Hey,

Most of the atrox that you come across will have a pretty snappy temperment. Most of the western diamondbacks are very fast to strike, and even faster to get positioned to go. There is a chance it will tame down some though. My northern pacific rattlesnake does not rattle when I walk by the enclosure. She actually doesn't mind much with most people. It seems shoes set her off as they produce a much stronger vibration. Who knows, the key is not to put too much faith into a snake that has never done one thing or another. If you think the snake will remain always constant then please stock up on antivenin!

Atrox are the typical rattler of the old west. They are commonly exploited and killed because of their disposition. People see a coiled buzztail and think they are going to die! They don't even consider the fact that it is the snakes way to warn predators to keep away! With that said, most get the attention desired with the buzzzz, but they often get a shovel blade as well .

Thousands of C. atrox are killed each year due to roundups, and just fear in general. They make great "pets" for hot herpers as the antivenin (CroFab) is available pretty much anywhere in the US. CroFab is produced by sheep blood, not horses, so an allergic reaction is even less likely than before should the syrum need be used. The downfall to sheep syrum vs horse syrum is that the horse concoction was much cheaper to produce.

Don't forget it has a large strike range. Another thing to keep in mind is that it doesn't need to warn you to bite you! I had a monocled cobra on the floor for pics, and I was careless with allowing it to slither to close. It grabbed my toe while I still had the camera in hand! Snapped a shot and removed the litle bugger! She NEVER hooded up, hissed, or anything else (maybe she wanted a snack)! In any event rattlers don't always rattle pre strike so keep that in mind.

On another note I saw a company in CA is now producing a syrum which is used as a just-in-case remedy for dogs who get tagged. It raises antibodies in the blood to be about the same as if 3 vials of AV had been injected. The substance is injected and then a month later a booster shot, followed by an annual injection. This is more than anything to immunize the dog to the venom of the snakes. I am not sure how effective this would be with mojaves for example, but it has proven good for atrox, helleri, virdis, etc. If only they could approve a treatment like this for human use . At the same time you would have a large number of antibodies floating around that wouldn't normaly be there...

Good luck with your little buzztail!

Take Care,
Steve Clark

Ps - embedded is a pic of my northern pacific chowing down its lunch...I should have more pix of her soon. I also would like to breed her this comming season...burmation will start the first week of October (a little late, but should be fine). From there all I need is a sperm donor