Terry wrote; "And I heard the green can actually spring foward about 3 ft while prone and strike. True?"
-----------"Not true."
On this I must disagree, except for the language and the word "spring." Most rattlesnakes are capable of
striking 1/2 to 2/3 of their body length. So, if a snake were 6 ft long and not too athletic, it could, supposedly, strike a target 3 ft away. Now, that same snake, if it were very athletic, could, again supposedly, srike a target 4 ft away. Now, since the Mojave ( which I assume you mean by "green" even though
Crotalus viridis, the Prairie Rattler, was named for it's green color) only reaches a maximum length of 50-51 inches, then we can assume its maximum striking distance could be about 34" or less than 3 ft. BTW, in AZ, Green Mojaves are not very commonly found until one gets down to far SE AZ. The ones in our western deserts are brown to tan.
See>>>
http://www.reptilesofaz.org/Snakes-Subp ... latus.html
And>>>
http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/p ... latus.html
I meant to mention something about being bitten somewhere besides the hands and feet. Last year, a candidate for the Darwin Award here in AZ was actually bitten in the lips by a rattler. He was (the guy, that is) drunkenly showing off that he had a great rapport with his snake and was bitten when he was showing how to kiss the snake. Duh!!!
Too bad, the idiot lived.
Another fool a couple of years ago was actually bitten on the
TONGUE. I guess he tried to Frenchkiss the snake. He lived, too.
Goldseeker wrote: "He told me about a certain type of snake, I dont remember what it was, that if it bit you, the best thing to do was sit down and light a cigarette." I do. I was in Nam and we were told to watch for the "Four-pacer" and the "Hundred Step Snake." The Four-pacer turned out to be Russell's Viper (
Daboia russeli) but I never did find out what the Hundred Step Snake was. Also, I am not aware of any dangerously venomous black snake in SE Asia.
Russell's Vipers acount for thousands of deaths in Asia each year because of two things - The snakes' habit of lying on open paths, awaiting rodent prey, and the peoples' habit of walking barefoot on those same paths.