Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I spent some time at the Houston Zoo today. I was very suprised to see a rather large C. horridus utilizing the vertical space in his enclosure. He was resting on a branch all curled up about three to four feet off the cage floor, and there was no ledge or anything nearby, so he actually had to make an effort to get up there. Is this a common practice among this species?

Hi,

Yep, arboreal behavior is very common in horridus. This was noted as far back as Klauber's monograph (see his citations and correspondence) or even earlier.

They're definitely one of the most-climbing rattlesnakes. Not just the juveniles, either, as you saw. I no longer keep them, but always provided my captives (southerns and northerns) with vertical elements in their enclosures. Even 5-foot fatties like to climb. Just make sure there aren't any tight V-shaped crotches they can get stuck in - particularly upward-pointing V's. This can lead to fatal accidents.

cheers,
Jimi

They have been recorded as high as 30 ft up in a tree.
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Tim Cole
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