As temperatures have begun to rise in Malibu, so have the reports of rattlesnake sightings. Anti-venom for humans is not available in Malibu, so if bitten, victims would have to be taken to Santa Monica for care.
By Troy Dove/Special to The Malibu Times
Recent heavy rains, combined with steadily rising temperatures have brought on onslaught of rattlesnakes in Malibu and surrounding areas, and residents can expect to see many more as even warmer weather approaches.
“They like the temperatures that we like,” said Bo Slyapich, lifelong Malibu resident and Los Angeles’ only professional rattlesnake wrangler. “Anything around 70 to 90 degrees, that’s perfect.”
Slyapich expects the numbers to be high this year after the winter rains provided a plentiful supply of food for the snakes primary prey-rodents.
Slyapich said he’s been getting three to six calls a day to remove snakes from local residences; on a recent afternoon, a call came in from a company in the Conejo Valley where employees found snakeskin that had been shed-inside the building. The company wanted him to find the snake, get rid of it and maybe come by for monthly checks.
Slyapich got his start as a snake wrangler when, nearly 20 years ago, working as a stuntman on a movie set, everyone deserted the set that a scaly intruder had invaded-Slyapich picked the snake up with a stick and took it to a remote area and let it go. (He never kills the snakes; just relocates them.) The movie’s location manager suggested giving Slyapich’s name to other managers-and soon snake wrangling took over stunt work. Residential snake wrangling came after he went under a home of a local businessman to retrieve a rattler that bit the man’s daughter on the finger-a feat that no one else dared to do, not even the firefighters. The thankful businessman began passing around Slyapich’s name to friends and neighbors.
The snake wrangler mostly gets calls for rattlesnakes, which are poisonous. (He’s never been bit; he wears thigh-high boots, forearm protectors and a mask when needed.)
And rattlesnake sightings may rise even more. “In the fall we may be looking at a bumper crop,” Slyapich said.
The Southern Pacific rattlesnake, the only variety found in the Malibu area, gives birth to live offspring either in the spring or the fall of the year.
“All the rain we had means a lot of feed for rats and mice,” Slyapich said, “which means the snakes are going to be feeding well. With all this good feeding, a female rattlesnake can have up to 20 to 24 offspring.”
With high numbers currently being reported in the area, and more expected, Malibu residents and visitors need to be alert while outdoors.
“They [rattlesnakes] are not aggressive, but they will bite you in a second if you disturb them, scare them or get in their face,” Slyapich warned.
Even though the South Pacific rattler is nonaggressive, it accounts for more venomous bites in the United States than any other snake because of where we build our homes, Slyapich said. “We build our homes on their homes.”
The majority of rattlesnake bites reported involve children and pets. Slyapich recommended parents and property owners need to visually inspect their property to ensure it is safe before letting children or pets in the area. This includes checking underneath toys or other objects left out in the yard.
Many people expect to hear a rattle if a snake is nearby, or preparing to strike, Slyapich said, but this is generally not the case.
“It is a fallacy that rattlesnakes will rattle before they bite you,” Slyapich said. “The rattlesnakes in this area, 85 to 90 percent do not rattle. They have attitudes like people; some rattle, some don’t.”
Local residents aren’t the only ones who need to be alert this season; hikers in the Malibu area also need to exercise caution when out on the trails.
If out hiking, Slyapich said the best way to help avoid being bitten is to wear leather boots, long pants and to stay in the middle of the trail. It is also a good idea to “carry a stick and push it around you. Snakes do not have ears, so they cannot hear you coming.”
Rattlesnakes are pit vipers, they use pits on both sides of their head to detect body heat. They use this, as well as their ability to detect motion through vibrations in the ground, to identify approaching animals and people.
With the large number of rattlesnakes sighted in Malibu every year, there are surprisingly few bites.
“We get maybe one a year,” said Capt. Larry Robideaux of Los Angeles County Fire Station 70 on Carbon Canyon Road, one of 11 fire stations in the area. “There are other stations in the area that may get up to a half a dozen. We get a lot of snake calls, but not bites.”
Robideaux said the fire stations receive most of their calls between May and September.
As a general rule, Robideaux said, “don’t be reaching into wood piles or reaching into bushes that you’re not sure of, and stay on trails. If you do come across one, just let it cross. If you leave it alone, it’ll leave you alone.”
Though bites are rare, if bitten it is advised to seek medical attention immediately.
“Just stay still and call 911 and the Fire Department and the paramedics will respond to take care of you,” Robideaux said. “If it’s a Malibu residence, you’re probably going to have someone there within probably five or 10 minutes or so.”
If bitten, Slyapich said to remove anything constrictive within the area of the bite, such as shoes, socks, ankle bracelets or toe rings from lower extremities and rings or watches from upper extremities or hands.
If bitten in the leg, sit down and extend the extremity straight out in front of you. If bitten in the arm or finger, hold the arm below the heart. Then just wait for the ambulance to arrive.
“Do not cut, suck, tourniquet, electric shock or apply ice,” Slyapich said. “That is Hollywood, [that] can just cause more damage.”
Southern Pacific rattlesnake venom is a hemotoxin, not a neurotoxin, so instead of affecting the nervous system it attacks blood and muscle tissue. Although it is uncommon, rattlesnake bites can be fatal.
“You have plenty of time [to get help],” Slyapich said. “There [could be] complications if you have diabetes or allergies, but just get to a hospital as soon as possible so there can be less damage as possible.”
To avoid a situation of being bit and not having a way to call for help while out alone in the mountains, Robideaux recommended using common sense; to let someone know where you’re going and when you plan on being back, in addition to avoid being bitten.
The Malibu Coast Animal Hospital carries anti-venom for cats and dogs, made from equine antibodies. Veterinarian technician Tim Murchison said in a phone interview that 10 dogs have been brought in with snake bites so far this year. All were bitten while out in the mountains. Murchison said that if a pet is bitten, ideally they should be brought in for a shot within an hour.
Snake anti-venom for humans is not the same as for animals. Up until three years ago the only anti-venom available was made with horse antibodies as well. Now, an anti-venom using sheep’s blood, which fights neurotoxic and hemotoxic poisoning, is available.
The Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center uses the sheep serum anti-venom, called Cofab. Dr. Wally Ghurabi, chief of emergency services at SM-UCLA, said many people were allergic to the horse serum version, so they switched to Cofab. Doctors still test for allergies before using Cofab on patients. Ghurabi said the medical center usually receives about a half dozen snakebite patients a year. This year so far, two victims have come in for care.
The Malibu Urgent Care does not carry anti-venom, so if bitten, a person would need to be taken to Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center or Saint John’s Health Center, most likely by airlift in order to receive care as soon as possible.