Most species live near open, rocky areas, but rattlesnakes can be found in almost every type of habitat capable of supporting terrestrial ectothermic vertebrates, including prairies, marshes, deserts, and forests.
The venom is hemotoxic, destroying tissue, causing necrosis and coagulopathy (disrupted blood clotting). In the U.S., the tiger rattlesnake (C. tigris) and some varieties of the Mojave rattlesnake (C. scutulatus) also have a presynaptic neurotoxic venom component known as Mojave type A toxin, which can cause severe paralysis.
The muscles that cause the rattle to shake are some of the fastest known, firing 50 times per second on average, for up to three hours.
Like other snakes, rattlers smell using the tip of their tongue, and a forked tongue allows them to sense from which direction a smell is coming.
It's a myth that baby rattlesnakes release more venom than adults. In fact, adult snakes have much bigger venom sacs and can deliver far greater volumes of venom than babies, even if they only inject a small percentage of the total volume available.
Because of its unique method of locomotion, known as "sidewinding," the sidewinder (Crotalus cerastes) can reach speeds of up to 18 mph (29 km/h), faster than any other species of rattlesnake.
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