Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I went in to pick her up, and she got defesive and started to rattle her tail really hard. I didn't know they could do that, so it was pretty neat.

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1.0 Columbian (BCI)
0.1 Suriname (BCC)
0.1 Longicauda (BCL)
0.1 Bolivian (BCA)
0.1 Leucistic Texas Rat Snake

"Texas Rat Snakes are an ill-tempered snake if encountered in the wild,and will readily defend themselves. This usually involves coiling up, raising the head, striking out repeatedly at anything that gets too close and vibrating the tail. This vibrating of the tail often causes them to be mistaken for a rattlesnake; however, they do not have rattles on the tail and are NOT rattlesnakes."

Pretty cool defensive tactic if you ask me.
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1.0 Columbian (BCI)
0.1 Suriname (BCC)
0.1 Longicauda (BCL)
0.1 Bolivian (BCA)
0.1 Leucistic Texas Rat Snake

I have a Bairdi Rat, Great Plains Rat, and a Kisatchie corn that will all rattle on a regular basis. Add a few rattling kings to the mix, and before you know it, we have ourselves a little snake Orchestra.

Steve

My Jalisco Milk Snake does that all the time. If I'm holding him and he doesn't like something I do or the position he's in, he'll rattle right on my hand.

I also had a wild black rat snake do that to me in the woods behind my house. I didn't know snakes then, so I kept my distance.

I'm sure it's a great defense mechanism when they do it. When they do it in the dry leaves, it sounds a lot like a rattlesnake.

Walt