INTERDEPENDENCE
Population:
-mate during warmer months (mid-spring to mid-autumn)
-female will leave traces of her scents and males will use their tongues to follow the trail
-when rattlesnakes are pregnant, the female carries the eggs and they hatch inside of her instead of outside
-rattlesnakes are ovoviviparous (producing young by means of eggs that are hatched within the body of the parent, as in some snakes.)
-rattlesnakes give birth to live offspring not eggs
-gestation period is generally 90 days but can be as long as 5 months
-brood size is between 4 to 10 baby rattlesnakes (born wrapped in a membrane which they can easily get out of)
-baby rattlesnakes are well-developed and independent once they've been born
-are born with one rattle but every time they shed their skin, another rattle develops
-stay close to their mother until their first shed (about a week after birth then are on their own)
Ecosystem:
-considered generalists (are not picky of about its habitat)
-can be found in deserts, grassy plains, forests, rocky hillsides, areas along the coast
-lives in elevations from below sea level up to 6,500 feet
-during the winter rattlesnakes will hibernate in other animals burrows
-are terrestrial (living on the surface of the ground)
-rarely climb trees
Community/Organisms That Interact:
Prey: Mice, Rabbits, Rats, Gophers, Birds, Lizards, (other small animals)
Predators: Deer, Antelope, Cows, Horses (don’t always want to eat rattlesnakes but see the snake as a threat so will try to stomp/trample)
Hawks, Eagles, Roadrunners, King-snakes, Coyote, Bobcats and Fox (do look at snake as food)
Food Sources: Rattlesnakes are carnivores. Do not chew but swallow foods whole.
Mutualism:
- able to adapt to many different environments as long as there is water nearby.
-ability to exchange habitats and homes with different organisms.
Competition:
-competition is not very difficult
-do not have a hard time finding food
-If food happens to be scarce it is still not life threatening because of wide variety in nutrition
Predation:
-are "Tertiary Consumers" which means that they tend to eat "Secondary Consumers"
-they have to worry about "Quaternary Consumers"
-since rattlesnakes eat rodents they keep the rodent population stable
Parasitism:
-ticks, mites, and Trichomoniasis
-Mites are one of the most common and most harmful parasites to snake.
Biome:
-Deserts
-Grasslands
Population:
-mate during warmer months (mid-spring to mid-autumn)
-female will leave traces of her scents and males will use their tongues to follow the trail
-when rattlesnakes are pregnant, the female carries the eggs and they hatch inside of her instead of outside
-rattlesnakes are ovoviviparous (producing young by means of eggs that are hatched within the body of the parent, as in some snakes.)
-rattlesnakes give birth to live offspring not eggs
-gestation period is generally 90 days but can be as long as 5 months
-brood size is between 4 to 10 baby rattlesnakes (born wrapped in a membrane which they can easily get out of)
-baby rattlesnakes are well-developed and independent once they've been born
-are born with one rattle but every time they shed their skin, another rattle develops
-stay close to their mother until their first shed (about a week after birth then are on their own)
Ecosystem:
-considered generalists (are not picky of about its habitat)
-can be found in deserts, grassy plains, forests, rocky hillsides, areas along the coast
-lives in elevations from below sea level up to 6,500 feet
-during the winter rattlesnakes will hibernate in other animals burrows
-are terrestrial (living on the surface of the ground)
-rarely climb trees
Community/Organisms That Interact:
Prey: Mice, Rabbits, Rats, Gophers, Birds, Lizards, (other small animals)
Predators: Deer, Antelope, Cows, Horses (don’t always want to eat rattlesnakes but see the snake as a threat so will try to stomp/trample)
Hawks, Eagles, Roadrunners, King-snakes, Coyote, Bobcats and Fox (do look at snake as food)
Food Sources: Rattlesnakes are carnivores. Do not chew but swallow foods whole.
Mutualism:
- able to adapt to many different environments as long as there is water nearby.
-ability to exchange habitats and homes with different organisms.
Competition:
-competition is not very difficult
-do not have a hard time finding food
-If food happens to be scarce it is still not life threatening because of wide variety in nutrition
Predation:
-are "Tertiary Consumers" which means that they tend to eat "Secondary Consumers"
-they have to worry about "Quaternary Consumers"
-since rattlesnakes eat rodents they keep the rodent population stable
Parasitism:
-ticks, mites, and Trichomoniasis
-Mites are one of the most common and most harmful parasites to snake.
Biome:
-Deserts
-Grasslands