A Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake from central Arizona. In this region, the rocks are often brightly colored with oxidized metals and tinted crystals. This makes for some really amazing snakes.
Speckled Rattlesnake in Pink Rocks
Tag: arizona
Sonoran Lyresnake in Arizona
A Sonoran Lyresnake we found late at night as it was leaving a rocky hillside, heading out towards open flat desert.
Lesser Earless Lizard
A Lesser Earless Lizard (Holbrookia maculata) from the western edge of Arizona. These lizards, as the name suggests, lack external ear openings to help live in the sandy, debris-filled environment. They still have ears, however, just hidden by skin. This one took a break from skittering away from me for a photo.
Black-necked Gartersnake in Greenlee County, Arizona
A Black-necked Gartersnake we found while hiking a high-elevation stream in Greenlee County, Arizona. This one had lost its pattern entirely, becoming solid grey animal with stripes and its characteristic black patches behind the head.
Regal Ringnecked Snake
A Regal Ringnecked Snake we found in central Arizona many years ago. These are venomous, but harmless, eating a wide variety of prey from invertebrates to other snakes. The red color under the tail, which is shown here in defensive display, is just a hint at the bright colors that run the length of the belly.
Tiger Rattlesnake in Phoenix
A Tiger Rattlesnake found in a very heavily visited park. This old snake is one of just a handful of Tiger Rattlesnakes that are known to remain in the park, and likely is very good at evading detection by hikers. This deconstructed, purple-ish tone look is typical for the species in the area. It now carries a PIT tag that will confirm its identity on future sightings.
Young Grand Canyon Rattlesnake
A young Grand Canyon Rattlesnake I found near its namesake a little over a decade ago. As this snake matures, the clean pattern of its head and body will fade and degrade to a series of dark splotches and smudges against a simple background.
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake At Rest
We saw this Western Diamondback Rattlesnake resting high on a ledge, just below a crevice where at least one other was resting.
Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake at Night
Arizona Ridgnosed Rattlesnakes are common in a few mountain ranges in southeastern Arizona, but not found in the desert environments where most people live. They are usually seen by hikers and wildlife observers in the daytime, but often found moving at night as well.
Banded Sandsnake
A Banded Sandsnake from my own backyard. These are tiny, even as adults. This one is a bit shorter than a pencil, and likely won’t get any bigger. They eat invertebrates, don’t bite, and are completely harmless to people and pets. They’re also very often mistaken for Western Groundsnakes, which look superficially similar.
