It had been run over, but still very much alive. They sometimes raise and shake their tail, hissing and playing up their resemblance to rattlesnakes. They have small heads, however, without the larger, more triangular head of a rattlesnake. The snout is somewhat pointed and there is an enlarged scale which extends upward between the nostrils. Skin is patterned in golds and reddish-browns.
Adults reach four and a half feet.
Found in open woodlands, plains, agricultural areas - everywhere except high mountains. Mice, rabbits, ground squirrels, pocket gophers. Kills by constriction. Usually active by day, but nocturnal in hot weather. Mates in the spring.