7' 3'' Rattlesnake Caught, Killed (St. Augustine, Fla.)

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Giant Rattlesnake Slithers Its Way Into St. Augustine Townhouse Community

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- The trappers who caught and killed a giant rattlesnake in St. Johns County said the snake was 7 feet 3 inches long.

Experts said it's one of the biggest rattlesnakes they've ever seen.

The rattlesnake slithered its way into Tuscany Village, a St. Augustine townhouse community, over the weekend.

Someone spotted the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, now being called Rattzilla, near homes off State Road 16 and Interstate 95 and called police.

Police then called Brandon Booth, a professional trapper. Booth said that when he pulled up, he realized how big and dangerous the rattler was.

Video: 'Rattzilla' Slithers Into Community

"When I got there, I looked at it and said, 'That's bigger than 6 feet,'" Booth said. "I didn't have time to really think. I just jumped out of the truck with my gig and got him. He wasn't going to get away."

Booth said he had no choice but to kill the venomous snake because there were lots of people around and a venomous snake that big could easily kill someone.

He said he usually won't kill a snake unless it's venomous.

"I wasn't going to let him get away, so I just went ahead and did what I had to do," Booth said. "There's a lot of kids in that neighborhood and even adults, so I figured it was the best thing to do. I'm not a snake wrestler."

Right now, the snake is sitting in Booth's freezer until he decides what to do with it. The snake was frozen after it was killed and shrunk considerably in size because the muscles were no longer relaxed.

Heather Hart, who lives in the community, was stunned when she saw pictures of the snake. She has two small dogs and said they could have easily been eaten by the rattler.

"Are you serious?" she said. "That is crazy."

Booth said it is hard to tell in Florida when the next big rattler might show up.

"They're out there, but it's unusual to actually get the call to get one this big," Booth said.

Experts said Eastern Diamondbacks are only between 3 and 6 feet long on average

7-Foot-3 Rattlesnake Caught, Killed - Jacksonville News Story - WJXT Jacksonville
 
:shock:

I go to St. Augustine, Fl every year, I haven't seen any rattlesnakes and I hope it doesn't come down to one where I will see one. :Ohno:
 
Is that the natural range for rattlesnakes? I didn't think it was. :shock:
 
Geez. Nice job of killing it... could had relocated it.

Anyway, Cherri... I wouldn't worry about it. There's many residents in Arizona that are in heavily-populated rattlesnake areas, and many of them have went decades without seeing a single snake.
 
Wow, geez!

I'm glad it's caught in time because I will go to that area where I drop in my stang to change the oil and checkup within two weeks.
 
I didn't particularily like that he killed the snake. If he was the appropriate person to call, he should have skills in capture and release of snakes, ESPECIALLY in NE florida.

I personally have 1 Eastern Diamondback story. We were hiking a trail to some waterfalls in Northern Ga when we came across one by chance. couldn't have been more than 4 feet, but he was rolled up so hard to tell. I took some pics but have to find the memory card. Oh yeah also my brother and I saw a Water Moccasin when we were golfing in Disneyworld years ago.
 
Normal length for that rattlesnake is 5'-7'

There has been some that reached 8-9 foot.

Huge though.
 
Gotta tell ya guys, those things are particularly aggressive. I grew up between N. Ga. and S. Fl. Those guys are very dangerous. Yes, it would have been nice not to kill it, but maybe to a zoo or museum. That large, it needs large prey, bunnies, kitties, puppies or raccoons that raid trash around human areas. Small kids or adults could be at risk. A snake that big could have trouble finding enough prey, so came to look for it, perhaps following scent of raiding raccoons? Rats? That is what snakes do and that makes them valuable. One that size who comes into human territory is a menace, I think.
 
I agree with Nanna. In CA, we have the Western rattlers, which are particularly poisonous and unafraid of humans. I've never seen one back away when confronted. Standard practice, if they come around a house or dwelling, is to kill them on site. Doesn't matter if you're a tree-hugging hippie or a redneck. They are dangerous and they will kill you. It's not the time to be a concerned animal lover.
 
LDNanna said:
Gotta tell ya guys, those things are particularly aggressive. I grew up between N. Ga. and S. Fl. Those guys are very dangerous. Yes, it would have been nice not to kill it, but maybe to a zoo or museum. That large, it needs large prey, bunnies, kitties, puppies or raccoons that raid trash around human areas. Small kids or adults could be at risk. A snake that big could have trouble finding enough prey, so came to look for it, perhaps following scent of raiding raccoons? Rats? That is what snakes do and that makes them valuable. One that size who comes into human territory is a menace, I think.
Click to expand...

First off-- snakes are not aggressive; they are defensive. Second of all, rabbits are too big and so are kittens, puppies, bunnies and racoons-- you are talking about a 12' python, not a 8' rattlesnake. Vipers and pythons are two completely different thing with completely different body build. I can tell you that as someone who dabbled in herpetology and ran a few herpetology symposia. And by the way, the appeal to cuteness is not a very good thing to do here, since it just paint people as hypocrites.

To a snake, anything and everything is a home. They don't know what is human, and what is not so they don't "follow prey." Most of them don't even move from the same spot for weeks on end. I won't deny it's not dangerous to humans, however a professional was called in. It's one thing for an amateur to kill a snake, it's another thing for a professional to do so. We need to preserve them so rodent population won't grow out of control.

Yes, the snake is dangerous to the residents, but it's the handler we are criticizing.
 
The "professional trapper" was a freakin' amateur. He got faced with the grandadddy of Eastern Diamondbacks and simply wet his panties. What a jerk. I would have captured the snake and relocated it.
 
