Al Wolf from the center explains that he got a call from a local woman who had spotted a rattlesnake under her house. Rattlesnakes are found in many areas of the United States but they do not seek out human company! In fact, they would rather not have anything to do with humans at all. They make the rattle sound as a warning that you should leave them alone. Their venom is highly dangerous and can make humans very ill if antivenom is not available. In some cases, it can be deadly. Al Wolf had brought his “grabber” and a thick pair of gloves and bravely crawled into the space under the house to look for snakes. He was in luck! Within a minute he found one and thought the job was over. However, we soon find out that this was far from the case. As soon as the first snake was safely stored in a bucket, Wolf spotted a second snake. Then he moved a rock and found a third, quickly followed by two babies! In total, Wolf spent around four hours underneath this house and found a grand total of 92 snakes. Of these, 59 were babies. This is an unusual event and something that the rattlesnake rescuer had not seen before. Most rattlesnakes live a solitary life but they will share resting spaces, especially with their young which seems to be what was happening here. This story has a happy ending for everyone concerned. Thanks to Wolf’s expertise, all the snakes were safely removed and no one was hurt. They were stored in secure plastic containers and transported to a privately owned location that is a long way away from human activity. Wolf describes it as being, “Away from people and private property. It’s a beautiful animal. It belongs out there.” While Wolf may have found the whole experience delightful, the poor homeowner felt very differently. She wished to remain anonymous as she does not want her neighbors to know about her deadly and numerous house guests. However, we do discover that she had remarked on the absence of rodents around her house lately – now she has the explanation! Rattlesnakes eat mice and rats – they are obligate carnivores and must have meat to survive. With that many mouths to feed, no wonder the local rodent population was reduced!
Is this Normal Behavior for Rattlesnakes?
One might be wondering if Rattle snakes living in a huge nest is a common sight. However, it all depends. The eastern diamondback rattlesnake babies live in the same place as their mothers for almost two weeks, or until they shed for the first time. For all other rattlesnake species, this is unusual behavior. Once the eggs are hatched the baby snakes are on their own. One exception to this rule is when they are hibernating during winter. It is normal for thousands of rattlesnakes to hibernate together. It has been observed that they can also share that space with not only snakes from other species, but also other animals, such as turtles and other invertebrate and even small mammals. These ‘dens’ are also known as hibernacula.
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