Massassauga Rattlesnake On Camp Trail

I was fortunate enough to be able to schedule a large block of vacation time in August, which allowed me to spend time up in northern Ontario. I just got back from 10 days in the Long Lac area, and previous to that, spent a week in the French/Pickerel River area at our camp located west of highway 69. While at our camp and traveling the trail with my nephew in my side by side, we came across this fellow laying on the trail. I was able to stop and get a photo while hanging out the front of the machine. Even with the engine running, the sound of his rattle was very clear. He was very thick through the middle, and not in much of a hurry to move, which leads me to believe he may have been digesting something. My first sighting of a Massassauga, even though I have been going to the area for many years. I had told my nephew there were rattlers in the area, but he always thought I was pulling his leg. He knows differently now.;)

I was going to report the sighting, but the form on the MNR website was too detailed and long for my liking.


Attachment 30640

Beauty find Delmer.

Great sighting, I saw my first one last week on the Bruce Peninsula . It was smaller then the one you saw . It had 3 rattles .
It tried to bite my friend first, then made the rattle.
Good thing it was small and couldn't reach him.

I came across this little guy a couple years back. He was sunning himself on a gravel road around Gravenhurst.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8010/...af9ff16f_k.jpg

Awesome find !

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Originally Posted by RTRonthefly

I came across this little guy a couple years back. He was sunning himself on a gravel road around Gravenhurst.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8010/...af9ff16f_k.jpg

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They love the heat from the road. Unfortunately,that's how the majority get killed.

Very courageous to get a picture. I saw one sunning on a stump beside a trail I was using up north of Wiarton - Cypress Lake . I just wanted to move on fast - forget the picture. :)

He looks rather large. Not a big fan of snakes but ya got a good pic there.

outback

The rare one will get over 4 feet.
They are not generally aggressive but will strike when surprised or cornered.
Not known to case people down if you give them room to escape.
Reaching into crevices in rock formations or under elevated cottages result in most bites.

Those are some great pics there.

Largest one I've seen was over 5 feet.
This was on the trail at the exit end of Cyprus Lake (NE end) back in 1978(still Cyprus Lake Provincial Park then).
A girl in our group actually stepped on it & didn't get bit.
It just continued on into the swampy area just off the trail.
She sure was shaking for a while though.

Very healthy looking, as you stated "thick in the middle " eating well. Great pics

Love seeing these unique pics !

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Originally Posted by Woodsman

Largest one I've seen was over 5 feet.
This was on the trail at the exit end of Cyprus Lake (NE end) back in 1978(still Cyprus Lake Provincial Park then).
A girl in our group actually stepped on it & didn't get bit.
It just continued on into the swampy area just off the trail.
She sure was shaking for a while though.

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Thats a big snake, but not likely a massasauga rattler. They don't get much bigger then 2 feet in length. To OP , that's a great photo. You don't see those around very often.

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Originally Posted by FishinScuba

Thats a big snake, but not likely a massasauga rattler. They don't get much bigger then 2 feet in length. To OP , that's a great photo. You don't see those around very often.

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Thinking the same thing......likely a fox snake.

I think you are right fox snakes are easily mistaken for a massasauga rattler.

http://www.ontarionature.org/protect...y-Foxsnake.jpg

Eastern foxsnake Joe Crowley

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I've seen them over 5 feet long. They even rattle their tails like a rattler, but have no actual rattles. They like swampy areas, more than massasaugas do. Lake Erie or Northern water snakes also look a lot like a massasauga.

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Originally Posted by rick_iles

I've seen them over 5 feet long. They even rattle their tails like a rattler, but have no actual rattles. They like swampy areas, more than massasaugas do. Lake Erie or Northern water snakes also look a lot like a massasauga.

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They do and I always wonder how these animals learn these things----Did the fox snake say to himself , " I'm going to shake my tail in the leaves so I sound like a rattler." Amazing to me.

I had one a few yrs back that was around the 5' mark it was in the back shed. I went in there to get something and seen a big snake and heard the rattle which come to find out, was its tail against a plastic bag. Scared the crap out of me and took a few mins to get the courage up to get close enough to tell it was a fox snake.

