Photo Galleries
Interesting Snakes
This is a pigmy rattlesnake (S. m. miliarius) from the Savannah River site in South Carolina.
This pigmy climbed about four feet above the ground where it shed its skin in a mass of grape vines (photo T.M. Farrell).
This pigmy fell off a palm frond, and got caught by its rattle.
This is a massasauga, the closest relative of the pigmy rattlesnake.
Here is a snake with an unusual color pattern.
This is one of the PIT-tags used to mark our snakes.
Habitat
A hammock (wet forested area) in central Florida that is home to many pigmy rattlesnakes.
These hammocks become flooded in the wet season (Fall).
Morphology
A close-up of the head showing fangs.
A close-up of two pigmies' tails showing how they change color as the snakes age.
A close-up of a long rattle chain.
The rattle of a young rapidly growing snake (photo J. Rybinski).
The rattle of an old, slowly growing snake (photo J. Rybinski).
The rattle of a snake that is mute. Like many pigmy rattlesnakes it has no loose segments (photo J. Rybinski).
Reproduction
A adult male in contact with an adult female.
A pair of copulating pigmy rattlesnakes.
A young snake coiled next to a quarter.
A newborn pigmy coiled next to its mother.
Foraging
Here is a snake in a typical foraging coil.
Here is a lizard that was struck but wasn't found by the snake.
This is the last thing a lizard might see before getting bit (photo T.M. Farrell).
This young pigmy is eating a ribbon snake.
Another young snake that is stuffed after eating a ribbon snake.
This snake is showing the typical posture young snakes use when they lure prey.
A dissected pigmy with a big centipede in its stomach.
Miscellaneous Photos
Side and frontal views of a pit viper's head, showing facial pits (red arrow), eyes and nasal openings.
These images were drawn by Walter Auffenberg (a Stetson University graduate). They were taken from the Florida Museum of Natural History Venomous Snakes of Florida page (with permission).
The dorsal surface of a pigmy rattlesnake head and a timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) head. Note the nine enlarged plates on the pigmy's head.
These images very modified from E.D. Cope 1898 "The Crocodilians, Lizards, and Snakes of North America." These images were take from the Florida Museum of Natural History Venomous Snakes of Florida page (with permission).