Been in east Texas for 5 decades and have never seen a rattlesnake in the wild.

Anyone have the same experience? Seen plenty of cottonmouths, copperheads, and just 4 years ago saw my first coral snake (3 in one year in my yard).

Just for the record, I am NOT complaining.

Saw my first one in the wild last year at Guadalupe Mountains National Park while on a hike and I'm 56. I had a healthy fear of them since my only frame of reference was "The Rifleman" episode where one crawled into his sleeping bag!

Born and raised here. I've seen everything else but never a rattler until then.

Grew up in the Houston area, worked in the rice fields near Katy and have had my share of fights with moccasins and such.

Have lived in Georgetown the past 25 years and seen several large rat snakes and two coral snakes but that's about it.

If you see one in East Tx it will most likely be a Timber Rattler. Keep in mind they are a protected species.

My grandparents had a big old pine tree about halfway down their driveway. One time when I was probably 7 or 8 I was tearing ass up and down the driveway on my BMX bike. I happened to stop by that tree for some reason, and coiled at the base was a ~4' canebrake rattler. I'm pretty sure I reached ludicrous speed in my trip back to the house.

My grandpa decided it would be a good idea to catch the snake, so he somehow managed to get it into an old empty drum. He kept it around for a few days before carting it off to the Lufkin zoo.

Ok, let me start by saying that I am a west Tx guy.

But I think I would rather deal with rattlesnakes than cotton mouths and copperheads.

I've seen a few timber rattlers. Not real often though. Probably three in my 30 years.

Don't forget, there are pockets of pygmy rattlesnakes all over East Texas.

Cool, never seen one of those. A six foot timber rattler is a badass snake though.

Cool, never seen one of those (pygmy). A six foot timber rattler is a badass snake though.

quote:

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Been in east Texas for 5 decades and have never seen a rattlesnake in the wild.

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Be careful. You just jinxed the hell out of yourself.

Never seen a canebrake rattler, but I have seen lots of Pygmy's. We had a lease long ago outside of Jefferson, near Linden, that had tons of them. We would catch one almost every trip during warm months. They are beautiful little critters.

Edit wrong town.

[This message has been edited by bushman (edited 4/2/2012 8:32a).]

I've seen one and it was back in the 60's in Refugio County.

[This message has been edited by NewArmy69 (edited 4/2/2012 8:27a).]

Caught one in Madison County when I was about 12 at some family property.

Only velvet tail/canebrake/timber rattler I've ever seen in person.

Years ago there was a HUGE canebrake rattler displayed in the old biology building. It was caught in the bar ditch next to my property just about 10 miles South of campus off of Rock Prairie Road.

[This message has been edited by BrazosBull (edited 4/2/2012 8:36a).]

San Augustine County here. I've seen a couple of canebrake rattlers, numerous cotton mouths, a few coral snakes, a couple of copperheads, and alot of pygmy rattlers. Hell, last week I had to get a pygmy out of our garage.

[This message has been edited by Drifter2123 (edited 4/2/2012 9:24a).]

I have seen 10+ in the Sabine River bottom around Carthage. Biggest was probably 6 ft. and as big around as my forearm. They are rare and that is why they are protected.

I've seen a few rattlers along the coast, in the jetties and saltgrass, and a few more out in the west part of the hill country, but I've only a couple of times found them close up.

Drifter: are you from SA?


I've only seen one and it was the biggest damn snake I've ever seen in East Texas. I was out in a clear cut just east of Etoile in southern Nacogdoches County. I was standing on a log and it passed underneath me. Never saw its head, but I did see at least 5 ft of snake.

Born and raised here savage.

Time for a re-fresher photo.

No ****. I grew up there. We probably know each other. What year did you graduate high school?

Class of 97 and you?

2003

[This message has been edited by Savage243 (edited 4/2/2012 10:18a).]

I imagine that you graduated with luke or jake mathews. Its a small world!

Do much meth? Kidding

NOBEVO - THANKS - LOVE THE PHOTO

Seen a handful of rattlers at the coast and in various parts around the Hill Country never tremendously up close though.

Copperheads I've seen on occasion around BCS and in East Texas. They've never been real aggressive though.

Water moccasins on the other hand are mean, aggressive, nasty suckers and receive no quarter.

I'm native E Tex and saw a few growing up. Biggest rattler I ever saw was in eastern N C. Assume it was a timber but huge. Barely visable in dead oak leaves. Was on Camp Lejeune. Marine, snake, snake dies.

My parents live near Hilltop Lakes (north of Normangee) in Leon County. They run into three or four every year on their 50 acres. I've been up close a dozen times or so while hunting that part of SW Leon County.

Saw quite a few at the place I used to work on the edge of Round Rock. Saw a few while dove hunting near Anderson in the 70's. Still quite common to find at a friends bay house on Matagorda Bay. Almost stepped on one at the CAF Tarmac in Galveston the year before Ike. ( he didn't survive)

I killed a 5 footer in Del Rio one year and a baby rattlesnake in Galveston a couple years back--saw a baby rattler here in CS last year, but it got away before I could give it the proper treatment. I've also had more run ins with water moccasins here in CS hiking down some creeks that I can count...

Used to kill them all the time up in the Sulpher River/White Oak Creek bottoms in Red River County (East of Paris, North of Mt. Pleasant) when I was a kid in the 80's and early 90's. In the watermelon fields, they'd curl up under the vines....talk about scare the crap out of you when you were walking the fields.

We didn't know anything about protected/not protected. My grandpa was in his 70's at the time and just told us to do what we wanted to with them. So the guys who had crossed the river a few months before looking for work, and myself would kill the ones we came across. Biggest we ever killed was probably 6'ish. Some of them seemed bigger in my memories, but probably not.

Just something to keep in mind, pygmies do not have the stereotypical triangular head.

Ursus, does the pygmies range extend into Central Texas at all? My dad killed a rattlesnake last week that was significantly less than 3 feet but had 15 rattles or sections. We have never seen such a small snake with so many (and unfortunately he did not take a pic).