Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I don't keep snakes but thought you all might be interested in the view from my kitchen window.

Yesterday, about 3.pm, watched a choyote dig up a ground squirrel and then noticed a Mohave coiled up just under the window.

Interesting to me was his choice of waiting spots: adjacent to a wild bird feeding block we put there so we could watch the birds.

He must not have been successful because he stayed there all night. He was still there this morning but when the sun hit him, he retired to hole near where had been coiled.

It was an overcast day I saw him stick his head a couple times but didn't come all way out of his shelter.

I wondered if he chose his spot for the proximity of the feeding block so I moved it about 6' away.

Now, 24 hours later, he's back, coiled up, waiting for dinner, right next to the feeding block, 6' from his previous position.

I can't help but think he did indeed choose to coil up next to the block because of the critter traffic.

Interesting.

That is quite interesting. That may very well demonstrate learned behavior in snakes.

He's still there this morning: two whole nights in the same spot. I'm surprised an appropriate meal hasn't come by. The area around the seed block is littered with seed that any mouse would be happy to get.

Yesterday afternoon, I saw a dove land near him but he passed that up. I've seen a Diamondback strike a bird so I was a little surprised he didn't go for him.

This is one of two Mohave's we see around our place. The other is huge and very aggressive. I haven't done much with this one in the way of moving or handling so I don't know how he'd react. The other one has the foul temper of a Mohave though.

Does anyone know if Mohave's will run off Diamondbacks? I doubt this but its what I've heard. We haven't seen a Diamondback in a couple of years and I've assumed other reasons including the several Kingsnakes we see.

Non-venomous, but I love seeing him: we have a Gopher snake that is by far the biggest snake I've ever seen in the wild. He's easily 6', probably longer and never objects to being caught and handled. Long before I found him, I found one of his sheds. Its well over 7' long and perfect with no tears.

I came across a youngster not long ago and the little twerp bit me several times. As with rattlesnakes, it seems the juveniles are much more hot headed and willing to do battle rather than just try to get away.

I really love snakes but have had to make a choice between snakes and husband.

Im not sure about mojaves keeping diamondbacks away, diamondbacks are much bigger. As for the gopher, its been my experience that the young ones are more aggressive. The larger ones usually are tame when handled, I dont know why.

In general, where mojaves and diamondbacks are sympatric they are often found in wide overlap habitat wise. They hybridize in several areas which would seem to show they get along just fine!! I would bet resources and individual comfort level dictates who and how many stay where they do.

The seed block observations are great. It is another great example of learned behavior as mentioned above. They are smart and are capable of learning from their experiences. Thanks for sharing!

Mojave/diamondback hybrids? Well, I guess that makes sense. Out here, we have C.v. helleri/Mojave intergrades, which makes it difficult to determine species (actually locally, we have very few helleris, but a few miles from here they hybridize, or so Ive heard).

Mojaves would not intergrade with helleri as they are separate species. So maybe they are hybridizing out your way. I wouldn't be surprised. There quite a few instances of rattlesnake species hybridizing. What do the mojave X helleri look like?

I havent actually seen one yet, Ive just heard they have hybridized making identification difficult. I saw a show on tv about an ER doctor in southern california. Someone was bitten by a snake and had signs of mojave envenimation, but the snake he brought in was identified as a helleri. The doctor said the helleri may be evolving its venom, but adding neurotoxins is a big step and it was quite sudden, so he thought it was a hybrid. They showed it and it definatly looked like a helleri to me.

I just think you and your hubby are way cool for not killing the snakes. Seems many people spaz out when they see a snake and whack it with something. Thanks for sharing your stories.