A Scottsdale homeowner opened her garage door and was startled to see a large snake between the family vehicles. Frightened, she went back inside and told her husband. When he came out, he saw the snake disappear behind a tire and thought it might have climbed into the wheel well, so they backed both vehicles out of the garage and even hosed them down while searching for it. After waiting for the fire department, they were told there was a “bullsnake” by the front door, but the homeowners were left wondering if they actually had two snakes: a rattlesnake still hiding in the garage and another snake outside.
When Marissa arrived, she safely captured the Sonoran Gophersnake resting by the front door, then thoroughly searched the garage but found no second snake. Based on the sequence of events, it appears the same gophersnake likely slipped out of the garage during all the commotion and found refuge on the shaded front porch. While the property has nearby patches of desert, rattlesnakes are uncommon this far into the neighborhood, making a single wandering gophersnake the most likely explanation.
