Cellar Coachwhip

10/13/2006 @ 4:14:31 PM MDT
This western coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum) thought s/he had found the perfect place to winter, in someone's cellar office in the Eldorado subdivision near Santa Fe. We released it in the arroyo behind the house.

All Your Snakes are Belong to Us

Somewhere near the middle of this funny Snakes on a Plane spoof video, you'll see my picture of a Lampropeltis pyromelana on a toy plane that I submitted to Defamer last year.

High Altitude Garter

Today I observed a terrestrial garter snake (Thamnophis elegans) at 10,400 feet on the top of Cerro Rubio in the Valles Calderas National Preserve near Los Alamos. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera. I know the temperatures were well below freezing up there last night and are going to get even colder tonight. Also known as wandering garter snakes, this little baby was wandering to an extent where very few snakes dare to go.

Rabbit-Proofed Rattlesnake

09/05/2006 @ 6:03:16 PM MDT
Tom Wyant of the Wildlife Center snake rescue program had me go out to the Santa Fe Animal Shelter to meet with an animal control officer who had a small prairie rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis) she retrieved from some rabbit-proof nylon netting around somebody's garden. They had cut most of the netting away, but there was still some stuck in its mouth and around its head that she wasn't prepared to deal with. You can see where the netting has damaged the snake's skin just to the left of its rattle's shadow. C.J. Carmen, another leader of the snake program, thinks those marks will be gone after a few good sheddings.


09/05/2006 @ 6:04:42 PM MDT
I used a pair of hair scissors and some tweezers to remove the rest of the netting. Tomorrow I'll release the snake in the same general area it was found, but hopefully far enough away from any more rabbit-proof netting.


09/05/2006 @ 6:09:32 PM MDT
"Get me out of here!"

R.I.P. Steve Irwin

04/30/2006 @ 09:58:35 AM MDT
I was into snakes long before the day I first watched the Crocodile Hunter, but I was enchanted and encouraged by Steve Irwin's seemingly crazy antics with reptiles. I learned to tail venomous snakes watching Steve on TV, and my enthusiasm for herpetology was reawakened after watching his show.

I went to work as Steve for Halloween in 1997, wearing the same khaki shorts and shirt with "Irwin" printed across top of one pocket, my African egg-eating snake in the other pocket and my 4-foot Columbian red-tail boa looped around my neck. (The egg-eating snake crapped while it was in that pocket. It ran all the way down the front of the shirt.)

Steve engaged in very risky behavior, and even though he probably knew what he was doing more than just about anyone else in the world, it's not surprising that he died doing what he loved. Today is very sad one in the herpetological world. May Steve find even bigger and more poisonous snakes to play with where he is now.

Dumb Snake Movie, Dumber Prank, Dumbest Response from a Snake Expert

Someone let two live rattlesnakes go inside a movie theater playing Snakes on a Plane in Arizona. That's pretty dumb. But what's dumber is what the spokesperson for the Phoenix Herpetological Society said:

It's dark. They can't see you, you know that well. If it's scared, boom it strikes.

In fact, a rattlesnake can see rather well in the dark, when it's looking at the ankle of a warm-blooded animal. What the spokesman appeared to forget was that rattlesnakes are pit vipers and have heat vision.

Here's more reasons why SOAP is a dumb movie.

Ranch Rattler Roundup

04/30/2006 @ 09:57:34 AM MDT
Snake rescue program manager Tom Wyant invited us to a rattlesnake roundup on a ranch in Moriarty, New Mexico this past spring. We were going to round up as many rattlers as we could at the site of a communal den on the ranch, but we got there a few weeks too late and only found a few, including this fine specimen of a western diamondback (Crotalus atrox) which was spotted by my friend Jeff.


04/30/2006 @ 09:58:35 AM MDT
Getting the hook.


04/30/2006 @ 09:58:55 AM MDT
Into the bag.


