How to Identify the Sidewinder (Identification Guide)

Key identifying features

The sidewinder is most easily identified by the raised, horn-like supraocular scales projecting above each eye, giving it a distinctive hornlike appearance unlike other North American rattlesnakes. It is also recognized by its unusual sidewinding locomotion, in which the body moves in a looping, sideways motion across loose sand, leaving a distinctive J-shaped track.

Coloration & pattern

Base color closely matches the pale sandy, cream, gray, or pinkish tones of its desert habitat, marked with a series of darker, faint dorsal blotches that are often less bold and contrasting than in other rattlesnake species, aiding camouflage against sand and rock. The tail typically shows dark rings just above the rattle segments.

Head, eyes & scales

The head is triangular and distinct from the neck, typical of pit vipers, with heat-sensing pits between eye and nostril. The raised, pointed scale above each eye is the single most useful identifying feature, unlike the smooth-scaled brow of most other rattlesnakes. Body scales are keeled.

Size & body shape

Sidewinders are relatively small rattlesnakes, typically 17 to 30 inches in length, with a moderately stout body suited to a life spent largely on loose desert sand. The tail ends in a segmented rattle typical of rattlesnake species.

Range & habitat where you'll see it

Sidewinders inhabit sandy desert flats, dunes, and washes of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where their sideways locomotion minimizes contact with hot sand surfaces and allows efficient movement across loose substrate.

How to tell it apart from look-alikes

The raised horn-like scales above the eyes distinguish the sidewinder from all other rattlesnakes in its range, none of which show this feature. Its distinctive J-shaped sideways track left in sand also provides a reliable indirect identification clue even when the snake itself is not seen.