Neotropical Rattlesnake

Appearance

Grows to a maximum length of about 180 cm .

Naming

South American rattlesnake, tropical rattlesnake, neotropical rattlesnake, Guiana rattlesnake .
Spanish: víbora de cascabel, cascabel, cascabela, cascavel.

Habitat

Prefers savanna, caatinga and cerrado. It has been reported to occur in littoral xerophilous scrub, psammophilous and halophilous littoral grassland thorny xerophilous scrub, tropophilous deciduous and semidesciduous scrub, as well as tropophilous semidesciduous seasonal forest in the northwest of Venezuela. In the Chaco region of Paraguay, it is said to prefer the drier, sandier areas .

Defense

Bite symptoms are very different from those of Nearctic species due to the presence of neurotoxins that cause progressive paralysis. Bites from ''C. d. terrificus'' in particular can result in impaired vision or complete blindness, auditory disorders, ptosis, paralysis of the peripheral muscles, especially of the neck, which becomes so limp as to appear broken, and eventually life-threatening respiratory paralysis. The ocular disturbances, which according to Alvaro occur in some 60% of ''terrificus'' cases, are sometimes followed by permanent blindness. Phospholipase A2 neurotoxins also cause damage to skeletal muscles and possibly the heart, causing general aches, pain and tenderness throughout the body. Myoglobin released into the blood results in dark urine. Other serious complications may result from systemic disorders , hypotension and shock. Hemorrhagins may be present in the venom, but any corresponding effects are completely overshadowed by the startling and serious neurotoxic symptoms.