How the rattle works
The rattle is a chain of hollow, dry scales that click together when the snake shakes its tail.
The Great Plains
Prairie rattlesnake
Crotalus viridis
A thick, sandy-brown snake with dark blotches down its back and a rattle on the end of its tail.
- Size
- About 1m long
- Look for it
- April to October
- Where
- Plains and dry hills of the western United States and Canada
Winds after you, rattle raised. Move your pointer and see.
When to look
Rattlesnake
Good to know
Six things about the rattlesnake
A blur
It shakes its rattle about fifty times a second. It is a warning: keep away.
A new ring each time
Every time it sheds its skin, it adds one more ring to the rattle.
Seeing heat
A pit between each eye and nostril senses warmth, so it can find a mouse in total darkness.
Live young
Rattlesnakes do not lay eggs. The babies are born alive, each with a single button for a rattle.
Sleeping together
Dozens, sometimes hundreds, spend the winter together in one den below the frost.
The real thing
Photos of the rattlesnake
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Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
How to spot one
If you hear a dry buzzing, stop, find where it is, and back away slowly. Rattlesnakes bask on rocks and tracks on warm mornings.
How to help
Rattlesnakes keep mice and rats in check. Leave them alone and they will do the same for you: most bites happen when people try to kill or move one.
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