I’ve have been to Albuquerque, New Mexico several times over the years. One place that I always wanted to go but never managed to was the American International Rattlesnake Museum. They have one of the largest collections of live rattlesnakes in the world. Could it be that whoever I was traveling with didn’t share my enthusiasm?
Peggy, however, is game for almost anything and snake images almost always show up among the petroglyphs that fascinate her so much. So off we went to the museum two weeks ago.
That I have a certain ‘fondness’ for rattlesnakes isn’t news to my blog followers. I’ve had numerous encounters with them over the years and have written about several. I’ve even been known to get down on my stomach when they are crawling toward me so I can get better head shots. (Peggy gets a little ouchy about that.) I suspect my attitude would be considerably different if I’d ever been bitten by one. Rattlesnake bites can be deadly, or at a minimum, extremely painful. It’s not something one wants to test.
Fortunately, rattlesnakes come with an early warning system. They rattle. The rattles are made up of keratin, that’s the same thing your fingernails are made of. When irritated, the snake vibrates its tail, knocking its rattles together. It makes a very distinctive sound, one you never forget, one guaranteed to shoot your heart rate up faster that a skyrocket on the 4th of July.
A rattlesnake you see coiled up, rattling its tail, and ready to strike is worrisome, to put it mildly. It’s not a problem, however— as long as you stay clear of its strike zone, which can range from half to two thirds of its body length. For a six foot snake (which is a very big snake), that would be from 3 to 4 feet. If you want to check this out, use a long stick. I have. (Don’t try this at home, kids.)
One you can hear but can’t see is a quantum leap scarier. I stepped on a dead log once ‘that started to rattle’ and found myself an olympic winning 15 feet down the trail before my mind registered snake. There is some evidence that our fear of snakes is instinctive. For example, have you ever come close to stepping on one you didn’t see in advance. Did you find yourself thinking, “snake, maybe I should be concerned.”
When I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in West Africa, I had a cat named Rasputin that proved the hypothesis about fear of snakes. I discovered if I took the old fashioned spring off my back door and rolled it toward him, he would leap 6 feet into the air and land on our couch or other piece of furniture well out of reach from the deadly ’snake.’ Being scientifically oriented, I did it 3 or 4 times just to make sure.
On the other hand, back in California I had a basset hound named Socrates that seemed to counter the theory. I was hiking with him one day at Folsom Lake near Sacramento when I noticed him walk out on to a granite ledge and start sniffing down into the cracks. Suddenly he began barking like the baying hound he was: Loud. Simultaneously, the rock became alive with rattles. Socrates had discovered a rattlesnake den. They can get big, big like in a hundred snakes. Some have even been found with a thousand. Talk about an Indiana Jones’ nightmare…
It was for me, as well. “Socrates, come here!” I demanded. And then again. And again. Each time louder and more desperate. All, to no avail. He just kept barking louder. Damn, that dog could be stubborn. Finally, there was nothing I could do but walk out on the buzzing rock, grab him by the collar, and bodily drag him off. I was lucky I didn’t pee my pants. Had I not immediately put his leash on and pulled him away, he would have gone right back to barking up a storm at the irritated, poisonous serpents.
Here are a few facts on rattlers:
- There are between 32 and 45 species of rattlesnakes, many of which live in the Southwest where Peggy and I just spent five months wandering around outside. They can range in size from 15-24 inches like the pigmy rattlesnake of the South up to close to 8 feet like the eastern diamond back. Peggy’s brother John and his wife Frances found one of these monsters in their backyard in Texas.
- They are superb predators. While lacking an outer ear that would allow them to hear their prey, they have an inner ear that allows them to sense the vibrations of a prey’s movements. Vertical pupils aid in depth perception for strikes and pits on the side of their faces serve as heat detectors which allow rattlers to see their prey in pitch dark situations. Being members of the pit viper family they have large, sharp, hollow fangs that are designed to deliver venom. The fangs fold back against the rattlesnake’s mouth when not in use.
- And finally, here’s a long word for you to impress your friends with: ovoviviparous. It means the rattlesnake mommy hatches her eggs inside of her body and her babies are born alive, ready for action as soon as they can bite their way out of the protective sack they are born in.
And now for a few of the photos we took at the museum.
Plus a couple of snakes that weren’t rattlers, but we were fascinated by their colors.
Wandering through Time and Place 
Never ever in my life have I scrolled down on pictures this fast with my eyes closed. A person who “wants” to go to a rattlesnake museum is probably someone who has already seen everything there is to see in this world, so now this! Oh, that’s you!
“Lying on my belly to get headshots”.
You are impossible!!!!!
Laughing. Fun. The rattlesnakes don’t seem to mind, but they don’t actually pose for me. Grin.
