Diamondback Rattlesnakes are common in Tucson and the surrounding Sonoran desert. Attracted to dwellings which have an abundance of mice, lizards, and pack rats, homeowners and businesses see them on a frequent basis. Rattlesnakes, in general are not aggressive if they are left alone. However, if you bother them, they have just eaten, are close to delivering their young, or as you begin to trim a bush, you reach your hand under a branch and surprise them, a swift reaction, on the part of the rattler usually results in a strike. In fact, the vast majority of snake bites in Pima County come from person-to-snake contact that has resulted from the snake being surprised, rather than the rattler aggressively pursuing the human.
From time to time, I get calls from homeowners who have set out a garden and, to keep out birds, they have surrounded it with bird netting. Recently a homeowner called with a medium sized diamondback tangled up in his bird netting-probably while it was in pursuit of a lizard or a mouse. Left alone, the diamondback would have died because it was so tangled up that the harder it tried to push out of the tangle of nylon bird netting, the tighter the strands became. There really was no future for the rattler in that situation. The homeowner did not want the snake killed, so a decision was made to rescue the rattler by stabilizing it and then carefully cutting the nylon netting. As you can see from the picture below, taken with a phone camera, left alone in the Arizona heat, this diamondback was not going to untangle itself and would probably not have made it another day.
After carefully protecting hands and scissor work from the rattler’s head and fangs, the nylon was snipped away and the diamondback was transferred to a holding container to spend a couple of nights resting. As you can imagine, the diamondback did not really know what was going on and, it was none too happy while it was being held down as part of the process in getting the netting cut off.
Managing a rescue of this sort puts a great deal of stress on the snake. When the netting was cut off and the diamondback was transferred to a holding container, I let it rest for two days so it could calm down. It was inspected and appeared to be in good health, was offered water and was kept out of the heat of the desert while it had time to rest.
Two days later it was released outside the wall of the home where it was found, in the desert, within probably several hundred yards of where I suspected its den should have been.
Rescues of this sort are not easy. In fact I had an associate help me hold the rattler while I cut away the remaining portion of the netting. However, it is pleasing to treat a rattler with respect, have it rested and then return it to its natural habitat so it can continue to play a role in the circle of life.
If you find you have a rattler of any kind, not just a diamondback, that is caught or tangled up, like this, one that you determine may be too close to your home or business and would like it removed and relocated, please give 1st Response Wildlife a call and I would be happy to come and work with you.
Thanks, Wildman Josh :)
Josh's Cell (24/7 Hours): 520-260-9517
Josh Waling is a humane Licensed Animal Trapper who catches and releases wildlife, removing animals including bobcats (lince), snakes, rattlesnakes (serpiente de cascabel), raccoons (mapache), pack rats, gila monsters (monstruos de gila), rabbits (canejo), owls, bats, squirrels (ardilla), coatimundi (gato solo), skunks (mofeta), exotics, and domestic cats and dogs. He delivers service that is professional and fast and he is available 24/7. Give him a call the next time you hear unusual noises in the attic or crawl spaces in your home or if you see wildlife eating your vegetation, creating nests, and raising their young too close to your pets or children. 520-260-9517 Thanks!
