snakes

[bnsafe]

ok, ive been told snakes dont exist above 6500 ft, but ive got a friend who swears he saw one at around 8000 ft. whats the truth, i will hunt alot easier knowing for sure theres no snakes to worry about, especially the ones that rattle

[Freebird134]

Rattlesnakes generally hang out in lower elevations and you often hear people say that a general rule is there is no snakes above 6,500'. While it might generally be true, I wouldn't for a second believe there are no snakes above 6,500'. I wouldn't let snakes worry me and change anything about the way I hunt, even below 6500'. Be observant, respectful, and don't stick you hand in crevices and caves that a snake might be hiding in. You'll be fine!

[easeup]

I have not seen a poisonous snake above about 8000 ft in the southern rockies.
I have seen other snakes as high as 10,000 ft there - and that is no exaggeration.

[Lefty]

To make you feel better I have never seen a live rattle snake and have lived in Northen Utah and SE Idaho for 15 years

However my wife and kids saw several at Independance Rock in Wyoming. A bit over 7300 feet
I cut the rattle off of a road kill at 9000 ft Facer Canyon near Willard Utah

[ElkNut1]

Where ever there are a possibility of rattlesnakes around just keep an eye out for them. Personally I hate snakes, the only good snake is a dead snake!! No kidding either!

ElkNut1

[bnsafe]

amen paul, i hate them things with a passion. i was really hopin yall would tell me there were no snakes above 6500. man i wish yall woulda lied to me. lol. hope i dont run into one on a trail in the dark.

[JohnFitzgerald]

Come on, snakes aren't that bad. If it wasn't for snakes we would have a lot more rodents. In my young and dumb days I use to hunt rattle snakes with a shovel and knife. You should try one, they taste like chicken!

[Freebird134]

Come on, snakes aren't that bad. If it wasn't for snakes we would have a lot more rodents.

Yup!

[Harmy]

I have seen numerous snakes and had many close encounters with Rattlesnakes above 10,000 feet. I have climbed extensively at the higher elevations of Utah, Idaho, and Colorado and have seen snakes above 10,000 in Utah (Lone Peak) and 9,000 feet in Idaho (Lost River Range) and Colorado (San Juans). One particular snake "friend", I had the opportunity to visit with over the course of 6+ years. This snake lived at 10,000 feet right at the mouth to the cirque of Lone Peak in the Wasatch Mountains above Salt Lake. This particular snake took up residence under a huge cabin sized square boulder right beside the trail. I often hiked and climbed in this area 10 or 12 weekends a year and would see this snake about 20% of the time. I watched this snake eat Pikas on more than one occasion. The last time I saw this snake he was well in excess of 6 feet long and significantly larger around than my forearm. This snake met his dimise when he had a go in with a buddies black lab. While I have seen snakes up high, my general observations are like others here in that snakes live at much lower elevations. What I have found in the higher elevation situations is that they have to have very specific conditions with a well protected south facing aspect which has good wind protection and some sort of good heat absorbing surfaces (large rock with rock surface under it) and lots of pikas to eat.

[pointysticks]

every snake encounter i've had..there has been two of us scared.

me and the snake. we both run away. i like that agreement.

[bnsafe]

well if you colorado guys, and poss south central wyoming, hear a shrill girl like scream just keep on hunting, its just me running into a snake.

[Freebird134]

well if you colorado guys, and poss south central wyoming, hear a shrill girl like scream just keep on hunting, its just me running into a snake.

No judgement here. I'm that way with spiders. It's completely irrational, I admit it. But they disgust me. I will scream if one touches me.

[dotman]

Haha, we had a snake in our house this past spring. I hear my wife yell snake! So I come running to find a little ringneck baby, a worm could have eaten this guy, lol. I just picked him up and put him back outside the door. Now remember a full size ringneck probably is 14in long, yup it is venimous but its mouth is so small it can't bite a human. I let all the ringnecks live cause they are great at keeping the bugs down.

Last year I killed my resident black snake that lived in my shop, come winter and mice were every where and even this spring I fired up my mower and a freakin mouse came flying out of the exhaust pipe! Snakes are good and it is amazing how quickly rodents/bugs take back over when you remove the resident snake. Now if it was a timber rattler or copperhead hanging around the property it will die, my family is more important.

[dotman]

Here is a great read for all of you afraid of snakes http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/l ... use16.html

[Freebird134]

Haha, we had a snake in our house this past spring. I hear my wife yell snake! So I come running to find a little ringneck baby, a worm could have eaten this guy, lol. I just picked him up and put him back outside the door. Now remember a full size ringneck probably is 14in long, yup it is venimous but its mouth is so small it can't bite a human. I let all the ringnecks live cause they are great at keeping the bugs down.

I love ringnecks. Their venom is really, really mild, even if they could bite you, and they are super unaggressive. I used to find the young ones caught in spider webs. They are pretty adorable, as far as snakes go!

[bullrub]

amen paul, i hate them things with a passion. i was really hopin yall would tell me there were no snakes above 6500. man i wish yall woulda lied to me. lol. hope i dont run into one on a trail in the dark.

Ok bnsafe, there are no snakes above 6,500 ft. Feel better now.

[dotman]

Directly from the CDOW http://wildlife.state.co.us/NewsMedia/P ... essId=7911

[Bullnuts]

We had a rattler above our elk camp last summer at 8500 feet. Yes, they do live there but the chances of running into another one at that elevation are pretty slim.

[N5J]

Hey one good thing...above 6500 ft it's colder in the a/m and p/m so they move slower. I would be more worried if you were laying on the open hill side in the sun taking a nap...you might have company! Sleep lightly....

N5J

James

[bnsafe]

first, dotman, thats a horrible article, i dont see any difference between venomous or not, death by venom or heart attack is still death.
second, thanks, now i wont be able to take a nap during the mid day lull. gosh i hate snakes, and age is makin it worse.

[Prairie Dog]

rattler3.jpg (47.03 KiB) Viewed 8762 times

This one was around 7200 ft

[one_elk]

We see snakes in southern CO just above 9000’ almost every year but luckily no problems in the last 30+ years