I beg to differ. There were children in that residential neighborhood. And snakes are hard to see. Very easy to step upon. A snake this large would have enuf venom to kill a child or an animal.

I would have killed the rattlesnake, pronto!...If it were a black snake or a king snake, I would let it go.

Friend of ours found a ratlesnake approx. 6 ft. long in his shed, along with the babies. He killed them all. Otherwise, he would not be able to get into the shed!

I would not want any venomous snake around my home, my pets or my children.
 
As an amateur herpetologist I am glad to read a lot of posts that are supportive in the view that the animal should've been captured alive and either relocated or placed in a facility qualified to care for it. Far too many people tend to kill on sight when seeing a snake.
Where I work any snake is going to end up dead. This is to an extent understandable as I work at a tourist attraction and (literally) thousands of people can come through our place in a given day. We are located in a wooded area and copperheads and rattlers have been found on the property. They're immediately killed and the bodies dumped off the side of the road. Sad, but as there are small children that roam around it is a necessary evil.

Yet it is part of the curse that God placed on serpents when he cast Adam and Eve out of Eden.
 
DeafCaver said:
As an amateur herpetologist I am glad to read a lot of posts that are supportive in the view that the animal should've been captured alive and either relocated or placed in a facility qualified to care for it. Far too many people tend to kill on sight when seeing a snake.
Where I work any snake is going to end up dead. This is to an extent understandable as I work at a tourist attraction and (literally) thousands of people can come through our place in a given day. We are located in a wooded area and copperheads and rattlers have been found on the property. They're immediately killed and the bodies dumped off the side of the road. Sad, but as there are small children that roam around it is a necessary evil.

Yet it is part of the curse that God placed on serpents when he cast Adam and Eve out of Eden.
Click to expand...

It is apparent your tourist site does not work with the Conservation Department. They frown upon killing snakes.
 
Beowulf said:
It is apparent your tourist site does not work with the Conservation Department. They frown upon killing snakes.
Click to expand...
Well they have told me that they would like to but the risks to the tourist, particularly small children, is too great to make a phone call and wait for someone professional to come up the mountain and retrieve the snake.
One of the supervisors told me that he had taken one snake up alive (with a grabbing stick of course) and took it by the side of the road and tossed it (gently) into the woods but it kept slithering back out and on to the property.
I told him that the snake was probably following it's instincts to a habitual burrowing site for hibernation or nesting and all he kept doing was taking the animal back to point A when it was trying to reach point B. Problem is that the building is most likely between point A and point B.
 
I agree it is a sad situation. Steve Irwin must be spinning in his grave, lol. I was wondering what state you are in. Here in Missouri the conservation department is fantastic if one makes the effort to work with them. (But that's another thread.) As you can tell, I have a soft spot for wildlife, excuse me for breathing. :lol:
 
FL is home to:

Eastern Diamondback = Crotalus adamanteus
Cottonmouth/Water Moccasin = Agkistrodon piscivorus
Coral = Micrurus fulvius fulvius
Southern Copperhead = Agkistrodon contortrix contortrix
Canebrake/Timber rattlesnake = Crotalus horridus atricaudatus

----
and the not quite venomous enough

hog nose/pygmy rattler = Heterodon simus / Heterodon platirhinos (some people are very allergic to bites from these.

-Most deaths resulting from snake bite are from nonvenomous snakes - people don't properly treat the wounds, which then become infected.

---
Don't think I missed anybody...

And I'm skipping the water snakes entirely.
 
Souggy, I respect your well written opinion. I agree that you have some valid points. I do stand on the point of aggression and diet in this particular species. If it was indeed correctly identified. Please note, I do not agree with the random killing of these animals. Snake roundups are an ecological horror for instance. A snake of this size would be a welcome addition to a zoo, or would be great away from a populated area. (I agree that the city called a yokel, unqualified) The species can weigh up to 10 pounds, live up to 20 years and grow to about 8 feet long. Yet, baby rattlers are just as deadly as adults.

You (royal sense, not you personally) can quote experts, but having lived in their habitat, I will speak from experience. Snakes, especially pit vipers, have a highly developed sense of smell. If no prey comes within striking range in the time they are coiled in wait, they will follow a scent trail.

Yes, this species is like many others, it is not offensive, but known to be fearless. It puts up a great rattle show. This species launches itself accurately for a strike at about one third their body length. This is a good reason why we kept our domestic animals at a distance away from our home. The larger the snake, the larger the prey. This is not to say that a large snake could eat a full grown raccoon, but young raccoons, rabbits and marsh rabbits as well as other large (and smaller) rodents are definately game for these capable hunters.

When living in north Ga. we were taught in school, by relatives, friends, teachers and forest service about how to avoid the bite of these beneficial, beautiful and deadly vipers. When tourists, hikers, campers, travelers, migrants or others would come to the area, this information was one of the first bits of information given to them. Of course, we were rarely given heed, as this was a poor area. (we were called dumb hicks) The stories would abound of how the workers or travelers were bitten. Our local hospital was busy in season.

I have personally seen these snakes swim across creeks to access chicken houses or rabbit hutches, and I have personally lost small, young pets to these animals. In particular I remember a litter of kittens where only one was left, a black one. I have also seen these snakes when disturbed. My young cousin went to gather eggs and disturbed a 2 foot rattler. She dropped the basket and ran screaming and the snake crawled after her. I was running for a hoe when my uncle who had witnessed this from a window, came out and shot the snake. No, the snake did not show a rattle display in this case.

He made it a point after that to move the coop further from the house and to get some king snakes for both the coop under floor and the corn crib. (grain storage room)

Souggy, you have a great post, and well worded. I just cant agree to all of it. Good show, by the way. I always like to read your opinions. You have great debating skills.
 
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