Rattlesnake Season Heat Up
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PALM DESERT- As tempetures heat up you could be seeing more snakes in the desert, but would you know the difference between a harmless one and a deadly snake? And what to do if you came across one? Video by kmir6.com
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PALM DESERT- As temperatures heat up you could be seeing more snakes in the desert. But would you know the difference between a harmless one and a deadly snake, or what to do if you came across one?
A rattle snake can strike at least half its body length, so keep your distance.
When it gets too hot snakes will head for the shade, so before you sit down on a rock in the wild, take a second look for a snake.
If you do come across a snake without a rattle, it still could be venomous.
"A rattle is not something that snake is going to have all the time because they do live on the ground...So even a rattlesnake occasionally will have its rattle fall off," said William Powers, a animal keeper at the Living Desert.
You're most likely to see a rattlesnake on the edges of town. but they can come closer to cities when looking for food.
"Here locally we do see sidewinders, red diamond rattlesnakes and speckled rattle snakes, but also we do see a lot of non venomous snakes," said Powers.
The California King snake and the Gopher snake are common non venomous snakes. However, both can still bite. The Gopher snake is often mistaken for a rattlesnake.
"They are able to flatten their head out a bit to mimic a rattlesnake...also their pattern mimics the rattle snake," said Powers.
Jessica Flores, KMIR6 News.
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