What Is the Sidewinder Snake's Population?

Three species of sidewinder snakes live in the United States. They are the Mojave Desert Sidewinder, the Colorado Sidewinder and the Sonoran Sidewinder. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, the population of each species is stable and not threatened.

  1. Spring Courtship

    • All three sidewinder species mate in April and May and occasionally in the fall. Offspring are usually born in late summer to early fall.

    Plenty of Siblings

    • Most female sidewinders are capable of giving live birth to between five and 20 young after a 90-day gestation period.

    A Long Life

    • Sidewinder snakes can live 30 years. Most snakes live at least 20 years.

    Where They Live

    • The Mojave Desert Sidewinder is named for its most prominent habitat: the Mojave Desert stretching across southeastern California and parts of Nevada, Utah and Arizona. The Colorado Sidewinder lives in southwestern Arizona and southeastern California. The Sonoran Sidewinder lives in south-central Arizona.

    Enemies

    • While sidewinder snake populations remain unthreatened in U.S. desert regions, they do have enemies: large predatory birds and a "sand cat," which is only slightly larger than a domestic house cat, but highly adapted to desert life.

    Interesting Article

    • President Theodore Roosevelt, in his 1916 "A Book Lover's Holiday in the Open," writes about his experience with the Hopi Indian tribe and its interaction with sidewinder snakes.