This happened in 2007, however, I think it deserves a place here to remind folks that even if the head is cut off the snake it is possible to get bit. It seems that Danny Anderson was feeding his horses and a 5 foot rattlesnake came into the yard. He, with his sons help managed to pin the snake down and cut off its head with a shovel. He thinking the snake was dead, reached down to pick up the head and it raised up and bit him. He needed to go to the hospital for his tongue was swelling, and the venom was spreading. The Fish & Game Dept., in Prosser, Washington State, said they had never heard of such a thing happening before. That it may have just been the reflex action that caused the head to bite Danny. This story was so strange, but it makes you think twice before picking up the head of a dead rattlesnake.
Read the story for yourself, by following this link. http://www.komonews.com/news/local/9058966.html
This is not the first time someone was bit by a cut off snake head. Over a decade ago it was in the news someone who was killed by the head of a venom snake more than 20 minutes after the snake was beheaded.
Another time I have even seen a video of a skinned, headless, all internal organs were moved snake moving.
It is not recommended to get close to a venom snake even if you think it is already dead. It is not strange at all they will still bite.
Wow, this just shows how careful you need to be if you even see such a snake. It is important to stay as far as possible away from the snake because we clearly know what this beastly creature is capable of.
I am so sorry for these families that lost their loved ones from this, it must have been very devastating.
I would be paralyzed from fear most likely.
02-24-2013, 11:58 AM, (This post was last modified: 02-24-2013, 12:00 PM by 4sweed.)
My ex-husband, was and still is a snakehunter, although, he does not catch the poisenous ones as much as he used to. As a younger man he was bitten by a cottonmouth on one finger. He had caught the snake and had it bagged, and it bit him through the bag.
As the story was told to me, his arm swelled up and they went to the hospital, where doctors wanted to remove a part of his arm. They left and went to another hospital where he was treated and released. He ended up losing the top part of one finger. Made him much more careful when handling the poisenous ones.
I had never heard of anyone getting bitten by a dead snake before, but the snakes nerves and muscles, jump around for a long time after they are dead, even the head when cut off can still move, so I can see the chance of getting bit as a result of that condition.
I think it is important to remember how dangerous they are and to be extra careful when killing them or removing and burying the snakes head or body, and use a shovel.
I have read about this kind of thing happening as well, and it is definitely something to be careful of.
When I was just a little girl, and we had all gone camping at a small lake up in the mountains, there were snakes swimming in the water. We lived in north Idaho , and there are no venomous snakes there, so it wasn't dangerous. One of the relatives had his .22 rifle along and he shot a snake in the head and about blew the head off. the snake wiggled and trashed around in the water for almost an hour afterwards; so the body lived quite a while even with no head.
All of us kids had terrible nightmares about snakes that night; so that was the last time any snakes were shot on camping trips.
But it was definitely a learning experience for all of us kids, that "dead " snakes aren't always really dead.
