Sidewinder Rattlesnake Diet
The desert sidewinder (Crotalus cerastus) exists in the Southwest, in states such as California, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada and in portions of Mexico. Three subspecies of the sidewinder--the Colorado Desert sidewinder, Mojave sidewinder and Sonoran sidewinder--all use a method of movement called sidewinding. The snake, to gain its traction on the desert sands and to avoid having to stay in contact with the hot ground, throws its body to the side and then propels itself ahead. The sidewinder is carnivorous, hunting for its food.
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Types
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Being a carnivore, the sidewinder consumes only meat. It has a diet subsisting of various types of desert lizards, small rodents and on certain occasions, birds. Among the favorite foods of the sidewinder are the pocket mouse and the larger kangaroo rat. Both of these species are abundant in the desert and are creatures the sidewinder can kill and swallow whole.
Venom
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The venom of the sidewinder is not as strong as that of most other rattlesnake species. The small size of the sidewinder, which reaches maximum lengths of almost 33 inches according to the "National Audubon Society Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians," means the snake only needs to have a toxin strong enough to kill small animals. A sidewinder bite would cause considerable swelling and illness in a human being, but would not kill a healthy individual.
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Features
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The sidewinder has two features that help it greatly as it searches for food in its desert environment. Sidewinders, like other rattlesnakes, are pit vipers. The reptile has a pair of heat sensing hollows near its eyes that will hone in on the body heat of the animals it hunts in the dark. Sidewinders also have what looks like horns over their eyes. These are, in reality, modified scales that will depress when the sidewinder burrows underground, closing down over the eye to protect it as the snake digs in the sand and soil.
Hunting
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The sidewinder procures its food by ambush, burying itself under the loose sand with just its eyes and top of its head exposed above ground. The snake positions itself many times on trails used by rodents and lizards and near the burrows of kangaroo rats. The sidewinder will surprise a passing victim, biting it and allowing its venom to kill the animal. The Desert USA website notes that while the sidewinder will keep a lizard in its jaws until the reptile dies from the poison, it will allow rodents to continue on, tracking them down later after they die from the toxin's effects.
Considerations
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Rodents are the main food of older sidewinders, while the immature snakes typically target lizards as a meal. The sidewinder avoids the desert heat by hunting at night and at dawn and dusk. When temperatures soar during the daylight hours, the snake will often find refuge from the sun under a plant known as a creosote bush. Sidewinders hunt by themselves and they are solitary reptiles, often hibernating in cooler weather alone in an abandoned animal burrow.
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References
- Photo Credit lizard image by pearlguy from Fotolia.com
