CaliforniaHerps.com

A Guide to the Amphibians
and Reptiles of California




Sidewinder - Crotalus cerastes

Mohave Desert Sidewinder -
Crotalus cerastes cerastes

Hallowell, 1854

Click on a picture for a larger view
Mohave Desert Sidewinder Range MapRed: Range of this subspecies in California
Crotalus cerastes cerastes - Mohave Desert Sidewinder

Range of other subspecies in California:

Orange: Crotalus cerastes laterorepens -
Colorado Desert Sidewinder



Click on the map for a topographical view

Map with California County Names







observation link






Venomous and Potentially Dangerous!

Mohave Desert Sidewinder
Mohave Desert Sidewinder Mohave Desert Sidewinder Mohave Desert Sidewinder
Adult, Kern County Adult, San Bernardino County.
Notice the "horns" above the eyes
Mohave Desert Sidewinder Mohave Desert Sidewinder Mohave Desert Sidewinder
  Adult, San Bernardino County  
Mohave Desert Sidewinder Mohave Desert Sidewinder Mohave Desert Sidewinder
Adult, Inyo County Adult, San Bernardino County
Mohave Desert Sidewinder Mohave Desert Sidewinder Mohave Desert Sidewinder
Adult, Inyo County Adult, San Bernardino County
Mohave Desert Sidewinder Mohave Desert Sidewinder
Mohave Desert Sidewinder
Adult, San Bernardino County Adult, Inyo County Adult, San Bernardino County
Mohave Desert Sidewinder Mohave Desert Sidewinder Mohave Desert Sidewinder
Adult, Clark County, Nevada Adult, San Bernardino County, showing both the rattle and the head.
© Kenny Elliott
Adult, San Bernardino County
© Alexandra Hicks
Mohave Desert Sidewinder Mohave Desert Sidewinder California Lyresnake
Adult, Los Angeles County © Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg Adult, San Bernardino County
© Sean Barefield
Mohave Desert Sidewinder Mohave Desert Sidewinder Mohave Desert Sidewinder
A pair of adults mating underneath a desert bush, San Bernardino County
© Bill Bachman
Adult in ambush mode,
San Bernardino County © Kevin Hintsa.
As shown here, a sidewinder will sometimes coil up and partially bury its body in loose sand to remain hidden as it waits for prey to come close.
Adult in situ, San Bernardino County
© Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg
Mohave Desert Sidewinder tracks Mohave Desert Sidewinder tracks  
Sidewinder tracks in the sand with their characteristic "J" shape.  
     
Mojave Sidewinders With Unusual Patterns
Mohave Desert Sidewinder Mohave Desert Sidewinder California Lyresnake
This unusual striped sidewinder was found in Kern County © Dallas Jolly Partly-striped gravid female, Kern County © Adam Gitmed
     
The Tail and Rattle
Mohave Desert Sidewinder Mohave Desert Sidewinder Mohave Desert Sidewinder
Mohave Desert 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.)
   
How to Tell the Difference Between Rattlesnakes and Gophersnakes
Gopher Snake Rattlesnake Comparison Sign sign Gopher Snake Rattlesnake Comparison Sign
  Gopher Snake Rattlesnake Comparison Sign  
Harmless and beneficial gophersnakes are sometimes mistaken for dangerous rattlesnakes. Gophersnakes are often killed unnecessarily because of this confusion.
(It's also not necessary to kill every rattlesnake.)

It is easy to avoid this mistake by learning to tell the difference between the two families of snakes. The informational signs shown above can help to educate you about these differences. (Click to enlarge).

If you can't see enough detail on a snake to be sure it is not a rattlesnake or if you have any doubt that it is harmless, leave it alone.
You should never handle a snake unless you are absolutely sure that it is not dangerous.

Habitat
Mohave Fringe-toed Lizard Habitat Mohave Glossy Snake Habitat Desert Tortoise Habitat
Habitat, San Bernardino County
Habitat, Inyo County desert Habitat, desert flats, Kern County
Mohave Desert Sidewinder Habitat Mohave Desert Sidewinder Habitat sidewinder habitat
Habitat, San Bernardino County desert Habitat, San Bernardino County
© Bill Bachman
Habitat, Inyo County
     
Short Video and Sounds
Mohave Desert Sidewinder Mohave Desert Sidewinder Mohave Desert Sidewinder
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.
  speaker icon

 
  Listen to the faint rattling of a sidewinder
 
     
 
rattler sign rattlesnake sign sign
  California 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.

