Mojave Desert Sidewinder

mojavedesertsidewinderbg: MojavedesertsidewinderCOMMON NAME: Mojave Desert Sidewinder

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Crotalus cerastes cerastes

DESCRIPTION:

VENOMOUS

Sidewinders derive their name from their ability to move their bodies sideways, via an S-shaped form of locomotion. It is also called “the horned rattlesnake”; the upturned and pointed “horn” scale appears to shade the eye to reduce the sun’s glare. A dark eye-stripe runs down and back from the eye itself. Rough keeled scales of pale cream, tan or mottled gray are patterned with darker blotches on its back and sides. The tail may bear two to six rings and the basal segment of the rattle is brown in adults. One of the smaller species, the sidewinder grows 17 to 33 inches.

LIFE HISTORY:

Mating occurs April to May, gestation is 145 to 155 days. Sidewinders are ovoviviparous giving birth to 5 to 18 live young in the fall which are 6 1/2 to 8 inches long. This snake has been recorded to live for more then 11 years in captivity.

ECOLOGY:

Niche: Nocturnal, the sidewinder hunts pocket mice, kangaroo rats, lizards, and occasionally birds. The young prefer lizards; while adults prefer rodents.

Habitat: The sidewinder is found in the desert and prefers areas of loose wind-blown sand, but can be found in hardpan flats and rocky areas, from below sea level to 5,000 feet.

ADOPT THIS ANIMAL

Snakes, a Natural History edited by Roland Bauchot. ISBN# 0-8069-0654-5
Rattlesnakes by Laurence M. Klauber. ISBN# 0-520-04039-2


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