Thanks Guys!!! It's been a relief to have her doing so well.
Aero, I've always maintained a large collection of captive bred exotic reptiles. I've had an albino western diamondback now for a year and half. Always been fascinated with sidewinders so decided to find a pair of babies to raise up and eventually breed. I've read a few accounts now of maternal care in crotalids and I'd like to work with sidewinders and see the potential for that behavior with this species. My friend Frank and his field partner Hugh McCrystal have documented this behavior in C. lepidus and C. willardi, both in captivity and in the wild.
I don't usually collect wild herps but here in AZ the only legal way for me to keep sidwinders is gifted from someone else or field collected by myself. These animals were found on the road and very likely would have been squished at some point, not guranteed but likely.
Mike,
When you talk about coontails are you talking about prairie rattlers or mojaves? I know a lot of species are described as coontails, just curious what you see specifically.
We have 13 species of rattlesnake here. On the roads you usually are only going to find Western Diamonbacks and Mojaves. You can occasionally find Blacktails and Tigers and Sidewinders, but they have very specific habitat and you have to kind of look for them on specific roads. Longnoses and Gophers are also VERY common.
