The sidewinder is the fastest of rattlesnakes because it has a unique way of moving. The sindwinder pulls itself over the ground in a constant direction of S- or J-shaped loops. This helps the snake catch their prey faster and helps keep their body from touching the hot desert surface when traveling.
The subspecies of the sidewinder are the Mojave Desert Sidewinder. the Sonoran Sidewinder, and the Colorado Desert Sidewinder.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
The sidewinder is not that big of a threat towards humans, because when they bite, they only release venom that will kill a creature that weighs 30 pounds. However, sidewinder venom causes swelling, uncomfortableness, and sickness.
The sidewinder provides snakeskin leather for boots and accessories, and anti-venom for medical purposes.
The sidewinder is a carnivore. Their diet consists of lizards, small mammals like Kangaroo rats and pocket mice, other rodents that burrow, and sometimes birds. The pit organs are used to help find warm blooded animals to prey on. Sidewinders are the most nocturnal of rattlesnakes, so at night, they randomly wander over the desert until they find a place to burrow underneath the sand to hide. The following day they they stay burrowed until they find a prey to strike and feed. They kill their prey by hunting them down with their sidewinding moovement, then they strike their prey by biting them and releasing poisonous venom into the prey. After they bite a warm blooded animal, such as a rodent, they release it to track it down later. However, lizards are held until the venom takes effect.
The sidewinder ranges from the Mojave and sonoran deserts of southeastern California, western Arizona, southern Nevada, and southwestern Utah. Sidewinders are often found in arid deserts, flatlands, loose, sandy washes, hard pan flats, and rocky areas below 5,000 feet. Sidewinders are also common ammong hummoks that are topped with creosote where their food source of kangaroo rats and other rodents live.This is the smallest and least dangerous snake in Nevada. However, this is the most common snake in the Las Vegas Valley. In Las Vegas, they are fairly common on the lower slopes of alluvial fans.
Sidewinders are often found in arid deserts, flatlands, loose, sandy washes, hard pan flats, and rocky areas below 5,000 feet. Sidewinders are also common ammong hummoks that are topped with creosote where their food source of kangaroo rats and other rodents live.This is the smallest and least dangerous snake in Nevada. However, this is the most common snake in the Las Vegas Valley. In Las Vegas, they are fairly common on the lower slopes of alluvial fans.
Terrestrial Biomes: desert or dune
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 27.3 years.
The sidewinder is a pale, sand-colored snake that also may appear to look pinkish and yellow. They have light and dark patches along the back and speckles along the sides. The sidewinder has a wide triangular head, with a narrow neck that expands into a thick body. They have a short brown or black tail, that is connected to a small rattle.The sidewinder is the only snake that has a horn-shaped scales bulging out above their eye, which is how they get their nickname, the "Horned Rattlesnake". Also near their eyes, on the side of their head, they have holes called pits or hollows that are heat sensors that detect warm-blooded creatures. Adults average 30 inches in length, however females are usually larger than males so there is some sexual dimorphism.
Sidewinders give birth to live young. The two most important events in a sidewinders calander are mating and birth. Some femals take a year off of breeding and only breed every other year. Some even rest for two years, if the food supply is scarce. Sidewinders mate in April through May and sometimes in fall. When the male and female mate, the male snake crawls along the female's back, rubbing her with his chin to stimulate or arouse her. The male then will wrap his tail around her tail and then will try to bring their clocqe together. The clocque is a little flap that is near tail which is designed for mating and reproduction. If the female wants to mate, she will lift her tail and allow him to mate with her. The snakes can be mating fo several hours, and if one of the snakes decides to move, the other is dragged along. Females might mate with the same male snake or a different male snake. In case their is a different male snake, the female has a good selection of genes for her young and inceases the chances that at least some of her young will fit to survive. Females give birth to 15-18 young in late summer to early fall. The young are born 6 to 8 inches long. The birth takes only 2 to 3 hours altogether. Within a few minutes after being born, the baby sidewinder escapes out of a thin transparent membrane. The young stay near their birth place for a few days and then they disappear and have no future contact with their mother or their littermates. The sidewinder does not migrate over long distances, so being in the some area with one of their littermates isn't unlikely.
The sidewinder's life span varies. Sidewinders can live up to 20 to 30 years in captivity. In the wild, many of their lives are cut short because of predation, diseases, or vehicle accidents.
