Western Diamond-Backed Rattlesnake: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Snakes · day 6 of 7

Five facts

1. Western diamondbacks can survive up to two years without a single meal.
2. In a 5½-month starvation experiment, the snakes cut their energy use by 80 % and even grew muscle and bone while shrinking.
3. A 1976 study in Texas found that small mammals made up 94.8 % of what these snakes ate, by weight.
4. Adults regularly reach 120 cm, but the longest reliably measured western diamondback stretched to 213 cm.
5. Western diamondbacks can thrive deep inside built-up areas, for example around Phoenix and Tucson in Arizona.

The quiz

1. How long can western diamondbacks survive without a meal?

• Up to two days
• Up to two years (correct)
• Up to two weeks
• Up to two months

They can survive up to two years without a single meal.

2. By how much did the starving snakes cut their energy use?

• 80 % (correct)
• 8 %
• 20 %
• 50 %

They cut their energy use by 80 %.

3. What makes up 94.8 % of the diet by weight?

• Lizards
• Birds
• Insects
• Small mammals (correct)

Small mammals make up 94.8 % of the diet by weight.

4. How long was the longest reliably measured western diamondback?

• 120 cm
• 90 cm
• 213 cm (correct)
• 300 cm

The longest reliably measured one stretched to 213 cm.

5. Around which cities do western diamondbacks thrive inside built-up areas?

• Phoenix and Tucson (correct)
• Chicago and Boston
• Seattle and Denver
• Miami and Atlanta

They thrive deep inside built-up areas around Phoenix and Tucson.

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