Title: Sonoran Sidewinder Found Curled Up at a San Tan Front Entry

A homeowner in San Tan called after discovering a small rattlesnake coiled in the corner of their home’s entryway. The home is in a well-developed gated community, so it was a pleasant surprise to find that the visitor was actually a young Sonoran Sidewinder. The property sits along the outer edge of the neighborhood, where a wall separates the homes from a large expanse of natural sandy desert habitat, making it easy to see how this little snake found its way into the community. After securing the Sidewinder, Alivia hiked it farther into its estimated home range, away from roads and buildings, and released it into an active ground squirrel burrow beneath creosote and other native desert vegetation.

Mojave Rattlesnake in the Garage

A Mojave Rattlesnake in a garage in San Tan Valley. The homeowners had just parked and were getting out of their car when they noticed the snake nearby. It never moved the entire time and the whole interaction was very calm and uneventful. When Austin arrived, the snake was still exactly where they had first seen it and he was able to secure it without any trouble. The neighborhood is small and surrounded by desert, so he hiked the snake back out into the surrounding habitat and released it into a packrat nest well away from homes.