Man Bitten By Rattler In Saginaw County

When Nature Bites!

On June 28, Glenn Reeves was bitten by a massasauga rattlesnake in Saginaw County.  As reported by Jeanne Marcello in the July 12, 2009 issue of the Lapeer-based Tri-County Citizen, Mr. Reeves was part of a group picking strawberries.  A snake startled others in the group, and he tried to catch it, assuming it was a harmless garter snake.  He stepped on its tail, and as he leaned down to pick it up, the snake struck twice, first nicking him and then clamping down on his arm.  Reeves had to pull the snake off.  With his hand starting to swell, he was minutes later on his way to a Saginaw area hospital.  

He was soon transferred by a MedEvac helicopter to the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor.  It took just over two hours from the time of the bite to get him to U of M, where Reeves spent the night waiting for anti-venom to be produced.  He received the first of four anti-venom treatments the next morning and was watched closely around- the-clock by a nurse that night.  He was finally released from the hospital on June 30.  

Reeves will likely suffer no lasting effects from the ordeal, and that’s the usual outcome for the unfortunate few that are bitten by Michigan’s most venomous snake.  Massasauga rattlers—a “species of special concern” in Michigan—are seldom encountered, so on average only one or two people are bitten by them each year.  Those bites are very seldom fatal, and many people, including biologists and naturalists somewhat familiar with the massasauga’s habits and biology, often refer to the species as “relatively harmless.”  Lots of stories have been told about people bit by massasaugas without any ill affects.  This has led to the widespread and incorrect notion that massasauga venom is not very toxic—about like a bee sting.  However, massasauga venom is actually at least as toxic, drop-for-drop, as the venom of the much-feared diamond-backed rattlesnakes, says well-known herpetologist James Harding, of Michigan State University.  “It’s not the lack of toxicity of the venom, but typically the small dose that reduces the seriousness of most massasauga bites,” he explains.  

Massasaugas are small for rattlesnakes.  Adults are typically just 2-3 feet long, less than half the size of an eastern or western diamondback rattlesnake.  So, they don’t carry as much venom.  And like other rattlesnakes, massasaugas often inflict “dry” bites containing no venom.  How they control the injection of venom when biting is not completely understood, but experts say up to about half of rattlesnake bites may be “dry.”  This helps account for tales of men “so tough they can shrug off a rattlesnake bite,” and the myth that a massasauga is not capable of killing an adult.  

Researcher Jim Mahaffy, of Iowa, has found references in old newspapers to several deaths of adults caused by massasauga bites in Michigan.  The August 29, 1891 issue of the Grand Traverse Herald described the death of a farmer from Grand Haven who was fatally bitten by a rattlesnake he ran over with a mowing machine.  The July 9, 1925 issue of the Evening Chronicle of Marshall, Michigan (Calhoun County) reported that a farmer was in critical condition and not expected to live after a rattlesnake bite.  Mahaffy also found that the Renwick (Iowa) Times reported in its July 19, 1896 issue the death of a married women of Athens, Michigan (also Calhoun County) from a rattlesnake bite received while picking berries.  Mahaffy found references to nine-year-old and two-year-old girls near Ceresco and Muskegon, respectively, killed by rattlesnakes.  The last known adult killed by a massasauga bite occurred in Ontario in the 1950s.  

Beside the amount of venom injected, the size and condition of the person bitten, the location of the bite, the timeliness of treatment and a host of other factors affect the bottom-line results of a massasauga bite.  That’s why the medical experts reacted the way they did when they treated Mr. Reeves, and why all citizens should recognize that massasauga rattlers are dangerous.  

Contrary to popular belief, massasauga rattlers are not confined to swamps and bogs.  Although they utilize such habitats parts of the year, they are often found in uplands, especially in summer.  Any grassland or backyard can occasionally harbor massasaugas.   

Despite this danger, government agencies and citizen organizations, including the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy, all work at some level to conserve the massasauga rattlesnake.  That’s because the massasauga populations are only a fraction of what they once were.  The destruction of wetlands, in particular, took a toll on the species.  The U.S. Forest Service recently conducted radio-telemetry studies in northeastern Michigan that showed the juxtaposition of wetlands (key wintering habitats) and grasslands (summer-time habitat) is crucial to continued survival of the species.  Prime habitat for the massasauga rattler has dwindled since settlement times.  

Massasauga rattlers, like all poisonous snakes, were once killed by humans whenever found.  Today, they are still killed illegally, as are some snakes often mistaken for rattlers.  The threatened eastern fox snake and the common milk snake both have a checkered or blotchy skin pattern and unfortunately, sometimes shake their tails (somewhat rattler-like) when excited.  So, people often assume they are rattlers and kill them.  A close-look would reveal lack of rattles on the tail and a rounded rather than triangular head.  

Although real, the danger posed by the massasauga rattler needs to be put in perspective.  Dogs, coyotes, bears, bees and wasps are (statistically) more threatening to humans.  Massasauga rattlers are found in nearly all of the counties of the Lower Peninsula, yet are rarely seen.  They are part of our natural heritage, and the challenge is to maintain their presence while minimizing risk.  

The best way to avoid being bitten is to leave them alone.  Most massasauga bites occur when they are handled or when people try to kill them.  Make sure of the identity of any snake you must handle.  Educate children about snake identification at an early age.  

Mr. Reeves was bitten just a few miles from my home.  A couple of weeks before, a 5-year-old neighbor boy proudly and loudly announced to me that he had caught a “big rattlesnake.”  He had tossed a plastic sled over it.  I walked over to him and asked how he knew it was a rattler.  “Because it is coiled up and shaking its tail like crazy,” he exclaimed.  I slowly lifted the sled, and discovered he was right about that, but it was an eastern fox snake doing the shaking.  The boy had no fear of what he thought was, and could very well have been, a rattlesnake.  

Dr. Patrick J. Rusz
Director of Wildlife Programs

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