NEWS SUN (Waukegan, Illinois) 14 June 08 Snakes alive! Rare rattler born at wildlife center in Lake Forest (Frank Abderholden)

Lake Forest: There's a new little baby down at the Wildlife Discovery Center who will eventually grow his own rattle.

Rob Carmichael, manager of the center, announced the birth of a rare Ridge-nosed rattlesnake and Lake Forest city employees are making suggestions for a name for this Crotalus willardi, the first Greek word of the scientific name meaning "little bell." The second is the name of the man who discovered the snake in 1905.

The center is part of Elawa Farm, located on Middlefork Road in Lake Forest. The snake is native to Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico.

Lake Forest Public Works is in the running with their name "Recycro talis." "They have a good sense of humor over there," laughed Carmichael.

He said the reptile is one of the first rattlers of this type to be born in captivity anywhere in the world. It is an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act; its numbers down from over-collecting and habitat loss. It took five years to successfully breed the pair they bought from a German collector.

"There are a lot of collectors in Europe. They have a thing for rattlesnakes," he said. Collectors would pay about $3,000 for this baby and he has had offers from zoos. The snakes give birth to miniature replicas of the parents.

This new little guy is about the size of pencil and has a beautiful tan color, with spare markings and white facial stripes. Their home range is moist pine-oak canyons of Arizona and New Mexico in remote mountain ranges with elevations between 5,000 and 9,000 feet. Adults grow to about 30 inches and they are considered small in the snake world.

"We were hoping for more, but one works," said Carmichael. There were two stillborn snakes. The lone survivor was born May 28 and shed its skin for the first time June 2. It's first meal, a small lizard, was June 6.

"He has to shed a few more times before he gets his buttons," which are the rattles on the end of the tail," he said.

He plans on trying to get the snake to snack on mice that have been rubbed on a lizard so it has some of its scent. The road to parenthood was pretty mundane -- no mood lights or Al Green songs.

"We just mimicked the seasonal changes of light and temperature," said Carmichael. The female was pregnant the entire winter.

"The whole idea is if the wild population plummets, we can tap into captive colonies and return some to certain areas," he said.

By nature they are timid reptiles and while they are venomous, it is not very strong and no human has been known to die from a bite.

The newest addition to the venomous collection, which numbers over 80 and includes snakes like an albino cobra, a 14-foot king cobra and numerous other rattlesnakes, will soon be joining its cousins in a brand new exhibit at the Discovery Center.

"We hope to have it open in about three weeks," said Carmichael. The center is located at Elawa Farms off Route 43. It is adjacent to the Middlefork Savanna, a rare black soil, tallgrass savanna-prairie complex that offers many wildlife viewing opportunities.
Rare rattler born at wildlife center

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