Black-tailed rattlesnake — Fact Sheet

Crotalus molossus · Black-tailed rattlesnake

📋 At a glance

🏠 Enclosure

• Minimum adult space: 150 x 75 x 90 cm in a restricted, secondarily contained room.
• Fit two full-size lockable shifts, a protected service port, clear inspection lanes and anchored ledges/branches.
• Record precise origin: historic Texas and central/eastern New Mexico “molossus” may be C. ornatus.
• No free handling, pinning or necking. Two trained adults attend every primary opening.

💡 Lighting and 🌡️ temperature

• Bright light for 10-14 hours; optional measured Ferguson Zone 1 UVB with full shade.
• Basking surface: 30-33°C
• Ambient: 23-28°C
• Cool retreat: 19-23°C
• Night: 15-21°C
• Cool only healthy, established, locality-documented northern adults under a specialist plan.

💧 Humidity and water

• Ambient 35-55%, good cross-ventilation and one shedding retreat at 55-70%.
• Provide a stable fresh-water bowl; investigate repeated soaking or poor sheds.

🐁 Feeding

• Frozen-thawed rodents every 14-21 days, adjusted by weight, build, season and locality.
• Never use live rodents. Isolate the snake before retrieving refused prey.

🩺 Health and emergency warnings

• Watch for obesity, dehydration, retained shed, respiratory signs, oral lesions, parasites, burns and climbing injuries.
• Venom varies by lineage and age; every bite needs urgent hospital assessment.
• Call emergency services/poison control, keep still and remove constricting items. No tourniquet, cutting, suction, ice, shock, massage or home antivenom.