Speaking of mutating

I have what I think is a skin to a Mojave and Western Diamond back. I do not really like to kill things in the wild especially snakes since I think they help us more than hurt us (they are great for rodent control) But we were riding our horses and a rattler came after us. This is unusaly behavior from what I hear. Once he was shot we buried the head and actually ate him it was pretty darn good. In the reserach I did it looks like a hybrid (or whatever they are called) We are not suppose to have Mojave in Central NV but it sure looks like it. He was also very aggressive and people say the Mojave is aggressive (not sure I dont know anything about hot snakes) There was a guy in town that would import snakes and he would sell and he did have some Mojaves, I just guessed he had some get away. It is interesting how things can change in the wild.

The have been known to crossbreed in the wild. Some of the rattlers that are known to have specific types (i.e. hemotoxic, neurotixic) of venom are now showing signs of having attributes of two kinds of venom which could be caused by crossbreeding. Though the Mojave is known to be aggressive the Western has been known to have an attitude as well. If you post a pic of the skin someone may be able to help determine what it is.

I will get a pic ASAP, hope it comes out good enough.

Hope these help

we need to be able to look at the head scalation and the tail bands. Coloration and diamond shapes can vary. My opinion from seeing the pics is Mojave.

I'm a little confused about why the snake was killed? You entered it's area in the wild, riding horses which weigh thousands of pounds, and are very capable of leaving the area. It wasn't like the snake was living under your house and a possible threat. Chances are the snake was frightened by the horse and his retreat was blocked by the horses. I've been catching and keeping rattlesnake for over 30 years and have NEVER had an aggressive encounter when they are given the option of escape. I maintain a collection of rattlesnakes numbering over 100 that I work with everyday and this holds true for them as well.
As you can tell, this post bothers me being a snake fan and educator.

No doubt it is upsetting. This snake was on a mans property who had been having problems with the rattlers, I think because he had a pond in the middle of the desert I dont know. The snake came after the horses, my friend was riding a very spooky horse so he dismounted The horse will try to dismount him if scared. The snake just kept coming after us, it had plenty of room to retreat. So he shot it. Maybe he was just scared of it. The owner of tha land thanks him and said he had been having trouble with them. I wish there was someone in the area that could collect and rerelease them, many get killed every year.

will not solve the problem. As you stated, he has water in the middle of the desert. They will keep coming. Relocating the snakes is a death sentence for the snakes as research has shown. Maybe this guy should get an apartment in the city where his lack of environmental education won't be needed.

Relocating the snakes is a death sentence for the snakes as research has shown.


Why is that?

for more than a mile or so, they will have difficulty finding food, water, and shelter. They have a home range that they are familiar with. Radio telementry studies have been conducted with timbers and diamondbacks that were relocated and the survival rate was very low.

Thanks for the info.