Restricted in most part to a life in the high mountain slopes, these animals enjoy basking in the early morning hours of the spring, summer and fall. Their range in the US is isolated to small mountain "islands" from southwest Texas, throughout southern New Mexico and into southeastern Arizona. In the wild the primary prey is sceloporus and small mice, however, in captivity they will do very well on mice.
Most females in the wild produce litters of 1 to 5 offspring during the months of June, July, August and September. On rare occasions births before and after these months have occured. In captivity the births still coincide with the wild cycle.
Klauberi enjoy a "hibernation" period of at least three months, and in some areas for 5 months due to the high elevation. Breeding usually occurs during the months of August, September, October and November and yes, some action is witnessed during the spring months as well. Whether or not these copulations result in viable offspring for the following year or the same season is still a big mystery to those of us working with them.
The variation in color between mountain ranges can be extraordinary, from the silver and black of the Franklin mountains to the extremely mottled color of Chiricahua animals. Each show a remarkable resemblance to the habitat that surrounds them. (Except Franklin's, there's not much silver in the rocks, but it alludes to the fact that they spend much of the summer months moving well after dark, unlike other localities). Some specimens with lichen green stripes, purples, blues, lavenders, pinks and greys, are next to impossible to recognize in suitable terrain without the alarming buzz they sound off.