A dull Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake found out at night in madrean oak forest of southeastern Arizona. Nocturnal activity is common with this species during the humid, hot nights of monsoon season.
Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake
Category: Crotalus
Blacktailed Rattlesnake Morning Bask
A young Blacktailed Rattlesnake moving up from the rock wall where it lives to catch morning sun in southeastern Arizona. Structures like this provide a range of options, allowing the snake to very precisely control its temperature – warming when it needs to, and retreating to shade as the day gets hot.
Grand Canyon Rattlesnake
A Grand Canyon Rattlesnake from the northernmost part of Arizona.
Speckled Rattlesnake With White Eyes
A Speckled Rattlesnake from the Belmont Mountains, west of Phoenix. These rattlesnakes in this range often lack much of the characteristic speckling within the eye, leaving solid-colored, light grey or pale white eyes. A typical response when we post a snake from this area is something like “it’s ready to shed skin”, though that is not at all the case.
Great Basin Rattlesnake On The Road
Just before sunset, we found a Great Basin Rattlesnake crossing a road in northeastern Arizona. It was bothered for a few minutes while we took some photos.
Speckled Rattlesnake In Perfect Ambush
A Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake looking just like a chunk of granite, fallen off the overhead outcrop. As the sun gets lower in the sky, a variety of rodents, birds, and lizards do what they do in surrounding bushes and rocks, oblivious to the invisible predator. To hikers on the mountain, they’re often just as cryptic, remaining hidden as hundreds of feet pass by every Saturday on popular trails.
Sonoran Sidewinder Tracking and Mating
I first saw the diagonal parallel track lines in the sand, and stopped the car to take look for who left them. Nearby, the track-owner was on the move: a male Sonoran Sidewinder (right). I recognized its behavior as tracking something … maybe food, a mate, etc. His head moved side to side, tongue flicking fast and touching the ground.
Maybe 20 seconds later – I saw what he was looking for, a larger, female Sonoran Sidewinder. She continued sidewinding out of the area, with him following close behind. She eventually settled under a bush, and his courting eventually paid off. They were still there mating hours later on the return trip.
Notable here: the male went in and out of the standard sidewinding motion and rectilinear (straight, belly crawl) movement when tracking. Sidewinding was again used to move more quickly and keep up with the female when she was on her way.
Tiger Rattlesnake In The Early Morning
A Tiger Rattlesnake from the Phoenix area. These snakes are common in the right conditions, but rarely seen by hikers. One reason: they tend to be more nocturnal than similar species. While they can certainly be found in the daytime, they’re often the first to head in for the day. This one had been out all night near its aestivation den in the hottest time of summer.
Defensive Prairie Rattlesnake
A very cleanly patterned Prairie Rattlesnake found in the New Mexico bootheel over the summer. These snakes, when caught out in the open, can be dramatically defensive. Coiling, moving sideways, and striking repeatedly. They also often opt not to rattle but curl the tail into a half-looped display, which is typical for the species throughout their range.
Arizona Black Rattlesnake Below Its Den
An Arizona Black Rattlesnake from an exposed desert mountain hiding from the sun. This snake is entirely black, missing the lighter-colored bands that are usually retained by the species into adulthood. Above at the crest of the hill, an outcrop of basalt serves as its den, throwing rocks down the bajada between a spring and lower drainage. This snake was about halfway up, still in spring egress staging, eventually descending to the drainage below for the year.
