Saturday, March 5, 2016

At The Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup Watch Out For Mama's Nursing Baby Rattlers

I saw this disturbing photo on Facebook yesterday.

A mama rattlesnake nursing her brood of ten baby rattlers.

The disturbing photo came with a warning....

Spring time is around the corner. Mama rattlers will be emerging with newly hatched young. They seek warm sunshine to lay in and nurse their young. Watch your dogs and children. They become aggressive and will chase you.

I am guessing it comes as a surprise to most, the idea that a rattlesnake comes equipped with ten nipples, from whence baby rattlers get fed.

I suspect the idea that a rattlesnake would have nipples would be disputed by a highly trained biologist. Or a well informed layman.

I have witnessed a rattlesnake getting milked, but not in the manner shown above. It was at the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup where I saw rattlesnakes being milked for the venom which comes out of their fangs.

The very first video I ever made with my very first video camera captured, if I remember right, the spectacle of a rattlesnake being milked. You can view that video by going here.

The Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup starts rounding up the rattlesnakes next Thursday, March 10, with the rounding up and milking ending four days later on Sunday, March 13.

I have been to the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup once. Once was more than enough.

If you are heading to West Texas, to Sweetwater, next weekend, you can find some Sweetwater info here.

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