Kris and I went on a hike up the Agua Fria river to do some herping, but moreso to just get out a bit and enjoy the nice day. Pretty quickly, Kris spotted a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) under a fallen boulder. I was excited to see a second snake coiled just behind the first. This is the first time I’ve seen 2 snakes share a location like this, so it was pretty exciting.
We assume they’re a mating pair. They did not seem to take notice of us at all, and we were able to take a seat right next to them and watch their behavior for awhile. The male (in back) continually attempted to get the attention of his pal, or was otherwise approaching her head with twitchy head movements and a flickering tongue.
A couple other critters from the trip:
Tags: agua fria, Behavior, Cophosaurus texanus, desert patch-nosed snake, Field Herping, greater earless lizard, mating, multiple, patchnose, Salvadora hexalepis hexalepis, Western Diamondback Rattlesnake