{"id":11439,"date":"2026-06-19T17:55:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T00:55:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/capnbob.us\/blog\/?p=11439"},"modified":"2026-06-19T17:56:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T00:56:59","slug":"western-diamondback-rattlesnake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/capnbob.us\/blog\/2026\/06\/19\/western-diamondback-rattlesnake\/","title":{"rendered":"Western Diamondback Rattlesnake"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake<\/p><\/div>\n

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake<\/strong> (Crotalus atrox).<\/p>\n

This is a very common and widespread species in our part of Arizona (Sonoran Desert around Wickenburg). Key visible features that support the ID:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Body pattern: Light tan\/grayish-brown background with a series of dark diamond\/hexagonal blotches along the back that often have lighter centers. These are classic for C. atrox.<\/li>\n
  • Tail banding: Very distinct alternating black-and-white rings on the tail (visible toward the upper right in the photo). This is one of the most reliable field marks for Western Diamondbacks.<\/li>\n
  • Overall build: Heavy-bodied with a relatively broad head and the characteristic rattle.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Safety note for your area
    \nWestern Diamondbacks are responsible for most rattlesnake bites in Arizona, though they\u2019re generally not aggressive unless provoked or cornered. They\u2019re common in rocky desert yards like ours, especially near structures, water sources or debris.<\/p>\n

    Recommendations:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Keep your distance and give it space \u2014 it will likely move on if left alone.<\/li>\n
    • Be cautious around the garden\/rocks at dawn\/dusk when they\u2019re more active.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n

      I took this photo today when this evil-looking critter slithered into the yard. I kept my distance and used the camera’s 210mm focal length to get this (clickable) close-up. <\/p>\n

      Eventually, the snake kept on going as there wasn’t anything interesting for it in our yard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox). This is a very common and widespread species in our part of Arizona (Sonoran Desert around Wickenburg). Key visible features that...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":190,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70,47,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arizona","category-critters","category-photography"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/capnbob.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/capnbob.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/capnbob.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/capnbob.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/190"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/capnbob.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11439"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/capnbob.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11439\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11444,"href":"http:\/\/capnbob.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11439\/revisions\/11444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/capnbob.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/capnbob.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/capnbob.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}