Endless Ocean

Rattlesnakes P7

Rattlesnakes have wonderful senses that help them to hunt. Using their senses, they can find prey at any time of the day or night. They can even locate warm-blooded animals in complete darkness!

When we humans want to find something, we use our eyes and ears the most. Rattlesnakes have eyes and ears, and they sometimes use them to find prey. But they mostly use their sense of smell and their sense of heat to hunt.

All rattlesnakes are pit vipers. This means that they have special openings called pits on their faces that can feel heat. Even in complete darkness, the pits can "see" the heat given off by warm-blooded mammals. The animals. The animals can try to hide, by staying still and quiet----but the heat from their bodies gives them away.

Let's refresh Warm-blooded animals give off ______?

The ______ on a rattlesnake's face can feel _____?

Moving on. If you are curious, answers will appear in later chapters. Keep reading to stay up to date on your favorite animals.

Rattlesnakes have ears?

The ears of a rattlesnake are inside the rattlesnake's head. Unlike seals, they have no ear openings on the outside.

To hear, rattlesnakes use their jawbones. They rest on their jaws on the ground to pick up vibrations that are made by animals (or people) that are moving nearby. The jawbone carries the vibration to the ears inside the head.

Different senses are used to find prey at different distances. When animals are far away, the snake can "hear" faint vibrations of the ground that are caused by their feet. Closer up, the rattler can see the animals. At the closest distances, the snake can use its tongue or its pits.

Using their pits, rattlesnakes can find the exact location of prey in the dark. To do this, they move their heads from side to side. The heat on either side of the head is less hot than the heat come directly from the warm body.

The snake finds the hottest spot-----and that is where the prey can be found.

Rattlesnakes can only see up to 15 ft. or 4.6 ms.

All have large eyes with pupils that can be opened very wide, to help them see in very dim light.

Rattlesnakes do not have eyelids so when they are asleep their eyes are open.

When their tongue flicks in and out it is taking smells from the air and transferring it into the mouth which it is tasted by a special organ: Jacobson's Organ.

All snakes have a Jacobson's Organ it is not limitted to rattlers.

Rattlers also use their nostrils to pick up smells.