Buzz and Jo made M's dream come true this ordinary Tuesday afternoon. The Timber Rattlesnake was absent from his cage but it turned out to be feeding and cleaning time. We watched all the action, got to chat with staff as they shifted roles and eventually had a lock-in! J pondered our escape route while M waited with complete focus.
Finally the main attraction finished his rodent supper and was returned, its rattler in full view. 'It was awesome!', wrote M later and had 16 scale sections. He then climbed straight up the rock wall and curled up, eyeing us through the glass. We made our way out in the half light, even greater Maymont fans than ever.
Facts of the night:
- They self regulate their temperature so within the cage there are areas of differing heat to move too;
- Staff have to do 1000 snake-handling hours before they are qualified;
- If we're lucky a Northern Copperhead will only 'dry' bite us, as we're too big to be its prey;
- Only poisonous snakes swim fully visible on the surface of the water, the rest just show their heads, so those were the real thing we saw at Jamestown earlier this summer.
