Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have recently acquired a 1.1? speckled rattler. He/she is approximately 1.5 yrs old captive for 8 months, and is a great eater. In the past he/she is a very calm and passive guy. Usually spending time either on his rock sunning, or under it. Now, in the recent month, he or she is constantly moving and crawling around the cage, going up and down the enclosure then back down for HOURS on end, rattling some during each climb.??!? I keep the enclosure at room temp, with a sunning section during the day. He is a good eater and the enclosure is plenty big. If anyone has any information on this behavior, please respond. Is it just the change to the summer months? Anything is appreciated.

hi,

a couple of thoughts occur to me. the first is mites - have you checked? badly-infested snakes often zoom around their cages, apparently trying to scratch themselves or escape their tormentors. they seem truly agitated (i wonder why?), which might explain the buzzing. the second is just normal snake roaming behavior, especially with a wc adult. why don't you probe the snake to determine its gender? males often pace around a lot in spring, and sometimes go off feed too. but the buzzing puzzles me. is your mitchelli eating? my experience with wc adult crotalines is, it very often takes 2-3 years to really settle into the captive lifestyle and get comfortable, feeding well, courting/mating, etc. (in that time you could have raised up a cbb juvenile to near- or breeding age.) finally, does the snake have adequate cover? just a wild guess on this one. mitchelli are usually a little nervous at first, but often settle down nicely with time and privacy. help it feel secure with at least 1 good, dark, tight hidey-hole; i use a tile-cutter bit in a dremel to carve a side hole in clay flower pots, and expand the drain hole a little too (nice place to put your f-t food items, with the head dangling over the space). you can put 2 pots in each cage, 1 under the spot lamp and 1 on the cool end.

good luck,
jimi gragg

I don't know what to say about the rattling. April-May is the breeding season for specks in teh wild and it is very common for captive specks to roam their cages at this time if they do not have a mate available.