Rattlesnake Season is Here

When anthropologist Lucile Hooper visited American Indian Cahuilla people in San Gorgonio Pass and the desert in 1918, they told her about Rattlesnake.

During the time of the Creation, they said, Rattlesnake - Sewet - was constantly bullied and teased. The Creator repeatedly tried to help, but nothing worked until he pulled out two whiskers, made poisonous teeth, and gave Rattlesnake special powers to kill.

The Creator then told Rattlesnake that for the rest of time, the snake needed to stay away from people. The Creator warned Rattlesnake that people always would want to kill him.

Rattlesnake weather is here again, and as the rattlers of San Gorgonio Pass emerge from hibernation, authorities are preparing for another season of medical emergencies when the venomous snakes and people fail to keep away from one another.

"We get lots and lots of snake calls this time of year," Riverside County Animal Services captain of field operations Tammie Belmonte said.

Winter rains signaled this will be a plentiful food year, a boom year for rattlesnakes, Belmonte said.

If you've seen them in your neighborhood before, expect to see them again: Rattlesnakes sliding through a yard. Rattlesnakes parking themselves in a garage. Rattlesnakes snoozing among the shade and moisture of garden shrubs. Rattlesnakes winding their way through vents, into people’s houses. Rattlesnakes curled up on the front porch steps, like a cat. 

"Just be really observant," Belmonte said.

Animal control officers consider rattlesnake incidents to be priority, public-safety calls. They use snake tongs and long sticks with loops to remove a snake. Don’t touch a rattlesnake, and keep a safe distance, they advise those having a snake encounter.

"There's always a startle factor when you come across a snake," Belmonte said. "You have to tell yourself, 'Stay calm.' "

The California Poison Control Center records about 800 bites each year statewide, with one to two deaths, according to the state Department of Fish and Game.

Locally, bite victims often are taken to the emergency medical care and anti-venom serum treatments in the emergency room at Loma Linda University Medical Center, where Dr. Sean Bush, an envenomation specialist, has worked since 1992. 

A snake bite can cause nerve and tissue damage and blood-clotting problems. Bush treats dozens of Inland residents each year from spring to fall, from the time the snakes awaken from their winter hibernation until they return underground for another winter.

The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that in warm weather rattlesnakes are also active at night, when they hunt and eat rodents, other reptiles, and insects.

 The Loma Linda emergency room doctor's advice is similar to that in the Cahuilla Creation story: "To avoid snakebites, leave snakes alone," Bush advises on the hospital website. "Don't handle or try to kill a rattlesnake. That's how many people get bitten."

Fangs can still inject venom even after a snake is believed to be dead, Bush says. Snakes that were presumed to be dead have killed people. If you see a snake in the wild, maintain a distance of at least six feet.

"Look but don't touch," Bush advises. "Snakes are amazing creatures that deserve our respect."

Six species of rattlesnakes slither in and around Inland Southern California. The most common rattlesnake in western San Bernardino and Riverside counties, including San Gorgonio Pass, is the Southern Pacific rattlesnake, animal control officers and others say.

This species is held responsible for most rattlesnake bites in the Los Angeles Basin.

Other area rattlesnakes are the red diamond, western diamondback, and in the deserts, the sidewinder, Southwestern speckled, and the Mojave Desert's Mojave or Mohave green rattlesnake. The Mojave rattlesnake is known as the deadliest in the United States: Its venom can paralyze and kill.

Don't want to be bitten? Stay vigilant, authorities advise. Rattlesnakes don't always rattle a warning. Don't step or reach into places you cannot see.

Be snake-smart: Don't wear shorts and sandals when hiking or walking in snake territory. Rattlesnakes linger in tall grass, near woodpiles, around rocks, under garden shrubs, against a house foundation. They like cool, shady places in summer heat, such as under your lawn chair. 

If you do get bitten, don't attempt first-aid or tourniquets. Do keep the bitten area below the heart, remove all rings and watches that might constrict swelling, and get to a hospital emergency room in a safe way, authorities advise.