In the southeastern corner of Arizona, kingsnakes look different than the black and white banded pets many people are familiar with. This Desert Kingsnake, as an example, of a more speckled, chain-link pattern and somewhat more colorful base color. This is, with much variation, similar to how they’ll look throughout the Chihuahuan desert, and much of the subtropical Sonoran.
Blacktailed Rattlesnake showing off the “desert phase” phenotype, typical of lower, hot desert regions where this snake is common in rocky hills and mountains. This chaotic pattern can range from a yellow-green to silver, at times with the pattern degrading to the point of a unicolor appearance. This one is typical for mountains west of Phoenix.
This tan Blacktailed Rattlesnake was spotted on a night hike in the Harquahala mountains of western Arizona. In the low desert, they look quite different than the typical yellow and black Blacktails we often post photos of. This is a very adaptable species, thriving in mountainous habitat from sea level to high mountains, in hot, dry deserts to relatively cool pine forest and all in between.
