Venomous or nonvenomous What to do if you encounter a rattlesnake What you need to know about There are three venomous snakes in Colorado, the Prairie, • Most importantly, remain calm and still at first. Massasauga and Midget-faded rattlesnakes. Only the Prairie Rattlesnake is found in Castle Rock. • Give the snake plenty of room and walk around it, Rattlesnakes or back away slowly and carefully. The nonvenomous Bullsnake is often mistaken for a rattlesnake, because they have similar markings • Do not handle, move or harass it. in Castle Rock and will vibrate their rattleless tails on dry vegetation. • Quickly seek medical attention for venomous snake bites. Nonvenomous and venomous snakes can be easily • If a rattlesnake is in your yard, call Castle Rock distinguished from each other. Animal Control, 303-663-6100.

What do rattlesnakes look like? Medical attention for pets • Broad, triangular head VCA Douglas County Animal Hospital • Vertical, catlike pupils 531 Jerry St. Castle Rock, CO • Heat-sensing pits on 303-688-2480 each side of their face that can determine the A vaccine is available for dogs against snake bites. size of an approaching Ask your veterinarian for details. human or animal, even Rattlesnake in complete darkness

• Jointed rattles on their blunt tail IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, PLEASE DIAL 911. • Large tubular fangs that fold out when the mouth opens

• Can grow up to 4 feet; average length is 2.5 feet For more information

What do Bullsnakes look like? Town of Castle Rock Parks and Recreation Department • Oval-shaped head 303-814-7444 • Round pupils Castle Rock Police Department • Pointed tail with Animal Protection Division no rattles 303-663-6100 Bullsnake • Rows of teeth Colorado Parks and Wildlife Northeast Region Office • Can grow to 6 to 8 feet 303-291-7227 in length www.wildlife.state.co.us TOWN OF CASTLE ROCK Remember, in most situations, people and wildlife can 1375 W. Plum Creek Parkway coexist. The key is to respect the wildness of wildlife. 720-814-7444• CRgov.com/wildlife Preventing a bite We need snakes

• Stay on open “Kill it!” is a common response upon seeing a snake, pathways, where but killing animals just because they frighten us doesn’t there is a better make sense. Even venomous snakes have a role to play chance that you will in Colorado’s ecosystem and are part of our state’s see a snake instead natural heritage. of stumbling upon it. Not only are the majority of snakes harmless to people, • Never put your hand they actually benefit us by eating pests that destroy or foot where you can’t see. Look before you step over crops and stored food. Garter snakes eat insects, while logs or rocks. Avoid crevices, wood piles, brush and shrubs. Bullsnakes help by eating rodents. In turn, snakes (and their eggs) are eaten by many other species, from • Wear leather boots; rattlesnakes usually can’t bite skunks to Great Blue Herons and eagles. through leather. While venomous snakes present a danger – and people About rattlesnakes • Always keep your dog on a leash no longer than 6 feet should always be aware and cautious when in rattlesnake and near you at all times when in rattlesnake habitat. If habitat – the aggressive pursuit and killing of snakes is Rattlesnakes can be found throughout Castle Rock. They you come upon a rattlesnake, or hear one, keep your not only unsound ecologically, it is illegal. A statutory are most commonly seen in grassland areas and rocky dog close at your side and carefully move away. provision allows for the killing of rattlesnakes if they are outcrops, but they also are present along both concrete felt to be an imminent threat to human life or safety. • Supervise your dog, even if it is just in the backyard. Never and dirt trails. Killing a snake just because it is venomous is against allow your dog to go on an exploration of prairie dog the law. holes, because rattlesnakes often live in abandoned Facts about rattlesnakes prairie dog holes. • Most Colorado snakes are nonvenomous (nonpoisonous), • Do not landscape with expanses of large rocks, and Myths and truths about snakes harmless and beneficial to people because of their remove bird feeders – which attract rodents – from Myth: All snakes are aggressive and will always bite. appetites for insects and rodents. your property. Truth: Given an opportunity to escape, snakes typically • Rattlesnakes generally are nonaggressive toward people • Seal entrances to crawl spaces and basements, and will choose flight over fight. unless they are startled, cornered or stepped upon. check for cracks around doors, windows, water pipes, electrical lines, etc. Myth: Venomous snake bites are usually fatal. • Rattlesnakes are deaf and feel vibrations to detect Truth: Snakes often “hold back” their venom when biting prey or nearby danger. They do not always shake their • Keep firewood in a covered box. defensively; they generally will use venom to kill rattles before striking, so do not rely solely on your prey, not to protect themselves. (Forty percent of sense of hearing. bites by venomous snakes show no venom.) More people are killed by lightning and bee stings each • Rattlesnakes can strike a distance roughly two-thirds year than by snake bites. their length. Myth: All snakes hatch from eggs. • Snakes bask in the sun – on rocks, paved trails and Truth: Rattlesnakes and Garter snakes bear live young. other warm places – to raise their body temperature. They congregate in fall at crevices in rocky ledges Myth: Rattlesnakes have one “button” on their rattle for to hibernate for the winter. each year of their life. Truth: The buttons on the rattle are a dried remnant left • Baby rattlesnakes are more dangerous than adults, each time the skin is shed. Snakes may shed their because their small rattle is noiseless. They will strike skin two or more times per year, and the dried immediately when disturbed. buttons frequently break off.