A good-sized Costa Rican Coralsnake we saw in the grass on a family vacation. These are very different than the coralsnakes we have back in Arizona. It’s much larger and willing to strike, which it did repeatedly. These snakes are a handful to get photos of, but we managed and let it disappear back into the forest.
A Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake resting in the shade outside its summer aestivation den. It’s one of a handful that gather here each year to hide from the heat and gestate.
A young Mojave Rattlesnake at rest, lifted just off the surface of the warm sand to get a little air flow. Thermoregulation is far from just “sunning” – much of the activity of reptiles in the desert during the summer is about getting cooler, rather than warmer.
I was on a night hike in the Amazon and just about to step over this knee-high buttress when I noticed it was occupied. A young Fer De Lance (Bothrops atrox) was waiting on top, but I was not the rodent it was hoping to come along. The broken green and black shapes in its pattern would have made this easy to miss.
A relatively colorful Tiger Rattlesnake found in Santa Cruz County, Arizona awhile back. These rattlesnakes are common in the thornscrub hills along the Arizona/Mexico border.
Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes in the Phoenix area aren’t all grey. Some can be reddish or have hints of orange, and some rich brown tones like this one.
A Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake from a mountain range in western Arizona. This is one of a couple seen on a sunrise hike on what would be a very hot day. It was spotted crossing a wash from a sandy rise in the center, where it had likely spent the night in ambush. As temperatures approached 100˚F at around 7am, this snake needed to get to deep cover, and it knew right where to go.
An Arizona Black Rattlesnake resting in partial cover. These snakes spend a lot of time on the surface, hiding in and as shadows to evade detection by predators and prey.
A large Blacktailed Rattlesnake from the southeastern corner of Arizona. These snakes can be beautiful – a high contrast black and yellow with rainbow iridescence in the sunlight.
One of a few Arizona Black Rattlesnakes hanging out at an overwintering site, ready and waiting for the cold to come. This was photographed in the fall at high elevation, where rattlesnakes gather in sometimes large numbers to den together in deep retreats.
This species is what locals often mistakenly refer to as “Timber Rattlesnake”, which it is not. Timber Rattlesnakes are a real snake, however, but not closely related to this one, and not found in the Western US.
