This Rattlesnake Found Exactly What It Wanted

This Rattlesnake Found ExaHorse properties are a common place for rattlesnake calls. They are usually located near open desert, livestock feed attracts rodents, and there are often plenty of holes and covered areas for rattlesnakes to use. This rattlesnake was found on the property shortly after eating a rodent. It’s a simple example of why rattlesnakes are regularly found around horse properties: food, shelter, and easy access to nearby habitat.

Speck-Tacular Snake Removal

This guy was hanging around right outside of several hotel room doors and making a real speck-tacle of himself. He was parked outside a deep cave I su-specked has been used by other snakes before as it went deep inside the rock. It was at an awkward angle with a structural pillar in the way and it was able to slip away into the cave on my first attempt. Went back about an hour later and was able to get him secured in the bucket. Walked him on the other side of the ridge and was able to find him a speck-tacular north facing cave just above a wash. – CJ

A Bunny Sounds the Alarm on a Mojave Rattlesnake

A homeowner in Dewey looked out her garage window and noticed a small rabbit hopping around frantically. After watching for a moment, she realized what had the bunny so worked up: a Mojave Rattlesnake was nearby.

Dane responded and safely relocated the snake from the property. Sometimes it’s the behavior of other animals that gives away a rattlesnake’s presence before anyone ever notices the snake itself.

A Sonoran Gophersnake Comes With the House

Some potential buyers were walking through a home for sale in Glendale when they discovered a Sonoran Gophersnake inside the water heater closet.

By the time Marissa arrived, the snake had disappeared. A small hole in the wall appeared to connect the water heater closet to another closet accessible from outside. Marissa opened that closet and found the Sonoran Gophersnake hiding inside.

Both spaces showed evidence of rodent activity, which helped explain exactly what it was doing there. The homeowner actually wanted the snake to remain on the property for rodent control, just not inside the house.

Marissa moved it beneath a shipping container in the backyard. With a large yard full of citrus trees, sheds, and plenty of rodent activity, there was no shortage of more appropriate places for a Sonoran Gophersnake to hunt.

A Baby Mojave Rattlesnake in a Growing Mesa Neighborhood

A Mesa homeowner was taking the trash cans out when he spotted this baby Mojave Rattlesnake coiled underneath one in the backyard.

There wasn’t much about the yard itself that appeared particularly attractive to a rattlesnake. The bigger story is what surrounds it. This is a relatively new community surrounded by desert, with additional development continuing throughout the area.

As desert is converted into neighborhoods, young snakes dispersing across the landscape can occasionally find themselves navigating brand-new yards, walls, roads, and homes that weren’t there before.

Marissa safely relocated this little Mojave Rattlesnake.

Baby Mojave Rattlesnake at a Mesa Chemical Plant

This baby Mojave Rattlesnake was found all alone at a chemical plant in Mesa, surrounded by busy concrete surfaces that weren’t exactly the best place to start life.

Fortunately, the landscape surrounding the facility was a different story. Flat, sandy creosote scrub provided excellent habitat for a young Mojave Rattlesnake, with plenty of natural places to find shelter and begin life on its own.

Jason relocated the little rattlesnake away from the active areas of the plant and introduced it into a deep rodent burrow within suitable habitat, giving it a much better place to disappear underground and get started.

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake Under an AC Unit

A worker walking past this AC unit suddenly heard a rattle coming from underneath it. There was a large rodent hole beneath the concrete pad, and when Marissa looked inside, she could see a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake tucked into the space.

Getting it out was another matter. Marissa used a hose to slowly add water to the burrow, eventually convincing the rattlesnake to leave its hiding place where it could be safely captured.

This side of the South Phoenix building backs directly up to South Mountain Preserve, and the rodent burrow beneath the AC pad provided exactly the kind of protected underground space a rattlesnake might take advantage of.

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake Found After a Very Large Meal

This Western Diamondback Rattlesnake had clearly just finished a very large meal when it was found outside an office building in North Phoenix. Security personnel told Jason that rabbits are common around the property, so there was no shortage of potential prey in the area.

The building sits adjacent to a desert preserve, putting rattlesnakes and other wildlife right alongside a busy developed area. With such a large meal still being digested, this was also a snake that needed to be handled particularly carefully.

Jason safely relocated the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake into a packrat nest in a nearby wash, where it could disappear underground and digest its meal in peace.