Range in California: Red
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Venomous and Potentially Dangerous!
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Adult, San Diego County desert |
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Juvenile, desert slope of San Diego County mountains |
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Adult, San Diego County,
courtesy of Tim Burkhardt |
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Adult, San Diego County
© John Stoklosa |
Adult, San Diego County
© Ryan Shatto |
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Juvenile, San Diego County
© Patrick Briggs |
Tail |
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Habitat, coastal Riverside County |
Habitat, Riverside County -
riparian desert foothills |
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Habitat, desert slope of
San Diego County mountains |
Habitat, coastal chaparral,
San Diego County |
Habitat, San Diego County |
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Habitat, San Diego County palm oasis |
Habitat, San Diego County |
Click on the play button or the speaker to hear a rattlesnake rattling |
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California State Park warning sign.
Click the picture to see more
rattlesnake signs. |
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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Description |
| Venomous |
| The venom of this snake is potentially dangerous to humans. |
| Size |
| Adults are 30 - 65 inches in length ( 76 - 165 cm) typically 2 - 4.5 feet long. Young about 12 inches long. |
| Appearance |
A heavy-bodied, venomous pit viper, with a thin neck and a large triangular head. Pupils are elliptical. Scales are keeled.
Variable in ground color; pink, reddish-tan, reddish-brown or brick red. Diamond-shaped blotches, usually with light edges, mark the back. Juveniles are duller in coloring than adults. The underside is usually dull yellow and unmarked. Black and white rings surround a thick tail. A rattle, consisting of loose interlocking segments, usually occurs at the end of the tail. A new rattle segment is added each time the skin is shed. Newly-hatched snakes do not have a rattle - just a single button which does not make a sound.
Similar to and easily confused with the Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake, but in California the ranges of these two snakes barely meet, and the Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake in Calfornia does not typically show a red color phase.
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 very toxic venom which quickly immobilize prey. The snake can control the amount of venom injected and the fangs are replaced if broken. Bites on humans are potentially dangerous without immediate medical treatment. Even a dead snake can bite and inject venom if the jaws reflexively open when they are touched. |
| Behavior |
Primarily nocturnal and crepuscular during periods of excessive daytime heat, but also active during daylight when the temperature is more moderate or when in the comparatively cooler shaded areas of boulder fields. Not active during cooler periods in Winter. Terrestrial, but may partially climb shrubs or trees.
Prey is found when actively moving, or by ambush, where the snake waits near lizard or rodent trails, striking at and releasing passing 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. |
| Diet |
| Eats small mammals, including ground squirrels, wood rats, and rabbits, lizards, and birds. (Adult California Ground Squirrels are immune to rattlesnake venom and will intensely confront any snake they feel to be a threat.) |
| Reproduction |
| Live-bearing; young born July - September. Male to male combat occurs. |
| Range |
| Found in southwestern California, from the Morongo Valley west to the coast and south along the peninsular ranges to mid Baja California. |
| Habitat |
| Inhabits arid scrub, coastal chaparral, oak and pine woodlands, rocky grassland, cultivated areas. On the desert slopes of the mountains, it ranges into rocky desert flats. |
| Taxonomic Notes |
| Previously recognized as a subspecies of Crotalus ruber: Crotalus ruber ruber. Some taxonomists regard this snake as a subspecies of Crotalus exsul labelling it Crotalus exsul ruber. |
| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| A CA Dept. of Fish and Game California Species of Special Concern, due to habitat loss in the coastal region. |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Viperidae |
Vipers |
| Genus |
Crotalus |
Rattlesnakes |
Species
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ruber |
Red Diamond Rattlesnake |
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Original Description |
Crotalus ruber - Cope, 1892 - Proc. U.S. Natl. Mus., Vol. 14, p. 690
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
ruber - Latin - red - referring to the reddish color of dorsum Cope, 1892
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
Crotalus exsul
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Related or Similar California Snakes |
C. atrox - Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake
C. s. scutulatus - Northern Mohave Rattlesnake
C. c. laterorepens - Colorado Desert Sidewinder
C. m. pyrrhus - Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake
C. o. helleri - Southern Pacific Rattlesnake
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More Information and References |
Natureserve Explorer
California Dept. of Fish and Game
Living With Rattlesnakes
Tucson Herpetological Society: Living With Venomous Reptiles pdf
California Department of Fish and Game: Rattlesnakes in California
Rattlesnake Bites
California Poison Control System:
Rattlesnake Bites
University of Arizona:
Rattlesnakes
Justin Schwartz' Rattlesnake Bite Story and Pictures
Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.
Behler, John L., & F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
Bartlett, R.D. , & Alan Tennant. Snakes of North America - Western Region. Gulf Publishing Co., 2000.
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.
Brown, Philip R. A Field Guide to Snakes of California. Gulf Publishing Co., 1997.
Ernst, Carl. H. Venomous Reptiles of North America. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1999.
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.
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The following status listings come from the Special Animals List which is published several times each year by the California Department of Fish and Game.
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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 Game |
DFG:SSC |
California Species of Special Concern |
| Bureau of Land Management |
None |
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| USDA Forest Service |
None |
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| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
G4 |
Apparently Secure |
World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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None |
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