Wonderful post. And I love that last photo–she looks so cozy! (Around here, I never to get see a snake rest after it’s been on the move. Too many other things going on.)
What clues did you use to determine that this one was female?
Can’t really see it in the picture, but she has a little snub tail and distinct change in taper just after the cloaca, both signs of a female. Males store their genitals in the tail and it makes the taper more gradual, or even get thicker again before the rattle.
If you mean the one with the mojave and the diamondback right after this post, I think the mojave is a female, but the diamondback is a male with a poor camera angle 🙂
Wonderful post. And I love that last photo–she looks so cozy! (Around here, I never to get see a snake rest after it’s been on the move. Too many other things going on.)
What clues did you use to determine that this one was female?
Can’t really see it in the picture, but she has a little snub tail and distinct change in taper just after the cloaca, both signs of a female. Males store their genitals in the tail and it makes the taper more gradual, or even get thicker again before the rattle.
Thanks, Bryan! So in your later post, would the snakes in the second and third photos both be females?
If you mean the one with the mojave and the diamondback right after this post, I think the mojave is a female, but the diamondback is a male with a poor camera angle 🙂