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Crotalus oreganus lutosus

corybrowning Jun 30, 2009 01:40 PM

How deep do males and females probe? I captured (then released) one near my house and it probed 13-14 scales deep. Any help would be appreciated. Also, what literature exists that gives a run-down of such info?

Replies (7)

corybrowning Jun 30, 2009 03:34 PM

here's a pic:
Link

viandy Jul 03, 2009 02:21 PM

You're just surrounded by beauty, aren't you?

.
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give up television - 100% cold turkey. Leave what isn't real and go to what is real.
Spend time with nature, see the ground and the sky, feel your place on this earth,
see the trees, the plants, birds, animals, feel their life. And feel your own life.
Dr. William Pierce (paraphrased)

SnakesAndStuff Jun 30, 2009 05:18 PM

Very pretty animal.

Generally speaking, in rattlesnakes (at least in my experience, others will hopefully chime in) males probe deep, and females probe very shallow. Anything over 5 scales is a definite male, as females usually probe 1-2, maybe 3 scales deep. When probing I also go by "feel" of the probing as to what the sex is. Males feel more cylindrical, and the probe tends to drift towards the lateral portion of the tail, and the internal anatomy of the female snake is more conical shaped.

Texasreptiles Jun 30, 2009 06:00 PM

Here's a good link to follow.
http://caudal.bravehost.com/

Randal Berry

SnakesAndStuff Jun 30, 2009 06:25 PM

That is the beginning of a list for subcaudal scale counts, but is there a list out there for probe depth?

Texasreptiles Jun 30, 2009 08:12 PM

Yes, at Probe depth.com

Randal

psilocybe Jul 02, 2009 05:36 AM

13 to 14 scales deep would certainly be a male for virtually any species of snake.
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Abhishek Prasad

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