# Snakes



## Aznative

Okay you guys can laugh at me. Coming from AZ youd think I was use to snakes and wasnt scared but wrong. Never ran into many Rattlers in northern AZ but ground vegetation wasnt as thick either so you could spot em better. In two days Ive almost stepped on two dang snakes up here in Wasatch back area. Both were blow snakes? We call them bull snakes in AZ. Anyhow are there a ton of rattlers in the wasatch west and east areas? Im wondering if during the summer while scouting and checking cameras if I should wear some snake boots etc? What do you Utahns think in your experience? Thanks


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## kdog

I have yet to ever run into a rattler in the wild. Found a few in the valley as a kid. 

Never used snake boots.


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## toasty

I have run across many rattlers over the years. Just about stepped on one during a turkey hunt a couple years ago. I wear snake chaps and leather boots when scouting during the summer and while hunting birds until October. I usually take the chaps off for big game hunting as they are too noisy. Snakes can still be out in October, but most of the snake I see are from Jun through Sep. 


There are tons of snakes all along the Wasatch back, if you find blow snakes, there can also be rattle snakes, however, wherever I see a lot of blow snakes, I usually don't see rattle snakes. I've heard blow snakes eat rattlesnakes and keep the population low, so they get a pass from me. If you hate snakes enough, hunt over 9,000', I have never seen a snake that high.


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## Jedidiah

As a kid I used to hang out at Parley's Creek right above I-215 and we would see dead rattlers on the road daily and hear them as we walked down. I've seen rattle snakes up Big and Little Cottonwood canyons. Seen them in the benches and lower in the canyons more than anywhere else really. Also I've seen them around Jordanelle, there was someone on here or one of the other outdoor sites telling a story about how they fished all day with a rattle snake inside their chair on their boat and only found out when they detached the seat at the end of the day. You will definitely see them more if you get out on the days that are 90 degrees or more.


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## Aznative

Thanks guys. Im probably gonna invest in some boots. Chaps sound good but probably hot as get out. Just different terrain here so dang thick you cant always see what your stepping on. But I agree if the blow snakes kill the rattlers they are good in my book. Thanks


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## ns450f

Rattlers seem to be the worst in the spring. And I always seem to find them around water, granite, and tall grass. I had one strike at me 3 years ago above new harmony turkey hunting. It actually hit my pants but missed my flesh and it's fangs were caught in the fabric of my pants for a few yards as I ran for my life trailing the snake off of my pants. It was the scariest thing ever, I almost pooped a little bit. I was convinced I had been bit for the first 30 minutes lol. Now I always wear my tall boots or snake gaiters.


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## Slap That Quack

I run into them every year, usually 4 or so a year. Keep a good eye out, many did not rattle at all at me!


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## Aznative

Hearing those stories makes a chilling feel lol. Im gonna look at the irish setter vaptrek snakeboots. Seem lighter so more comfortable. Atleast theres no gila monsters like AZ. Those things were furious little guys.


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## Vanilla

ns450f said:


> I had one strike at me 3 years ago above new harmony turkey hunting. It actually hit my pants but missed my flesh and it's fangs were caught in the fabric of my pants for a few yards as I ran for my life trailing the snake off of my pants.


Goodness. I almost cried reading this. Rattlers creep me out.


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## ns450f

Vanilla said:


> ns450f said:
> 
> 
> 
> I had one strike at me 3 years ago above new harmony turkey hunting. It actually hit my pants but missed my flesh and it's fangs were caught in the fabric of my pants for a few yards as I ran for my life trailing the snake off of my pants.
> 
> 
> 
> Goodness. I almost cried reading this. Rattlers creep me out.
Click to expand...

I did cry lol


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## MadHunter

I have nothing to say except..... TOTP!


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## Vanilla

MadHunter said:


> I have nothing to say except..... TOTP!


Well played.


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## kdog

I am amazed there is this much snake activity. granted much of my scouting is mid summer and then I am actively hunting (bowhunting) mid august through sept and then a few days on the extended hunt on the Wasatch. 