"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.
Rattlesnakes are typically described as poisonous, but they are actually venomous.
A poisonous snake is one that is harmful to touch or eat. A venomous snake injects dangerous venom into its victim.

A bite from a rattlesnake can be extremely dangerous, but rattlesnakes should not be characterized as aggressive and vicious, striking and biting without provocation, as they are often shown. If rattlesnakes are given some space and enough time to escape to a safe place, they will usually just crawl away as fast as possible to avoid confrontation. Rattlesnakes will not strike without a reason: they will strike at a potential meal and they will defend themselves from anything they perceive as dangerous. They avoid striking and biting because it uses up their valuable supply of venom which they need to kill and digest their food.

Rattlesnakes are often portrayed with the body partly coiled, the tail rattling loudly, and the head raised up and ready to strike, but they do not need to coil up this way to strike and bite. This display is a warning not to come any closer. It's a defensive behavior that some rattlesnakes use when they sense that crawling away would put them in danger of attack.

Rattlesnakes do not always rattle a warning. Sometimes they rattle loudly to warn potential enemies of their presence, but other times they remain silent when they sense a threat, choosing to remain still to rely on their cryptic color and pattern to let them blend into their surroundings to hide from the threat. Making a noise in this situation risks advertising their presence. They also use their natural camouflage to hunt by sitting still, without rattling, trying to remain invisible as they wait for a warm-blooded prey animal to pass close enough to strike.
Description

Dangerously Venomous


A bite from this snake can cause death or serious illness or injury in humans that may require immediate medical care.

(Commonly called a "poisonous" snake to indicate that its bite is dangerous, but that is not correct. It should be called a "venomous" snake. A poisonous snake can harm you if you eat it. A venomous snake can harm you if it bites you.)

Size
Adults are 17 - 33 inches long. (43 - 84 cm). Snakes encountered will generally be 12 - 18 inches long.
Juveniles are about 7 inches long at birth.

Appearance
A heavy-bodied venomous pit viper with a thin neck, a large triangular head, and a thick tail with a rattle on the end made of loose interlocking segments. A new rattle segment is added each time the skin is shed, which can be more than one time per year.
Pupils are elliptical. Scales are keeled.
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.

Has two pits, one on each side of the front of the head above the mouth that are used to sense heat when hunting warm-blooded prey.
Color and Pattern
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 dark stripe extends through each eye.
Young
Juveniles are born with only a single rattle button at the end of the tail.

C. c. cerastes - Mohave Desert Sidewinder compared to
C. c. laterorepens - Colorado Desert Sidewinder
The dark segment of the rattle closest to the body on an adult C. c. cerastes is brown,
The dark segment of the rattle closest to the body on an adult C. c. laterorepens is black.
The dark rattle segment may not become fully black on C. c. laterorepens until the snake is an adult with 3 or more rattle segments.
The last dark marks on the tail do not always correspond to the color of the dark rattle segment.

C. c. cerastes has 21 scale rows.
C. c. laterorepens has 23 scale rows.
C. c. laterorepens has a higher number of ventral scales than C. c. cerastes.

For more information see  Klauber, 1944 C. cerastes subspecies.

Life History and Behavior

Activity
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.
Locomotion
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.
Fangs and Venom
Two large hollow movable fangs are located at the front of the upper jaw are folded backwards when not used. The fangs are connected to venom glands so that when the snake bites, the fangs swing forward rapidly to stab the prey and inject a toxic venom that quickly immobilizes the prey. A rattlesnake can control the amount of venom injected. The fangs can be replaced if broken.

Though the amount of venom a sidewinder injects is relatively small and rarely deadly, bites on humans are still potentially dangerous without immediate medical treatment.
Sometimes a rattlesnake bites but does not inject venom. These are called "dry bites." A dry bite may still require medical attention.
Even a dead snake can bite and inject venom if the jaws open and close reflexively when they are touched.

