Rattlesnakes

"Some snakes don't give a warning. Rattlesnakes do. Their rattle means "stay away!" Rattlesnake tails have tiny scales. They look like hollow buttons. They sound like a baby's rattle. Rattlesnakes shed their skin. Then they get another rattle. Rattlesnakes live across North and South America. Many are in Arizona, Nevada, California, and New Mexico. Rattlesnakes come in bands of colors. The colors include brown, yellow, gray, black, white, red, and green. Rattlesnakes can be small. Some are just one-foot long. The largest is the Eastern Diamondback. It grows to eight-feet long. Rattlesnakes can strike in the dark. The rattlesnake is venomous. Its bite can make you sick. Rattlesnakes eat their prey whole. Rattlesnakes eat mice, reptiles and insects. Without rattlesnakes there would be more mice"--