I don't have the best hearing and have heard what seemed like a rattle from time to time, but since I never saw a snake brushed it off. 

guess i should be more alert...

I wear ankle high boots or trail running shoes typically, but always wear pants. most hunt locations in august have been 8500 feet and above though so that could explain part of it.


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## middlefork

I've seen more than a few over the years but anytime I was close they knew I was there and were buzzing.
Never even worry about them while hunting and I hunt a few places that have a few snakes.
But maybe I'm just too noisy and slow to sneak up on them.


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## GISkev

I was trail running downhill and scooped a rattler up with my foot and flung it down the trail (accidentally) and because i was going fast I couldn't just stop so there I am trying to hit the brakes while this thing was swirling through the air striking 5 ft in front of my face!!! Quite memorable... I don't take any real precautions though. This was in Strong Canyon behind Weber State Unv.


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## sheepassassin

toasty said:


> If you hate snakes enough, hunt over 9,000', I have never seen a snake that high.


I shared that same opinion as well until last weekend. 9400' I ran across one that was over 18" long. I hate snakes period, especially rattlers. Once I got out of the valleys and up on the mountains, I never thought about them again. **** near stepped on this one as I stepped over a dead pine trunk and he was coiled up in the shade. Crazy part is, he was on a north slope in between 2 giant snow fields. Where there's one, there's more....


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## taxidermist

I think more snakes will be out this year from the wetter than normal Spring. As a younger guy, they never bothered me. Now, I hate the Dang things!! 


I think your odds better of NOT finding rattlers by staying away from the rocks, and creeks. 


Diamond Fork was a rattler haven a few years ago. While fishing Dip Vat area once, I saw a couple swim the creek to the other side. That's all I needed to see. I was Gone Johnson after that.


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## Aznative

9400' dang. One of those polar rattlers!! But your right they say dry years there out more searching for food then wet years out more as its nice. Either way they suck. Years back in AZ i was helping a buddy pull a bear out of Sycamore Canyon in late spring. Its a rock pile canyon. We never saw one but about 15 times we counted hearing them. Just couldnt see them inside rock crevices etc. If it wasnt for the cool bear he nailed id have been long gone.


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## Critter

Here are a few that I found javelina hunting one year.


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## Kwalk3

I usually run across quite a few every year. There are loads of them across the state. Ran across two in the last week. One of them had the longest rattle I've ever seen on a Utah Rattler.
















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## Aznative

Now that is AZ rattlers Critter! I recognize those rattlers.


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## Critter

That was a den site that I walked into tracking a javelins one day. We try and go back into every year to take pictures.

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## Aznative

You are crazy Critter. Id only go back with a flame thrower. Roast those things!!!


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## ridgetop

Here's one my son almost stepped on last week. It never did rattle the whole time we were around it. They sure can blend in.


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## Vanilla

Oy. Darn rattlers. Freak me the crap out!


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## Critter

Vanilla said:


> Oy. Darn rattlers. Freak me the crap out!


A fast nightcrawler will scare the brown stuff out of me if I don't seen them before they start to move.

The funny thing on the rattlesnakes down in Arizona was that when I first saw one at the den site in the picture I wanted to get him to skin it. It was a beautiful snake that had just shed his skin and he was close to 5' long. Just as he started under the rock I figured that I could grab his tail and pull him out so that I could shoot his head off. I then though better of it and looked at where he was going. There were two other rattlers sitting right at the mouth of the den that would of quite possibly tagged me if I would of put my hand down there. So instead I called a buddy on the radio and told him where I was at and that he might be interested in what I had found. I then took a look around to see just where I was standing and while there were no other snakes right close I counted 15 in the general vicinity that I could see from where I was standing. I quietly backed out of the area until my buddy showed up.

Since that year we have taken a couple of herpetologist into the den site from the University Of Arizona so that they could implant some tracking gear in them before they dispersed when they left the den.

I am proud to say that in the 14 years that we have knows of the den site none of the snakes have been killed by any of us or anyone else that we have taken into it. It is just fun knowing where it is located at and watching them.

