Category: Snakes

Chihuahuan Hooknosed Snake

Posted on by Bryan Hughes

A Chihuahuan Hooknosed Snake we found in Cochise County, Arizona. These small snakes have a specialized scale on its face that it can use to help it uncover its prey: arachnids and centipedes. Of the snakes that can be found in Arizona, this is one of the least often seen, even by snake enthusiasts.

This one became defensive as it was being photographed, striking repeatedly at the camera with a closed mouth. This is a good example of why the popular saying “if it has a mouth, it can bite” is missing a critical component to be relevant: not just can it bite, but WILL it bite. This little snake says no.

Speckled Rattlesnake Hiding From The Sun

Posted on by Bryan Hughes

A Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake hanging out in the shade on a blistering hot morning several years ago. This snake is still using this spot in the summer, staying cooler during the day and emerging at night, staying very near.

This is why, when we are called to capture a snake at a home during peak summer, we search for others. Especially without rain, they’re tethered to aestivation sites, never going far. If a rattlesnake is found on the back patio right now, there are only a few possibilities. It was either displaced by construction, tossed over the fence by the fire department, or it has been there for several weeks, successfully hiding as it always has before being discovered.

Blacktailed Rattlesnake Den

Posted on by Bryan Hughes

After a relatively unproductive weekend in the early Spring at higher elevation, I made a quick stop by a large rocky outcrop on the way home on a whim. I have been driving past this particular rock for more than a decade, always in a hurry somewhere or dead tired, always thinking “one nof these days, I’ll check that out; it has to be a den“. Well that day was the day, and of course, it was a winter den. This large blacktailed rattlesnake was laid out over a boulder getting some sun, with others another in the crevices behind it. I’ll check it out again next year in more prime conditions.

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake Ready To Fight

Posted on by Bryan Hughes

A male Western Diamondback Rattlesnake raises up to challenge another to a fight. The only problem: rocks getting in the way. Both males discovered one another in a narrow gap, which caused a lot of awkward shuffling before they managed to get some room to wrestle. Eventually, the other came out as well, and after a brief wrestling match, both went tumbling down the hill with no clear victor.

Wandering Gartersnake

Posted on by Bryan Hughes

Camping and fishing along any waterway along the rim in Arizona, it’s common to see gartersnakes cruising around the vegetation. There are several species of gartersnakes in Arizona, but this may be the most commonly encountered. Wandering Gartersnakes are a subspecies of Western Terrestrial Gartersnake that inhabit a variety of habitat, though are most often spotted in shallow water going after tadpoles and small fish.