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Mohave rattlesnake

Crotalus scutulatus · Snakes · Reptiles

Mohave rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus): Slightly greenish tinge to the body, which gives 'Mojave green'; the western rattlesnake lacks the greenish tinge (NPS Parashant). Tail bands have thick white bands and narrower black bands; the western diamondback's bands are more uniform in width (NPS Saguaro). This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Scientific name
Crotalus scutulatus
Family
Viperidae
In North America
Native
Range
Southern California, southern Nevada and southwestern Utah south through Arizona, southern New Mexico and western Texas into central Mexico; sea level to about 2,530 m (NatureServe).
Biology

How to identify it

Slightly greenish tinge to the body, which gives 'Mojave green'; the western rattlesnake lacks the greenish tinge (NPS Parashant). [1][2][3]

Tail bands have thick white bands and narrower black bands; the western diamondback's bands are more uniform in width (NPS Saguaro). [1][2][3]

Averages 2-4 ft in length (NPS Parashant). [1][2][3]

Newborns have a single silent button rather than a full rattle (NPS Parashant). [1][2][3]

Compared with the western diamond-backed rattlesnake: Tail bands are more uniform in width and the body lacks the Mohave's greenish tinge (NPS Saguaro; NPS Parashant). [1][2][3]

Compared with the western rattlesnake: Lacks the Mohave's greenish tinge (NPS Parashant). [1][2][3]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a mohave rattlesnake before you act. Compared with the western diamond-backed rattlesnake: Tail bands are more uniform in width and the body lacks the Mohave's greenish tinge (NPS Saguaro; NPS Parashant).[1][2][3]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Mostly upland desert and lower mountain slopes: barren desert, grassland, open woodland and scrub with creosotebush, palo verde, mesquite or cacti; usually not in broken rocky terrain or dense vegetation (NatureServe). [1][2][3]

In spring it commonly coils under a small tree or shrub in early morning (NatureServe). [1][2][3]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

At lower elevations mainly nocturnal in summer and commonly active in morning and late afternoon in spring and fall; may be active by day in summer at higher elevations (NatureServe). [1][2][3]

Above ground March-November, probably most active late April or May through September (NatureServe). [1][2][3]

Eats kangaroo rats, ground squirrels, mice, rabbits and other small mammals; lizards are eaten especially by the young (NatureServe). [1][2][3]

Uses rodent burrows to overwinter; hibernates alone or in groups of two or three (NPS Parashant; NPS Saguaro). [1][2][3]

Regulatory handoff

Limited legal take

Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Southern California, southern Nevada and southwestern Utah south through Arizona, southern New Mexico and western Texas into central Mexico; sea level to about 2,530 m (NatureServe).

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. National Park Service · reviewed 2026-09-30

    National Park Service

  3. National Park Service · reviewed 2026-09-30

    National Park Service