What makes a rattlesnake rattle

A.� As incitatus�, who answered sabrinah’s question, stated, the rattle is produced by a series of dried, hollow segments of skin, which, when shaken, make a whirring sound.

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Q.� How is the rattle formed

A.� While the snake is young, three or four segments are usually added each year, one at each molt. However as the snake matures, fewer develop and the old ones start to break off.

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Q.� If the rattlesnake rattles its tail is it about to bite

A.� When the snake is alarmed, it shakes its tail, and the noise serves as a warning to the attacker. Snakes are shy, solitary animals, they're not looking for a fight and so as long as the 'threat' heeds the warning they won't get bitten.

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Q.� What do rattlesnakes eat

A.� Rattlesnakes feed on rodents, birds, and other warm-blooded animals.

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Q.� How do they hunt their prey

A.� Rattlesnakes can 'see' their next potential meal using heat-sensitive organs in pits on the sides of the head, between the eyes and nostrils. These organs are so sensitive that they show the snake a thermal picture of an animal, up to half a metre away, possibly allowing it to determine whether it really is lunch, or in fact a potential predator.

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Q.� And they kill them with a poisonous bite

A.� Yes, fangs, which are folded back in the mouth, are unleashed when the snake strikes. The fangs are hollow and last for around 10 weeks before they are replaced by one of up to seven sets in various stages of development behind the ones in use.

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The venom is highly toxic to humans and occasionally proves fatal.

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Q.� Which rattlesnake is the deadliest

A.� As a general rule the bigger the snake, the more lethal the venom.

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The largest and deadliest species is the eastern diamondback rattlesnake that lives in the south and southeast United States, which can be as long as 2.5 m.

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by Lisa Cardy