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Electronic Field Guide to the
Reptiles and Amphibians of
Southern California
Available Now at the
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Venomous and Potentially Dangerous!
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| Adult, San Bernardino County |
Adult, Kern County |
Adult, San Bernardino County |
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| Adult, Inyo County |
Adult, Inyo County |
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| Adult, San Bernardino County |
Adult, Inyo County |
Adult, San Bernardino County |
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| Adult, San Bernardino County |
Close-up showing "horns"
above the eyes |
Adult, Clark County, Nevada |
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Mohave Sidewinders have brown coloring at the base of the rattle.
(Compare with the black coloring at the base of the rattle on the Colorado Desert Sidewinder.)
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| Habitat |
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Habitat, San Bernardino County
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Habitat, Inyo County desert |
Habitat, desert flats, Kern County |
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| Habitat, San Bernardino County desert |
Sidewinder tracks in the sand,
with their characteristic "J" shape. |
Habitat, Inyo County |
| Short Video and Sounds |
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| A Mohave Desert Sidewinder in motion on a windy night. |
A Mohave Desert Sidewinder sidewinds and crawls across the desert. |
Watch a Mohave sidewinder crawl at night slowly then very quickly over the sand with its unique sideways locomotion.
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Listen to the faint rattling of a sidewinder
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California Park warning sign.
Click the picture to see more
rattlesnake signs.
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Rattlesnakes are important members of the natural community. They will not attack, but if disturbed or cornered, they will defend themselves. Reasonable watchfulness should be sufficient to avoid snakebite. Give them distance and respect.
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"Rattlesnakes are also among the most reasonable forms of dangerous wildlife: their first line of defense is to remain motionless; if you surprise them or cut off their retreat, they offer an audio warning; if you get too close, they head for cover. Venom is intended for prey so they're reluctant to bite, and 25 to 50 percent of all bites are dry - no venom is injected."
Leslie Anthony. Snakebit: Confessions of a Herpetologist. Greystone Books, 2008.
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Rattlesnake bites can be extremely dangerous, but unlike the popular depiction of rattlesnakes in the media and folklore, they should not be considered vicious and aggressive. The display we often see in pictures and film, with the body partly coiled, the tail rattling loudly, and the head up ready to strike, is a defensive stance, used when they feel that crawling away to safety is a danger to them. This display is a warning not to come any closer or they will strike. When given some space and the chance to escape to a safe place, they will do so quickly rather than attack.
Rattlesnakes often use their cryptic color and pattern to blend into their surroundings to hide from other animals that could threaten them. They lie still to avoid detection and do not rattle, because that would give away their location. At other times they rattle readily, sometimes from a good distance, to warn potential enemies of their presence. In both cases they are doing everything they can to avoid confrontation and to avoid striking and biting and using up their valuable supply of venom.
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Description |
Venomous |
| The venom of this snake is potentially dangerous to humans. |
| Size |
| Adults are 17 - 33 inches. (43 - 84 cm). Snakes encountered will generally be 12 - 18 inches. Juveniles are about 7 inches at birth. |
| Appearance |
A heavy-bodied venomous pit viper with a thin neck and a large triangular head. Pupils are elliptical. Scales are keeled. Dark stripe through each eye. The supraocular scale over each eye is enlarged and raised up over the eye giving the appearance of a "horn" over each eye. These scales can fold down over the eyes to protect them when the snakes is buried or crawling in underground burrows.
Pale cream, tan, brown, pink, or grayish back color usually closely matches the soil surface allowing the snake to blend in with the background. Around 40 darker blotches on the back.
A thick tail with a rattle, consisting of loose interlocking segments, at the end. A new rattle segment is added each time the skin is shed. Newborn snakes do not have a rattle - just a single button which does not make a sound. The segment of the rattle closest to the body on an adult snake is brown. Heat sensing pits on the sides of the head help the snake to locate prey by their warmth.
Long, hollow, movable fangs connected to venom glands inject a toxic venom which quickly immobilize the prey. The snake can control the amount of venom injected and the fangs are replaced if broken. Though the amount of venom a sidewinder injects is relatively small and rarely deadly, bites on humans are potentially dangerous. Even a dead snake can bite and inject venom if the jaws open reflexively when they are touched. |
| Similar Subspecies |
| Similar Subspecies |
| The segment of the rattle closest to the body on an adult Colorado Desert Sidewinder is black, while that of the Mojave Desert Sidewinder is brown. |
| Behavior |
Primarily nocturnal and crepuscular during periods of excessive daytime heat, but also active during daylight when the temperature is more moderate. Not active during cooler periods in Winter.
An ambush hunter, it sits buried beneath the surface of loose sand with just the top of the head showing, near kangaroo rat warrens, and lizard or rodent trails, then strikes at and releases the prey. The snake then follows the trail of the envenomated animal and swallows it whole.
When alarmed, a rattlesnake shakes its tail back and forth. The movement rubs the rattle segments together producing a buzzing sound which serves as a warning. Juveniles are born with only a silent button at the end of the tail.
