Tiger Rattlesnake
Crotalus tigris
The tiger rattlesnake, native to the Sonoran Desert, features a distinct tiger-like banding and highly toxic venom. Keep in a locked, dry desert terrarium individually.
- Taxonomy
- Class:SquamataOrder:SquamataFamily:ViperidaeSubfamily:CrotalinaeGenus:CrotalusSpecies:Crotalus tigris
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Terrestrial
30 - 50 %
18 - 32 °C
18 - 32 °C
22 - 24 °C
33 - 35 °C
75 cm
>= 150 L
Low
Species description
Care, breeding and tankmates
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Origin
Reptile profile
- Diet
- Carnivore
- The Tiger Rattlesnake is an ambush predator whose diet consists primarily of small mammals and lizards native to its desert and rocky environments. It utilizes its heat-sensing pits to hunt small rodents, such as kangaroo rats and mice, particularly during the cooler hours of the night. Despite having a relatively small head for its size, it possesses highly toxic venom that quickly immobilizes prey. Lizards form a more significant part of the diet for juveniles compared to adults.
- Adult size
- 75 cm
- The catalog's scalar value is 75 cm. The ReptTraits v1.2 source reports a maximum adult measurement of 91 cm for this species, recorded as total length (TL). These figures are not interchangeable: the first is the profile's editorial reference, whereas the second is a published maximum under a specific measurement convention; differences among sources can reflect sex, population, life stage and measuring method.
- Lifestyle/Microhabitat
- Terrestrial
- A terrestrial specialist of arid rocky environments, it frequently inhabits bajadas, rock crevices, and canyon bottoms in the Sonoran Desert, using the terrain for cover.
- Activity cycle
- Crepuscular
- During the hot desert months, it hunts primarily during the crepuscular hours of dusk and dawn or shifts entirely to nocturnal activity. In cooler weather, it may be seen basking during the day.
- Sociality
- Solitary
- Tiger Rattlesnakes are primarily terrestrial but are remarkably agile climbers among the rocky boulders of their habitat. They are most active at night or during the cooler hours of dusk and dawn to avoid the extreme heat of the desert day. During the winter, they brumate in rock crevices or abandoned burrows to survive dropping temperatures. When threatened, they readily rattle their tails and adopt a defensive coil, striking readily if provoked.
- Reproduction
- Viviparous
- This rattlesnake is viviparous, giving birth to live young usually during the late summer monsoon season in its native range. Mating typically occurs in the spring, followed by a gestation period of several months. The litters are generally small, often consisting of four to six fully formed neonates. The young are born with a single "button" on their tail and are capable of venomous strikes immediately after birth.
- Handling tolerance
- Expert only
- Possessing one of the most toxic venoms among rattlesnakes (high in neurotoxins), it must never be free-handled. Extreme caution and long-handled tools are mandatory for safe management.
- Brumation
- Not required
- It relies on deep rocky dens to undergo winter brumation, retreating from the freezing night temperatures of the desert before returning to activity in the warming spring.
- Molting
- Regular
- As a desert dweller, it requires generally low humidity. However, offering a slightly moistened hide box during the shedding cycle helps ensure a clean molt without compromising overall arid enclosure conditions.
Image gallery
Licensed images linked to the species or, when marked, to the closest representative taxon.
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Variants and close relatives
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