TIMMERMAN: CROTALUSADAMANTEUS ON ORDWAY PRESERVE


Table 7. Arboreal, terrestrial, and fossorial habitat use by eight eastern diamondback rattlesnakes at the
Ordway Preserve, Putnam County, Florida. Numbers in parentheses represent percentages of the
observations in that season.

 Arboreal' Terrestrial2 Fossorial3 Unknown4


"Winter"
December-February 0 112 95 11
 (0.0) (55.4) (44.6)
"Summer"
March-November 1 403 35 85
 (0.2) (91.8) (8.0)

SIn tree or bush
2 On surface ofground
' In burrow or hole below the ground
* Snake was not visible due to thick vegetation-it could not be determined whether snake was on surface or below ground.


2 to 4 weeks. Klauber (1972) reported several instances when temperate-zone
rattlesnakes were killed by early cold snaps as the snakes tried to make their way to
dens.

 Winter Habitats and Den Sites.- Snakes used Mesic Hammocks, Xeric
 Hammocks, High Pine forests, and Lake Meadows as overwintering habitats. Old
 Fields, Swamp Forests, and Wet Prairies were not used. Of the 76 observations of
 burrow use, 94% of which were made in the winter (December through February),
 only 12 were gopher tortoise burrows. Four records were of unidentified holes, and
 57 were identified as dens of the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus)
 although it should be noted that this animal often commandeers and reshapes old
 Gopherus holes. Means observed that his study animals used gopher tortoise
 burrows, stump holes, or some other reliable shelter during winter. Ordway
 rattlesnakes often used dilapidated holes as a base of operations and were often
 visible within a meter of the burrow mouth. The cooler weather at Tall Timbers
 probably dictates that rattlesnakes choose good den sites that will be reliable during
 a frost. Ordway diamondbacks should be able to use less-protected den sites
 because of the slightly milder winters here.
 Snakes always used more than one winter site during this study. In a few
 cases, movements between these winter locations included changes in habitat. For
 example, M3 began the winter of 1986-87 in a Mesic Hammock. But, on 7
 January he moved to a Xeric Hammock, and used four different sites within this
 vegetation zone. Then, on 21 January, he moved back to a Mesic Hammock and
 disappeared into a palmetto thicket, probably taking refuge in channels among the
 root systems. He did not reappear above-ground until 16 March. This same snake