Snakes are out and about and Hatters are advised to keep an eye out. (Photo courtesy of Sheri Monk)

By Adrian St.Onge

‘Look before you step over something and before you reach’: Medicine Hat snakes are leaving their dens

May 17, 2024 | 8:00 PM

It will be cooler this weekend, but Hatters will still want to keep and eye on where they step. According to Snakes on a Plain founder Sheri Monk, it’s snake season.

“People have been seeing them actually. They’ve been dispersing from their dens for the past two to three weeks. They don’t all leave on the same day, so it’s kind of like us, they have their own schedules, some are early, some are late, some are right on time,” Monk told CHAT News.

“So it’s entirely possible to encounter one now. Yes this weekend might be a little chilly, but with some sunshine, if the sun is shining and it’s ten degrees or above, keep your eyes open, keep your dogs on leash, and hopefully you’ll have a pleasant encounter with a rattlesnake,” she said.

Southeast Alberta is home to six of Alberta’s seven snakes and only one, the prairie rattlesnake, is venomous.

While incidents with the prairie rattlesnake are low and casualties are even less likely, there are no field treatments for snake bites, so experts say to get medical attention as soon as possible.

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“Keep an eye on the ground once in awhile if you’re going to be hiking off trail, you can get gators for an extra layer of protection and always wear hiking boots that kind of cover your ankles,” Monk said.

“If you’re doing gardening or ranch work or whatever and you can’t see into something that you’re reaching, consider something like leather roping gloves to get that extra layer of protection to your hands,” she said.

“Look before you step over something and before you reach.”

“Other than that, most people won’t even see a rattlesnake. Most people who live in Medicine Hat have never seen one, you almost have to go out of your way to look for them, but there is the occasional chance encounters.”

Female prairie rattlesnakes are common in the area but only reproduce every two or three years, with some on the extremes waiting five years.

Snakelets have a high mortality rate and according to Monk, are in the conversation to be added to a conservation list.

The Medicine Hat Regional Hospital and other regional hospitals in Southeast Alberta have antivenom.

Monk suggests leaving snakes alone is the best course of action, but stresses calling local bylaw officers or licensed snake handlers to relocate dangerous snakes.