With the Wild Things: Pygmy Rattlesnakes

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|a With the Wild Things: Pygmy Rattlesnakes |h [electronic resource].

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|a Ft. Myers, Florida : |b Whitaker Center in the College of Arts and Sciences, Florida Gulf Coast University.

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|a 5 podcasts, approximately 1 minute each in length

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|a Please contact the owning institution for licensing and permissions. It is the users responsibility to ensure use does not violate any third party rights.

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|a Source: Pygmy Rattlesnakes 1 Length of Segment: 00:01:15 Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. Florida is home to several kinds of venomous snakes, including one of the smallest in the world: the pygmy rattlesnake. The pygmy rattlesnake is a pit viper, so called because of a tiny pit (or opening) between the eye and nostril. These pits contain a heat sensing organ that helps the snake home in on its prey. A pygmy rattlesnake has a broad head, a dull blotchy pattern often with a rusty stripe down the back. Within Florida, this snake varies in overall color from gray to rusty-red. Whatever the color, a pygmy rattlesnake is dull in appearance because each scale has a tiny ridge on it, giving the snake a rather rough texture which reduces shine from the scales. The pygmy rattlesnake moves slowly and often gets its food by waiting for it to pass by. Its rough scales help it blend in as it waits for dinner. A pygmy rattler's tail is slender and tipped with tiny rattles; only when provoked does it vibrate its tail, producing a quiet buzz. Its venom is potent enough to kill small animals, but the small amount injected will usually only make a human or a pet ill causing respiratory difficulties, nausea, and swelling. Enjoy any rattlesnake from a distance.

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|a Source: Pygmy Rattlesnakes 2 Length of Segment: 00:01:15 Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. The pygmy rattlesnake is found throughout Florida and it’s the most common venomous snake in the state. Note that I said 'venomous', not 'poisonous'. For those interested in proper use of the language, you can eat rattlesnakes if you're inclined to because they're not poisonous, but they do produce venom and can inject it into you with their fangs, as a result, we say they are venomous. The pygmy rattlesnake is the smallest venomous snake in North America, usually getting no more than about twenty inches long. But the likelihood of finding one when you're out walking in the woods is not at all high. A pygmy rattlesnake doesn't move around much, it's a sit-and-wait hunter. A pygmy rattlesnake is so perfectly camouflaged in dull earth-toned colors that when it remains still amidst the typical debris of dried grasses, twigs, leaves, and pine needles, you can sometimes be standing next to one without knowing it. This snake is not aggressive towards humans, nor does it quickly flee or sound an alarming rattle when a human approaches. If it wastes its venom on something too big to eat, it may miss its next meal. Its silence and camouflage usually protect it.

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|a Source: Pygmy Rattlesnakes 3 Length of Segment: 00:01:15 Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. A pygmy rattlesnake usually spends its day sitting quietly beside a log, a clump of grass, or sometimes on top of a log, or even a few feet off the ground in a boot: one of those rough leaf bases on the trunk of a palm. Yes, they can and do climb. But what is a pygmy rattlesnake waiting for? Typical fare for a pygmy rattlesnake includes lizards, other small snakes, grasshoppers, other large insects, even centipedes. While they do occasionally eat a small mouse, most of the prey of pygmy rattlesnakes is of the cold-blooded variety. A pygmy rattlesnake hunts his other pit vipers, too. It strikes once, injects its venom, and waits. By waiting until its prey is dead, it avoids the possibility of getting hurt itself. A pygmy rattlesnake's venom works quicker on warm-blooded animals because they’re more active and the poison gets circulated quicker. A lizard, however, with a less efficient circulatory system, may move several feet and take some time before succumbing to the venom. Within a few minutes, the pygmy rattlesnake follows the scent trail left by its victim and is usually, but not always, able to retrieve its dinner.

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|a Source: Pygmy Rattlesnakes 4 Length of Segment: 00:01:15 Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. While pygmy rattlesnakes are not social animals, they are aware of their neighbors and when it’s time to mate, a male follows the scent trail left by a female. When he catches up, he remains with her, perhaps guarding her from the attentions of other males. More than one male may follow a female's trail and reproduction in pygmy rattlesnakes often begins with competition between competing males and a ritualistic dance. This is often in late-fall and is in the presence of a female that the males are interested in. One male, trying to establish dominance over another, lifts his body off the ground then lunges forward toward his adversary. With bodies entwined, they thrash each other against the ground. These combat dances may last minutes or hours. In the end, the losing snake just untangles itself from the dominant snake who has won the right to mate. Female pygmy rattlesnakes do not lay eggs, they're live-bearers; they give birth to four to eight babies, usually in August. A female and her babies may stay within a few feet of one another for a few days, often until the young have shed their skin for the first time. Then they're on their own.

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|a Source: Pygmy Rattlesnakes 5 Length of Segment: 00:01:15 Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. With South Florida's warm climate, pygmy rattlesnakes are active year-around. But they're seen more often at some times than others. Late summer and early fall seem to be the peak encounter times. This is when the snakes give birth to their young and when young are dispersing to new areas. This is also the time when young pygmy rattlesnakes sometimes find themselves uninvited hitchhikers to civilization. Pygmy rattlesnakes hunt by waiting for food to come by and often find a comfortable spot at the base of a shrub or a small tree, a place that offers a safe hiding place as well as shelter from which they might strike prey. There, they quietly wait, sometimes even as the shrub or tree is moved for transport to a nursery or yard. Pygmy rattlesnakes are probably the most frequently encountered snakes in nurseries and at the garden centers of major discount stores, attesting to their quiet tolerance of people and persistence in sitting tight rather than fleeing.

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