Snake, Rattle And Roll
By DONNIS BAGGETT
Eagle Columnist
Tom Wideman isn't a man to mince words. "A rattlesnake's bite compares to being stabbed with two red-hot ice picks," he writes. Wideman is the former mayor of Sweetwater and former chair of the World's Largest Rattlesnake Roundup, held every March. And now he's a published author, the proud papa of Texas Rattlesnake Tales. Over the past 48 years, Wideman has handled more snakes than a hooker at a political convention. He's as comfortable holding a rattler as a normal man is holding a remote control. His book cover shows him holding up an irate five-foot diamondback with its mouth wide open. Wideman's mouth is wide open, too: He's grinning like a mule eating cactus.
He wasn't always so eager to keep company with snakes. When the Sweetwater Jaycees held their first rattlesnake roundup in 1958, Wideman worked the ticket booth. That was as close to the action as he wanted to be.
"I had a strong fear of rattlesnakes and promised myself that I would never hunt or handle the dangerous reptiles," he writes. "In the forty-eight years since, life has taught me many things - chief among them, never say never."
Within two years, he was in charge of the roundup's most hazardous duty - weighing and measuring the snakes caught and delivered to the pit. Rattlesnakes are generally brought in directly from their dens and haven't been milked, so they're full of venom. Most of them are hot, meaning they're extremely agitated - first at being captured and second at being transported in a container filled with dozens of other ill-tempered rattlesnakes. When containers are opened, rattlesnakes inside strike wildly at anyone and anything within reach."
As the years passed, Wideman became one of West Texas' most prolific snakehunters. He's caught countless thousands of the slithery critters - sometimes as many as 300 from a single den - and has shown many a reporter and photographer how it's done. Along the way, Wideman has appeared on National Geographic Television and has served as a field tester and model for snakeproof boots. He estimates his own boots have been struck at least 300 times. But only once has a fang managed to connect with Wideman's flesh. That occurred at his home one day when he was playing with a "pet" rattler named Red Rider. The snake nicked him on the thumb and was promptly evicted into the wild. Wideman recovered fully.
"If you're going to adopt rattlesnake hunting as a hobby, the two most important hunting accessories you'll need are a cool head and a deep respect for the critters," Wideman says. "If you see a rattlesnake or hear one rattle a warning, freeze in your tracks," he warns. "I know that's a difficult assignment when your natural inclination is to run, but you should remain absolutely motionless until you determine the rattlesnake's location. Chances are that if you hear a snake rattle and don't move, the snake will retreat first."
Wideman acknowledges that there's been criticism of the rattlesnake roundup, but he maintains that the annual event has done no long-term damage to the species - or to their dens. He says the dens are repopulated with snakes by the time the next roundup rolls around. The book is full of interesting facts about rattlesnakes. A few examples:
• They don't shake their rattles as a warning. It's an involuntary response to danger.
• A rattler sheds its skin several times a year. It's temporarily blind while shedding and is "particularly unpredictable and dangerous, striking randomly without provocation."
• Snakes often share living quarters with rats. And sometimes the rats chew off the snakes' rattles.
• Mother snakes give birth to anywhere from five to 20 live babies. Within minutes, they're extremely poisonous. About half of them will live to maturity.
• A rattler has 14 fangs. It sheds the front two each time it sheds and the next two move up. Because they can grow new ones, "defanging" a rattler is a temporary thing.
• If you were able to completely milk a snake dry, the venom would be replenished in 18 to 24 hours. The venom, by the way, is "the color and consistency of orange juice."
• A rattler's normal body temperature is 55 degrees.
• Rattlesnakes have no eyelids. Their eyes are open even when they're asleep.
Wideman's book is published by State House Press (325-793-4697), a member of the Texas A&M University Press Consortium. It's a good, quick read - whether you're a snake fan or just fascinated by a good snake story.
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