My Crotalus Atrox only comes out at night - after I turn out the lights. Are rattlesnakes in general nocturnal? My kingsnake is active only during the day.
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Are rattlesnakes nocturnal?
arconea
Sep 22, 2005 12:40 AM
Replies (2)
Carmichael
Sep 22, 2005 07:49 AM
Although rattlesnakes are typically nocturnal, feeding patterns are dictated by prey availability, seasons, need for increased consumption, etc. There's documented observations of rattlesnakes feeding during the day so as all things in nature, there are exceptions.
Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
>>My Crotalus Atrox only comes out at night - after I turn out the lights. Are rattlesnakes in general nocturnal? My kingsnake is active only during the day.
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL
phobos
Sep 22, 2005 01:03 PM
Well..think about it....
Most of the region when this snake is found is BLAZING HOT during the day. The quickest way to kill a snake without causing major trama is over-heating it. Furthermore, small mammals which this species prey upon also are nocturnal because of the same reason.
The EDB is a good example of a Diurnal Rattlesnake. Others vary from species to species and the season of the year.
This note is for everyone:
I'm very bothered and worried when people ask basic questions regarding the natural history of well studied species. It just tells me the person has not done their "homework" before aquiring the species in question. Why have it if you can't take the time to learn about the species? I could understand if it was about an obscure species and could not find what was needed to answer the question. What happened to people going to the Library and reading? Why does the internet have search engines? For RESEARCH purposes: To find information on a topic of interest. If you plug "Western Diamondback Rattlesnake" into "Google" you get back 69,100 references in 0.12 seconds. Try it sometime people. The fourth entry answers the question and beyond. The thing I love about researching a topic is I find many other interesting facts and figures along the way I did not know before.
Good Luck,
Al
C. vergrandis
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You can take the snake out of the jungle but you can't take the jungle out of the snake.
