E massassauga

[carpetman]

Thanks

[Gregg M]

I would not worry too much about it....... They are not very common and they will not bite you unless you are messing with them........ I would say your chances are very slim on getting tagged by one.........

[carpetman]

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[casacrow]

You will find some areas full of them if you look in the right place....I have a friend who works at a hospital in Ontario and he told me that all Ontario hospitals are reguired to be prepered for a massasauga bite.....call a hospital in the area and see if they stock it.

[Dani33]

I grew up on Lake Erie. Not only have I never seen one there, I haven't ever heard of any one finding any there. The following link stated that they are mostly confined to the Georgain Bay area. I don't think that you need to worry.

http://www.carcnet.ca/english/reptiles/tour/glossary/massa/massa2.htm

[AshleyL]

Yeah I've never heard of Massasauga rattlers on or around Lake Erie. I wouldn't worry one bit, camping in Southern Ontario. I camp in KillBear quite frequently and that is prime location for the Massasauga. I have never seen one cruising through the camp site. I have seen numerious bears though....;)You really have to go looking for that snake...Or go to the visitor center, they have one there!!

[carpetman]

..

[Gregg M]

Point is you aint gonna find them there unless you are looking for them....... We are telling you not to worry because your chances of getting bitten are slim to none......... Are you gonna spend your whole time camping worrying if you are gonna come across a tiny, unaggressive rattle snake that will most likely not even be in the area that you are camping in????? I dont even think there has been a reported death from this species ever........ Well have fun on your trip...... If you hear something that sounds like a rattle snake it will most likely be a cicada........LOL....... Oh and there are not many people that can legaly keep them in private collections........ I do not think anyone here on this site can get paperwork to keep them..........

[anders_240sx]

I agree with Gregg M .... Everyone was just trying to help and to ease your worrying .... so just relax..

[JonD]

You have alot better chance of being attacked by a rabid dog.....

[Dani33]

http://www.outdooradventurecanada.com/wildthings-v1-4.htm

I found this site trying to find statistics for you. There have ever only been two deaths attributed to this snake and it was over 40 years ago - lol. (Lack of medical treatment.) There are an average of two bites a year and I'll bet ya that they weren't on Lake Erie. (not recently anyhow).

Dude, take it easy, I have read that there are 2 small pockets of them on Lake Erie. Lake Erie is huge may I add. I have camped all over there, been in marsh, forest etc. (mostly as a child, certainly not being careful about where I was stepping). I have yet to see one. My dad is an outdoorsman and has been all over there and I haven't even heard of anyone seeing one. I have never heard of anyone being frightened of them in the area. Even if you looked for them I bet you couldn't find one.

In the ever so unlikely event that you were bitten, take it easy and go to a hospital asap.

Someone else to ask is Jeff Hathaway, check out his web site. I believe that they may have one for educational purposes. I thought that I read that he did somewhere. He could give you all the info. you need.

Hope your able to enjoy your camping trip - lol!

[shaggybill]

I dont know this, but I imagine if he's a herper that he will be looking for them. I know I would! :)

[JD@reptiles]

you will not find one. and if on the slim chance you do, can walk around it. and if you get bit, go to the hospital. and what ever you do, dont kill it.

[Hamster of Borg]

Originally posted by Gregg M
I do not think anyone here on this site can get paperwork to keep them.

They are not federally protected in the US, yet, only protected in their home range states. So if you happen to have them in captivity outside those states, they do not need paperwork. Of course, if they came from those states and not another captive collection that constitutes poaching and smuggling across state lines. :)

Personally, if I was really allergic to bee stings, I'd be more concerned about running into one of those. There are a heck of a lot more bees out there. Bring your epipens, they will help you in either case. :)

Ham

[Dozer]

The are mostly found around the Georgian... hotspots in and around *cough* Seven Falls dam *cough*...

[Jaeda]

Hi Danielle,

Thanks for posting the link to the article on my site. We just did a major overhaul yesterday and some of the links have moved. The link for the E. massasauga has moved to http://www.outdooradventurecanada.com/wildthings-v1-4.htm

Sorry for any incovenience this may have caused.

[Jeff Hathaway]

Actually, we have two CBB specimens in our collection (yes, with appropriate paperwork, sigh).

Around the 'Lake Erie area' (which encompasses an awful lot of land!) there are a few pockets. In Ontario, these are Wainfleet Bog Nature Reserve near Port Colburne, and Ojibway Prairie Nature Reserve (and adjoining areas like LaSalle Woods). Not sure of populations in the Lake Erie drainage of MI, OH, and PA, but I believe they are quite restricted. Keep in mind that most range maps in books are very optimistic and/or generalized, and they often show 'historic' ranges rather than the limited patches that are found today for many species.

There aren't many camping opportunities within the 2 Lake Erie pop's in Ontario. Camping in nature reserves is not allowed. Even in the Georgian Bay area, where rattlesnake numbers range from scarce to locally common, and hundreds of thousands of people go camping annually, bites are incredibly rare (avg. 4 per year) and deaths are stunningly few- 2 in total, last one 40 years ago!

Worry about your beesting allergy- not rattlesnake bites!

Having said that, don't be foolish and try picking them up, and if you're camping in areas where they are, wear decent footwear if you're not ON the beach. You pretty much have to step on them or pick them up to get bitten. I've even met people who stepped on them in barefeet and didn't get bitten!

All hospitals in the regions where they occur carry antivenin, but the best advice is to go to Parry Sound if at all possible as they have the most experience with treating bites. Out of curiosity, I called several hospitals a few years ago on the fringes of 'rattlesnake territory' (not Parry Sound) and couldn't even track down anyone who had ever been involved in the treatment of a bite.

Now if you want to camp in a great area of Lake Erie, and see hundreds of snakes, consider coming on our Pelee Island trip in May!

Jeff Hathaway
Sciensational Sssnakes!!

[Jeff Hathaway]

BTW, the one in the visitor's centre at Killbear for the last 2 summers has been ours:-) If you see one with the Georgian Bay Reptile Awareness Program (a great program, BTW), it's probably also ours! They get around quite a bit:-)

Jeff Hathaway
Sciensational Sssnakes!!

[JonD]

Originally posted by Jeff Hathaway
BTW, the one in the visitor's centre at Killbear for the last 2 summers has been ours:-) If you see one with the Georgian Bay Reptile Awareness Program (a great program, BTW), it's probably also ours! They get around quite a bit:-)

Jeff Hathaway
Sciensational Sssnakes!! That's cool Jeff! funny, the girl I was talking to at the visitor center in Killbear said they catch and release one every year for display lol
:D

[Jeff Hathaway]

Doh! The whole idea of them using ours is to get away from the catch/release method (and its inherent problems) and to promote the idea that 'catching' them isn't a good thing! Was that last summer she said that?

It's true they used to catch wild specimens for the park display. Some parks still do with other species. Not that I'm bitter, but it's a bit of a bone of contention with me that parks are allowed to do this without specific authorization but other non-MNR programs require permits, and all too often are refused them! Not to mention the obvious detriment to the wild specimens, and the benefits of using captive specimens!

Besides Killbear, Earl Rowe, Bon Echo, Murphy's Point and Rondeau have all rented specimens from us for their visitor's centres in the past.

Jeff Hathaway
Sciensational Sssnakes!!

[JonD]

Jeff, that was two summers ago now...Yeah I was kinda suprised that they would catch one and release it at the end of the season. Just kinda seems irresponsible for a provincial park, never mind the big yellow signs"brake for snakes"....:D