If the phrase “rattlesnake mega den” makes you shudder, you aren’t alone. Rattlesnakes don’t get much love, at least not from the roughly half of Americans who feel anxious about serpents, with the most fearful two to three percent identifying as true ophidiophobes. And rattlers, with their potentially deadly bite and vibrating tails, tend to prompt an especially strong reaction. Online commenters call them “nope ropes” and “danger noodles.” The image of just one snake can invoke terror, so imagine how folks feel about a rocky ledge that’s home to hundreds—maybe more than a thousand—of them.

That’s part of what makes the growing popularity of the Colorado RattleCam, a live feed of a massive prairie rattlesnake den at an undisclosed location somewhere in our state, so surprising. The cam, which debuted last summer, isn’t sparking disgust or revulsion. In fact, the RattleCam seems to be inspiring respect and admiration for a creature most often found in nightmares and horror movies.

On Tuesday morning, 135 people (including this writer) watched as a few of the reptiles slithered in the late morning sunshine. In the live chat, users left affectionate comments such as, “Aww, he has an emotional support leaf.” Volunteers and grad students manning the RattleCam account often chime in to answer questions and share snake trivia; it’s impossible to watch for a few minutes and not come away having learned something.

But for those who are too squeamish to watch the livestream—or who just want to impress their reptile-loving kids with some trivia around the dinner table—you’ve come to the right place. We spoke with Max Roberts, one of the grad students from California Polytechnic State University (one of the two universities, along with Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, whose researchers created RattleCam), who shared some ssssuper impressive rattler facts. Read on if you dare.

 

1. Rattlesnake moms babysit each other’s pups.

Unlike the roughly 70 percent of snakes that lay eggs, rattlesnakes give birth. The mega den featured on RattleCam is a winter hideout for male and female rattlers alike—its deep, rocky underground crevices are warmer than the surface, providing the perfect refuge for a cold-blooded snake to curl up in during a freezing winter. In the spring and summer, the den becomes a rookery, or nursery, for pregnant snakes.

“They’ll look out for their pups as soon as the pups are born,” Roberts says. Although the moms deliver their young at different times, they’re always willing to lend their body heat to other pups. “Last summer, we saw that females who are still pregnant and not related to the babies will sometimes hang out with them and potentially offer some protection.” As they say: It takes a village.

2. Every snake has a one-of-a-kind color pattern, like a fingerprint.

It’s not obvious to the untrained eye, but each snake has colored blotches on its body in distinct shapes. Spend a lot of time watching and you can start to recognize individuals. A snake cam fan (also known as a citizen scientist) can submit three or more screenshots of a specific snake, along with an explanation of what its pattern looks like, and if the scientists approve it, he or she earns the privilege of naming the snake. (We like the idea of naming one after a cheating ex, but no one seems to have done that yet.)

On the project website, you can meet the 23 that have been named thus far, from Lasagna and Loki to Clover and Tongs (whose head has a pattern that looks like, well, a pair of tongs). According to Roberts’ best guess, there may be as many as a thousand cold-blooded residents of this den, which means there are still plenty of slithery serpents to name. Not only is this an interesting way to engage viewers, but it also allows the scientists to track the movements of individuals in ways that may elucidate something about snake behavior. “Do certain snakes tend to hang out with one individual more than just any random snake—basically, do they appear to have friends?” Roberts asks.

3. Rattlesnakes are social animals and communicate in ways scientists are just beginning to understand.

Male rattlesnakes move their heads in a certain way when they’re feeling amorous and trying to find a mate—a sort of jerky, twitching motion that must look more flirtatious to reptiles than it does to the human eye. Last summer, viewers became fond of Thor, a rattler at the den who appeared to lack rizz but not persistence, Roberts says. “His antics made him popular, and twice we saw him do something that had never been documented.” Thor was shaking his head at male rattlers, too—and the scientists also noticed a few females who displayed the same behavior. They even spotted baby rattlesnakes twitching their heads. “We have no idea what this communication means, but they seem to be trying to tell each other something,” Roberts says.

4. Rattlers are more afraid of you than you are of them.

Contrary to popular belief, rattlesnakes are not aggressive toward humans. That’s why they warn us away with their characteristic rattle. They only strike when they have to defend themselves, such as if you’re unlucky enough to step directly on one. And they don’t chase us. “Sometimes it may look as if a snake is chasing a person, but really the person is just in between them and the spot they’re trying to escape to,” Roberts says.

Humans, why do we always make things about us? Rattlers are just out there trying to live their best scaly lives.