Re: Here you go Rep.
Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 4:23 pm
"I have been hoping Jerry Feldner would answer it. I will say that the supposed "cross breeding" comment..."
I did. I've been away and just got a chance to reply today. The unfortunate thing is that there are people willing to believe what they want.
Like this: "The ground squirrles (sic) around here are voracious and nothing gets em better than those big ol Pacific Diamondbacks. Snakes seem to avoid humans for the most part and tend to hang around places where there is food like woodpiles. I've read that their Pacific Diamondback venom is evolving and increasing in strength to counteract the resistance that is building in the ground squirrles (sic). Interesting indeed. Has anyone else heard about this? I've encountered some of these guys that are 4-5 feet long with a long stack of rattles."
There is no snake called a Pacific Diamondback. There are two separate snakes - one called the Southern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus helleri) (SP) and one called the Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake (C. atrox) (WDB). Again, your reading about "venom evolution" is nothing more than speculation on the part of the writer. Both Dr. Bill Hayes and Dr. Sean Bush say they have been misquoted in articles on this subject. In over 30 years of chasing Southern Pacifics around Southern CA, I have seen only one (female) over 4-ft in length. A long rattle string only means that the snake has not recently broken the string. The number of rattles does NOT indicate the age of the snake, only the number of times it has shed (if it has a full and complete rattle - no breaks).
Oh yes, WDBs and SPs really do not make contact. See below:
http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/p ... atrox.html
http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/p ... lleri.html
I did. I've been away and just got a chance to reply today. The unfortunate thing is that there are people willing to believe what they want.
Like this: "The ground squirrles (sic) around here are voracious and nothing gets em better than those big ol Pacific Diamondbacks. Snakes seem to avoid humans for the most part and tend to hang around places where there is food like woodpiles. I've read that their Pacific Diamondback venom is evolving and increasing in strength to counteract the resistance that is building in the ground squirrles (sic). Interesting indeed. Has anyone else heard about this? I've encountered some of these guys that are 4-5 feet long with a long stack of rattles."
There is no snake called a Pacific Diamondback. There are two separate snakes - one called the Southern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus helleri) (SP) and one called the Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake (C. atrox) (WDB). Again, your reading about "venom evolution" is nothing more than speculation on the part of the writer. Both Dr. Bill Hayes and Dr. Sean Bush say they have been misquoted in articles on this subject. In over 30 years of chasing Southern Pacifics around Southern CA, I have seen only one (female) over 4-ft in length. A long rattle string only means that the snake has not recently broken the string. The number of rattles does NOT indicate the age of the snake, only the number of times it has shed (if it has a full and complete rattle - no breaks).
Oh yes, WDBs and SPs really do not make contact. See below:
http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/p ... atrox.html
http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/p ... lleri.html