July 1, 2022

I am an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake

I'm a venomous pit viper that some people dread

I have a rattle on the end of my tail that gets

A new segment each time that I shed.

(Note: Click to enlarge the photos - the scales are quite amazing. In the close up of the rattle, you can count 11 segments, so because they shed their skin 3-4 times per year, this snake is about 3 years old.)

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Crotalus_adamanteus/

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

March 28, 2022

I am an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake

I am an ovoviviparous species

That's a fancy way of saying I hatch eggs internally

To protect my babies from predatory beasties.

ovoviviparousovoviviparou

(This is a self-portrait with a rattler, taken in 2015 while I was doing a Manatee watch, before I started this blog. I came across it while I was looking for some other photos and thought you might enjoy it!)

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Crotalus_adamanteus/

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

December 12, 2020

I'm an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake

I have a large, broad head and diamonds on my back

I can strike using 2/3 of my body

Don't get too close or you might get whacked.

(Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes are venomous - do not attempt to pick one up or get too close. Most people who get hurt in the wild get hurt because they were doing something unwise. In general, most snakes do not want to hurt you, they just want to get away. That said, like any living thing, snakes will attack when they feel threatened.)

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Special thanks to guest photographer and my sweetheart, David Simpson.

Sources: https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/reptiles/snakes/eastern-diamondback/

Photo © 2020 David Simpson, text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson