Wild and Kind Kids Podcast

The Rattlesnake

• Wild and Kind Kids

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0:00 | 17:57

In the hot, dusty Sonoran Desert, a young rattlesnake named Dusty has just gotten something exciting… his very first rattle.

Dusty thinks his new rattle is amazing. So amazing, in fact, that he rattles at everything. Butterflies. Pebbles. Shadows. Even his own tail.

RATTLE RATTLE RATTLE.

But when Dusty rattles all the time, the other desert animals stop paying attention. And one day, when a real danger appears, Dusty learns something important: warnings only work when they’re used for moments that truly matter.

Join Carie, Lincoln, and Eliza as they explore the fascinating world of rattlesnakes, one of North America’s most misunderstood reptiles.

Kids will discover:

  • How rattlesnakes sense heat in the dark to find prey
  • Why rattlesnakes have a rattle and how it helps protect them
  • What a defense mechanism is and how animals use them to stay safe

Keep exploring:

Learn along with us and explore some of the resources we consulted:

SPEAKER_00

Hi everyone. Welcome back to Wild and Kind Kids. Today we're gonna start with something a little bit silly. I want you to open your mouth wide and stick out your tongue. Like stretch it out. Nice job, y'all. Now tell me, what can you taste?

SPEAKER_02

Nothing.

SPEAKER_00

So let's try something else. I want you to move your tongue back and forth really fast. All right, does that help? Nah. Well, it works for today's animal. Scientists often say they can taste the air, but actually they are smelling with their tongues. Let's get learning. I'm Carrie, and I grew up on a zoo.

SPEAKER_02

I'm Lincoln. I'm Eliza. And we're the world about animals.

SPEAKER_00

Welcome to the Wild and Kind Kids Podcast. Hey Lincoln and Eliza.

unknown

Hi Ma.

SPEAKER_00

So today I am super excited to share that we have another listener request. Today's request comes from Owen and Adeline, who live in Petaluma, California.

SPEAKER_02

Hi, Adaline. Hi, Owen.

SPEAKER_00

And they requested a super fun animal. The rattlesnake. Rattlesnakes are a type of reptile, which means they are cold-blooded animals with scales. They're part of the snake family, so they don't have legs. But they have one very special feature that other snakes don't have.

SPEAKER_02

It's a rattle, not like a baby rattle. A rattle to scale the way Prattle does.

SPEAKER_00

Yes! At the end of their tail, rattlesnakes have a little stack of hollow pieces called a rattle. And when they shake their tail, it makes a buzzing sound that sounds like this. That rattle is important. It tells other animals to stay back because rattlesnakes are venomous. That means their bodies make a special liquid that they can inject through their fangs to make their dinner stop moving. And luckily, nature gives us a lot of clues about which snakes are venomous. Lincoln and Eliza, do you all know any of the ways that we can tell if a snake is venomous?

SPEAKER_02

They have cat-like eyes that look that are like a dot with a line coming down.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, their pupils go up and down.

SPEAKER_02

And they have a triangle head.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. Anything else?

SPEAKER_02

And they have really bold patterns.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, and rattlesnakes really fit that bill. Most rattlesnakes have thick bodies with those triangle-shaped heads, and they have beautiful patterns on their scales, like zigzags or diamonds. And most of them have eyes that almost look like a cat's with these straight up and down pupils. But it's important to note you should never rely on looks alone to assume that it's safe to get near a snake. Rattlesnakes can grow anywhere from about two feet long to five or even six feet long. That's like how long your grown-up is from head to toe. And there isn't just one rattlesnake. There are more than 30 different kinds of rattlesnakes in the world. Most of them live in North America, especially in the United States, Mexico, or even parts of Canada. You can find them in deserts, grasslands, forests, rocky hillsides, really anywhere they can hide, stay warm, and hunt for food. Some even live in places with snowy winters, where they curl up in these cozy underground dens. Lincoln and Eliza, what else can you tell us about rattlesnakes?

SPEAKER_02

They can smell with their whole tongue.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. When a rattlesnake flicks its tongue, it collects these tiny scent particles from the air. The tongue brings those particles to a special part of their body in the roof of their mouth that's called the Jacobson's organ. That part of their body helps snakes figure out what animals are nearby and where they went. So even though we sometimes say they taste the air, it's really a very special kind of smelling. Okay, tell me something else.