04/30/2006 @ 11:06:43 AM MDT
C.J. Carman is the undisputed king (as far as I know) of venomous reptiles, domestic and exotic, in all of New Mexico. Here he admires a great plains rat snake (Elaphe gutatta emoryi) that was found by the young scion of the ranch family.


04/30/2006 @ 02:58:50 PM MDT
Toms holds a western coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum) that I apparently drove right by as we 4-wheeled around the ranch.

Mountain Garter

07/31/2006 @ 10:22:54 AM MDT
This western terrestrial garter snake (Thamnophis elegans) was found at about 9000 ft. on the Rio Santa Barbara trail in the Pecos Wilderness section of the Carson National Forest, near Penasco, NM. I'm very lucky to live so close to such incredible wilderness, but unfortunately, the Pecos Wilderness offers very little in the way of herptofauna, so this little snake was an incredibly lucky find.

We Owe It All To (Or Blame) The Snakes

My friend David Pescovitz sent me a link to this news release which proposes that snakes, or more accurately the avoidance of snakes, are at the root of modern civilization:

Some primate groups less threatened by snakes show fewer signs of evolutionary pressure to evolve better vision. For example, the lemurs of Madagascar do not have any venomous snakes in their environment, and in evolutionary terms "have stayed where they are," Isbell said. In South America, monkeys arrived millions of years before venomous snakes, and show less specialization in their visual system compared with Old World monkeys and apes, which all have good vision, including color.

Having evolved for one purpose, a good eye for color, detail and movement later became useful for other purposes, such as social interactions in groups.

So next time you see a snake, thank it (or curse it) for bringing about just about everything you encounter as a social creature.

Laguna Rattler

07/23/2006 @ 02:41:04 PM PDT
While in Southern California visiting friends and relatives this past weekend, I attended a religious festival in Laguna Canyon in south Orange County. Having lived in the Canyon a few years back, I know it's chock full of rattlesnakes, so I expected to come across one at some point. This young western rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus helleri) was found by a teenaged gal after she moved a small brush pile in an asphalt parking lot. The temperatures in California had been obscene all weekend, hitting 98 degrees at the beach, so all this snake wanted to do was stay out of the sun until it went down. I tried to tail it into a better photo position, but it was hard to reach and not cooperating, as is usually the case with rattlesnakes.

07/23/2006 @ 02:44:22 PM PDT

It's Good To Live Near Arizona

05/29/2004 @ 06:02:29 PM MDT
In May of 2004 we went to Cave Creek Canyon in the Chiricahua Mountains in the Coronado National Forest in southeastern Arizona, one of the "sky islands" in the desert of the American Southwest and an area that supports a diverse array of herptofauna. First up was this pair of canyon tree frogs (Hyla arenicolor).

05/29/2004 @ 06:04:43 PM MDT


05/29/2004 @ 06:27:16 PM MDT
Next, my friend Megan came upon this baby female mottled rock rattlesnake (Crotalus lepidus lepidus.) Its strikingly beautiful markings were stunning against the backdrop of its habitat.

05/29/2004 @ 06:29:08 PM MDT


05/30/2004 @ 11:02:01 AM MDT
The following day we came upon this Yarrow's spiny lizard (Sceloporus jarrovii). We also heard a rock rattlesnake in some rocks on the trail (imagine that!), but we couldn't manage to pull him into daylight.


05/31/2004 @ 11:12:54 AM MDT
On the third day of the trip, my friend Jeff and I hiked further up Cave Creek. As we were exploring a sandstone outcropping next to the creek, we came upon this greenish mottled rock rattlesnake, the hue indicating its sex as male. It was sitting on the rock under a blanket of leaves, buzzing as we looked for it. We had a very difficult time determining exactly where it was as the rattling was bouncing around under the leaves off the irregular rock surfaces. As it turns out, I was standing right next to it wearing river sandals. Much of the time we were looking for it I was within striking range. Fortunately, it didn't strike and I learned to stay out of the leaves while wearing sandals when there are rattlesnakes afoot.


