Rattlesnake Facts

We understand that many people are not fond of rattlesnakes or snakes in general. However, understanding a little of their biology may help you and your family interact safely with these native animals. You may also be surprised at how much misinformation about rattlesnakes exists even though scientists have studied these animals for many years.

Rattlesnakes would rather hide or runaway than attack:

We want to start here because most images and footage of rattlesnakes include animals sitting in a standing coil posture, which is not the friendliest image. The body is curled into a circle with the first third of the body lifted off the ground and the head pulled back to strike, the tail is positioned up and away from the body to allow the rattle to move freely. This position, while natural, is defensive and generally only taken when a snake is cornered or startled. Along with inhaling to inflate the body, this posture is meant to make the snake look larger and more threatening than it is. In reality, most snakes would rather not try to take on an animal that is so large. From their perspective, the snake sees us as we would see a 200 ft. tall giant looking down. If you encounter a rattlesnake before it notices you are there (or cares to acknowledge you), you will likely find it coiled with its head rested or laid out flat. As rattlesnakes are ambush predators, you will often find them coiled up to wait for a potential prey item to pass by. Some rattlesnakes will stay at the same location for up to several days waiting. If they aren’t coiled up or actively traveling somewhere, you are likely to see them laid out to bask. Stretching the body out helps to maximize contact with warm surfaces (like a sun-warmed rock or stretch of asphalt) allowing the snakes to warm up quickly before returning to a hiding place.

Rattlesnakes are not interested in chasing after you to attack, nor can they jump to try and catch you.

It is not uncommon to hear stories of people being ‘chased’ by a rattlesnake. Most often, it turns out that the snake is attempting to flee the area as fast as the storyteller and just happens to take an escape route in the same general direction as the storyteller. Because humans, even children, are so large from the snake’s perspective, they do not see a human as a potential food item and do not see a human as an enemy they can ‘beat.’ Rattlesnakes have no interest in chasing humans to try to bite them.

In addition, while a particularly strong strike may move the body of a rattlesnake forward, rattlesnakes are not able to jump to attack. Successful strikes require that a significant portion of the body remain on the ground as an anchor. In general, we consider a snake’s strike zone as about half of its body length. Unless you have encountered a truly large snake, a 3 ft. radius is enough space to provide a buffer from the strike zone.

Rattlesnakes can climb and swim.

There are numerous reports made every year of rattlesnakes climbing or swimming that make the news or go viral on the internet. Because most people expect to find a rattlesnake on the ground, they report climbing or swimming snakes as something surprising or unique. However, in general, rattlesnakes will go wherever food is plentiful, whether that means crossing water or climbing up something. Several species of rattlesnake are known to eat birds and may climb trees or cliff faces to capture adult birds or chicks in the nest. Other reports have documented rattlesnakes finding their way into the tops of barns or other structures to eat mice that have taken up residence in hay, lumber, or other storage. In general, it is a good policy to pay attention to where you put your hands, feet, and equipment whether you are climbing a cliff with natural cracks and crevices or using a paddle on a lake or pond.

If you had to choose, you would rather be bitten by a baby rattlesnake.

We want to say first that we hope you never end up in a situation where you were required to be bitten by a rattlesnake. However, one piece of rattlesnake misinformation that is persistent is the idea that baby snakes are not in control of their venom, thus making them ‘more dangerous’ than adult snakes. The reality is that adult snakes pose far greater hazards to humans and their pets than baby rattlesnakes. First, baby rattlesnakes are in control of their venoms, but even more important is that even if they were not in control, the absolute amount of venom they can deliver is dramatically smaller than an adult snake. Rattlesnakes have two venom glands that sit on either side of the head contributing to the triangular shape of the head and the almost chubby cheeked appearance of these snakes. The size of these glands increases as the snake grows meaning that the larger the snake, the large the amount of venom it holds. For this reason alone, an adult snake is far more of a risk than a baby snake.

Other than the amount of venom deliverable by baby and adult snakes, several rattlesnakes species have venom compositions that change as the snake grows from a baby to adult. The scientific term for this is ontogenetic shift and in rattlesnakes this change in venom quality can be correlated with what the snake is eating during that period of its life. For example, many baby rattlesnakes are unable to eat mice because they are too large to swallow and they eat lizards or other small prey items instead. In some species, the venom of baby rattlesnakes is composed of toxins that are very good at killing or at least incapacitating lizards and is not as toxic towards mammals like mice. When the snake ages to a certain point, the venom changes to a composition that is good at killing or incapacitating mammalian prey and is not as toxic towards lizards or other prey items. Thus, remembering that humans and dogs are mammals, the adult rattlesnake’s venom is probably more toxic to us than the baby rattlesnake’s and can be delivered in a much larger dose, we would choose to be bitten by the baby.