{"id":779,"date":"2020-04-14T10:34:39","date_gmt":"2020-04-14T17:34:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rattlesnakesolutions.com\/snakeblog\/?p=779"},"modified":"2021-02-01T11:26:39","modified_gmt":"2021-02-01T18:26:39","slug":"can-you-tell-the-difference-between-a-western-diamondback-rattlesnake-and-a-mojave-rattlesnake-by-the-tail-bands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rattlesnakesolutions.com\/snakeblog\/arizona-snakes\/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-a-western-diamondback-rattlesnake-and-a-mojave-rattlesnake-by-the-tail-bands\/","title":{"rendered":"Can you tell the difference between a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake and a Mojave Rattlesnake by the tail bands?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sometimes, but it’s not an absolute, and should not be used as a single method for identification of either species. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The general rule is that Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes have a banding on the tail in a roughly 1:1 ratio of white to black, while Mojave Rattlesnakes tend to have tail banding at 2:1 white to black. <\/strong>However, it can be much more complex than that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This Western Diamondback Rattlesnake is a good boy and following the rules with a clearly-marked tail banded at about 1:1 ratio of white to black. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While it is generally<\/em> true that Mojave Rattlesnakes tend to have wider white bands compared to Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes, this can be problematic. Both Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes and Mojave Rattlesnakes have banded tails with a high degree of variability in color, pattern, and complexity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a video that explains all of this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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