Hey! Don’t be ssscared. I’m a nice sssnake. Welcome to northern Mexico. My name is Russ the Rattlesnake, or more formally, Russell the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake.
I live inside of a bunny burrow I found. I’m not sure if the bunny still lives here, but I find it cozy. I like it when it’s cold, so I’ll usually come out at night. Right now, it’s pretty late, so I am going to go outside. I’m very picky about the temperature, and us rattlesnakes prefer a warmer climate, but we come out at night when it is slightly cooler. We like it when it is 70 to 90 degrees outside. In other words, we like it when it’s hot, but not too hot. Sometimes, during cooler days, I’ll come out when it’s light.
There are many types of rattlesnakes, and that is why my name is so long. If you like science (and understand what this means), my scientific name is “Crotalus Adamanteus”. As a snake, I am classified as a reptile. I am a carnivore, meaning that I only eat meat. Some of our favorite meals include rodents, rabbits, squirrels, birds, lizards, and frogs. WAIT! I see a rat! Yummy! Shh! I need to sneak up on it slowly. Oops, it noticed me. I’ll catch another one later. After all, us rattlesnakes can live for about 2 weeks to 3 without food. Impressive, right? So far, it has been 1 week and 5 days. I believe it is time to treat myself to a tasty snack, even though that rat got away. Give me 2 shakes of a snake’s tail… Get it?
Luckily, I found another delicious rat. Don’t worry, there are some humans in a house nearby who have a rat problem, and I just fixed it. By the way, I am proud to say that I am shedding. That means that a layer of my skin will fall off. As I grow over time, my skin gets too small. It’s just like you humans getting too big for your clothes. When you grow, your clothes stay the same size, so you have to get new ones. I grow new skin underneath my old skin. Us rattlesnakes shed 1 to 4 times a year. Shedding also helps us get rid of any bacteria on our skin. One of the coolest parts about shedding is that each time it happens, we get a new rattle! Right now, I have 4 rattles, and when I finish shedding, I will have 5. The process of shedding takes a few days to a couple weeks. It has been a week and a half, so I think I am prepared to finish the process. I prefer shedding in private, so…um…Can you come back later? Just give me a few minutes to do my business.
OK! I’m done. Check out my shiny new skin! I really like it. I also got my fifth rattle. Also, I wouldn’t touch my old skin, because, as I said before, it has bacteria on it.
As an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, I have a lifespan of 15 to 20 years. Right now, I am 10 years old. You can tell by the amount of rattles we have. We get 2 or 3 new rattles every year, and, as you know, I have 5. I currently am about 5 and a half feet long, which is considered average for a rattlesnake.
Since I am a rattlesnake, I prefer to be alone, so I don’t know very much about baby rattlesnakes. If you need a babysitter, I do not recommend myself. I can tell you some of the things I do know. First of all, the momma rattlesnake does not lay eggs. Instead, she gives birth to 8 to 15 babies at a time. Each one is about 10 inches long. The mother stays with her newborns until they shed. That can take up to 2 weeks.
It’s getting pretty hot, so I think it’s time for me to return to my bunny burrow. Thank you so much for hanging out with me! I had a lot of fun. I’m generally not a big fan of humans, but you are pretty cool! See you!
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