Some snakes lay eggs. In others, including rattlesnakes, eggs are retained in the mother's body until hatched, and the young are born alive. Sometimes the female rattler is killed with the young still in her body, a phenomenon giving rise to the folk tale that she swallows her babies to protect them from danger. The female Pacific rattler may contain from 4 to 25 eggs, from which an average of 9 or 10 hearty young are born live.
Except in the extreme northern part of California, mating occurs in the spring. The young are born between August and October. The newborn Pacific Rattlesnake is about 10 inches long and has a small horny button on the tip of its tail. Rattler babies have venom and short fangs and are dangerous from birth. In fact, they are more pugnacious than the adults. Although unable to make a rattling sound, the
youngsters throw themselves into a defensive pose and strike repeatedly when disturbed.
Young rattlers are completely independent of the mother. They remain in the area of their birth for the first 7 to 10 days, until they shed their first baby skin and add their first rattle. The litter then begins to disperse and begin the search for food. Many newborn do not survive the first year, either dying of hunger or being eaten by birds and animals. Even if they survive the first summer, they may perish during the first winter, if they can't find a suitable warm crevice in which to hibernate.
If all goes well, youngsters grow rapidly. Each time they come out of hibernation, they shed their skin, and with each skin shedding (molting) a new rattle appears. During the rapid growth of the first few years, they may molt three times annually. Thus, the number of rattles is not a true indicator of age. Rattles also wear out or break off, so it is unusual to find an adult snake with more than 8 or 10 rattles
.
Rattlesnakes eat lizards and small rodents such as ground squirrels, small rabbits, rats and mice, striking rather than attempting to hold their prey. When the hollow fangs of the rattler penetrate the victim's flesh, venom is injectedas though through twin hypodermic needles. Most small prey is immediately stunned. If a larger animal runs some
Many people spend a lifetime hunting, fishing or otherwise enjoying the outdoors and never see a rattlesnake. Very few people are actually bitten by rattlesnakes, yet because the bite is extremely painful and can be fatal, you should always keep alert and watch where you step or put your hands when you are in the field. Be careful after dark as well, for on warm nights rattlesnakes are out and about searching for food.
Most rattlesnakes, when disturbed, normally try to withdraw But if they think they are cornered, the explosive sizzling buzz of their rattles is an unmistakable warning to retreat and is a sound that will long be remembered.