Posted by Rich G. on April 24, 2002 at 17:17:40:
In Reply to: But... posted by James Van Dyke on April 24, 2002 at 13:17:15:
They don't rattle at me when I walk into the room or when I remove them from the cages for cleaning unless I accidently jar them too much. The snakes also retain the prey after the strike. (most of my crotes changed to a retaining strike after long enough captive period, they quickly learn to grab the prey by the neck or shoulder area to reduce the risk of the rodent turning and biting)The time for defensivness is long past, they know when it is feeding time. Granted most of the time there is no rattling, but periodically I do observe the above described scenario.
As for predators, I have seen film footage of coyotes killing and eating healthy adult viridis. Armstrong and Murphy mention an ocelot caught in the attempt at killing a C.d.totonacus. There are also many accounts of rattlesnakes beingintentionally trampled by deer.
