True, the draught is hard on humans, pets and livestocks, but what
about other animals? They suffer right along with us. And snakes are
among the group of critters which are hungry and thirsty which area
residents should be wary of, according to Johnson County Wise Eyes.
Wise Eyes, a community-notification program of the Johnson County
Sheriff's Office, has issued the following, most of which was taken from
radio station WOAI in San Antonio.
Snake experts tell 1200 WOAI news that late August and September will
see an explosion of snakes in back yards, as the critters start
slithering out looking for something to eat.
“They’re very hungry right now,” central Texas snake expert Jerry
Cates tells 1200 WOAI news, in a statement which is creepy on its
surface. “The hungrier they get, the more they start ranging the fields
looking for food.” He says that’s why we can expect snakes to show up in
places where they are seldom seen.
He says the three most common types of poisonous snakes in Texas are
the common rattlesnake, the Texas coral snake, and the cottonmouth,
which is relatively rare.
The rattlesnake has the distinctive rattle at the end of the snake,
but Cates cautions that the snake doesn’t always rattle the rattler, so
if you don’t hear the tell-tale sound, don’t think it’s not a dangerous
rattlesnake.
If it is a colorful, banded coral snake, Cates says the Boy Scout
nursery rhyme really does tell you whether the snake is dangerous or
not. “Red touch yellow, kill a fellow. Red touch black, venom lack. That
is probably the best way to remember that.”
He says snakes will almost always retreat when confronted by humans,
and he says many people are startled by how fast snakes can travel.
If the worst happens, and you get snake bit, Cates says get to the
doctor as quickly as possible. He says snake bites are actually less
painful than a sting from a scorpion or a wasp, and he says the victim
may not experience the effects of the venom right away, but, as anybody
who has seen movies ranging from ‘Lonesome Dove’ to ‘True Grit’ can
attest, snake bites are nothing to mess with.
He says the venom will begin kicking in a few hours, and frequently
leads to paralysis, respiratory failure, and can be fatal. And he says a
snake bite will drain your wallet as well.
“If you are bitten by a venomous snake, you and your insurance
provider together are going to spend between $50,000 and $150,000 in
medical bills,” he said.
Cates says as we approach mid August and get into September, we
should be aware of the fact that snakes are likely to pop up in all
sorts of places. He says you should put the flip-flops aside, and wear
leather shoes or boots whenever you are walking in or around tall grass
brush, or while you are doing gardening work or lawn mowing.
He warns that even if rains do come to the region, the snake
infestation is inevitable. He says the snakes are ranging looking for
their favorite prey, which is rodents, and a couple of rains won’t
suddenly produce a crop of rodents for the snakes to eat.
