Diamondback Rattlesnakes live here. You might want to think about this when you think about listening to music or a sermon with headphones while doing yard work.
The rattlesnake killed recently midway on Live Oak Drive carried six rattles and a button.
Our Snake Rescuer #2 moved. If someone wants to learn snake rescue in order provide a service to Mountain Citians and the snakes, Brent Ormand (Facebook: Brent Ormand, and, Snakes of Hays County) periodically hosts a fun and informative 2-hour Saturday class in Buda. The whole crew he works with assists. He talks about snake relocation details, capture methods and even safety protocols for snake bites. He brings most of his personal collection of snakes, some for demonstrations.
Even if you don’t plan on being a volunteer snake relocator, it’s a valuable life skill to know how to handle encounters with snakes. It’ll probably be at least two months before Ormand offers the class again. Plenty of time to give it thought.
Ormand will rescue snakes in Mountain City, if he’s available. If he’s not available, he can send someone who rescues snakes for a fee.
Please don’t make the same mistake we made when new to Mountain City. We saw a pattern on a snake and killed a valuable, non-venomous checkered garter snake. Diamonds. Checkers. Clearly different.
By the time KissMe got nailed by a rattlesnake in the bed of Turks Cap by our back porch, we had learned respect and appreciation for venomous snakes. But, we didn’t want it in our yard. So, we contacted Snake Rescuer #2, after RonTom contained the snake in a bucket. Then, we rushed KissMe to the animal hospital in South Austin, Memorial Day Weekend four years ago.
In the midst of rattlesnake sighting postings on NextDoor from nearby neighborhoods, a post offered pre-hospital snakebite management advice written by Dr. Spencer Greene, Director of Medical Toxicology at Baylor College of Medicine. He has treated 600+ snakebites.
I pulled out advice for rattlesnake bites. Greene’s first advises, “Get away from the snake. No need to hurt the snake just because you’re angry, and you don’t want to incur additional injury.”
“Remove constrictive clothing and jewelry.”
Do NOT place the bite below heart level. For rattlesnake bite, place bite at heart level, for pre-hospital management.
911 will send an ambulance from Kyle (and first responders will come from our Hays County ESD #5 Fire Station in Mountain City) even though Mountain City did not become a part of Hays County Emergency Service District #9 (ambulance service) through the vote two years back. Poorly explained to us, it was a tie vote here, broken by nearby voters in our ETJ. Mountain City (with an annual budget of only $80,000) paid Hays County ESD #9 $20,000 for a portion of a year, to ensure ambulance service for the time being.
Used to be, Hays County paid for our ambulance service. The county stopped providing ambulance service due to financial constraints.
Always, I need tidbits. [email protected] (subject: Tidbit.) Thanks! Love to you, PTom
