California Man Rattled After Finding 92 Rattlesnakes Under His Home

Rattlesnakes, venomous pit vipers, were found in the foundation of a California home. With 33 adults and 59 babies, Sonoma County Reptile Rescue says that the reptiles have turned the area into a rookery.

Rattlesnakes, 92 in Total

In October of 2021, a California homeowner called Sonoma County Reptile Rescue to report a significant rattlesnake infestation in the northern Pacific (Crotalus oreganus).

It is unexpected to see so many snakes at such lower elevations. The rescue team was shocked because the residence is in a low-elevation area of California.

Rattlesnakes are also not known to voluntarily live in the foundation of a house because doing so would put them near people.

Nothing could have prepared Wolf for the actual number of snakes he would find; he had come prepared to dig up a few dozen. He removed 81 rattlesnakes during his first visit, including 22 adults and 59 babies, and 11 more adults during his second visit - a total of 92 rattlesnakes.

Rattlesnakes are classified into more than 65 subspecies, which total over 30 known species. The rattlesnake is a truly unique species, known for its keratin rattles and poisonous venom.

One of the most dangerous snake species is the rattlesnake, which has venom that is both hemotoxic and neurotoxic. One of the most poisonous snakes in the world, for instance, is the Mojave Rattlesnake. A rattlesnake is unquestionably not a snake that anyone wants to encounter if they are unprepared. One can only imagine how horrified the California homeowner was to find not one, not ten, but 92 rattlesnakes beneath their house.

Rookery

According to herpetologist Emily Taylor, the homeowner and the rescue organization had stumbled upon a rattlesnake rookery. Taylor works at the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, more popularly known as CalPoly.

Snakes are known to hibernate in groups in tunnels and other practical underground locations in North America. These nests are known as rookeries or hibernacula.

In 1993, two herpetologists and researchers named Brent M. Graves and David Duvall published a study in the Journal of Herpetology. The focus of Graves and Duvall's research was on the reproductive strategies employed by rookeries. On occasion, pregnant snakes will gather in big groups to give birth. They allegedly do this to improve the chances that their progeny will survive.

Visits From Mom

As ovoviviparous animals, rattlesnakes give birth to their young while they are still inside their mother. Before, it was thought that pit vipers remained in the area for about two weeks after giving birth-not to be confused with oviparous snakes, which depart as soon as the eggs hatch. This isn't exactly true, though, as Emily Taylor's research on snake nests demonstrates.

It might be more accurate to state that mother snakes may occasionally visit to check on their snakes for much longer than the first two weeks. She also learned that snakes born in August may spend the winter hibernating with their mothers. Rattlesnake babies don't start living on their own until the first day of spring.