● Venomous · Native to the United States and Mexico

Rock rattlesnake

Crotalus lepidus (Kennicott, 1861)

Also called mottled or banded rock rattlesnake
Data updated October 2026

Rock rattlesnake coiled on gray rock, showing dark crossbands on a pale gray body
Fig. 1 — Adult on a rock outcrop, its gray color and dark bands matching the stone.
Close view of a small rock rattlesnake's head and dark-banded neck
Fig. 2 — The head is small for a rattlesnake, with vertical pupils and a heat-sensing pit.

At a glance

A small, slender rattlesnake of rocky mountain slopes and canyons in west Texas, southern New Mexico, southeastern Arizona and Mexico. It matches the rocks it lives on, hunts lizards and centipedes, and usually relies on camouflage before it rattles or flees.

01

Identification

The rock rattlesnake is one of the smaller rattlesnakes, relatively thin with a small head. Its color tends to match the local rock: usually pale gray, sometimes greenish, bluish or lavender-tinged, crossed by dark brown to black bands. Adult males are often greenish and females gray. Four subspecies are recognized; the banded rock rattlesnake lives in southeastern Arizona, and the mottled rock rattlesnake is the form found in Big Bend and nearby Texas. Young have a yellow tail tip that turns salmon-orange and then fades with age.

  1. 01Dark crossbands. About 13 to 24 chestnut-brown to black bands on a gray body in U.S. populations, plus 1 to 6 on the tail.
  2. 02Small head and size. A slim build and small head compared with other rattlesnakes. Most adults are under 2 feet.
  3. 03Pit viper features. Heat-sensing pit between eye and nostril, vertical pupils and a prominent rattle.

In Arizona it can be confused with the tiger rattlesnake, which has many more body bands (35 to 52).

02

Size

06 in1 ft18 in2 ft Typical adult · about 22 in (56 cm)

Rock rattlesnakes rarely exceed 3 feet. Typical adults measure about 20 to 24 inches (51–61 cm), and most in Arizona are under 24 inches. The largest recorded reach about 33 inches (84 cm). Males grow larger than females. Newborns are about 6 to 9.5 inches (16–24 cm) long.

03

Range & habitat

Rocky talus slope with scattered oaks in a southwestern mountain canyon
Fig. 3 — Talus slopes and rock outcrops in mountain woodland are the rock rattlesnake’s home.

In the United States, rock rattlesnakes live in rocky hills and mountains of southwestern and south-central Texas, southern New Mexico and the sky island ranges of southeastern Arizona, including the Chiricahua, Huachuca, Santa Rita and Dragoon mountains. In Mexico they range along the Sierra Madre Occidental and the northern Mexican Plateau. They occur from about 1,000 to nearly 10,000 ft (300–3,000 m), and in Arizona mostly between about 6,000 and 7,500 ft in oak and pine-oak woodland. They stay close to talus slopes, rock outcrops, boulder piles and rocky streambanks. In Big Bend National Park they are most common in the Chisos Mountains and foothills.

State guides: Texas

04

Diet & predators

Rock rattlesnakes are mostly ambush hunters. In a study of 159 prey items from Arizona, New Mexico and northern Mexico, lizards made up 55% of the diet, nearly all of them spiny lizards, especially Yarrow’s spiny lizard. Large centipedes were 28%, small mammals 14% and birds 2%, with a few snakes. Young snakes do not eat mammals; they wave their bright tail tips to lure lizards within reach.

Feeds on

  • Spiny lizards
  • Large centipedes
  • Small mammals
  • Small birds

Preyed on by

  • Snake-eating snakes
  • Hawks and other birds of prey
  • Coatis and other carnivores
  • Collared lizards (recorded once)
Yarrow's spiny lizard on a rock
Prey — spiny lizards.
Large desert centipede on rock
Prey — centipedes.

05

Behavior & seasons

Rock rattlesnakes rely first on camouflage, then on escape. They often rattle as they slip back into talus, and striking is a last resort. In Big Bend they are described as not aggressive, often neither rattling nor striking unless physically harassed. They move very little, often only a few yards to a few dozen yards a day, and sometimes perch on rocks or climb into shrubs and trees. In Arizona they are mostly active from morning to mid-afternoon and again in late afternoon.

In the United States they are active from March into October and hibernate underground from November through February. In Arizona they are seen most during the summer monsoon, from July to mid-September, and their rattle is often heard before the snake is seen.

06

Reproduction

Rock rattlesnakes give birth to live young. In Arizona, courtship, mating and births all happen mainly in July and August, and females can store sperm over winter. Litters range from 1 to 9 young but usually number about four. Newborns stay with their mother for about 11 to 14 days, until their first shed. Many females breed only every two to three years.

07

Conservation

The rock rattlesnake is listed as Least Concern and is not federally listed in the United States. In Arizona it is fairly common over a wide area and may not be collected or kept without specific authorization from the Arizona Game and Fish Department. Small, isolated mountain populations may be vulnerable to poaching, mining, grazing, road building, high-intensity wildfire and a warming climate that may push suitable habitat higher upslope.

08 — Bite safety

If someone is bitten

Rock rattlesnake bites can be life-threatening, and every bite needs medical care. Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department. For guidance, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. If a pet is bitten, take it to a veterinarian right away.

This page does not give first-aid or treatment instructions. Read our safety disclaimer.

Keep reading

Sources

Data updated October 2026 · How we build these pages