Is this a rattlesnake?

Feuern_D · 08-30-16, 02:09 PM

I have a snake in my house and bit my pit bull last night after I got back from the vet, I've been searching for ever since in the safest way possible. I just want to make sure that it is indeed a rattlesnake and not a nightsnake? If it is a rattlesnake, how to safely lure it out of hiding? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

**Minkness** · 08-30-16, 03:35 PM

Looks like one to me. Hopefully more knowledgable people will chime in.

**Andy_G** · 08-30-16, 03:42 PM

Yes it is. Call someone who is experienced with removal of venomous snakes. Do not attempt to do it yourself and do not attempt to kill the snake.

Captain837 · 08-30-16, 04:20 PM

From the pic it looks like a diamondback. Hard to tell if it is an eastern or a western. If you tell me what city you line in it would help. The main reason to identify would be to know what type of venom it has (hemotoxin vs neurotoxin).
I work for a local Fire Department and we do venomous animal removals all the time. The best advise is not to handle it unless you have a snake pole. If you have a snake pole, it is pretty self explanatory. At least they are for us (we do not get any specialized training).
Do not attempt to free handle it. They are quite agile and can be fast. Tailing them is very difficult and not reccomended.

ThirteenRavens · 08-30-16, 04:50 PM

I would certainly follow the advice given here...you don't want to risk a bite to yourself. How is your dog doing?

Feuern_D · 09-01-16, 01:25 AM

The dog's fine he was apparently vaccinated about 2 months ago, we can't find the snake though which is no good. A friend across the street hunts them, he left us is snake pole, just in case we see it. I've section off all the parts of the house after clearing everything out of my room and blocked off all the doorways. I'm very careful about opening doors or doing much of anything around the house. I live in San Angelo, Texas by the way, so I'm fairly certain is a western diamondback. I really wish I knew of a way to draw him out, I want this to be over with. I've searched this whole house, gotten everything off of the floor to about waist high and the snake is nowhere to be found. The house stays pretty cold, and the warmest part is my room because I'm running a dual 12 core xeon machine with a Titan X for work. It keep this room at almost 80 degrees regardless of the temp of the rest of the house, so he should be at least trying to get in here. Anyways thanks for the response everyone.

KrokadilyanGuy3 · 09-01-16, 06:18 PM

Definitely an atrox and from what I can tell, a really young one.
Try using flour or baby powder and mark all of the doorways. It'll help give you an idea what room he's in when he crosses it.
At this size, they can fit into impressively small gaps and the likely way he entered the home is from the garage and the entry door from it. Very common entry way when snakes enter the home because those doors are rarely properly sealed. The other way is leaving doors open or by a cat.

There is no way to lure him out. You can maybe try using a mouse in a box, but Ive never had luck with that myself.

Another way to capture the snake is using multiple glue boards in each room. Check them every day. If you catch him, or anything else, place him in a bucket and apply cooking oil onto the trap. Tilt the bucket so the oil runs along all sides of the snake to help him escape it and then take the animal out to the woods/outcrop or call one of the local petshops. They usually have a venomous guy they know who would gladly come get him for you. I hate these traps but for the short time the animal will be on it, it's your best bet.

Fbaccnum1 · 09-02-16, 03:14 AM

not sure if this will be much help but i once had a wild snake loose in the house, i went to my local electronics store and got a few piezo buzzer things rigged them up to 9v batteries and made pressure pad type things by cutting 20cm x 5cm rectangle bits of cardboard and cutting the center out leaving a cm or two border and gluing a piece of foil to each side and attached piezo's to them. placed them along the walls around the house and waited for one of them to buzz when the snake put pressure on it. it took a couple of days but eventually it came out of hiding and slithered over one. cost was only a few dollars for each one and well worth it.