Here are two young mojave rattlesnakes (Crotalus scutulatus) I found within a quarter mile of eachother. I’ve seen my share of drab individuals, but these snakes are highly variable in color and pattern, and each seems interesting for this reason. I’ve seen them range anywhere from lime green to nearly black.
These are fairly typical of the type you’d find West of Phoenix, but they show some of the pattern variation that occur in individuals that live in the same area.
Tags: arizona, Crotalus scutulatus, Field Herping, mojave rattlesnake, mutation, variation
I live in northwest Yavapai county. I was hoping to look for green mojaves north of Wickenberg, in the joshua tree forest. Do you have any suggestions to find them?
Aaron,
I’ve never looked for scutulatus in that area. They don’t live in most of what you’d define as ‘northwest’ Yavapai, unless yo focus in the extreme NW point of the county. Look late at night in grasslands. This time of year might be difficult to see any, however.
I am trying to identify a snake based on a picture that a student sent me I am sure that it is either a young mojave green or young western diamondback. I can not see any rings near the rattle. Do juveniles always have those black rings?