Venomous Snakes - Rattlesnakes, Sidewinders, Cottonmouths, Copperheads
Ranked #3,255 in Animals, #75,970 overall
Tread with Care -- Those Forests, Fields, and Deserts Have Dangers for the Careless!
Growing up in Montana and New Mexico, I had plenty of chances for learning about some of the most dangerous aspects of hiking, camping, and otherwise enjoying the great outdoors in those areas.
Most of the time (except when they are molting), the rattlesnakes will be "kind enough" to "warn us" when we get too close to them--they rattle to warn off creatures bigger than they are (obviously, they don't want to get stepped on).
However, when they are sneaking up on prey, they don't rattle--they just coil and attack. So, the only ones that need to worry about this might be the kangaroo rats, mice, rats, rabbits, prairie dogs, ground squirrels, road runners, grouse, and other small creatures in their habitats.
Contents at a Glance
- This Is Why You Don't Step Over or Reach Under Logs, Rocks, and Ledges!
- National Geographic Vid on Rattlesnakes -- Up Close and Personal
- Pit Vipers -- They Sense the Heat of Their Prey (and Those That Might Step on Them, Too!)
This Is Why You Don't Step Over or Reach Under Logs, Rocks, and Ledges!
National Geographic Vid on Rattlesnakes -- Up Close and Personal
Rattlesnakes Display and Mate
Competition for a mate is not as violent as you might think among these diamondback rattlesnakes. See All National Geographic Videos http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/?source=4001
Pit Vipers -- They Sense the Heat of Their Prey (and Those That Might Step on Them, Too!)
The "Pit Vipers" are named for the "pits" that are between their nostril and eye on each side of their heads.
What Kind of Snake Are You Seeing?
Poisonous Snake Identification--This lens has a great presentation on what kinds of nasty critters are out there. It shows many of the venomous snakes of the U.S.
Mojave Desert Rattlesnake in the WIld
Rattlesnake (Mojave) in the Wild
Gorgeous young Mojave rattlesnake in the wild -- tongue flickering, close-ups, and action shots!
The Best Way to Avoid Being Bitten, Is To Learn About Them!
These animals are not *bad*--they do have a role in the environment!
Vipers: A Guide for the Advanced Hobbyist (Complete Pet Owner's Manual) by R.D. Bartlett, Kenneth Wray
Vipers are snakes distinguished by their large, mo more...0 points
Rattlesnakes: Their Habits, Life Histories, and Influence on Mankind, Abridged edition by Laurence M. Klauber
This virtual encyclopedia of the rattlesnake becam more...0 points
Rattlesnakes by J. Frank Dobie
Here are observations and speculations, legends a more...0 points
Snakes of Eastern North America by Ernst Carl H.
The first treatise to be published in thirty years more...0 points
Timber Rattlesnakes in Vermont & New York: Biology, History, and the Fate of an Endangered Species by Jon Furman
Today, small populations of timber rattlesnakes (C more...0 points
Lone Star Field Guide to Texas Snakes, Third Edition (Lone Star Guides) by Alan Tennant
Texas not only boasts the largest snakes in North more...0 points
The Only Way To Have a Rattler On Your Shirt Without Needing Antivenom!
Alabama Diamondback Rattlesnake
Snakes by the Bay.... eBay, That Is!
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Take a Bite and Drop a Note! Say "Hi!"
naturegirl7 wrote...
Welcome to the Naturally Native Squids group. Don't forget to add your lens link to the appropriate plexo and vote for it.
Posted December 05, 2008
ElizabethJeanAllen wrote...
Snakes scare me. Living in South Carolina we have to deal with the Cottonmouths. Nothing is more frightening than seeing kids swimming in the lake with the snakes swimming around and about thier feet.
Great lens
Lizzy
Posted August 09, 2008
The_Homeopath wrote...
Fortunately, I have A LOT of bull snakes on my land to keep the rattlers down, but out trail riding, we see so many of them. Rattlesnakes do scare me quite a bit. We tread lightly. This lens is a great addition to the All About Colorado group, thank you for submitting it!
Posted June 29, 2008
EelKat wrote...
most of the snakes we have around here are harmless: garter snakes, ringnecks, grass snakes, those types... we have a big veggie garden, and the dirt gets really hot around noon time, and if you go out to the garden around noon, you can always find snakes laying in the garden sunning themselves; they come up out of the swamp.
Our roosters try to kill the snakes, so I end up catching the snakes and taking them out to the sandpit in the wood behind the swamp, so they can sun themselves out there without getting hurt.
Posted March 13, 2008
EelKat wrote...
you'd think after our escape from a crazed rattlesnake, I'd grow up to be afraid of snakes, but I love snakes. We live on the edge of a swamp, and so we've got snakes everywhere. The biggest snake we've got out in the swamp is over 6 feet long, it's yellow with red spots all over it's body, the colors are so bright and fake looking, that the first time my mom saw him, she thought it was a toy snake that my brothers put in her garden to play a trick on her. It was laying there sunning himself, not moving, and she thought it was a toy until she went to pick it up and it quickly slithered back out into the swamp. I don't know what kind of snake he is, but he's really pretty, I've seen him in the swamp several times. I've never seen another snake like him in the wild around here, so we think, he's probly a pet that esacped into the sewers and eventualy found his way into our swamp.
Posted March 13, 2008
EelKat wrote...
a few years ago, we found a Copperhead in our garden, which was unusual as we live in Maine and they are not around here. We figured he must have come in from out of state on a shipping truck or something. Anyways, we caught him and took him out to a nearby swamp where he couldn't hurt anyone.
That's only the second time we've ever had a venomus snake around here, about 20 years ago, we had a Timber Snake (type of rattlesnake) hiding uder our barn. We didn't know it was there, until it lept out at us... it was really scary, because we ran awaay from it, and the snake was like the fastest moving thing I'd ever seen, it came right down the path after us, kept leaping and trying to bite at us, my mom came running with a shovel and cut it in half, and it went crazy, we all thought we were going to die, and it didn't matter which way we went it just kept trying to come after all of us. I think that was the scariest thing that ever happened during my childhood.
Posted March 13, 2008
by EditorDave
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