This late-night Western Diamondback Rattlesnake was found at an RV park in Mesa, where finding appropriate habitat for a release presented a challenge. Very little desert remains around the property, and the small patch that does exist is surrounded by roughly seven-foot fencing.
With few good options nearby, Austin took the rattlesnake farther east to an area where we have released snakes in the past and know there is suitable habitat. There, he found a large rodent burrow complex beneath creosote that offered a much better situation.
These burrow systems can contain extensive networks of tunnels underground, providing rattlesnakes with places to escape extreme surface temperatures, find shelter, and move between protected spaces. For a snake coming out of an increasingly developed part of Mesa, this one had much better options underground.
