Pygmy Rattlesnake

Pygmy rattlesnake in the grip of the grabber

Visiting friends came rushing to our house to report young Belle had spotted a snake in the little drainage on our road.  She showed me the picture. It had a red-orange stripe down the back and incomplete black bands across the back.   Pygmy rattlesnake!  I picked up my snake tool and hurried out to where I found the snake laying contentedly in the shallow water.

Biting the grabber - Click to enlarge

My snake grabber has springy ends with suction cups on each side.  At first the snake thrashed around, jaws open, looking for its opponent.  Soon it figured out what was holding it and began biting the cups.  You can see it in action in this video.  Notice it striking at the grabber, occasionally missing and hitting its own body.  Once off camera I could see it pull and tent its skin.   Biting blindly like this is likely pure reflex, a built in defense mechanism triggered below the brain and not requiring visual stimuli.

Some years ago Barb opened the sliding glass door and found a timber rattlesnake laying along the lower door glide.  This was a little too close for comfort so she went out another door to get a hoe and dispatched it.  Had it been further from the house we would have left it alone or transported it in a pillow case to a new location but here we couldn't afford to miss.*

When I returned to find the dead snake I decided to clean it for the skin.  After cutting off the head I began skinning it at the tail.  Twice the bloody cut neck hit my hand working over a foot away where I was pulling the skin!  It turns out that this is a neural reflex and at times a snake will bite itself as described here from National Geographic.  Many bites are "dry bites" and most sources state that snakes are immune to their own venom.

The western pygmy rattlesnake, Sistrurus miliarius streckeri, is the smallest Missouri rattlesnake, averaging 15-20 inches.  I used a stick to measure our specimen when it occasionally straightened out and estimate it at approximately 17 inches.

Threatening gaping mouth

Its tiny rattle can only be seen and heard by being closer than you want to be.  The buzz is said to be like a grasshopper and the soft sound of the running water drowned it out in the video.  The purpose of the rattle is debated as it doesn't attract prey and is too soft to be effective in warning predators.  One study found that 38% of the time the rattle was shortened or lost in the process of shedding.

Pygmy rattlesnakes live on lizards, snakes, frogs and mice, all of which are found around our house.  Young pygmies have a colorful tail that they will wave as bait to lure toads and frogs into striking distance, a technique called "caudal luring."  Adults tend to sit and wait for prey to pass by.

Bon voyage little pygmy - released 100 feet away

Belle's pygmy was transported to the edge of a field 100 feet from the road.  I have little doubt that it will be back as it favors glades and I wanted to keep it near a habitat where it can be successful.  Their venom and its volume aren't enough to be fatal to a human.  Many years ago I treated a patient who found several in a wood pile and grabbed each one, getting bitten 3 times.  He required dialysis for a week and whether he learned anything isn't known.

They are found in southern Missouri and on through the south central US.  Another name for them is "ground rattler" - in opposition to what, an aerial rattler?  That is one I don't want to see.

*It is against the law to kill a snake in Missouri, unless it is venomous and near your dwelling where it presents a risk to health.  See this MDC site.
 Herps of Arkansas has a lot more information on them.