Rattlesnakes
View allAll Photos Tagged crotalus
7/25/17
Neonate Arizona Ridge-nosed Rattlesnake (Crotalus willardi willardi) photographed while on the move at night, southeastern Arizona
Newborn willardi are hypothesized to use their dark tails as lures. A study showed that willardi babies loose their first rattle segment, the button, resulting in "effectively silent cohorts for approximately the first year of life." - Setser et al. 2011 Copeia 45:333-335
northern pacific rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus) - Contra Costa County, CA, USA
I visited a few areas I had checked out during colder weather which looked promising and found this single young rattlesnake. I photographed this rattlesnake at length, and the snake showed zero signs of any aggression or defensiveness. It merely flicked its tongue - its equivalent of sniffing the air, and didn't budge. Really a very placid critter. Notice its tiny little button rattle! As it grows older and sheds, more segments will be added to the rattle. I'm bad at estimating total size especially when a snake is coiled like this, but the diameter of the entire 'coil' at the widest portion was no more than 3 inches. This snake would have comfortably fit in my palm, not that I would recommend doing that. At this size, its a terror to the fence lizards that scampered all over the nearby rocks but as it grows larger it will switch to more rodent prey.