2015-07-22 / Front Page

They grow’em big in Miller Co., too

by Terry Toole

This one won&rsquo;t hurt or scare anyone else, but watch your step. There&rsquo;s more coming out of the fields. This one won’t hurt or scare anyone else, but watch your step. There’s more coming out of the fields. Last week we published a large rattlesnake that was said to have been grown and killed in Baker Co. The one shown above was seen, killed and authenticated as a Miller County grown rattler.

Of the 41 native snake species known in Georgia, only six are venomous: the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, Timber Rattlesnake (also known as the Canebrake), Pigmy Rattlesnake; Eastern Coral Snake; Cottonmouth (also known as the Water Moccasin) and Southern Copperhead.

Glen Sheffield, Sr. of Colquitt, ran into this five foot-plus, Diamond Back Rattlesnake near his home last Thursday, July 15, 2015. He shot off the business end of the large snake. What was left of the head, he buried it deep enough that it wouldn’t hurt anyone.

Glen put the rest of the large, 3 1/2” across the back in a five gallon bucket, and placed a heavy top over it.

Anyone want to have a tailgate party? Anyone want to have a tailgate party? The snake was over five feet long with 11 rattlers and a button. Rattlesnake’s diet on mice, rats, rabbits, gophers, ground dwelling birds, lizards and other small animals, but one this size could kill most anything with a bite from it’s venom if not treated. This snake has been eating well.

He said a very small deer fawn ran off near the spot where he killed the large snake.

“Rattlesnakes usually run in pairs, so I’m still looking for the mate.”

Diamondbacks are pit vipers. This means that they have a heat sensing pit (loreal pit) located behind each nostril that can detect differences in temperature, sometimes differences that are only a fraction of a degree apart. The heat given off by an animal or human, is detected by the snake helping it to determine predator from prey.

The big ones and small ones are moving. Watch your step!

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