An Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake spotted late on a humid monsoon night in southeastern Arizona. This is the state reptile, though relatively few Arizona residents will ever see one.
Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake at Night
Category: Snakes
New Mexico Ridgenosed Rattlesnake
A New Mexico Ridgenosed Rattlesnake (Crotalus willardi obscurus). This federally protected rattlesnake ranges into Arizona, but only a dwindling population remains.
Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake
A Spotted Leafnosed Snake found late at night a couple of summers ago. While many snakes are tucked away in late May and June to wait for the monsoon, these snakes are very active. The reason: lizard eggs. These are reptile egg specialists, and June is a great time to be out looking for them to eat. The “leaf” on its nose is a kind of shovel, to help push through soil to get to them. They’re small snakes, less than a foot long typically, and entirely harmless. If captured, they may coil and strike repeatedly with a hiss, but if you look closely, their mouth is closed the entire time. It’s sometimes said that “anything with a mouth can bite”, but can and will aren’t the same thing.
A Very Big Sonoran Lyresnake
A beast of a Lyresnake! These are typically slender snakes, but this has been very successful. At first it looked like a gophersnake, with a chunky build and round face. These are cryptic snakes that few people that live in Arizona, even born here, will ever see.
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake
A Western Diamondback Rattlesnake resting in partial shade. By making small adjustments to position throughout the day, a snake can precisely regulate its temperature. While they may be encountered out in full sun, this is how the majority of basking is done.
California Kingsnake in Gila County, Arizona
A California Kingsnake on the crawl late at night in central Arizona.
Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake Waits For Dark
A Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake rests in a rocky retreat, waiting for dark. Like other rattlesnake species in the Phoenix area, once temperatures stabilize in the triple digits, their activity becomes mostly nocturnal. The late afternoon is a good time to wait for a lizard or bird to make a mistake, in the meantime.
Malabar Pit Viper
One of the Malabar Pitvipers we saw on night hikes in rainforests of Karnataka, India. Convergently, they were very similar in appearance and behavior to arboreal vipers I’ve seen in Central and South America.
Aquatic Coralsnake
The most common coralsnake I’ve seen in Peru is the Aquatic Coralsnake. They’re big, twitchy, and relatively common in the slopes along tributaries of the Amazon River.
Banded Rock Rattlesnakes Courting Under A Rock
A mated pair of Banded Rock Rattlesnakes, tucked into rocks in a minor drainage in southeastern Arizona. During the late monsoon season, it’s not uncommon to find pairs or rattlesnakes like this, courting and mating in one rock pile while others are still giving birth elsewhere. The period of seasonal rain is the peak of activity for these animals, and a lot needs to be done in a relatively short period of time.
1. Mata-Silva, V. (2011). Ecology of the Rock Rattlesnake (Crotalus lepidus) in the Northern Chihuahuan Desert. University of Texas at El Paso.
2. Mata-Silva, V., DeSantis, D.L., Wagler, A.E., et al. (2018). Spatial Ecology of Rock Rattlesnakes (Crotalus lepidus) in Far West Texas. Herpetologica, 74(3), 245–255.
https://doi.org/10.1655/Herpetologica-D-17-00091.1