How deadly is the eastern diamond back rattlesnake?
The eastern diamondback rattlesnake has the reputation of being the most dangerous venomous snake in North America. Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes are well known for their rattle and painful, venomous bite, which can be fatal to humans. The toxin in their venom, called hemotoxin, kills red blood cells and causes tissue damage.
Is eastern diamondback bigger than western diamondback?
· The eastern diamondback of southeastern U.S. is even larger than the western diamondback. · Rattlesnakes in the wild only eat every two to three weeks. Description. With their plump body, short tail and large triangular head, western diamondback rattlesnakes are one of the largest rattlesnakes in the world.
What is the biggest rattlesnake ever caught?
15 Foot Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, Largest Ever Caught: Facts
- Story: This is why you shouldn’t go looking for the golf balls hit ‘Out of Bounds’ in Arizona !!! THIS IS NOT A PYTHON!
- Other Versions. How would you like to take that call? ...
- Analysis: These pictures of a large Snake have been circulating through emails and social networking sites for at least four years now.
- Hoax or Fact: Partially fact.
- References:
What is the eastern diamondback rattlesnake's prey?
The eastern diamondback rattlesnake catches its prey by ambushing it. It eats small mammals like rabbits and rats, birds and sometimes lizards. Since of adults large size they can easily attack and eat adult rabbits, there have also been reports on some eating turkeys.
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How big can a eastern diamondback rattlesnake get?
8 feetThe eastern diamondback rattlesnake is the largest rattlesnake species in the United States by length and weight. The average length of an adult is three to six feet, but individuals have been recorded to be more than 7 feet long, and their maximum length can reach 8 feet.
What is the world's largest rattlesnake?
eastern diamondbacksThe largest rattlesnake species in the world, eastern diamondbacks have the potential to grow to over 8 feet. Their population is in decline due to habitat loss and unnecessary killing by the public.
What is the biggest Eastern Diamondback?
Most adult Eastern Diamond-backed Rattlesnakes are about 33-72 inches (84-183 cm) in total length, with a record length recorded of 99 inches (251.5 cm). This is a very large, heavy-bodied snake with a row of large dark diamonds with brown centers and cream borders down its back.
What is the biggest timber rattlesnake ever recorded?
6 feetWikipedia says that adult timber rattlesnakes grow from 36 to 60 inches (3 to 5 feet) in length. The record for biggest timber rattler was 183 centimeters (slightly longer than 6 feet), according to snake-facts.weebly.com.
What is the biggest rattlesnake in USA?
eastern diamondback rattlesnakeLeast concern. The eastern diamondback rattlesnake is the largest venomous snake in North America. Some reach 8 feet in length and weigh up to 10 pounds.
What is the biggest cottonmouth ever recorded?
74 inchesThe largest cottonmouth on record was just over 74 inches, and it was found “in the Dismal Swamp region near the Virginia-North Carolina line,” according to the Virginia Herpetological Society.
What state has the most eastern diamondback rattlesnakes?
Mississippi. The most common rattlers in Mississippi are eastern diamondbacks. These live throughout the state.
Which US state has the most rattlesnakes?
The large majority of species live in the American Southwest and Mexico. Four species may be found east of the Mississippi River, and two in South America. In the United States, the state with the most types of rattlesnakes is Arizona, with 13.
What state has the biggest rattlesnakes?
The world's largest rattlesnakes can be found in South Carolina, but the eastern diamondback's population is declining.
What is the biggest rattlesnake ever killed?
In 1946, an eastern diamondback specimen was shot by a hunter, identified by only the singular name Rutledge in the 1982 Guinness Book of World Records, and it measured seven feet nine inches in length. His kill weighed 34 lbs, which is about as much as four gallons of milk.
What is the largest copperhead ever recorded?
The largest copperhead ever recorded was 4 feet, 5 inches, according to the University of Georgia Extension. How the potentially deadly pit viper met its demise near Bolivar, Tennessee, is not as dramatic as one might expect, considering its size.