SPEAKER_02

Rattlesnakes can see heat in the dark.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. Rattlesnakes are part of a family of snakes called pit vipers. And that means they have these special heat sensing pits between their eyes and their nostrils. These pits can help tell tiny differences in temperature, and that's really important because it helps them locate warm-blooded animals, like the mice that they like to eat, even at night. Scientists kind of describe it as rattlesnakes having like a blurry heat picture of the world. Alright, what else?

SPEAKER_02

Baby rattlesnakes don't start with the rattle.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. So when baby rattlesnakes are born, and by the way, they are born live, they begin with a tiny button on their tail called a pre-button, and it doesn't make a sound yet. But after their first shed, they begin forming real rattle segments. And they will add another segment to their rattle every time they shed their skin. Okay, give me another one, y'all.

SPEAKER_02

They follow sent trails of their ancestors to find the dens.

SPEAKER_00

Whoa, that is right. So scientists have observed that rattlesnakes spend the cold months in dens, huddled up with hundreds of other snakes, just like we mentioned in our garter snake episode. It's like a cuddle puddle. And sometimes rattlesnakes travel miles to find these dens. How do they find them? Well, scientists think that sometimes rattlesnakes follow scent trails left behind by other snakes that traveled the path before them. Remember, snakes flick their tongues to collect scent clues. Well, those tiny scent clues can help guide them along the same routes that snakes have used for many years. It's like following a trail of invisible breadcrumbs in the desert. And some rattlesnakes traveled to the same den year after year after year for generations. Okay, one final fact, y'all.

SPEAKER_02

A rattlesnake can strike faster than you can blink your eyes.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, rattlesnakes are predators, which means they hunt other animals for food. They use their long fangs to catch the animals they like to eat. Things like mice or rats, birds or lizards. And when a rattlesnake strikes, it happens very fast. In fact, some rattlesnake strikes happen in one tenth of a second. So everybody, let's try something. I want you to, when I say go, blink your eyes. Go! Okay, that's how fast a rattlesnake can strike. That's faster than most humans can even react. Rattlesnakes can do this because they keep their body coiled like a spring, ready to launch at a second's notice. Okay, speaking of launching, let's launch into today's story of the day. Today's story takes place where it gets very hot during the day and very cool at night. A place filled with tall, spiky cactus, dusty trails, and wide open sky. Welcome to the Sonoran Desert. In the Sonoran Desert, you might see roadrunners kicking up sand as they zip by, jackrabbits twitching giant ears as they hop through the brush. And if you look very carefully, you might spot a snake with a pattern of diamond shapes on its back. Sandy brown diamonds that help it blend into the desert. This is Dusty. And Dusty is a Western diamondback rattlesnake. And today is a very special day for Dusty. Because today, well today, Dusty shed his skin for the very first time. And when a rattlesnake sheds its skin, something exciting happens. A brand new rattle segment appears at the end of its tail. And that's exactly what happened for Dusty. Dusty curled around to admire his tail. He wiggled it. He shook it gently. Then he shook it a little harder. Rattle, rattle, rattle. Dusty's eyes went wide. Oh, my tail makes noise. And from that moment on, Dusty decided he should probably use that rattle. Like a lot. You see, now that he had a rattle, Dusty thought that meant he should rattle at everything. A leaf flew by.

unknown

Rattle, rattle, rattle.

SPEAKER_00

A lizard ran across the sand. Rattle, rattle, rattle. A cloud passed over the sun. Rattle, rattle, rattle. Dusty even startled himself when he spotted his own tail.

unknown

Rattle, rattle, rattle.

SPEAKER_00

Before long, other desert animals started noticing. A sleepy desert tortoise poked his head out from under a rock.

SPEAKER_01

Kid, that was just a butterfly.

SPEAKER_00

A jackrabbit twitched her long ears.

SPEAKER_02

You rattle more than the wind, Dusty.

SPEAKER_00

But Dusty kept rattling. A pebble rolled by.

unknown

Rattle rattle rattle.

SPEAKER_00

A beetle scurried past. Rattle rattle rattle. A shadow moved across the sand. Rattle rattle rattle. Soon, the animals stopped reacting at all to that distinctive rattle.

SPEAKER_02

They just sighed and said, That's just so nasty again.

SPEAKER_00

Then one afternoon, something a little dangerous, really did appear in the desert. A curious coyote was trotting across the sand. Its nose sniffed. Its paws stepped closer. Dusty saw the coyote coming. And Dusty did what Dusty always did. He shook his tail. Rattle, rattle, rattle. But the other animals didn't look up. The jackrabbit yawned. Is that Dusty again?

