IDENTIFICATION
The Western Massasauga is a small pale colored rattlesnake. It has about 39 dark brown blotches down the center of back and two rows of smaller blotches down each side on a light gray or grayish-tan ground color. The belly is a mottled grayish-brown, generally with more light pigment than dark. Like all rattlesnakes of the genus Sistrurus it has 9 large distinct scale plates on the crown of the head. It has keeled scales and an undivided anal plate. The scale count at mid-body is 25.
SIZE
Adults measure 18 to 27 inches. Record size recorded for this species is 34 3/4 inches.
RANGE
This species ranges from Iowa and southeastern Nebraska south through central Oklahoma into central Texas and the upper Gulf Coast of Texas. There is also an isolated population in southeastern Colorado.
Western Massasauga - Sistrurus c. tergeminus Photo by Troy Hibbitts
DISTRIBUTION IN TEXAS
This species has been recorded from the following Texas counties: Armstrong, Bell, Bosque, Brazos, Calhoun, Chambers, Clay, Colorado, Dickens, Galveston, Hardeman, Haskell, Hemphill, Johnson, King, Matagorda, Mc Lennan, Nolan, Parker, Roberts, Shackelford, Tarrant, Taylor, Throckmorton, Victoria, Wheeler, Wilbarger, and Young.
HABITAT
This is a rattlesnake of the plains and grasslands. Often frequents rocky areas, clumps of Prickly Pear cactus and is not usually found far from a source of water.
FOOD
The Western Massasauga feeds upon mice, shrews, frogs, lizards and other smaller snakes.
BEHAVIOR
This is one of the most docile rattlesnakes that I have worked with. Most individuals seldom rattle when distrubed. They are nocturnal and are seldom ever seen during daylight hours. They tend to avoid areas of human habitation.
REPRODUCTION
Courtship and breeeding occur both in the fall and spring. The Western Massasauga, like all rattlesnakes are live-bearers, giving birth to 5 to 13 young during July or August. The young measure from 7 to 9 1/2 inches at birth and resemble the adults except that their bellies and tail may have a somewhat pinkish coloration.
REMARKS
Due to its generally mild disposition, nocturnal nature and its tendency to avoid areas populated by people, this species accounts for only a few snakebite cases in Texas. Due to the moderate toxicity and low delivery yield of it's venom, the chance of a lethal bite to a human is somewhat unlikely.
LITERATURE CITED
Brown, Bryce C. 1950. An Annotated Check List of the Reptiles and Amphibians of Texas. Baylor University Press, Waco.
Conant, R. and J.T. Collins. 1991. Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern/Central North America, 3rd revised edition. Houghton Mifflin, Co., Boston.
Dixon, James R. 2000. Amphibians and Reptiles of Texas, 2nd edition. Texas A & M Press, College Station.
Klauber, Laurence M. 1972. Rattlesnakes: Their Habits, Life Histories, and Influence on Mankind, 2nd edition. University of California Press, Berkeley & Los Angeles.
Werler, John E., and James R. Dixon. 2000. Texas Snakes, Identification, Distribution and Natural History. University of Texas Press, Austin.
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