Rattlesnake

It was time for the annual exams of the Western Diamond Back Rattlesnakes. I was beside myself with joy. How often do you get to be involved in dealing with a deadly animal? Ok, in my world, it was fairly often.. So, we all head down to the reptile house and I was given very specific instructions that I was to keep calm and not get overly excited. I tried my best. The vet and two reptile keepers went into the room and locked it, despite my begging to be in the room as they caught up the snakes. These snakes were about 8 lbs and 6 feet long approximately. There was a male and female, the female being the bigger of the two. In order to safely handle the snakes, the keepers would have them slither up a clear plastic tube about half way up the animal's body, then they would hold them in place so they couldn't bite or get away. I literally danced outside as they caught up one snake at a time. The moment arrived and I was allowed into the room. There was this huge snake inside this tube staring me down. It was awesome! I was given the opportunity to exam the "non-lethal" end. It was the female that I examined. She was soft on the underside and rough and bumpy on top. She was pissed that I was touching her. She was bristling with indignation. I went to draw blood off her. She flipped and tried to get out of the grasp of the keeper. She looked at me, opened her mouth and spit venom in my direction. You could see this clear, viscous fluid running down the tube. Man, she was angry! I didn't back down. I calmly collected the blood from her, gave her another pet and handed her back. Luckily, she had already peed on the keeper when he caught her up, so I was spared that happiness. Snake "musk" doesn't come out of your clothes or off your skin. It's a very nasty smell. It was an amazing moment for me. The feeling of holding a predator in your hands in indescribable. It gives you pause. We all survived the day though that snake always watched me closely whenever I came around.