I know you think that I am sick.-O,-


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## Aznative

No that is actually pretty cool. You might be a snake whisperer and you need to be by myside in the woods to keep to snake vibes happy not mad lol


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## Critter

To tell you the truth in all my years of hunting in Utah and running around during the spring and summer I have only came across 3 rattle snakes in the state. 

Now when I was working I had them all over the place but then I was working right in the kind of areas that they liked to hang out in.


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## taxidermist

A friend of mine had a Lab that was bitten by a rattler. If he's out and about with his dog and they come across a snake, he has to get to it before the dog does. His Lab has become a snake killing machine after being bit.


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## Fowlmouth

You may remember me posting this up a few years back. This was at Jordanelle and my buddy's fishing boat. He doesn't know how long he sat on that seat with a rattle snake under his @ss, and he doesn't know how it got there. He speculates that it was probably in the water and swam up to the boat and up the outboard motor. He saw it when they were loading the boat on the trailer.


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## hawkeye

This may be an anomaly but in 30+ years of hunting in the state of Utah, I have never come across a rattle snake. Perhaps this is due to the areas that I generally hunt (higher elevations) but I hope my good luck continues.

Hawkeye


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## Jedidiah

+1 on the not hearing them before you see them. I've only ever heard one rattlesnake close up in my life and it was as I was stepping over him. I've heard them from 15-20 feet away sure but the ones I've actually SEEN I saw first and never heard.

Tell you what about having never encountered them, I bet you have been within 10 yards of one dozens of times. When I've actually seen them move it was as I noticed the scale pattern and froze, it was the freezing that triggered them.


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## callofthewild

i have never worried about rattlers in the wilds of Utah. i have seen plenty of them. i am more worried about the snakes i work with.:shock:


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## taxidermist

callofthewild said:


> i have never worried about rattlers in the wilds of Utah. i have seen plenty of them. i am more worried about the snakes i work with.:shock:


Ain't that the truth!!!


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## deljoshua

They definitely go in cycles. I have hunted the same area for 9 years and some years I see none, some years I see one or two. 3 or 4 years ago I came across about a dozen. Seems like most were out sunny themselves on or close to the rocky trail I was on. I had no idea there were rattle snakes there for a long time and the first time I saw or heard one I think I had a heart attack. Most of the time if you give them a bit of space they aren’t aggressive. It’s when you don’t hear or see them until you are super close that freaks me out.


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## utskidad

The only rattler I've seen is a fat one on the trail at Jordanelle I almost stepped on, while looking for cell coverage. That shoreline is full of snakes. 

One time, set the kayak milk crates down next to the ramp. Came back for the crates after the boats were loaded. Found a huge, groggy garter snake coiled up on the garage floor next to the crates the next morning. So happy it wasn't a rattler.


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## Vanilla

Found an interesting one while out in the hills today. I’ve never seen a snake like this, and my own research leads me to believe it is a Utah Blind Snake. However, it was much bigger than they are described, and I was nowhere near western Washington County. I was in the shadows of Cascade and Provo Peak. And blind snakes seem to be mostly underground critters. But it sure looks like the pictures I saw online of blind snakes. 

Any ideas on this one?


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## Slap That Quack

Not sure what type of snake it is but I saw one just like it near snowbasin.


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## saltydog

Vanilla said:


> Found an interesting one while out in the hills today. I've never seen a snake like this, and my own research leads me to believe it is a Utah Blind Snake. However, it was much bigger than they are described, and I was nowhere near western Washington County. I was in the shadows of Cascade and Provo Peak. And blind snakes seem to be mostly underground critters. But it sure looks like the pictures I saw online of blind snakes.
> 
> Any ideas on this one?


Looks like it could be a Rubber Boa to me.


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## Vanilla

saltydog said:


> Looks like it could be a Rubber Boa to me.


I did not realize we had these in Utah. I think you nailed it! Thank you.


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## gdog

Rubber Boa from this week up Neffs Canyon


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## Vanilla

Yep, that's definitely what I saw. Interesting. Learned something new today. This place is awesome!


