Animal profile

Sidewinder

Crotalus cerastes

ReptiliaLoose windblown sand, dunes and desert flats of the southwestern United States and northwestern MexicoLeast Concern

Field profile

The sidewinder is a small desert rattlesnake with raised supraocular scales that give it a horned profile. It is nocturnal in hot months, sheltering by day in rodent burrows or buried in sand. It rarely exceeds eighty centimetres.

Published field notes

2025-11-21

Sidewinder

The sidewinder moves sideways to grip loose sand

Rather than pushing backwards against sand that gives way, it lifts sections of body clear and sets them down at an angle, leaving a trail of separate J-shaped marks rather than a continuous furrow.

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