Rattle Snakes

[Solucki]

Went to Bass Pro Shop the other day, they had some Crotalus Atrox. They just look mean. I just wanted to share some pics.

 

[josh_r]

What's mean looking about them? They look placid to me.

 

[Solucki]

What's mean looking about them? They look placid to me.

What would be the eyebrows of a human face make him look angry to me but placid for a rattlesnake I suppose. Although I have seen friendlier looking snakes.

 

[Redneck101]

Beautiful snakes! i guess people always put rattle snakes in the mean animal file because there are so many videos and pictures of them striking, when really they are just defensive. mine honestly only rattled unless i spooked them, they were pretty calm otherwise.

 

[Solucki]

I guess I've fallen victim to the Media's conditioning as well. I've never owned a snake but I really really want to. If he wasn't so poisonous I would want one, he is very cool looking.

 

[Najakeeper]

I guess I've fallen victim to the Media's conditioning as well. I've never owned a snake but I really really want to. If he wasn't so poisonous I would want one, he is very cool looking.

He isn't technically "poisonous" though, so maybe you are fine .

 

[Solucki]

He isn't technically "poisonous" though, so maybe you are fine .

Yes I suppose if I was just handling him I would be fine, but I meant I don't want to get bitten by him. Yes I used the wrong word "technically" but I don't want to quibble over terminology.

Merry Christmas, I hope everyone got what they wanted.

 

[Najakeeper]

Yes I suppose if I was just handling him I would be fine, but I meant I don't want to get bitten by him. Yes I used the wrong word "technically" but I don't want to quibble over terminology.

Merry Christmas, I hope everyone got what they wanted.

Happy holidays .

 

[Entomancer]

I guess I've fallen victim to the Media's conditioning as well. I've never owned a snake but I really really want to. If he wasn't so poisonous I would want one, he is very cool looking.

*venomous

I agree about how they look, though I don't think they're menacing; I always thought they just looked really serious about everything all the time because of the "eyebrow scales". It's really considered "bad" to anthropomorphize animals like this, but sometimes the results are kind of funny, and I do it just for my own amusement.

There's a really cool reptile "shop" in my town that also does educational things, and they recently turned a part of their store into a museum for venomous reptiles/inverts.

I've been there several times, and they have a few different Crotalus species on display, along with two Bitis sp. (can't remember which, though one of them is a B. gabonica iirc). The Crotalus are really cool snakes; I kinda spooked them when I walked into the room (it's a small room cut off from the rest of the store to avoid stressing the animals out), and a couple rattled at me, but once I sat down and held still they calmed down too and they were very, very interesting animals to observe; it becomes quite obvious that they're just behaving according to what they "know" about how to react the sudden appearance of a big dumb hominid.

My favorite amongst them was undoubtedly C. horridus. The specimen they had at the time was very handsome, and the eyes were especially striking.

 

[The Snark]

It's not so much how venomous they are but how ready and willing they are to share with others. Rattlers, to me, always seem the penultimate of 'ready to bite'. That's conditioning on my part from of the several hundred I've seen in the wild, I can only recall seeing maybe 10 that were just traveling and not in coiled ambush mode.

 

[josh_r]

From the several hundred I've seen in the wild, as well as the few dozen i have kept in captivity, i have learned that most rattlesnake are quite shy and placid. If they feel threatened, they do what they know to try and deter a would be predator. It works. The intimidation factor is high, but these snakes would much rather hide or flee rather than fight. There are always a few exceptions, that constantly rattle and try to bite everything.

 

[BobGrill]

Guys come on, we know the difference between aggressive and defensive and venomous and poisonous. No need to play word games here.

 

[josh_r]

Guys come on, we know the difference between aggressive and defensive and venomous and poisonous. No need to play word games here.

While you are completely right bob, you must realize it is used as a general term and people have been farked into thinking this way. You won't be able to change it...... it means the "same" thing nowadays, unfortunately.....

 

[MrCrackerpants]

One of my favorite snakes. Thanks for sharing.