Great photos! I’m hoping the snakes you saw were behind glass! I’ve never seen a rattlesnake, but I have some vintage or antique rattles from one. My dad got them when he was a kid probably from the cast off skin from a snake, and kept them in a little box. Now I have them. Strange – haha 🙂
Yes, these were in the museum. The rest of my encounters have been out in the open with no window between us! 🙄
Oh goodness snakes! I have a great respect for these critters. Some of the patterns are so lovely! And your cat Rasputin…poor kitty and your scientific discoveries! We don’t have many different kinds this side of the mountains as you know. I do remember that when I was little, my mom was out in the back yard and showed my brother and I a king snake? Would that be right? It was quite large and black but at 5 years old, everything looked large to me. You both are so fortunate to have met!
Yep, that probably would have been a king snake! They eat rattlesnakes by the way, killing them by constriction the way a boa does. And they are immune to the rattlesnake venom! (And yes, we are fortunate and know it.)
I absolutely love the portrait of Peggy at the top. What a beauty. ❤ Curt, I have no idea why, but I have not been alerted to your posts until this one. I see that I have missed several! I thought you had just stopped blogging for awhile. Darn WP – this does seem to happen every so often, doesn’t it? Anyway, I’m back, and I’ll pay more attention now. And I have a few posts to catch up on too!
I love this post on snakes and rattlesnakes in particular. I do love them, even though, yeah, I do feel a little twinge of “eeeks” when I look close. My fave photo here is that in the face shot where your caption is “a bit scary.” That one is wonderful and I think Peggy would have a heart attack finding out you took that photo, ha ha. I think snakes are beautiful and I love holding them, feeling their cool/warm smoothness and muscle strength. I’m glad rattlers have rattles, and I have quickly followed their suggestion that I go somewhere else, when I hear those. The scariest rattlers are indeed the ones you don’t realize are there. I took a cup of coffee to a big rock beside a creek one morning while camping. I sat on the edge of the rock and slowly drank my coffee and watched the water for a full 20 minutes. Then I finally got up to go and spotted a big rattlesnake curled up just inches behind where I had been sitting. We had been sharing the rock, apparently. (I did get a close up photograph before I left it though, ha ha. I think we are the same in that instinct.)
Peggy and I were laughing. What would she title it. “Don’t mess with the mama.” She says thanks for your comment. She has been having a lot of fun with her short, grey hair.
Sorry about WP. I am so far behind on reading blogs, I’ll never catch up, Crystal. Being on the road, visiting beautiful places, and writing one post a week is about all the time I have! We should be back in Virginia in a week after five months on the road. I shall be better! I hope.
Fun about you sharing a rock with the rattlesnake. They really do have an attitude ‘if you don’t bother me, I won’t bother you.” Saying “Sorry, I didn’t mean to step on you,” doesn’t work, however. Glad you got the photo. That’s something to treasure.
Happily, I survived the post, Curt. On your belly…oh, my. Well, glad you’re still here. I heard a story from a fellow once who went on a rattlesnake hunt in, I think, Kentucky, and he wore boots with wooden sleeves up to his knees. As he walked through tall grass, he could feel the rattlers strike him. I’m not sure I could keep myself upright. Well, I have walked over rattlers on a trail when they were asleep. My dog sniffed one once. I didn’t like that, but we survived. Cheers, keep up the great work. You are appreciated…..Zan
Thanks Zan. I happy to say that I’ve never had one strike at me that was within reach. Plenty coiled up and wanting to. Yeah, a dog sniffing a rattlesnake can lead to bad results. Socrates was lucky that the snakes he was barking at were down in cracks out of reach. I’ve almost stepped on a couple of them. One was close to six feet long down in the Grand Canyon. I grabbed a long stick and rudely encouraged him to get off the trail!
Curt, my basic issue is I came up a coiled rattler at our property in Idlewild, Ca. when I was a pre-teen and it terrified me. I was paralyzed, sad to say, and my dad had to come and, again sadly, kill the fellow. Interesting, though, on the trail, I was not afraid, just concerned. I was on another walk with that dog and two crossed the trail but no harm to anyone. I salute your bravery, and, of course, your photographic efforts. I get to see all these places I have not gone to. More cheers , have gfreat days.
I can see where that might create a trauma, Zan.
Being concerned when one comes across a rattlesnake, is very smart! Grin.
Wow, that’s some t-shirt.
Snakes are a rarity where I live in AB, but common in the late spring in AZ. When they start sunning themselves on our AZ patio, I know it is time to pack up and head back to AB. The most common snake in AZ is the Gopher Snake.
Laughing. It’s a good gauge!
Socrates is a lucky dog, Curt, to have such a brave owner! I’ve been to Albuquerque a couple of times, and next time, I’ll visit the museum. 🙂 I’m not especially afraid of snakes, but then, I’ve never encountered a rattler. Love Peggy’s shirt! Lol. Thanks for the fun post.
