Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnakes (Crotalus pyrrhus) are commonly seen by hikers in the Phoenix area at popular parks, even those entirely within the city. They have a relatively extreme level of camouflage for a rattlesnake, and many people are surprised to learn just how many rattlesnakes they walk by even at the most heavily-hiked parks in the city. This is one of several hundred that inhabit one of these parks, found on a hillside below a trail.
A Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake (Crotalus pyrrhus) in ambush along a ledge in central Arizona. While most of the boulder field where it was found is made of rock similar to how this snake looks … this particular large boulder made of light colored granite helped make this one easy to spot. We got some photos from a distance and left it there to hopefully succeed in getting that chuckwalla or ground squirrel it’s looking for.
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.
Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnakes (Crotalus pyrrhus) are some of the most cryptic snakes in the country. This white one isn’t an albino, but is showing off its natural color against the white granite in the environment where it lives.
A bright orange and pink Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake we found in Yavapai County, Arizona several years ago, photographed in the last light of the day. These snakes look just like the rock they’re found near, so the iron-rich boulders where this one is from make for a very pretty animal.
A Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake from the Phoenix area. This species of snake has a huge gamut of colors and patterns possible throughout its range. Even within relatively nearby locales, it can be extreme. Just about ten miles from where this snake lives, they are red or orange.
A Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake from the Phoenix area. In some locations, they can be a pretty brick red like this one. These are the second most commonly encountered rattlesnake by hikers in the central Phoenix parks.
One of several Indian Vinesnakes spotted out after heavy rain in the Western Ghats a few years back.
An orange Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake making good on its name. While its bands are still visible, the chaotic distribution of colors can make this animal very difficult to see in context. This one lives near quite a few people with hundreds hiking right past it every weekend, but bites nobody.
Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake
(Crotalus pyrrhus)https://rattlesnakesolutions.com/SpeckledRattlesnake
An Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake in southeastern Arizona. These small rattlesnakes are common where they are found, but even ranchers born and raised in the area usually have no idea it exists. That’s thanks, in part, to its nearly perfect camouflage, making it about invisible in oak leaf litter and bunchgrass.
