Surviving a rattlesnake bite

[JohnKSa]

Once again, a matter of perception. The darker Coral Snake, once you see it, side by side, to a King snake, there's almost no comparison.

I think you misunderstood my post. It's not a matter of perception at all.

The "red next to black/red and black friend of Jack" rule does not hold outside of North America.

Outside of North America there are Coral Snakes which have adjacent red and black bands. Here is an example that ranges from upper South America into Central America. Note that in the picture it has adjacent red and black bands but it is still a Coral Snake and still potentially deadly.
http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Micrurus&species=dissoleucus

Outside of North America are Coral Snakes which have no yellow on them at all. Here is an example of a Coral Snake from Central America that has ONLY red and black markings--nothing at all remotely yellow or light-colored. And yet it is a Coral Snake.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/40294764

The little poem about distinguishing Coral Snakes from non-venomous snakes by whether or not there is yellow or black adjacent to red bands should ONLY be relied upon in North America. Once you get down into Central America--even as far north as some parts of Mexico--the rule does not hold.

It's a great rule for use in North America. But it could be fatal to assume that it works everywhere.

 

[gonetocamp]

Rattlesnakes: don't like them and never will.

 

[Offhand McFlan]

Wow, that's a pretty disturbing account. I have one of my own that I haven't got the time to write about now. Glad to hear you pulled through. I'm curious: In the years that followed did you find that you got fewer ailments such as flu and common colds? Beekeepers and even seasoned herpetologists are said to develop powerful immune systems over time when they are bit or stung.

 

[Dibbs]

I think you misunderstood my post. It's not a matter of perception at all.

The "red next to black/red and black friend of Jack" rule does not hold outside of North America.


The little poem about distinguishing Coral Snakes from non-venomous snakes by whether or not there is yellow or black adjacent to red bands should ONLY be relied upon in North America. Once you get down into Central America--even as far north as some parts of Mexico--the rule does not hold.

It's a great rule for use in North America. But it could be fatal to assume that it works everywhere.

There's also variations, here, in the US. Many Coral Snakes aren't half as bright as your pictures, the Red and Yellow stripes are very thin, like pinstripes, on a suit, and not brightly accented, at all. I almost mistook one of our Coral Snakes for a Black Racer, at first glance.

 

[Nature Boy]

I found this old picture from ~1989 at Fort Ord

We caught this rattler in our tent. That’s (a much younger) me on the left



p.s I still have the rattle in a drawer somewhere

 

[Milt1]

The name Nature Boy seems to fit!