Not sure how brave I was feeling at the time, D. 🤪Never encountered a rattler? Wow. We even had one that lived under an outside faucet when we lived in Oregon. I tried to discourage it to go elsewhere, but he liked it in the hot summer. One time I watched an eagle flying away from our property with one dangling fro its claws. Your home is much more rainforest than ours was, however. We lived in rattlesnake country.
No rattlers here. We did have a possum living under our kitchen sink in CT a couple of decades ago. That was an adventure. And the eagle carrying away the snake makes me think of the Mexican flag. I guess it happens!
Our kids found one living under my covered grill when we were traveling this summer. Not quite as dramatic as the skunk that likes to live under their porch on occasion. I’ve seen eagles carrying snakes a couple of times, D.
Hi Curt, I’m not afraid of snakes (because they’re not in my every day routines), but I couldn’t look at all the photos. A little too creepy! But if you ever do a post on spiders, I’ll have to skip it entirely because I have arachnophobia. 🙂 Anyway, reptiles have always fascinated me, as long as they’re confined and I’m safe. 🙂 Peggy’s t-shirt is cool, but I don’t think I could wear it. Great post! 🐍
There is just something about the viper look that spells danger, or creepy, if you prefer, Lauren. 😳Spiders don’t stand much of a chance around here. Peggy has a rule about them staying outside. On occasion I get to them before she does and transport them to safety. But I have to be quick. Peggy has been having fun with her T-shirt!
I’m both fascinated and creeped out by big snakes. On my daily hikes here in NC, it’s copperheads I have to watch out for, but so far I’ve not been too surprised by one and have been able to walk behind them when they stretch across the trail. Eeeeek! I would definitely go to a rattlesnake museum!
Hi Lexi. Somehow I thought you were still in Texas. (Although I’m sure I new better.) Welcome to the East. Where in North Carolina? We live out in the country but near Leesburg, which means not all that far away from Washington.
I’m with you on snakes. It’s wise to be be wary, whatever their size.
We live in Durham. And I forgot you were in Leesburg … I did know you left the NW but would not have remembered where you were exactly. My brother lives in Great Falls, and we sometimes take “the back way” near Leesburg into western PA to see my dad and other family members. Pretty country. Hope you are enjoying it!
We are, Lexi. But I do miss the West.
Cool. whose that great looking model???
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Not bad, eh Bill. She’s really cute with her new hairdo!
Looks like a fun museum! I’m overdue for encountering a rattlesnake this year (by this time I’ve usually seen a few) – but I have several episodes where I’ve stepped on one end of a stick, and the other end (several feet away) rises up through the leaves. Rattle or not, that always gets my heart and adrenaline going for the split second it takes to register “not snake”!
Laughing. Not snake! I’m in total agreement.
I stepped on a big coiled snake once that was hidden in deep grass. He went one way and I went the other, and even though I haven’t a clue what it was, it brought home the wisdom of all the advice I’d been offered about staying out of tall grasses: or at least being more cautious. I do remember the first advice I got when we moved to Liberia: to walk heavily, and swish the grasses with a stick as I went. Rattlesnakes are one thing, but there were plenty of threats there, too.
I’ve heard a lot of chatter about rattlers recently, as people are beginning to check on their deer stands and such for the new season. More than a few have discovered nests of rattlers inside or just outside their stands, and the snake training classes for hunting dogs are advertising again.
Of course, as you know, there’s always a song!
“He went one way and I went the other.” Quickly, I assume. Wise advice. I always walked with my dogs in Liberia. When they circled around something, I circled around it. One of the most poisonous was the cassava snake. It was pretty much bite you and you are dead. I just googled it quickly and found the first photo was from wandering-through-time-and-place. Grin.
Rattlers building nests in deer stands? It gives a whole new perspective on deer hunting! I wonder what training a hunting dog with snake training classes involves?
Leave it to you Curt to know every detail about rattlers. I remember some of your stories well. Terrorizing that cat like that but at least he could spring into action, thanks to youl Ha! You picked a good mate obviously and Peggy seems to like them as much as you.
Socrates must have been a special dog to help him out of pinch with that ovoviviparous and all of her babies.. YIKES! I once decided to go first on a rattlesnake walk.. we never leave early enough and its hot as bejesus. I didn’t want Hunter to go first of he might attach and I didn’t see the damn thing and nearly stepped on it and we stepped over it which I didn’t realize until after the step!
I’ve been held hostage to the sound and just waited but lets just say, I don’t go looking for trouble on my belly for photo opts. Hey, you’re still around to talk about it, our dare devil friend!
💕🐍
They do add a little spice to life. That’s for sure Cindy. But it’s always better from a distance. If you make a fair amount of noise, they normally skedaddle and you never see or hear them. Hearing them rattle means you are a little close. Freezing isn’t a bad technique. Usually they calm down and head about their business of catching squirrels, mice, etc, which they would much rather catch than you. Keeping your doggy away from them is a really good idea. Dogs just don’t seem to have the same instincts as cats. Especially if Socrates was any example. 🤪