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## HupHup

Deer hunting is much more interesting. The sounds of wild animals, small herds of deer - how cool it is. When I go on a hunt, I always take the best deer cart with me, otherwise I can't drag the buck, except in parts. When I bought it, they even gave the Buyer's Guide to understand exactly how it is applied:smile: How else? You take a deer, put a deer on a cart and drive it to the car


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## Vanilla

Thanks HupHup! Super helpful post about snakes there. I’m totally buying one of those carts you mentioned!!!!


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## Dunkem

HupHup said:


> Deer hunting is much more interesting. The sounds of wild animals, small herds of deer - how cool it is. When I go on a hunt, I always take the best deer cart with me, otherwise I can't drag the buck, except in parts. When I bought it, they even gave the Buyer's Guide to understand exactly how it is applied:smile: How else? You take a deer, put a deer on a cart and drive it to the car


Hmmmmm_0,_


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## Kwalk3

Vanilla said:


> Thanks HupHup! Super helpful post about snakes there. I'm totally buying one of those carts you mentioned!!!!


It's super versatile. You can use it to haul out snakes too! Didn't you read the buyer's guide?

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## rtockstein

Utah Rattlers are pretty mild mannered unless you step right on them or step too close to one that is in a bad mood.

I've mostly come across them in dry Rocky areas when it's hot and dry, also at high elevation too!

You can be sure to find lots of them on the west grandeur peak trail, pipeline trail in Millcreek, the SUMMIT of Mt Olympus, all the Rocky areas surrounding Olympus, the trails on the W face of the mtns above draper, and all along the BST south of Bell's Canyon.

As long as you're stalking properly when you hunt by watching where you put your feet, you should be A-OK!


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## nukenbu

How come you didn't have snake boots in you when you went hunting? What you usually wear then? Snake boots are mandatory in order not to get bitten and poisoned. In AZ, snakes are really dangerous. In the childhood I had an unpleasant experience with snakes. I was bitten by a bull snake, the way you call them and I almost died. I stayed in the hospital for about two months getting three droppers per day in order to have my blood cleaned. However, I have never stopped to love snakes. I bought recently two Ball Pythons described on petsoid.com. I know I'm the most controversial person you have ever met in your life.


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## Critter

nukenbu said:


> How come you didn't have snake boots in you when you went hunting? Snake boots are mandatory in order not to get bitten and poisoned. In AZ, snakes are really dangerous. In the childhood, I was bitten by a bull snake, the way you call them and I almost died. I stayed in the hospital for about two months getting three droppers per day in order to have my blood cleaned.


Are we trying to get our post count up for something????

"Bull snakes" are nonvenomous


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## Vanilla

.


Critter said:


> Are we trying to get our post count up for something????
> 
> "Bull snakes" are nonvenomous


+1


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## Catherder

Why do I suspect that there was a lot more "bull" than just bull snakes to that particular thread?


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## Critter

I will have to admit that when I was in the Cub Scouts we took a fishing trip up to the Charleston Boat Harbor on Deer Creek. While we were fishing a very large bull snake appeared onto the boat dock where we were fishing from. All the young ladies in the group were screaming and our leader was backing away from it like it was going to bite all of us. I walked over to it and picked it up like any young lad would do. But I held it wrong and he was able to get his head turned around a bite me in the webbing of my hand between my thumb and index finger. 

Well, I let go of that snake and he headed right into the direction where all the girls were standing. But before getting to them he found a crack in the dock where he could drop down out of sight and go on his merry way. 

I do have to tell you from what I remember that bite hurt some. That is until he let go.


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## neverdrawn

My biggest issue is that I have enough hearing loss from genetics, shooting with no ear protection when I was young and being in an artillery unit in the military that I no longer hear them "buzz" when they rattle. I've had a couple of friends hear them and then point them out to me when I had no idea they were there. Scares the bejesus out of me.

I also had one try to join me on my pontoon when out fishing one time. I've never kicked so hard in my life. Fortunately he got to the point he was closer to the shore than me, so that's where he ended up. Otherwise, he'd have had a pontoon boat and I'd have been wet, and not just in the crotch area of my pants!


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