In the ignorance is bliss department...

[Chris James]

I know selfies are all the rage these days, but rarely are they this expensive:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/rattlesnake-selfie-hospital-bill_55b38198e4b0a13f9d18bf80?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592

We may all laugh at this man's plight, but that bill is a serious end to his stupid photography skills.

[Camy]

It's all in the name. Rattle Snake. They rattle to give you a 'sod off I'm not in the mood' warning.

Seeing as I've never bothered with medical insurance when I've been to the U.S.A., this rather freaked me out.

It seems snake bites are a money making concern. Here's another from 2012 when a UC San Diego exchange student was bitten by a baby rattle snake in a parking lot:

[The student] was admitted to Scripps hospital and given four doses of antivenom over a 24-hour period. He was thrilled that the treatment worked and he could get back to his studies, until he heard from his insurance company.

That was when Trydal learned what his visit to the hospital cost: $143,989. He was shocked.

"I thought maybe $10,000," he said, noting that if he'd had the same treatment back home in Norway "it would have been free."

Trydal agreed to let the hospital release a copy of the bill to 10News. In it there are two separate charges for antivenin croatalidfab. The first charge is for $102,440 and the second is for $25,610. That is a total of $128,050.

http://www.10news.com/news/-143k-hospital-bill-shocks-snake-bite-victim

[Cole Parker]

They say baby rattler bites are the worst, because the babies haven't learned how to conserve their venom. They release every bit of it, while the adults are more conservative with it.

Uh, Camy? You don't really have to fear rattlesnakes in the U.S. There are places where you should be cautious, like in the desert or in the woods in some places in the West and South, but I've lived in this country for over 70 years and never seen a live rattlesnake. They're not something you need to worry about.

C

[Rutabaga]

We discovered that we had a family of rattlesnakes living in our back yard when we lived in the Santa Monica Mountains. Our dogs got bitten three times. Thankfully we were able to find and eliminate them. I'm very kind to animals in general, but it gave me great pleasure to dispatch these.

That's the only time I've encountered rattlesnakes here in southern California.

R

[Merkin]

They're not something you need to worry about.

Unless you happen to be picking wild huckleberries here in the eastern U.S.

[Cole Parker]

Well, certainly, if you invade their territory. You need to be aware of where you are. They're very shy creatures and will give warning if you get close. Dogs have to worry more than humans because they will go right up to one.

They are found in the wilds. So, to avoid them, stay around night clubs and gyms, restaurants and bars. The rattlesnakes you'll find there are of the human variety.

[colinian]

I've seen one or two rattlesnakes every year since I was about ten years old, and more often the past three years. It's probably because we go hiking a lot, and they are endemic in Mt. Diablo State Park and the open space areas here in central Contra Costa County. Rattlesnake sightings are up in our county, largely due to the warm, dry weather that has gripped much of the West.

We are careful when we're hiking, looking at where we're stepping and about to step and at the sides of the trails. The closest we've ever come to a rattler is about six feet; it was rapidly moving away from where we were walking. I found that we can't count on a rattlesnake actually rattling. About half we've seen did, the others didn't. That's why we're always very careful when we're out hiking.

Colin