Coral Snake Lacks Rattle, Not Venom
Jul. 21, 2006 12:00 AM
Source
Today's question:
I read somewhere that the only poisonous snake in Arizona that doesn't have a rattle on its tail is the coral snake. Is this true? I ask because I recently saw a snake without rattles in my backyard that was 3 or 4 feet long. I would like to be assured that it wasn't something to fear. How old and how long does a rattler have to be before it gets noticeable rattles? Also, are there any snakes in the Valley that are nocturnal?
Well, for starters, the rattleless snake you saw in your backyard wasn't a rattlesnake. Unless it was a rattlesnake. When snakes shed, which they do three or four times a year, the rattles can sometimes break off. And that means the idea that you can tell how old a rattler is by counting its rattles isn't true.
Baby rattlesnakes come equipped at birth with fangs and venom, and they are perfectly willing to use both. However, they don't get their first rattle until they shed for the first time. They add a rattle with each shedding, so they are going to be about a year old before they have enough rattles to make a good buzz.
Anyway, there are 18 varieties of venomous snakes in Arizona, and 17 of them are one kind of a rattler or another. The 18th is the Arizona coral snake, which is nasty but won't bother you if you don't bother it.
There are many other non-venomous snakes that kind of look like coral snakes. These are called Batesian mimics. This is how you can tell a coral snake from its imitators: Coral snakes have a blunt black snout and bands of red, yellow (sometimes white) and black that completely encircle the body, and the yellow and red bands touch.
A coral snake's venom is two or three times more potent than that of most rattlesnakes, but their fangs are smaller, and they inject less venom.
This is kind of interesting: When a coral snake is threatened, it coils up with its head stuck under the body. Then it waves its tail up to imitate a head. And it makes a kind of popping sound with its butt.
Last, but not least: Are any of the snakes around the Valley nocturnal?
You betcha. In fact, at this time of year they are almost exclusively creatures of the night.
For one thing, it's just too darn hot for them during the day, and it's too darn hot for the things snakes eat: rodents and lizards and so on.
So watch your tootsies if you're out after dark.
Linear Mode
