Rattlesnakes’ stress levels decrease when cuddling: study

It turns out rattlesnakes have a ssss-weet side after all.

The stereotypically aggressive rattlesnake loves to cuddle and finds solace in being wrapped around its own kind, according to a new study released Thursday.

Researchers from Loma Linda University near San Bernardino, California found that the venomous reptiles’ acute stress levels were significantly subdued when in the presence of fellow rattlesnakes.

The wild-caught snakes’ heart rates decreased and they gained a sense of well-being as they wriggled together in a winding group hug, biology doctoral student Chelsea Martin and professor William Hayes wrote.

The findings reveal that social buffering — the reduction of stress an organism experiences when in the presence of a companion — exists within the rattlesnake species and challenges the belief that they are asocial critters.

Hayes argued that the mounting evidence proves that rattlesnakes are much more similar in terms of complex social behaviors to birds and mammals, including humans, than has been previously admitted.

“People are eager to just chop their heads off,” Hayes said, adding that “the animals are sentient, capable of emotions.”

Hayes and Martin tested their theory that rattlesnakes experience social buffering by intentionally exposing them to a stressful environment and with a companion.

The snakes’ heart rates rapidly accelerated when they were locked into a plastic bucket alone, as well as with a rope soaked in 10% bleach solution.

The reptiles’ heart rates — measured with a heart-rate monitor designed for humans — moved minimally in trials in which companions were also included in the bucket, the study found.

“It lets us know as humans that, hey, we’re not that different from these snakes,” Martin said. “They are doing something we do.”

Hayes said the idea hatched during his off hours, when he is often called upon to wrangle rattlers caught by homeowners in the mountains of Southern California.

He typically puts the captured snakes in a bucket and releases it in the wild.

He noticed that the critters furiously rattle while escaping, but that the rattling tends to ease when he releases two or more snakes from the bucket at a time.

“It tells us that when they are with another snake it reduces their stress response,” Martin said. “It has never been reported in reptiles before. It’s something that humans do.”

With Post wires