What is the biggest snake ever recorded?
Reticulated pythons are considered to be the longest snake. The world record for the length of a reticulated python is a whopping 32 ft and 9 ½ inches! Like the green anaconda, they are also excellent swimmers. Scientists have even found these incredible animals out at sea.
Where is the world's largest rattlesnake?
Freer, Texas: World's Largest Rattlesnake.
What is the largest snake on record?
Reticulated Python Reticulated pythonsReticulated Python Reticulated pythons are considered to be the longest snake. The world record for the length of a reticulated python is a whopping 32 ft and 9 ½ inches! Like the green anaconda, they are also excellent swimmers. Scientists have even found these incredible animals out at sea.
Whats the largest snake ever found?
The reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus) is the longest snake in the world, regularly reaching over 6.25 metres in length.
What is the most venomous rattlesnake?
The eastern diamondback rattlesnake is the largest of its species in the world and the most venomous snake in North America. It has a distinct coloration pattern consisting of dark diamond-shaped dorsal blotches defined by a border of yellowish scales.
How big is a diamondback rattlesnake?
The eastern diamondback rattlesnake is the largest rattlesnake species and is one of the heaviest known species of venomous snake, with one specimen shot in 1946 measuring 2.4 m (7.8 ft) in length and weighing 15.4 kg (34 lb).
Where do diamondback rattlesnakes live?
The eastern diamondback rattlesnake inhabits upland dry pine for est, pine and palmetto flatwoods, sandhills and coastal maritime hammocks, longleaf pine / turkey oak habitats, grass-sedge marshes and swamp forest, cypress swamps, mesic hammocks, sandy mixed woodlands, xeric hammocks, and salt marshes, as well as wet prairies during dry periods. In many areas, it seems to use burrows made by gophers and gopher tortoises during the summer and winter.
What is the name of the venomous pit viper?
Brattstrom, 1954. Crotalus giganteus. Brattstrom, 1954. Crotalus adamanteus. — Klauber, 1956. The eastern diamondback rattlesnake ( Crotalus adamanteus) is a species of venomous pit viper in the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to the southeastern United States. It is one of the heaviest venomous snakes in the Americas and ...
What kind of rattlesnake is in the early morning?
Eastern diamondback rattlesnake. The eastern diamondback ra ttlesnake frequently shelters by tunneling in gopher and tortoise burrows, emerging in the early morning or afternoon to bask. Like most rattlesnakes, this species is terrestrial and not adept at climbing.
What snakes prey on diamondback rattlesnakes?
Hawks, eagles, and other snakes have been known to prey upon young and adolescent specimens of the eastern diamondback rattlesnake.
What temperature do diamondbacks need to be kept in?
The eastern diamondback requires a dry and well-ventilated cage with a hide-box, maintained at a temperature of 23–27 °C (73–80 °F) for normal activity.
What do cottontail rabbits eat?
In fact, eastern cottontails and marsh rabbits ( Sylvilagus) form the bulk of the diet in most parts of Florida. Squirrels, rats, and mice are also eaten, along with birds such as towhees and bobwhite quail. Other prey that have been reported include a king rail, a young wild turkey, and a mother woodpecker along with four of her eggs. It also eats large insects.
How big is the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake?
Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake ( Crotalus adamanteus) is the largest venomous snake in North America, some of which reach 8 feet (2.4 meters) in length, weighing up to 10 pounds. Their average size being 3.5 to 5.5 ft, the longest eastern diamondback rattlesnake on record measured 8 feet.
Where was the diamondback rattlesnake found?
In September 2009, the giant eastern diamondback rattlesnake that was found in St. Augustine of Florida was caught and killed by trappers after a resident of Tuscany Village Townhomes called police to report a “possible 6-foot long snake”.
How much does a diamondback snake weigh?
