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"Rattzilla", St. Augustine, Fl.

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posted on Oct, 1 2009 @ 09:45 AM
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"Police then called Brandon Booth, a professional trapper. Booth said that when he pulled up, he realized how big and dangerous the rattler was."
Floridatoday Newspaper.


Vance



posted on Oct, 1 2009 @ 09:48 AM
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Man I have seen the Diamond Back all my life, never seen one longer than five feet or so. Unbelievable how large these things can get. I wonder how fast the "strike" on one of these babies can get.
Yikes,
lol.
Vance



posted on Oct, 1 2009 @ 09:53 AM
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Wow! Damn snake was as big as a python. It's unheard of for a rattler to be that large!

Just goes to show you what happens when foods with growth hormones filter down the food chain.

He probably ate rats that had dined on "MicGrowth burgers".



posted on Oct, 1 2009 @ 10:56 AM
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This guy makes me angry! He is not a professional if he "had" to kill it!! Steve Irwin would have jumped on it for heavens sake INFRONT of hundreds of people! There was no reason to kill the snake IMO. If he were a professional then he would know how to round up a snake even with people around. The people are idiots number one for getting in his way. I am a huge snake lover if you couldnt tell
I hate when people kill snakes for no reason
RIP Ratzilla


I would NEVER call this guy again! Snakes are so misunderstood but that's my opinion. I just ordered my very own lavender corn snake
they are beautiful and Manolo will be treated like most treat their dogs I promise you that!



posted on Oct, 1 2009 @ 11:09 AM
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Ok so here is the snake

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/1ea02605be34.jpg[/atsimg]


Soooooooooo the guy had a pole used to catch snakes and yet he still had to kill it?
Why didnt he just use the pole and put the snake in a bag like most professional snake wranglers... I did notice he said he wasnt a professional yet the article said he was one. Make up your minds! I believe gatorland is near St. Augustine and I am sure they would have made a nice home for the snake. I know many think I am nuts for defending a snake but I like them...no different than people who want to save the whales imo


BTW "ratzilla" is or was a beautiful rattler



posted on Oct, 1 2009 @ 11:11 AM
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reply to post by mblahnikluver
 


I agree %100. I don't see how a snake that large could possibly strike and be a threat to a human. The record is 8' I see now, I bet any number of snake ranches would've loved to keep him - and alive. Heck, the "Bellamy Brothers Band" guys would've took him, I know it. Sad, sad...
Vance



posted on Oct, 1 2009 @ 11:11 AM
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This wasn't "just a snake", it was a 7' 3" Diamond Back... not something to be toying around with. That's not one you can just throw in your gunny sack and take back to the wild.



posted on Oct, 1 2009 @ 11:20 AM
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Originally posted by Ecidemon
This wasn't "just a snake", it was a 7' 3" Diamond Back... not something to be toying around with. That's not one you can just throw in your gunny sack and take back to the wild.



Believe me I know about snakes. I know its a venomous snake and I also know of MANY different professionals in that area they could have called who would not have killed it! I live in FL... So you think just because it's too big and venomous it was ok to kill it? Sorry it might just be my love for the slithery reptiles but if this guy was any kind of snake handler he would not have wanted to kill it. Everyone I know that is a snake wrangler would never have killed that snake esp with it being so big and not of the norm, but that is just me..Like I said I have a deep love for snakes
It was obviously in the wrong place at the wrong time....
I believe recently Gator Land had a day where you were able to drop off unwanted snakes that were either too big or you just didnt want them anymore. They were being relocated or put on view at GL's reptile exhibit. This was done after the little girl who died from being constricted by a albino burmese python (my fav). The owner of that snake NEVER should have had that as a pet, he was VERY careless with it and a little girl died because of it. People think snakes are great pets and yes they are if you know what you are doing. Its not just get a cage and feed it mice, there is so much more to it. When I get my Manolo (lavender corn) I will make a thread and show you the housing I will have for him. It will be like a snake palace and he will not be able to get out
It pays growing up next to people who were snake breeders and handlers. Some like dogs I like snakes



posted on Oct, 1 2009 @ 11:28 AM
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This is an extremely dangerous snake, but it didn't need to be killed. It could have been studied and then released back into the wild.

When bears roam into my back yard we don't kill them. We call the proper authorities and have them removed and relocated...and THAT is a dangerous animal.

Other methods could have been used.



posted on Oct, 1 2009 @ 11:38 AM
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Originally posted by mblahnikluver
I just ordered my very own lavender corn snake
they are beautiful and Manolo will be treated like most treat their dogs I promise you that!


Good. I hope he will grow fat soon. If I see him I will make a pair of boots out of him.

[-snip-] I wouldn't think twice about killing a rattler.

 

Mod Edit: This post was edited for Personal Attack

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[edit on 1 Oct 09 by Gools]



posted on Oct, 1 2009 @ 11:38 AM
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Originally posted by vance
reply to post by mblahnikluver
 


I agree %100. I don't see how a snake that large could possibly strike and be a threat to a human. The record is 8' I see now, I bet any number of snake ranches would've loved to keep him - and alive. Heck, the "Bellamy Brothers Band" guys would've took him, I know it. Sad, sad...
Vance



Here is some info on the Eastern Diamond Back


The eastern diamondback rattlesnake is the largest venomous snake in North America. Some reach 8 feet (2.4 meters) in length and weigh up to 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms).

