SNAKES, TURTLES, LIZARDS, CROCODILES 



253 



when the snake strikes, they are erected and thrown for- 

 ward. The venom trickles through the hollow fangs and 

 flows directly into the wounds made by them. The fangs 

 are normally shetl every six or eight weeks and renewed 



Fig. 174. — Rattlesnake {Crotalus horridus). 



as often. Therefore, the rattlesnake cannot be rendered 

 permanently harmless by the removal of its fangs. Death 

 by the bite of a rattlesnake is by no means sure, but the bite 

 always causes intense pain. 



The rattlesnakes,^ water moccasin, copperhead, and har- 

 VTlic massasaugas arc included among the rattlesnakes. 



