i thought i'd try to switch our dogs thread over, in case someone is looking for reptile info., and doesnt know yet how we wander off thread on this blog!? Dont kid yourself about not having rattlers becuz your property isnt rocky. = the rattlesnake has to be one of the most adaptable reptiles on the planet. i almost stepped on one on my front porch near L.A. , but i also spent summers , when i was a kid in Iowa, where they like to hang out in corn fields, where nary a rock is to be seen. Rattlers are listed as one of the 4 poisonous snakes in URuguay. ( and no, i dont remember the 4th one ) The way snake safety has been explained to me is "in the spring and fall, they are cold, so keep an eye out when in rocky areas. In summer , they are going to be in shady , moister areas, cuz they get hot. " They are cold blooded, so have to regulate body temp . by moving to warmer and colder areas. They dont like dogs so having dogs on the property is a good idea , and cats are good snake catchers, too, as far as the little snakes. 3 years ago, in november, when i first moved to Uruguay, i spent a week in Cabo Polonia and i saw 5 brown snakes! -all dead, killed by the dogs there. They were pretty big, and NOT like the rattlesnakes I was used to. So i am thinking they were yraras(?) If i remember correctly, i havent looked this back up for several years, the yrara is dangerous becuz they live in brackish water areas, like the beach grasses - they like that mixture of salt and fresh waters. I read that one of the fatalities of the Dolores flood , over a year ago, was a child who was bitten by a yrara - and they said that the flood waters had altered where those snakes are usually found. so, i never hike in just tennis shoes, i do yard work , etc. in hiking boots and thick socks, carry a stick ( easy for me, as i carry a cane anyway ) and i never rest on top of rocky outcroppings, this time of year. I figure they are the most dangerous now, as they just finished winter dormancy, so are cold, hungry, and cranky. I have heard of local herbal healers out here in Lavalleja who know which leaves to immediately wrap around a snake bite and when you look up the uses for local plants a bunch of them are listed as good for snake bite. - knowing where the stuff grows fresh being the problem for those of us who buy our herbs at the fera? ( and the guides say uruguay has pit vipers, too, but i think those are all up in the jungle-y areas near Brazil? )
