Paladin handles a living rattlesnake. To protect the show's star (Boone) the snake has been milked of venom or defanged.
Learning that Paladin is a fellow West Point graduate he says he knew most of their fellow classmates. West Point classes at the time were under fifty students but if you think of up to seven classes being in attendance over four years ( three above and three below) that could be up to 350 men so he and Paladin may have never met on campus.