest in the cool of an old mine shaft or under a shady creosote bush.  So, if you ever visit the Mojave Desert in California or Nevada, don't step on or reach into a place without giving fair warning that you approach.  Mr. Diamondback may greet you with a reactive bite and that is something you want to avoid.

Dogs love to dig their noses in everything and residents of Phoenix and Tucson and other desert cities can only wince with empathy when their pooches run across the odd rattler hiding in the bushes.  The naturally curious pups usually take the snake strike on the muzzle but a quick trip to the veterinary hospital and some anti-venom gets the pup quickly on the road to being normal again.

Diamondback venom is a quick way for a predator - the snake - to immobilize its prey - usually a desert rat or other small mammal.  That same venom, after being injected, begins, literally, to break down the prey's muscles in order to assist the snake in digesting its meal.   Nothing against the snake, it does what it has to do to survive.

Back here on the East Coast we have Timber Rattlers which can also grow to a very large size and are as equally dangerous as the Western Diamondback.  But, they are much rarer.  Usually, here, all we have to worry about is being startled by a garter snake underfoot in the vegetable garden.  If you see a snake, leave him or her alone.  They are great for pest control and they won't hurt you although they are sure to make you jump if you are surprised.

Today, I ran across a big garter snake in the flower garden.  I was listening to some tunes and washing the cars and had to move the hose.   I had the Bose at a high volume and I think the snake kind of liked the beat of the Lynyrd Skynyrd song that happened to be playing.   Its head, waving and searching up and around the house, moved in sync with the music.   Cool.   I approached it to see if I could grab it and give my kid something to tell his friends about.  But, it slithered away.