SPEAKER_02

He probably saw a pebble.

SPEAKER_00

The tortoise chuckled. Or his own tail. But the coyote kept walking. Closer and closer and closer. And Dusty's rattle just kept going. The tortoise started to giggle again. But then a roadrunner picked up its head. It's weird, she said. Dusty is still going. The tortoise slowly lifted its head in Dusty's direction. The jackrabbit's ears shot straight up. The roadrunner froze. A coyote's shadow stretched across the sand.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, this time it's a real.

SPEAKER_00

The jackrabbit darted into some brush. The tortoise took cover in its shell. Dusty hid beneath the cover of a rock. The coyote sniffed, scanned the desert again, and then moved on. What just happened? Dusty asked as the animals crawled out of their hiding places. The tortoise looked at Dusty.

SPEAKER_01

Well, that rattle of yours just saved quite a few desert neighbors.

SPEAKER_00

Dusty blinked.

SPEAKER_02

Really?

SPEAKER_00

The jackrabbit nodded.

SPEAKER_02

That warning helped us know where to run.

SPEAKER_00

The tortoise gave a wise little nod.

SPEAKER_01

Warnings are important, but they only work when animals listen.

SPEAKER_00

He looked kindly at Dusty.

SPEAKER_01

And it's hard to know what's real if you're listening all the time.

SPEAKER_00

Dusty looked down at his tail. He gave it a tiny wiggle. Maybe rattling wasn't for every fluttering butterfly, or rolling pebble, or drifting shadow. Maybe rattling was for moments that really mattered. Dusty smiled. His rattle finally had a job. And that meant so did he. Later that day, a butterfly fluttered through the desert. It landed right on Dusty's nose. He froze. His tail started to wiggle. Dusty whispered to himself, No rattling, no rattling, no rattling. The butterfly lifted off and flew away. Dusty sighed proudly. He had done it. But just then, a tumbleweed rolled across the sand. Dusty jumped. Rattle, rattle, rattle. All across the desert. The animals groaned.

SPEAKER_01

Not again.

SPEAKER_00

All right, friends. As always, this story is grounded in real animal science. And for this one, it means it's time to visit Adaptation Nation.

SPEAKER_02

An adaptation is something that helps an animal survive in its habitat.

SPEAKER_00

Today's adaptation is a special kind called a defense mechanism. A defense mechanism is something that an animal uses to protect itself from danger. And rattlesnakes have a very famous one. Now, rattlesnakes don't rattle because they want to bite. They rattle because they don't want to bite. That's right. They rattle as a warning. The rattle is meant to tell animals like coyotes, deer, or people to move away before they have to strike. Because here's a little secret. Rattlesnakes do not want to use up their venom unless they really, really have to. Because it actually takes time to make venom. And if they use it up on a human that they can't eat, well, that just means they have less to use on their food. It's one of nature's most musical defense mechanisms. Before we go, it's time for your Lily Con mission.

SPEAKER_02

Your mission is to watch your step.

SPEAKER_00

Rattlesnakes live in many different places across North and South America, but no matter where they live, they play a really important role in nature. They eat animals like mice, rats, and ground squirrels. Those animals can eat crops and spread disease. So rattlesnakes actually help keep ecosystems healthy, and they even help farmers protect their fields.

SPEAKER_02

Rattlesnakes are important neighbors in the wild.

SPEAKER_00

So the wild and kind way to treat rattlesnakes is to give them space. If you ever see a rattlesnake in the wild, stop, stay calm, and slowly back away. Remember, their rattle is a warning that says, Hey, please don't step on me. So when you're exploring outside, watch where you step and give wild animals space. That helps keep people, animals, and our whole world safer.

SPEAKER_02

Mission complete.

SPEAKER_00

That's right. Thanks, y'all. We'll see you next week. This podcast is produced by John, also known as Lincoln and Eliza's dad. If you're enjoying these adventures, please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Leave us a review and tell your friends. Check out the show notes to find a coloring sheet for today's creature. And explore more episodes at wildandkindkids.com. To show us your coloring sheet or request an animal for a future story, contact us at wild and kindkidspod at gmail.com. You can also find us on Instagram at Wild and Kind Kids Pod. Thanks for exploring with us, friends. Until next time.