Arizona Ridgnosed Rattlesnakes are common in a few mountain ranges in southeastern Arizona, but not found in the desert environments where most people live. They are usually seen by hikers and wildlife observers in the daytime, but often found moving at night as well.
An Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake in southeastern Arizona. These small rattlesnakes are found in bunchgrass and oak leaf litter at elevations above around 4,500′. Though they may be locally abundant, most of the long-term locals asked in the area about them have no idea it exists.
Buontempo, M. J. (2024). Evolutionary history of a specialized and diverse highland snake complex (Crotalus willardi) (Doctoral dissertation, University of Texas at El Paso). https://scholarworks.utep.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5226&context=open_etd
An Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake found in bunchgrass on a perfect, overcast day in the Arizona sky islands.
An Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake from the southeastern corner of the state. This is also our state reptile.
Quiz time: This subspecies of ridgenosed rattlesnake is only found in Arizona and Mexico. There are two other rattlesnakes that are also only found in Arizona and Mexico. What are they?
An Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake we saw after dark in southeastern Arizona. These small snakes are great at hiding, and the locals rarely even know they exist.
An Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake in southeastern Arizona. These small rattlesnakes are common where they are found, but even ranchers born and raised in the area usually have no idea it exists. That’s thanks, in part, to its nearly perfect camouflage, making it about invisible in oak leaf litter and bunchgrass.
An Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake in habitat on a humid monsoon morning in southeastern Arizona.
An Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake from the southeastern corner of Arizona. I photographed this young snake back in 2014 (that’s how behind I am in photos).
At this point, assuming she hasn’t met an end by fire, drought, bear, poacher, or any of the other ways a small snake can enter the carbon cycle, she is an older adult. She may have given birth every couple or few years, and still has a lot of life to live. Rattlesnakes can live for decades, continually learning to make better use of their environment and home range.
An Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake with her newborns.
Like many snakes, including all vipers in the U.S., these rattlesnakes do not lay eggs. They give live birth to young, which stay with the mother for a period of time afterward. Once they’ve shed skin for the first time, around ten days later, they will disperse. In the meantime, these little ones spend time with their moth, following her lead on their first experiences with a big, dangerous world.
An Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake spotted late on a humid monsoon night in southeastern Arizona. This is the state reptile, though relatively few Arizona residents will ever see one.
