Texas' Biggest Rattlers

Shaun Hayes, a resident of the Fort Worth, Texas area who works as a wealth manager with McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management, enjoys snakes. Shaun Hayes has more than 22,000 followers on Instagram, where he educates the public on reptiles native to the state of Texas.

One mark of Texas pride is the wide range of rattlesnakes that live in the state. Texas hosts eight species of rattlesnakes, including the following: the western diamondback, the timber rattlesnake, and the prairie rattlesnake.

The western diamondback can present as a yellow, reddish-tan, grey, or brown snake, with some having the diamond shapes along the vertebrae from which the name comes. These snakes, the largest venomous snakes in the state, can reach nearly eight feet in length and can be quickly identified by the black and white bands on their tails.

The timber rattlesnake can be yellow, gray, or green, with rusty coloration along the back. They typically grow to between three and five feet in length, and have crossbars with jagged edges along their backs. While less likely to bite humans than western diamondbacks, they are still one of Texas's most venomous snakes.

The third type of Texas rattler that could potentially strike humans is the prairie rattlesnake, most commonly found in the Panhandle and Trans-Pecos regions. Its coloration and patterns include round, brown blotches as well as crossbars near the back end of the snake, with tan and brown bands along the tail. These rattlers are known for their unpredictability, with some biting and some trying to escape when encountering a human.

Dallas Zoo’s Efforts to Provide Antivenom for Exotic Snake Bites

Based in Fort Worth, Texas, Shaun Hayes serves as a wealth manager with McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management, providing personalized portfolio solutions designed to grow wealth. Passionate about reptiles, Shaun Hayes has extensive experience catching snakes in the wild and has provided uncommon Texas garter snakes, harmless to humans, to the Dallas Zoo for a high-profile breeding project.

As reported in the Houston Chronicle, the Dallas Zoo maintains a major antivenom supply in tandem with one of the country’s largest venomous snake collections. As snakes are not typically aggressive toward humans, the majority of snakebites involve people’s poor judgment in handling the reptiles. Hospitals commonly stock antivenom for the snakes native to their region, but issues arise when the bite culprit is a less common exotic variety.

The Dallas Zoo's curator of herpetology maintains an extensive stock of thousands of antivenom vials, which supplies the needs of patients spanning the Western United States, from California to Louisiana. Emergency supplies of antivenom are typically flown by plane or helicopter through police departments and private companies such as CareFlite. The price per vial, prior to hospital markup, is significant -- it can run from $200 a vial all the way up to $2,500.