With only five weeks left until the 53rd annual Rattlesnake Rodeo, rodeo event planner Don Childre said there are no snakes in the tank outside of city hall.

“We haven’t gotten a single one,” he said. “It’s supposed to be cold this weekend, so maybe we can get some, then. I’m going to go out and see what I can get. I hope to have some by Monday.”

Childre said he knows of one hunter who has a few snakes, and there’s another hunter who turns all of his snakes in right before the rodeo.

Childre said there aren’t a lot of snake hunters left.

“Most have gotten too old to hunt them,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing.”

In the early days of the rodeo, there were 300 to 400 snakes, but since the city has taken over the rodeo, it typically exhibits about 40 snakes, which organizers said is plenty.

This year’s rodeo will be held Fri., March 22, and Sat., March 23, at Opp’s Channell-Lee Stadium.