Light for Dogwalking in Rattlesnakey Desert

[Keeperdog]

We are going to be in the Sonoran desert for the month of March, which is when the nasty snakes come alive. I'll be walking the dog in the dark and want a flashlight that will light up the area for dangerous critters. Will have the lab on a ~10 foot leash. Suggestions of moderate priced lights that are widely available would be appreciated.

 

[archimedes]

What do you consider to be moderately priced, and do you plan to purchase online or from a retail store ?

Do you have any battery preferences ?

 

[bigburly912]

How long will your walks be?

 

[sgt253]

My suggestion would be using a light with moderate to high power as well as moderate to high cri (color rendering index). This would help the user in recognizing plant from animal. Rattlesnakes tend to blend into their environment.

 

[lightknot]

I live in the Sonoran Desert. Recommend a Surefire 6P with a Sportac Triple XP-L Hi. Moderate price and does the job.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

The individual who began this thread joined in February of 2021, visited here the next day and has not returned since (at least in terms of being logged in).

The only dog collars I have seen with lights were colored and low light; wholly unsuited for detecting rattlesnakes. A Hi CRI, fairly wide beam flashlight held in-hand low, fairly parallel to the ground is what we use, but a still, quiet snake is almost always an unseen snake...

 

[knucklegary]

The individual who began this thread joined in February of 2021, visited here the next day and has not returned since (at least in terms of being logged in).

The only dog collars I have seen with lights were colored and low light; wholly unsuited for detecting rattlesnakes. A Hi CRI, fairly wide beam flashlight held in-hand low, fairly parallel to the ground is what we use, but a still, quiet snake is almost always an unseen snake...

Veterinarian offices offer anti rattler venom vaccines for k9's, you're probably already aware of.. Good idea to get your dog vaccinated, when in desert or any outdoor woods setting

 

[thermal guy]

They make a anti rattler venom vaccines??

 

[KITROBASKIN]

From Wiki...
Antivenoms are typically produced using a donor animal, such as a horse or sheep. The donor animal is hyperimmunized with non-lethal doses of one or more venoms to produce a neutralizing antibody response.

Vast majority of rattlers we have are feisty Prairie Rattlesnakes. They will let you know if you are getting close, though who knows how many we have passed... We came upon a Black-Tailed when moving a few years ago. I relocated him away from residentialists. That snake was so mellow and curious (and not a Prairie species):

2 minutes 15 seconds

 

[Dave_H]

I hear than near UV causes scorpions to glow, have not had a chance to check this out personally. I wonder if any particular colour of light (apart from high CRI white mentioned) would make snakes stand out?

Dave

 

[aznsx]

I hear than near UV causes scorpions to glow, have not had a chance to check this out personally. I wonder if any particular colour of light (apart from high CRI white mentioned) would make snakes stand out?

Dave

The UV works pretty well. I don't normally shoot SCORPS, but did once on this evening. This was using some crummy 7-11 checkout UV light a friend had. There are also several types of them around here, and that could be a variable.

When it comes to how many different types of rattlesnakes live in the Sonoran Desert, I've heard numbers from 9-13. Let's just say 'a lot' and round it to 'about 10'

My lights of choice here at night use the SST-20 4000K R9080. Everything I'm very familiar with looks very 'real' with those lights.

This is the first time I've ever attached / inserted a .jpeg in this system, and did not know how. Hopefully I don't crash the server.