A bite from any kind of rattlesnake of any age or any size should be treated as a serious medical emergency, but the bite of a juvenile rattlesnake is not more dangerous than the bite of an adult.
Experts disagree whether or not juvenile rattlesnake venom is more potent than adult rattlesnake venom, but this does not really make much difference in the severity of a bite.
While adult rattlesnakes can control the amount of venom they inject depending on their needs (small animals need less venom, a defensive or warning bite may need no venom, etc.), it is often assumed that juvenile rattlesnakes do not have the same ability and that they always inject the full amount of venom they have available. Some studies show this is not true. There is also no proof that adult rattlesnakes are more likely than juveniles to bite without injecting venom when they are biting as a warning. Regardless of these things, adults have far more venom to inject than juveniles so the potential danger from the bite of an adult is significantly higher than the danger from the bite of a juvenile. Even when an adult does not inject the full amount of venom it has available, it most likely injects more venom than a juvenile would inject.

Venomous snakes are immune to the venom of their own species, so if a snake is bitten during interactions with other snakes of its species during territorial fights or during mating or if it accidentally bites itself, it will not suffer from the venom. However, they are not typically immune to the venom of other species of snakes.
Sound - The Rattle
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.  Newborn snakes have only one rattle segment which does not make a sound.

A new rattle segment is added each time the skin is shed, which can be more than one time per year.
Diet and Feeding
Eats mainly lizards when young, and increasingly larger prey including small rodents when grown.

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.

Young snakes may use their tail to lure their prey (caudal luring.) They coil up and lie still, raise up the tail, and wiggle it.

Pits on the sides of the head sense heat. These heat sensors help the snake to locate prey by their warmth.
Long, hollow, movable fangs connected to venom glands inject a very toxic venom which quickly immobilizes the prey.
The snake can control the amount of venom injected and the fangs are replaced if broken.
Perception
rattlesnake perception

Click on this picture to see an illustrated interpretation of the various ways pit vipers (including rattlesnakes) perceive their prey, using their eyes, their sense of smell, their ability to detect vibrations, and their ability to sense heat.
© Frank Buchter
Reproduction
Rattlesnakes are ovoviviparous. The mother keeps her fertilized eggs inside her body and gives birth to living young.
Females probably start bearing young at three years of age and breed annually. (Klauber, 1982)
Mating occurs in the spring.
Two to 18 young are born from July to September. (Stebbins & McGinnis, 2013)

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.

Geographical 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.

Full Species Range Map
Notes on Taxonomy
According to SSAR Herpetological Circular No. 43, 9/17 -

"Douglas et al. (2006, Mol. Ecol. 15: 3353–3374), using mtDNA, found several geographically distinct lineages within C. cerastes. Only one of these lineages corresponded to a recognized subspecies. (C. c. laterorepens).


'The spelling of the word "Mojave" or "Mohave" has been a subject of debate. Lowe, in the preface to his "Venomous Reptiles of Arizona" (1986) argued for "Mohave" as did Campbell and Lamar (2004, "The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere"). According to linguistics experts on Native American languages, either spelling is correct, but using either the "j" or "h" is based on whether the word is used in a Spanish or English context. Given that this is an English names list, we use the "h" spelling (P. Munro, Linguistics, UCLA, pers. comm.).'
(Taxon Notes to Crotalus scutulatus, SSAR Herpetological Circular no 39, published August 2012, John J. Moriarty, Editor.)


