A Rattled Story

This story you are about to read is all about 4 types of Rattlesnakes. It will also educate them on when they look like, their habitat, food chain, appearance, and reproduction.

Also in this story, I will tell you what to look for,and what to do if you come across a Rattlesnake and how to avoid them.

**

The air was cool and the breeze was refreshing, it was very peacefully quiet all around the forest. The ground was just starting to dry up from rain that fell the previous night, making the ground look darker than usual. The branches of a low-growing raspberry bush began to move and push aside as a three-foot long snake slithered out from under the bush. It slithered out onto a patch of soft dirt and coiled around,tucking its head firmly inside of the coils. This snake had diamond-shaped patches along its back, and the tip of its tail had an odd-shaped rattle-like form. The patches were a deep black and its body was a light brown, with a white belly.

On the other side of the soft dirt, another snake came slithering out. This one also had a rattle on the tip of its tail. And it had oval shaped spots running down its back as well. Its body was a grey-blue colour and the very end of its tail faded into a bright yellow. This snake was only two feet in length. That snake also coiled into a tight ball with its head resting on its coiled body. From behind that snake,slithered out a 3^rd. The third snake was a light brown-yellow with brown stripes all along its body and its tail was all black, also with a rattle. It was four feet long and coiled up next to the first rattlesnake.Finally, a fourth snake slithered out from under a log and coiled itself beside the second snake. This one was all grey with deep brown spots over its whole body. It had two dark black stripes going across its eyes and also had a rattle.

The first snake lifted its headup and spoke.

“Hello, fellow Rattlesnakes.”

The others looked at the snakeand listened curiously.

“My name is Diamo; I am a Diamondback Rattlesnake…”

The second snake also lifted upits head and greeted Diamo.

“Nice to meet you Diamo, my name is Pygmy, I’m a Pygmy Rattlesnake…a female one,” she chuckled.

The third snake was a bit shy and spoke in a whisper.

“Hi, my name is Timber; I’m aTimber Rattlesnake…”

The other snakes smiled andgreeted him. The fourth snake was extremely shy, and kept its head down.

“Hello there, you must have a name?” Asked Pygmy.

 The snake turned its head away and huffed, looking at a small toad.

“My name is Massa, I’m a Massasauga Rattlesnake…I am also female,” She said.

“That’s a very pretty name Massa, where are you from?” Diamo asked.

Massa turned her head back around,eyes gleaming, and looked down.

“I am from southern Ontario, Canada.”

“Wow, I’m from the hot deserts of southeastern US.” Diama said proudly.

“I come from southeastern US aswell…I use to live in Canada, but my kind was wiped out,” Timber frowned.

“Oh that’s horrible; I’m from southern US also.” Pygmy said.

Timber looked down, clearly upset, and hissed deeply in his throat. Pygmy slithered over to Timber and coiled herself around his body, comforting him. Massa looked over at Diamo, who snapped up a small mouse in his jaws. Timber looked at the others and started to sniff.

“Hey guys, why do people always kill our kind just because we accidentally show up at an unknown place? It makes me want to cry,” Timber felt tears come to his eyes and he buried his head inside of his coils.

“Because people assume we are only there to bite and harm them, but in real fact, we just want to be left alone and get back to our home unharmed.” Diamo said.

“Yes, so many of my friends have been killed due to people misjudging us, and I miss them dearly…” Pygmy too began to cry.

“Oh, I know how you feel Pygmy,I have watched my father get captured and killed for his skin and venom, and Ivowed never to go near humans again since that day.” Diamo said.

All the snakes frowned and Diamo turned his head away from them, thinking thoroughly about his father. Massa hissed deeply and stretched her neck out.

“Well in southern Ontario, we are killed at the moment of being seen and our population has declined in huge numbers due to humans…they wipe out our land and use it to build these strange structures and long, wide pathways for their big metal monsters that have run over so many of us.” Massa said, swallowing.

“I just hope all of our species are helped some day, repopulating areas that are rightfully ours. We mean no harm to humans if they just left us in peace!!” Pygmy cursed under her breath.

“You are so right Pygmy; weshould band together and send a word out to all of our Rattlesnake friends!Let’s make a difference!” Timber shouted.

They all rattled their tails in approval and slithered on their way.

**

Here are some facts about each Rattlesnake that was mentioned.

Diamondback Rattlesnake –   North America’s longest and heaviest venomous snake, this is brown with diamond markings on the back and yellow rings on the tail. They give live birth to 6-21 neonates (young). This snake may grow to be between 3-8 feet (1-2.4m). The Diamondback occurs in S.E. USA, in dry lowland woodlands.

Massasauga Rattlesnake - A gray rattlesnake with a row of large dark blotches down its back and smaller blotches on its sides. These snakes mate in the fall and give birth the next summer. They can have 5-19neonates, live birth. If food is scarce, they may only breed every 3 years. Their diet consists of mice, frogs, other snakes, and sometimes centipedes. People will kill them just for showing up anywhere or a simplebite, which can easily be taken care of with proper medical care. These snakes will only strike if they feel cornered or threatened like all other Rattlers and snakes. They can grow to 2-4 feet, and are fairly thick snakes. This snake occurs in parts of Ontario, Canada. More towards the southern end of Ontario.  

Pygmy Rattlesnake– This short rattlesnake has a small, quiet rattle, very short fangs, and a low venom yield. Unlike most other rattlesnakes, it has large scutes, not granular scales, on top of its head. Colouration in the three subspecies is gray to brown, with rows of bold, darker blotches and sometimes gray-brown dorsal stripe. They are also live-bearing, having 2-11 neonates per litter. The Pygmy occurs in S.E. USA, in woodland and grassland, especially near water.

Timber Rattlesnake -  The first rattlesnake encountered by European colonists, the Timber Rattlesnake is also one of the most persecuted snakes in the United States. It is highly variable in colouration, ranging from black to dark brown, light brown, yellow, or light gray, with an overlying pattern of variable dark bands and an almost entirely black tail. Light-coloured specimens may have orange vertebral stripes. The scientific name, Crotalus horridus, refers to the prickly, keeled scales.

The TimberRattlesnake is live-bearing, having 3-19 neonates. This snake occurs in E. USA, in montane woodland and lowland swamps. Sadly, the Timber Rattlesnake’s sole population in Ontario went extinct in1941.

There you go folks! I hope you learned a bit about these amazing animals that are poorly misunderstood. So, if you happen to come across a Rattlesnake, please leave it in peace and do not approach one. If you are hiking in an area with tall grass or with rocks and logs you cannot see past, it would be best not to go into that area, for a risk of being bit or stepping on a Rattlesnake. If one happens to enter into your yard/area, do not kill it and call a professional to take it to a safe place or if there is a forest nearby, try to get the snake into a container with a proper lid and release it into the forest, you can use a snake hook or long stick to pick up the snake and place it somewhere safe. Do NOT try to pick one up with your hands, it will try to bite and that can lead to illness or possibly death if not treated by medical attention right away.

Also, if you are researching them, and go to search for one, do not take it out of its habitat. Bring a camera or a sketch pad to get a nice photo of the snake.

Thank you for reading this, and I hope you have a new and different view on Rattlesnakes, they are not here to harm us, just to be marveled at their magnificent features, and they just want to live in peace.