These stout-bodied pit vipers generally live in the dry, pine flatwoods, sandy woodlands, and coastal scrub habitats from southern North Carolina to Florida and west to Louisiana. Their pattern of yellow-bordered, light-centered black diamonds makes them among the most strikingly adorned of all North American reptiles. They are natural exterminators, surviving on such household pests as rats and mice, as well as squirrels and birds.

Feared as deadly and aggressive, diamondbacks are actually highly averse to human contact and only attack in defense. Most bites occur when humans taunt or try to capture or kill a rattlesnake. They can accurately strike at up to one-third their body length.

Diamondback venom is a potent hemotoxin that kills red blood cells and causes tissue damage. Bites are extremely painful and can be fatal to humans. However, antivenin is widely available throughout the snake's range, and bites rarely result in death.

When cornered, rattlers feverishly shake their iconic tails as a last warning to back off. Rattles are made of loosely attached, hard, hollow segments. Snakes add a new rattle segment each time they shed. However, rattles break off frequently, and snakes may shed their skin several times a year, so it is not possible to determine a snake's age by its rattle size.

The eastern diamondback is not endangered, but because of indiscriminate killing, widespread loss of habitat, and hunting, its numbers are decreasing throughout its range.


They do strike but only when threatened and they are being killed off! People see one and yell "omg a snake lets kill it." Believe me I have saved many snakes from death by shovel...lol
I was at my grandparents a few years ago and a Cottonmouth/Water Moccasin somehow got on my grandparents pool patio. Well my sister freaked out yelling and wanted to kill it. I wouldnt let her! Everyone in my family knows how I am about snakes..lol They all went inside and I went and grabbed the fireplace poker with the curved loop thing on the end and quietly and calmly went towards the snake which was hissing and in its little coil position and picked it up the way I was taught many times and let it go outside where it slithered off back into the woods. See no need to kill it but I DONT recommend doing this if you have no idea what you are doing or have never been trained in doing so. This was a venomous snake and yeah my family thought I was insane but they are use to me rescuing snakes


EasternDiamond



posted on Oct, 1 2009 @ 11:45 AM
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Originally posted by Alethea

Originally posted by mblahnikluver
I just ordered my very own lavender corn snake
they are beautiful and Manolo will be treated like most treat their dogs I promise you that!


Good. I hope he will grow fat soon. If I see him I will make a pair of boots out of him.

Crybaby whiner. I wouldn't think twice about killing a rattler.


Well you would never see my snake and well if you would READ you would see I am getting a lavender corn snake which is nonvenomous and very docile


Boots
well Manolo is not going to be boots for anyone EVER!

As for the name calling is that really needed?? I guess you dont have an animal you feel passionate about...Sad..sorry you dont see the beauty in nature and how killing something for no reason other than fear is wrong...but thats just me...Like I said I love snakes and always have.



posted on Oct, 1 2009 @ 11:47 AM
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Originally posted by Malzypants
This is an extremely dangerous snake, but it didn't need to be killed. It could have been studied and then released back into the wild.

When bears roam into my back yard we don't kill them. We call the proper authorities and have them removed and relocated...and THAT is a dangerous animal.

Other methods could have been used.



I agree 100% it is a dangerous snake and I know the area and KNOW there are people out there who would have loved to keep this snake and studied it as to how it became so big and they would have either kept it or let it go somewhere in the wild where it would be far away from people.



posted on Oct, 1 2009 @ 11:53 AM
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yeeeep I'll tell you what- That's a pretty big rattler if I've ever seen one... wooooooo
I wouldn't want to get bit by that guy.. Then again you'd figure his rattler must have been awfully loud. The bigger rattler the louder I assume?


[edit on 1-10-2009 by lynchr1]



posted on Oct, 1 2009 @ 12:37 PM
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posted on Oct, 1 2009 @ 01:13 PM
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Wow! Now that's a whopper! I have stepped on a rattler once in deep brush and just by chance it was in the middle of swallowing a rat! Lucky me! They are as handsome as a snake can be but I'd have no problem dispatching one if needed.



posted on Oct, 1 2009 @ 04:37 PM
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All right people.

The personal attack has been edited out and the poster advised as to why.

Lets move along.
.



posted on Oct, 22 2009 @ 07:57 PM
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One of these would swollow me and my brother whole! That thing is gnormous I didnt know rattle snakes grow up to that big. if rattlesnakes are this big now, maybe one we'll see 8 foot long garden snakes.



posted on Oct, 22 2009 @ 08:06 PM
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Originally posted by mblahnikluver

Originally posted by Alethea

Originally posted by mblahnikluver
I just ordered my very own lavender corn snake
they are beautiful and Manolo will be treated like most treat their dogs I promise you that!


Good. I hope he will grow fat soon. If I see him I will make a pair of boots out of him.

Crybaby whiner. I wouldn't think twice about killing a rattler.


Well you would never see my snake and well if you would READ you would see I am getting a lavender corn snake which is nonvenomous and very docile


Boots
well Manolo is not going to be boots for anyone EVER!

As for the name calling is that really needed?? I guess you dont have an animal you feel passionate about...Sad..sorry you dont see the beauty in nature and how killing something for no reason other than fear is wrong...but thats just me...Like I said I love snakes and always have.


I find it interesting that you think it is ok to keep a snake captive? Wouldn't surprise me if the snake preferred being dead.



posted on Oct, 22 2009 @ 09:01 PM
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This reminds me of a really cool thread.

If you are interested in the moral conversation regarding the murdering of large snakes in heavily inhabited areas (and my own opinion on the matter), please visit that thread.


I'd like to remind everyone that moving a snake of that magnitude would require a trained professional. Trained professionals are not available in all areas.




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