McPHERSON, Kan. (KAKE) - Kansas game wardens are advising residents to keep an eye out for rattlesnakes, whether they're alive or dead. 

In a post on its Facebook page, the Department of Wildlife and Parks game wardens said that a dead massasauga rattlesnake was removed from the McPherson County State Fishing Lake area on Wednesday "to protect any children or pets that may have wandered across it."

The post warns that rattlesnakes can still envenomate (inject venom) for some time after death.

The department says that of the 42 species of snakes in Kansas, there are four native venomous snakes: the prairie rattlesnake, which is found in the western half of the state; the massasauga rattlesnake, found in the eastern two-thirds of the state; the timber rattlesnake, which is in the eastern fourth of the state; and the copperhead, in the eastern third of the state. Cottonmouths are very rare in Kansas, the department's website says.

Game wardens said wild reptiles, alive or dead, can only be collected for non-commercial purposes and cannot be bartered or sold. A hunting license is required.

Click here for more information about Kansas snakes and their habitats.