Rattlesnake eyes are capable of horizontal rotation, but they do not appear to move their eyeballs to follow moving objects. Having grown up…, Joe Vandever originates from New Mexico and was recruited into…, The story of the Navajo Code Talkers begins in 1940 when a small…, The beginning of the Navajo Code Talkers began on May 4, 1942…, The Navajo Code Talkers that served during World War II contributed…, Navajo music is traditionally part of their culture’s ceremonial…, In the early days of the world, there were four elements that…, Within the Navajo culture, there are several symbols that have…, Navajo arts often focus on the ability to weave rugs. They make the rattling sound because the different segments of the rattle bang together. The contraction of special "shaker" muscles in the tail causes these segments to vibrate against one another, making the rattling noise (which is amplified because the segments are hollow) in a behavior known as tail vibration. Some species of ants in the genus Formica are known to prey upon neonates, and Solenopsis invicta (fire ants) likely do, as well. rodents, lizards, insects, etc. The typical rattlesnake, genus Crotalus, has the top of its head covered with small scales, except, with a few species, a few crowded plates directly over the snout. Rattlesnake moms don’t have babies every year. When the rattlesnake bites, muscles on the sides of the venom glands contract, which squeezes the venom through the ducts and into the fangs. If you see a small snake with a diamond pattern on it, then stay away from it and don’t try to poke it or pick it up! The scientific name Crotalus is derived from the Greek κρόταλον, meaning "castanet". If you hear that rattling sound, then it is time to get out of the place you’re standing as quickly as you can! All snakes are ectotherms. On average, rattlesnakes are 3 to 4 feet long. That’s because the mama rattlesnake will actually hold her eggs inside of her to keep them warm so that they will hatch instead of creating a nest somewhere. Then they head out into the world and begin to survive on their own. If it was an adequate meal, the snake finds a warm, safe location in which to coil up and rest until the prey is digested. Did you know that the rattles a rattlesnake has are actually empty? Not only are the baby rattlesnakes just as venomous as their adult counterparts, but they also tend to be more aggressive. Neonates of the smaller crotaline species are frequently killed and eaten by small predatory birds such as jays, kingfishers, and shrikes. The larger males usually end up driving the smaller males away. Rattlesnake eyes, which contain a large number of rod cells, are well adapted to nocturnal use. Nevertheless, rattlesnakes superimpose visual images created from information from the eyes with these thermal images from the pit organs to more accurately visualize their surroundings in low levels of light. Then they’ll follow the scent of the animal they are tracking until it gets close… and then it will bite! Rattlesnakes are not very colorful because they like to camouflage with their environment. Rattlesnake populations in many areas are severely threatened by habitat destruction, poaching, and extermination campaigns. Around half of bites occur in cases where the victim saw the snake, yet made no effort to move away. In larger bodies of water (streams, ponds, etc. People of science call the two big groups of rattlesnakes (each called a genus) either Crotalus or Sistrurus. Rattlesnakes are also called “pit vipers” because of the sensory organ that sits about where you’d expect a nose to be. It is not known exactly how the rattlesnakes find their way back to the dens each year, but may use a combination of pheromone trails and visual cues (e.g., topography, celestial navigation, and solar orientation). About 8,000 people are bitten every year by a rattlesnake, but thanks to effective anti-venom, most people can recover if they receive treatment quickly. All of a sudden you hear a rattling, hissing sound. The most important factor in survival following a severe envenomation is the time elapsed between the bite and treatment. Females often remain with their young in nests for several weeks, and mothers have been observed cooperatively parenting their broods. When ingesting large prey, these creases can unfold, allowing the skin to expand to envelop a much greater volume. Rattlesnakes travel with their rattles held up to protect them from damage, but in spite of this precaution, their day-to-day activities in the wild still cause them to regularly break off end segments. A lack of edema or erythema in the area of the bite after eight hours indicates a lack of envenomation for most rattlesnake bites. Larger rattles make for deeper sounds that are also louder, so if you hear an extremely loud and low rattle nearby, there’s probably a huge rattlesnake that’s curled up nearby. They actually can’t hear most sounds, but they can “feel” those sounds through the vibrations that soundwaves make. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting small animals such as birds and rodents. Not only can they smell you with their tongue, but they can hear the vibrations of your footsteps. The method in which they drink depends on the water source. You can actually tell the age of a rattlesnake based on the size of its rattle. Rattlesnakes are some of the most fear snakes that are in the Americas. Rattlesnakes generally take several years to mature, and females usually reproduce only once every three years. The rattle is composed of a series of hollow, interlocked segments made of keratin, which are created by modifying the scales that cover the tip of the tail. On occasion, hungry adult rattlesnakes cannibalize neonates. Common symptoms include swelling, severe pain, tingling, weakness, anxiety, nausea and vomiting, hemorrhaging, perspiration, and (rarely) heart failure. Aside from their eyes, rattlesnakes are able to detect thermal radiation emitted by warm-blooded organisms in their environment. Rattlesnakes will shed their fangs about 4 times per year. The prey is killed quickly with a venomous bite as opposed to constriction. That’s because they don’t really have the ability to chew their food.