Western diamondback rattlesnake

Scientific Name: Crotalus atrox

Nick Name:

Size: Average 1.5 meters, maximum 2 meters.

Appearance: The body is a light buff color with darker brown diamond-shaped markings. The tail has heavy black and white bands.

Potency of Venom: hemotoxic, causing considerable pain and tissue damage

Nature: This bold rattlesnake holds its ground. When coiled and rattling, it is ready to defend itself. It injects a large amount of venom when it bites, making it one of the most dangerous snakes. It is nocturnal in habitat

Distribution: Southeast California, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

Habitat: It is a very common snake over its range. It is found in grasslands, deserts, woodlands, and canyons.

Feeds on: prairie dogs, rabbits, gophers, chipmunks, ground squirrels, mice and rats

Side Line:

• The Western Diamondback, which can exceed seven feet in length, is the king of our twenty odd species and sub-species of Southwestern desert rattlers, not only in terms of size, but also in terms of its fearsome reputation.
• With the coming of the shortening days and falling temperatures of autumn, the Western Diamondbacks head for the community den – a cave or rocky recess – where they will hibernate for the winter. In colder areas, they come by the hundreds; in warmer areas, by the dozens. They emerge in spring, sexually driven, hungry and mean.
• has such a hold on the human psyche that it has been a symbol of the American Southwest from prehistoric into historic times. It figures in ancient mythology, ceramics and rock art and in modern story and media.