Juvenile Red Rattlesnake For Sale
The average adult of a Rattlesnake For Sale is 5 feet (1.5 meters) long. The head bulges at the rear with a pair of venom glands and their associated muscles that deliver venom to the hollow fangs. The red diamondback rattlesnake for sale neck is narrow, the body stout, and the tail short. Small scales cover the head; the body scales are large and ridged. The head and body are pinkish tan to brick red. White lines on the body form a diamond pattern, and inside the diamonds the scales are slightly darker than outside. The tail has black and white rings of equal width exactly like the tail of the western diamondback, its close relative to the east. The eyes, with vertical pupils, are shielded by an enlarged scale. A pair of deep pits between the eyes and nostrils are heat sensors that enable the snake to detect objects that are warmer than their surroundings. This adaptation is useful for locating potential prey in the dark.
The red diamond rattler hunts for rabbits, rodents, and birds in the cool hours of the day or night. It uses a sit-and-wait strategy, and it sometimes may be seen lying still alongside a road, waiting for prey to come along. It has an exceptionally calm temperament, hardly ever vibrating its rattle. If cornered, it hisses loudly but seldom attempts to strike. Even its venom is unusually mild. A bite, however, must be considered dangerous because of the snake’s size.
Characteristics of the Red Diamond Rattlesnake
Heavy bodied with a stout tail and typically light to dark reddish brown in hue, the red diamond rattlesnake for sale distinguishing features include:
Adult Size and Weight: Typically, the snake measures about 2 ½ to 3 ½ feet in length, although rarely, it may reach 5 feet in length. A large one may weigh several pounds. The male’s tail is thicker than the female’s tail, according to the U. S. Geological Survey.
Color and Pattern: Born grayish in color, the snake develops a more reddish color as it matures. Classically, its back bears diamond-shaped blotches framed with light edges. Like the other diamondbacks, its tail is encircled with black and white rings.
Head and Face: The snake’s triangular-shaped head spans about twice the width of its neck. It eyes have vertical, elliptically-shaped pupils. They are bracketed with light stripes that extend diagonally down the face. Its loreal pits lie just below and behind the nostrils.
Fangs: The adult rattlesnake skin for sale has a matched pair of hollow fangs, each about ½-inch in length, that unfold from the roof of the mouth to deliver a bite. The fangs serve as hypodermic syringes to inject venom from glands, located behind the eyes, into a victim’s tissue. Lost fangs are rapidly replaced by new fangs.
Rattles: The snake’s rattles comprise nested modified scales. A new rattle is added with each molt. Old rattles sometimes break off. The total number of rattles varies during the year.
Senses: The snake has acute senses of smell and heat detection, a good sense of vision, and high awareness of vibrations (which helps compensate for its lack of hearing). Most notably, the snake, usually a hunter of the night, smells prey by using its forked tongue to collect minute odor particles from its surrounding environment and delivering them to the highly sensitive specialized smelling organ – the Jacobson’s organ – in the roof of its mouth. It can effectively “see” and strike its prey, even in absolute darkness, by using its loreal pits to form a “heat image” in the brain. After a strike, it can then use its tongue and Jacobson’s organ to track a dying prey trying to escape through the darkness, even in a pitch-black den.
Communication: Like its close kin, the snake rattles and may hiss to warn an intruder of its presence. The female leaves scent marks in the fall to guide offspring to the family communal denning site, where several members may gather for the winter.
Strike and Bite: Usually the snake, with a flash of swiftness, strikes its prey from ambush. As it strikes, according to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, it unfolds the fangs “to an erect position, somewhat perpendicular to the jaw line” then drives them into the flesh of the victim, sending its poison home. Even a newborn arrives with fangs and toxin, fully prepared for hunting and defense.
The Venom and Its Effects: Although the red diamond rattlesnake’s venom is less toxic than that of other rattlers, said the U. S. Geological Survey’s Southwest Biological Science Center, the fully mature adult can deliver a large amount of venom—indeed, more than three times the dose that could kill a human. The venom produces intense localized pain, massive swelling, discoloration and blood degeneration as well as nausea, vomiting and various other symptoms. The venom, dried and stored, retains almost its full toxicity for well over two decades. Fortunately, red diamond rattlesnake bites occur infrequently.
FUN FACTS!
- This Pit Viper Species Is Found In Southwestern California To Baja California Mexico
- They Enjoy Habitats With Rocky Or Heavy Brush
- Proper Care These Snakes Can Live 15 – 20 Years In Captivity
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