Alternate and Previous Names (Synonyms)
Crotalus cerastes - Sidewinder (Stebbins & McGinnis 2012)
Crotalus cerastes cerastes -
Mojave Desert Sidewinder (Horned Rattlesnake) (Wright & Wright 1957, Stebbins 1966, 1985, 2003)
Crotalus cerastes cerastes
(Klauber 1944, Stebbins 1954)
Crotalus cerastes -
Sidewinder (Horned Rattlesnake) (Grinnell and Camp 1917)
Crotalus cerastes
(Hallowell 1854)

Conservation Issues  (Conservation Status)
None

Taxonomy
Family Viperidae Vipers Crotalidae - Pitvipers
Genus Crotalus Rattlesnakes Linnaeus, 1758
Species cerastes Sidewinder Hallowell, 1854
Subspecies


cerastes Mohave Desert Sidewinder Hallowell, 1854
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

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

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. pyrrhus - Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake
C. o. helleri - Southern Pacific Rattlesnake
C. o. lutosus - Great Basin Rattlesnake
C. o. oreganus - Northern Pacific Rattlesnake

More Information and References
California Department of Fish and Wildlife

Living With Rattlesnakes

California Department of Fish and Wildlife: Rattlesnakes in California

University of California: Rattlesnakes Management Guide

Florida Museum of Natural History: How to Safely Coexist With Snakes

The Tucson Herpetological Society: Living With Venomous Reptiles

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife: Living With Snakes

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Venomous Snakes

Anapsid.org: Melissa Kaplan's Rattlesnake Information Page

Southwestern Field Herping Association: Venomous Snake Safety


Snake Bites


California Poison Control System (search for "rattlesnake bite")

UCI Health - What to do if you're bitten by a rattlesnake

Snakebite Safety! How to Effectively Avoid, Identify, and Treat a Snake Bite (Includes all of the U.S.A.)

Don't Use Snakebite Suction Devices :
Snakebite Suction Devices Don't Remove Venom: They Just Suck
(Sean P. Bush, MD - Annals Of Emergency Medicine 43:2 pages 187-188 February 2004.)

Bay Nature Magazine - Are Baby Rattlesnakes the Most Dangerous Biters?

The Amazing Story of Andy Cat - a very lucky pet cat who was bitten by a rattlesnake and survived, thanks to the smart actions of its owners.

Wickipedia List of Fatal Snake Bites in the United States

Klauber, Laurence M. The sidewinder, Crotalus cerastes, with description of a new subspecies. Transactions of the San Diego Society of Natural History, Volume 10, pages 91-126. 1944

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.

Flaxington, William C. Amphibians and Reptiles of California: Field Observations, Distribution, and Natural History. Fieldnotes Press, Anaheim, California, 2021.

Samuel M. McGinnis and Robert C. Stebbins. Peterson Field Guide to Western Reptiles & Amphibians. 4th Edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2018.

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.

Taylor, Emily. California Snakes and How to Find Them. Heyday, Berkeley, California. 2024.

Wright, Albert Hazen & Anna Allen Wright. Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Cornell University Press, 1957.

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.

Joseph Grinnell and Charles Lewis Camp. A Distributional List of the Amphibians and Reptiles of California. University of California Publications in Zoology Vol. 17, No. 10, pp. 127-208. July 11, 1917.

Conservation Status

The following conservation status listings for this animal are taken from the April 2024 State of California Special Animals List and the April 2024 Federally Listed Endangered and Threatened Animals of California list (unless indicated otherwise below.) Both lists are produced by multiple agencies every year, and sometimes more than once per year, so the conservation status listing information found below might not be from the most recent lists. To make sure you are seeing the most recent listings, go to this California Department of Fish and Wildlife web page where you can search for and download both lists:
https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Data/CNDDB/Plants-and-Animals.

A detailed explanation of the meaning of the status listing symbols can be found at the beginning of the two lists. For quick reference, I have included them on my Special Status Information page.

If no status is listed here, the animal is not included on either list. This most likely indicates that there are no serious conservation concerns for the animal. To find out more about an animal's status you can also go to the NatureServe and IUCN websites to check their rankings.

Check the current California Department of Fish and Wildlife sport fishing regulations to find out if this animal can be legally pursued and handled or collected with possession of a current fishing license. You can also look at the summary of the sport fishing regulations as they apply only to reptiles and amphibians that has been made for this website.

This snake is not included on the Special Animals List, which indicates that there are no significant conservation concerns for it in California.
Organization Status Listing  Notes
NatureServe Global Ranking
NatureServe State Ranking
U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) None
California Endangered Species Act (CESA) None
California Department of Fish and Wildlife None
Bureau of Land Management None
USDA Forest Service None
IUCN

 

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