Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes and their venom

A Venomous Topic

The subject of this investigation is Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes and how they secrete venom. Have you always wondered about their venomous bite. Have you wondered how they create their venom with? Let’s explore together these answers to questions like :“Does the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake behavior increase or decrease the chance of them using their venom?”, “Does their habitat determine if the snake has venom or not?”, “Does diamondback venom affect their victim faster than other snakes venom?”. It just so happens that we have a student at Carver who owns a venomous snake and he shares his experiences with us here now.

Investigation result and Interview

Rattlesnake fangs are connected by venom tubes to large venom glands in it cheeks, towards the back of the head. When the snake bites, the venom glands shrinks, the venom is squeezes through the tubes and into the fangs. When the fangs are not in use, they remain folded against the mouth. Rattlesnakes are born with fully functioning fangs and venom, and are capable of killing prey at birth.

The venom of Western Diamondback Rattlesnake is mostly hemotoxic, affecting mainly the blood vessels, blood cells and the heart. However, because of its large venom glands and fangs, the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake can deliver a big amount of venom with one bite.

In this investigation I also did a interview to gain more knowledge on the snake. My source of info was Steven Ramsey Jr., who is a snake owner himself and had a lot of facts to share with me. From there he answer my questions and added more fact, which really help me learn more about Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes facts. Some of these question were:

How does your your snake secrete venom?

“The snake has venom sacks in its cheeks which leads to its fangs and the venom is leaked out through the holes at the end of its fangs.”

How fast does it takes for the venom to affect its victim?

“The Western Diamondback Rattlesnake venom will affect its victim within minutes and the person if not immediately will die in 10 minutes.”

What is its usual prey?

“The W.D.R preys on small rodent and reptiles”

What is your snakes usual habitat?

“Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, California and New Mexico.

References and Final questions

http://reptilis.net/serpentes/venom.html

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/decoding-deadly-secret-snake-venom-180954965/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_diamondback_rattlesnake#Venom

Steven Ramsey Jr.

What does this mean for students at Carver?

That you now know how Western Diamondbacks Rattlesnakes secrete. And also to be careful if you encounter one or plan to own one.

What are the implications for future investigations?

That Western Diamondbacks Rattlesnakes has venom sacks in its cheeks which leads to its fangs and the venom is leaked out through the holes at the end of its fangs. Also the dangers of their venom.