If we consider an average 6-foot-long adult eastern diamondback at around 10 pounds, a 15 foot long snake, as claimed, which is just more than twice its size, can never reach a whooping 170 pounds, or even 70 like mentioned in some cases.
Where did the Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake come from?
Origins: The photographs displayed above do show an eastern diamondback rattlesnake which was captured in the St. Augustine, Florida, area in September 2009. However, as is common with Internet-circulated pictures of snakes, the size of the serpent has been greatly exaggerated in the accompanying text. Eastern diamondback rattlers average about 5.5 ...
How big is a diamondback rattler?
Eastern diamondback rattlers average about 5.5 feet in length, and the very largest specimens of the species might approach 8 feet, so a 15-foot eastern diamondback would be a truly extraordinary (and unbelievable) occurrence. In fact, the apparent size of this rattler has been exaggerated in the photographs due to forced perspective (i.e., the snake is much closer to the camera lens than other objects in the frame), and the diamondback measured only 7 feet, 3 inches — less than half the length claimed above:
How big is a snake in Florida?
According to the University of Florida, the record size for that type of snake is 8 feet, so this was definitely a large snake. Homeowner Howard McGaffney saw the snake on the perimeter of his neighborhood, Tuscany Village, near State Road 16 and Interstate 95.
Overview
Description
The eastern diamondback rattlesnake is the largest rattlesnake species and is one of the heaviest known species of venomous snake, with one specimen shot in 1946 measuring 2.4 m (7.8 ft) in length and weighing 15.4 kg (34 lb). However, other venomous snakes may rival this species in weight such as the much longer but more slender king cobra and the shorter but even bulkier Gabo…
Common names
Other common names for this snake species include eastern diamond-backed rattlesnake, eastern diamondback, diamond rattlesnake, diamond-back rattlesnake, common rattlesnake, diamond-back, diamond(-patch) rattler, eastern diamond-back (rattlesnake), eastern diamond rattlesnake, Florida diamond-back (rattlesnake), Florida rattlesnake, lozenge-spotted rattlesnake, rattler, rattlesnake, southeastern diamond-backed rattlesnake, southeastern diamond-backed rat…
Geographic range
The eastern diamondback rattlesnake is found in the Southeastern United States from southeastern North Carolina, south along the coastal plain through peninsular Florida to the Florida Keys, and west along the Gulf Coast through southern Alabama and Mississippi to southeastern Louisiana. The original description for the species does not include a type locality, although Schmidt (1953) proposed it be restricted to "Charleston, South Carolina" (USA).
Conservation status
This snake species is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (v3.1, 2001). Species are listed as such owing to their wide distribution or presumed large population, or because they are unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category. The population trend was down when assessed in 2007.
In North Carolina, the eastern diamondback rattlesnake is protected by state law and considere…
Habitat
The eastern diamondback rattlesnake inhabits upland dry pine forest, pine and palmetto flatwoods, sandhills and coastal maritime hammocks, longleaf pine/turkey oak habitats, grass-sedge marshes and swamp forest, cypress swamps, mesic hammocks, sandy mixed woodlands, xeric hammocks, and salt marshes, as well as wet prairies during dry periods. In many areas, it seems to use burrows made by gophers and gopher tortoises during the summer and winter.
Behavior
The eastern diamondback rattlesnake frequently shelters by tunneling in gopher and tortoise burrows, emerging in the early morning or afternoon to bask.
Like most rattlesnakes, this species is terrestrial and not adept at climbing. However, it has on occasion been reported in bushes and trees, apparently in search of prey. Even large specimens have been spotted as high as 10 m (33 f…
Feeding
The eastern diamondback rattlesnake forages actively or lies in ambush for small mammals, especially rabbits and rice rats (Oryzomys). The diet also includes birds. Prey is struck and released, after which the snake follows the scent trail left by the dying prey.
Because of their large size, adults have no problem eating prey as large as fully grown cottontail rabbits. As the juveniles are capable of swallowing adult mice, they do not often resort to eating …