The venezuelan common rattle snake

The venezuelan common rattle snake

Over 142 species and sub species of snakes exist in Venezuela. Twenty-five of these are poisonous and represent a potential danger for humans traveling by the places they inhabit. Among these, the common rattlesnake is notorious due to the rattle they possess in the tail tip.

When the rattlesnake perceives the presence of a potential enemy, it rapidly coils its body, points its head in the direction of the intruder, and vibrates its tail so that the rattle emits the characteristic sound that warns its presence and scares the bravest of the intruders.

Their body reaches one meter and a half in length. Their back exhibits brownish rhombs bordered by cream colored lines. Length wise, their neck looks striped. They possess fangs, fed by poison glands located behind and under the eyes. A gland very sensitive to heat, located before the eye, allows the snake to stalk its prey in total darkness.

If we walk carefully by day in the arid places where these snakes live, we will most probably not see them. They like to sleep in caves or under trunks or rocks during the day. They leave these dark and cool places at night to hunt rats and mice. Therefore, yet being poisonous, in certain way they are also beneficial to farmers by feeding on rodents.