Moves with a sidewinding locomotion, throwing raised loops of the body to the side to push itself forward in an s-sheped curve. A sidewinders trail looks like a series of parallel j-shaped lines pointing roughly 45 degrees from the direction of movement. |
| Diet |
| Eats mainly lizards when young, and increasingly larger prey including small rodents when grown. |
| Reproduction |
| Live-bearing. Babies are produced late summer to mid-autumn. |
| Range |
This subspecies, Crotalus cerastes cerastes - Mohave Desert Sidewinder, is found in south-central California south and east of the Sierras south to roughly the San Bernardino county line.
The species Crotalus cerastes - Sidewinder, is found in the Southern California deserts, east through southern Nevada to extreme southwestern Utah, into western Arizona, and south into northeast Baja California Mexico, and northwest Sonora, Mexico. |
| Habitat |
| Inhabits primarily areas of wind-blown sands, especially where sand hummocks are topped with vegetation. Also found in hardpan, open flats, rocky hillsides, and other desert areas, especially those grown with creosote bush, where the terrain is open, not obstructed by rocks or vegetation, allowing the broad sidewinding locomotion. |
| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| None. |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Viperidae |
Vipers |
Crotalidae - Pitvipers |
| Genus |
Crotalus |
Rattlesnakes |
Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Species |
cerastes |
Sidewinder |
Hallowell, 1854 |
Subspecies
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cerastes |
Mohave Desert Sidewinder |
Hallowell, 1854 |
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Original Description |
Crotalus cerastes - Hallowell, 1854 - Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 7, p. 95
from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Crotalus - Greek - krotalon - a rattle - refers to the rattle on the tail
cerastes - Greek - kerastes - horned - referring to the "horns" on head
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
None
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Related or Similar California Snakes |
C. c. laterorepens - Colorado Desert Sidewinder
C. ruber - Red Diamond Rattlesnake
C. s. scutulatus - Northern Mohave Rattlesnake
C. stephensi - Panamint Rattlesnake
C. m. pyrrhus - Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake
C. o. helleri - Southern Pacific Rattlesnake
C. o. lutosus - Great Basin Rattlesnake
C. o. oreganus - Northern Pacific Rattlesnake
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More Information and References |
Natureserve Explorer
California Dept. of Fish and Game
Living With Rattlesnakes
California Department of Fish and Game: Rattlesnakes in California
University of California: Rattlesnakes Management Guide
Tucson Herpetological Society: Living With Venomous Reptiles pdf
Florida Museum of Natural History: How to Get Along with Snakes
Southwestern Field Herping Associates: Venomous Snake Safety
Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management - Rattlesnake Control / Snake Control
Rattlesnake Bites
California Poison Control System (search for "rattlesnake bite")
University of Arizona:
Rattlesnakes
Justin Schwartz' Rattlesnake Bite Story and Pictures
Sean Bush MD: Venom ER - When snakes strike!
eNature - How to Avoid Snakebites and How to Treat One
When a Pet Gets Snake Bitten: The amazing story of Andy Cat, a very lucky cat who was bitten by a rattlesnake and survived, thanks to the smart actions of its owners.
Stebbins, Robert C., and McGinnis, Samuel M. Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of California: Revised Edition (California Natural History Guides) University of California Press, 2012.
Stebbins, Robert C. California Amphibians and Reptiles. The University of California Press, 1972.
Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.
Behler, John L., and F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
Powell, Robert., Joseph T. Collins, and Errol D. Hooper Jr. A Key to Amphibians and Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada. The University Press of Kansas, 1998.
Bartlett, R. D. & Patricia P. Bartlett. Guide and Reference to the Snakes of Western North America (North of Mexico) and Hawaii. University Press of Florida, 2009.
Bartlett, R. D. & Alan Tennant. Snakes of North America - Western Region. Gulf Publishing Co., 2000.
Brown, Philip R. A Field Guide to Snakes of California. Gulf Publishing Co., 1997.
Ernst, Carl H., Evelyn M. Ernst, & Robert M. Corker. Snakes of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, 2003.
Wright, Albert Hazen & Anna Allen Wright. Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Cornell University Press.
Ernst, Carl. H. Venomous Reptiles of North America. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1999.
Hayes, William K., Kent R. Beaman, Michael D. Cardwell, and Sean P. Bush, editors. The Biology of Rattlesnakes. Loma Linda University Press, 2009.
Hubbs, Brian R., & Brendan O'Connor. A Guide to the Rattlesnakes and other Venomous Serpents of the United States. Tricolor Books, 2011.
Klauber, Laurence M. Rattlesnakes. University of California Press. (Abridged from the 1956 two volume Rattlesnakes:
Their Habits, Life Histories, and Influence on Mankind.) University of California Press, 1982.
Rubio, Manny. Rattlesnake - Portrait of a Predator. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998.
Walls, Jerry G. Rattlesnakes: Their Natural History and Care. T. F. H. Publications, Inc., 1996.
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| Conservation Status |
The following status listings come from the Special Animals List and the Endangered and Threatened Animals List which are published by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
This snake is not included on the Special Animals List, which indicates that there are no significant conservation concerns for it in California.
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Organization
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Status Listing
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| U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) |
None |
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| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
None |
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| California Department of Fish and Wildlife |
None |
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| Bureau of Land Management |
None |
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| USDA Forest Service |
None |
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