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temperament of Crotalus adamanteus
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by ap42182 on September 10, 2006
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Hi I have a question on crotalus adamanteus's temperament. I have read that this snake has a mild temper for a rattler, but I just read that it has an aggressive attitude which would be correct or does it very between individuals?
Thanks for everything
Dave
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RE: temperament of Crotalus adamanteus
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by SimplySnakes on September 10, 2006
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Dave,
I have a good size collection of adamanteus. This is not a calm laid back rattlesnake like a ruber. My EDB's are very alert and always watching my movements while I am in the room. Hooking is always a problem because they like to advance at me to keep me out of their enclosure. Some of my animals are old and have been with me a long time. When dealing with a large (5-6 foot, dangerous snake always be ready for a strike. I took a pic of my calmest eastern today. I am posting it now in the crotalinae photo section. She has 17 rattles( whats left) and she has been with me eleven years now. Even though old age is setting in, she can still throw a quick strike when she has had enough handling. Be careful when working with this species. Good Luck
Sincerely,
Paul
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RE: temperament of Crotalus adamanteus
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by SwampY on September 10, 2006
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well, I'd have to ask which C. adamanteus you're asking about.
Their attitudes differ from individual to individual.
I've had some that were kittens, others that were tigers. If you think about it, the question is about like asking if humans are mean. some are, some aren't.
Chad Minter
The Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake Page
http://www.envenomated.com
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RE: temperament of Crotalus adamanteus
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by Parcelmouth on September 11, 2006
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My experience with C. adamanteus is as follows. I have raised 1.2 from babies to adulthood and dealt with a pair of adult females, as well as an under feed animal whose sex was unknown at the Jackson Zoo. The 3 that are my personal charges were my first eastern diamondbacks ever to work with.
My largest male is now at 6 feet in length and is a pussycat to work with, very easy going. He hooks well, he responds very well to tailing. He almost never rattles. I have taken this animal to the biology labs at the college I attend to speak to the instructors and students about the snakes of Mississippi. He has never struck defensively. He is very alert at times, but also exhibits typical viper behavior of lying motionless. He is also a very aggressive feeder and has come more than half his length flying out of an enclosure when it is dinnertime.
My largest female is between 4 and 5 feet in length. She is not a very defensive animal. She is what I have heard some herp people call a runner. When I work with her she is constantly trying to get away from the object of her annoyance (Me) and find any place to hide in or under. She is also a timid feeder and takes a good deal of time to decide if she is going to eat. She has also never struck defensively at anything.
My smaller female was a big problem child. She absolutely refused to feed. I was very lucky that Terry Vandeventer, who has been my mentor and taken a lot of his time to answer my endless questions since I first, started, keeping venomous, took her for an entire year and was able to get her to feed. I got her back and she is alive and well today. 3 years old and pounding rats like gangbusters. She is considerably smaller than the others due to the fact she did not feed well her first year. She has a very calm personality again, not one defensive strike ever from her.
The 2 adult females I got to work at the Jackson Zoo were a rude awakening for me. I found out not all C. adamanteus were like mine. These girls were very defensive. Rattling raised “S” posturing and striking. Both were 5 foot plus adults, and a big pissed of C. adamanteus is very intimidating, two in the same enclosure even worse. I was eventually allowed to separate them. I observed the staff working the snakes. I found out they where being lifted mid body on one hook or on a single pair of tongs. This is dangerous to the snake and more than likely painful as well. These girls had become conditioned to associate a keeper with a hook or tongs in his hands with a painful experience. No wonder they did not like us very much. I spent a lot of time with them over the few months I was at the zoo and they both calmed down dramatically with proper handling techniques. I was able to move them easily when needed and I was even able to do presentations and discussions with one of the animals. The other was, to the day I left, more defensive and apt to strike. I would like to add that these animals always attempted to escape and hide before striking at the keepers.
The last C. adamanteus at the zoo was small. It was somewhat defensive and would strike defensively. I felt really bad for this snake. The identification card said it was estimated at 2 – 3 years old and was small enough to fit in a 2 foot Neodesha cage. In my opinion this is neglect and abuse of the animal. A healthy C. adamanteus of that age should be at least 4 to 5 feet in length.
Since this seems to be turning in to an essay. I would like to add that in my discussions with Terry, I have listen to him speak about personalities of captive born and raised C. adamanteus. One must remember that these animals are born and live their entire life not seeing human beings as a threat. The animal is constantly in proximity to its keeper. It becomes conditioned to see a human keeper as a food source, at times an annoyance, at other times possibly a curiosity, but not a threat to its life. The animal has no reason to fear its keeper so in all probability does not. From this perspective the animal is not afraid of its keeper and associates his keeper with food. This is a dangerous situation that all snake keepers that work venomous or large constrictors have to deal with. Also, a full-grown C. adamanteus has no natural predators other than man. This animal is a very highly evolved apex predator. An adult in the wild would have very little to be fearful of. In captivity that object of fear (man) is not present as a threat anymore. So what does a 6-foot captive C. adamanteus have to be afraid of, absolutely nothing. This is not to say the animal can not be spooked and strike, or respond to which ever cues or combination of cues elicit a strike, movement, thermal, chemical or other.
I would also like to add that although I did in fact describe one specimen as a “pussycat”, that C. adamanteus is a very dangerous animal. Remember it is not usually the big nasty in a collection that envenomates his keeper. It is the one that is always so calm and never does anything out of the ordinary. C adamanteus has a very large venom yield, along with a plethora of toxins. Russell states that a person could go into hypovolemic shock, loosing two thirds of his blood volume 15 to 20 minutes post envenomation from a large specimen. All the rules of working vipers do apply. The snake can strike from any position and in any direction, without any warning. As stated in other posts, all individuals do have there own unique personalities.
There is my .02 cents worth and then some. Thanks,
J.S. Harrison
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RE: temperament of Crotalus adamanteus
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by SimplySnakes on September 12, 2006
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J.S. excellent, enjoyed reading your comments. Good notations on the individual temperments.
Paul
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RE: temperament of Crotalus adamanteus
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by ap42182 on September 13, 2006
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Thanks for all the information and interesting comments, I have another quick question, how far can an EDB strike? Thanks for answering all my questions, take care
Sincerely,
Dave
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RE: temperament of Crotalus adamanteus
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by Cro on September 13, 2006
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Dave, most rattlesnakes can easily strike 1/3 to 1/2 their length, depending on what type of coil or body position they are in.
Sometimes, they have been observed to strike much further, out to the full body length. This can happen when the snake is opaque and not seeing very well, and mis-judges the distance to what it is striking at. Then it sort of lunges out full length, and falls, (not exactly a real strike and recoil), but very dangerous none the less, as it can get you bitten at a distance that you would normally think as being safe.
I have seen this happen three or four times over the years.
Hope this helps.
Best Regards JohnZ
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