.http://www.oodmag.com/community/webk...fbce/imagejpeg

Do they have venom if so is it enough to head to the ER asap

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Originally Posted by Mattones

Do they have venom if so is it enough to head to the ER asap

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same question popped to my head. Canada is not known to have anything poisonous... with exception to monstrous wildlife.

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Originally Posted by poltrojan

same question popped to my head. Canada is not known to have anything poisonous... with exception to monstrous wildlife.

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I think they are a greater threat/risk to dogs, but if I was bitten I'd probably make my way to the ER relatively quickly.

When I took the pic of the rattlesnake, I got talking with a lady who said a local dog had been bitten and was in quite serious condition (but eventually recovered).

From what I read you should go to the ER asap, but rattlers don't always inject venom .

http://massasauga.ca/html/stewardship/section4.pdf

This made me smile :

"A proportionately high percentage of reported snakebites can be associated with alcohol consumption. " quote

If I had a dog off leash in the Bruce I'd have this article in my kit.

http://www.massasauga.ca/stewardship...ion_4/pg41.htm

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Originally Posted by poltrojan

same question popped to my head. Canada is not known to have anything poisonous... with exception to monstrous wildlife.

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Quite the contrary, The massasauga is a venomous pitviper rattlesnake species found in Ontario , but not aggressive and out in Alberta and parts of Saskatchewan there is the Crotalus viridis (Common names: prairie rattlesnake,^[2] western rattlesnake,^[3] plains rattlesnake,^[4] and others) is a venomous pit viper species native to the western United States, southwestern Canada,

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Originally Posted by poltrojan

same question popped to my head. Canada is not known to have anything poisonous... with exception to monstrous wildlife.

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You're uninformed.

We've got native rattlers (obviously given the thread we're in) and at this point a number of non-native venomous spiders have invaded via fruit and veggie shipment from southern climates. Some of these spiders can give really nasty bites

My cousins dog got whacked by a rattler near Parry Sound a few weeks ago. $1000 at the vet for meds including antivenom.

Heck, the odd report of a Timber Rattlesnake pops up from southern ON still

http://www.ontarionature.org/protect...attlesnake.php

A couple years ago or so, a lady down here in LaSalle was bitten by a rattler while she was doing some gardening. They are around.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rick_iles

I've seen them over 5 feet long. They even rattle their tails like a rattler, but have no actual rattles. They like swampy areas, more than massasaugas do. Lake Erie or Northern water snakes also look a lot like a massasauga.

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Milk snakes will make rattling sound also, especially when in dry leaves! And they are aggressive, scare jeez out of ya!

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Originally Posted by oldbuck

Milk snakes will make rattling sound also, especially when in dry leaves! And they are aggressive, scare jeez out of ya!

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At the time we were on a tour with a park guide.
He identified it as a Massasauga rattler the biggest he has ever scene also. And yes the rattle was clearly visible but it didn't even rattle but just kept going.
Definitely not common at that size but 3' is not that uncommon.

.... well that's so comforting now to know that we have some poisonous category in Canada. unlike Australia.

Attachment 33189Attachment 33187Attachment 33188Thought I would share a couple pics of two Rattlesnakes we had visit us on the patio of the cottage we rented a couple weeks back near Miller Lake. Definitely have to keep an eye out but they were both not aggressive at all. I actually walked by the first one about 3' away before I noticed it.

Nice pictures, you can definitely see the difference between them and a fox snake. I got some pictures of a big 50" fox snake I found this year along my pond.

AS mentioned. Massassauga Rattlers rarely strike / bite. Even when doing so in defense, they often don't inject venom, as it's a quick strike - release. It requires a sustained bite to actually inject venom. Most bites logged in recent past have ocurred when they were in fact stepped on, or as mentioned....some drunkard decides he's the next Steve Irwin, and "Crikey...me arm!"....

Notwithstanding, they are not to be treated lightly. It's still a venomous snake, and in the locales they frequent, the ER with the anti-venom is often a fair bit of travel away.

Beautiful snake. I saw once once on a trail just past Wiarton.

Like someone mentioned, Ontario does not have any poisonous snakes. They are all safe to eat. Just don't get caught eating a rattlesnake as I believe they are protected now....
When highway 69 was being built up past Britt and Bing Inlet the truckers were always killing them as the blasting seemed to disturb them for miles...Back then the only good rattler was a dead rattler, same as snapping turtles.