I'm no expert, but I would assume it would take more than a few years for the rattlesnake to adapt that quickly.

I agree with the careful statement. I see/hear a lot about death and destruction so far as snakes and dogs. I get a pretty concentrated dose of the stories be it that is what I do.

So far as pigs eating the rattling ones I don't agree. There have been no scientific studies to substantiate the claims. Rattlers are odd creatures. With the snakes I have kept over the years, it is impossible to tell which one will rattle and which one will not. I can pick the ones rattling really well the night before a clinic. That does not guarantee them to rattle at the clinic the next day. I need 3 snakes at a clinic but I usually take 8 to 10 for this very reason.

Rumors about snakes, or anything not well known to humans, get started and they perpetuate into something absolutely not true. Water Moccasins! In the movies, stories around a campfire ect have been demonized for decades. After well over a decade of working with them, I can tell you they are not at all what you have been told. I know! I will get bashed and I know someone will have their great Uncle Joe's Neighbor got mauled by a pack of them type of story. It isn't true! They will not attack a human. They will bite you, but they will not actively seek you out for evil doings. The defend, they do not attack. Everyone on this board will defend if provoked but really not likely to attack anyone.

So until a real study is completed and I can read how it was conducted, I am not biting off on the Hogs eat snake=no rattle anymore theory.

http://www.livingalongsidewildlife.com/2011/06/are-rattlesnakes-rattling-less-because.html

Please refer to Lonesome Dove Part 1 and don't you dare tell me it's not real.

haha it is about as cheesy as the storm right before that part where the lightning strikes the herd!

Actually that can happen. The old Cowboys called it fox fire

Right, I was referring to the level of technology available when the movie came out!

Like I told my cheap azz hunting buddy, $200 snake boots are pretty cheap insurance vs. $50,000 round of anti-venom ...

Just don't "reach" in anywhere for a downed bird till you check for Mr. rattler, boots cant help you there...

I agree 100%. I got Rattlers and lots of Hogs, mine still rattle under certain situations. Been around Rattlesnakes most of my life, most won't rattle unless it's really hot outside or you start messing with them. Most I come across are pretty docile and always have been, even before Hogs showed up on my ranch in 1999.