This stunning Mojave Rattlesnake turned up in a San Tan Valley neighborhood with very little native habitat remaining around it. Based on the location, Austin was expecting to arrive and find a Sonoran Gophersnake or something else that had been mistaken for a rattlesnake. Instead, it was very much a Mojave.
With so little desert left immediately around the neighborhood, making its presence known may have worked out pretty well for this snake. Austin was able to relocate it to undeveloped State Trust land south of the neighborhood, where there was considerably more suitable habitat.
After searching for a good release spot, he found a large rodent burrow at the base of a creosote bush and released the snake directly into it.
Creosote bush, rodent burrow, Mojave Rattlesnake. The Mojave special.
