DIAMONDBACK RATTLE SNAKE #6

Diamondback, Big Bend National Park

Photograph by Fred LaBounty, My Shot

I carry snake tongs when I travel to Big Bend National Park to move snakes from the warm roadways in the mornings so they won't be run over. I came across this diamondback near Panther Junction. He went on the defensive as soon as I exited my truck. I didn't want to pass up the photo op and photographed him.  I then moved him into the underbrush about 30 feet from the roadway.

Identifying Features The Western diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) is a heavy bodied snake with a triangular shaped head. There are two dark diagonal lines on each side of its face running from the eyes to its jaws. It has dark diamond-shaped patterns along is back. The tail has black and white bands just above the rattles.

Extra Fun-facts The rattle of the rattlesnake is made up of a protein called keratin (the same protein that your hair and fingernails are made of). A new segment is added each time a rattlesnake sheds, but they can shed at different rates. Because of this, and the fact that segments can break off, you really can't tell a snakes age by counting the segments. A rattlesnake can move its rattle back and forth 60 or more times per second. Rattlesnakes give birth live, and can have up to 25 babies (called 'neonates') in a brood. Full grown rattlesnakes can range from 3 to 7 feet in length. The average rattlesnake can live 15 to 20 years. A rattlesnake can move the rattle on its tail back and forth 20-100 times in just one second. Rattlesnakes are ovoviviparous, which means that they produce eggs but the eggs hatch in the mothers body, and therefore result in live birth of the young. The rattlesnake’s signature “rattle” is formed from the hardened remnants of the snake’s shed skin. The rattle grows segment by segment, adding a section with every year’s molt. The rattlesnake can survive 2 years without eating. Rattlesnakes give birth around the beginning of the fall season. Predators of rattlesnakes include roadrunners, large birds, coyotes, and kingsnakes. Other animals who see these snakes as a threat and may try to trample them include cows, horses, antelope, and deer .