05/31/2004 @ 12:10:41 PM MDT
Another Yarrow's spiny lizard up the creek.


05/31/2004 @ 05:50:48 PM MDT
On the hike out we captured this striped plateau lizard (Sceloporus virgatus). These orange markings indicate this is a mature female in the middle of her breeding season.

05/31/2004 @ 05:52:53 PM MDT


06/01/2004 @ 11:49:58 AM MDT
On our last day in southeast Arizona we visited the Sonoran Desert National Monument outside of Tucson, Arizona. We arrived too late in the day to see anything other than this greater earless lizard (Cophosaurus texanus) taking refuge in the 100 degree-plus desert heat.

Kiss of the Coastal Garter Snake

06/29/2006 @ 06:16:02 AM MDT
My niece gets blessed with a kiss from a California red-sided garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis infernalis) that was recently found living on the bluffs along the Mendocino County coast in Northern California.

07/01/2006 @ 03:40:37 PM MDT

Treasures of the Gila River

05/20/2005 @ 09:28:12 AM MDT
In May 2005 I took my younger brother up the west fork of the Gila River into the Gila Wilderness. Right away we came upon this decent-sized gopher snake (Pituophis melanoleucus).


05/20/2005 @ 09:59:49 AM MDT
Next up was this Gila spotted whiptail (Cnemidophorus flagellicaudus). It looked to be close to 9 inches long including the tail, and it was definitely a female. This species has done away with males altogether and reproduces parthenogenically.


05/20/2005 @ 11:13:00 AM MDT
The river is infested with bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana). Not good news for the native species.


05/20/2005 @ 01:44:59 PM MDT
We were sitting on a rock bar in the middle of the river eating lunch when this monster gopher snake pulled up right next to us.


05/20/2005 @ 03:48:04 PM MDT
Huge bullfrog tadpoles in a side pool off the river.


05/20/2005 @ 06:02:59 PM MDT
You are looking at the culmination of my life as a herper. Ever since I saw a picture in my first field guide when I was 8-years-old, I've wanted to find a mountain kingsnake. This particular beauty is a Sonoran mountain kingsnake (Lampropeltis pyromelana). For me this is the holy grail of North American reptiles. I found the snake just like this, right next to the trail and bright as can be. I was over the moon and practically in tears. They really don't get much more beautiful than this. Definitely the highlight of my herping career.

05/20/2005 @ 06:03:14 PM MDT


05/21/2005 @ 11:51:35 AM MDT
This large crevice spiny lizard (Sceloporus poinsetti) let me get pretty darn close, but not close enough to catch.


05/21/2005 @ 01:09:28 PM MDT
A blackneck garter snake (Thamnophis cyrtopsis). They are associated with water like the terrestrial garter snake.

05/22/2005 @ 10:54:45 AM MDT
Another blackneck garter snake fresh from a feeding.

Tuscan Flat Snake

10/03/2002 @ 3:38:59 PM CEST
I'm very lucky to have successful family members who love me. That's how I got to spend two weeks in Cortona, Tuscany, Italy. It turns out Tuscany has quite a few snakes, minus this western whip snake (Coluber viridiflavus) which I found on the road just after it had been run over.

Skinky Frijoles

09/28/2005 @ 08:20:47 PM MDT
This many-lined skink (Eumeces multivirgatus) was found in Frijoles Canyon in Bandelier National Monument near Los Alamos. This is an example of the stripeless morph, seen more in drier habitats.

An African Monster in NM

09/28/2005 @ 08:20:47 PM MDT
This is Vader. Or was Vader. He passed away of old age a few weeks ago. Kept by C.J. Carman and Johnathan Ferris of the Wildlife Center snake rescue crew, Vader was an African puff adder (Bitis arietans) rescued from a private collection. When Vader passed away, he was a snake that weighed in excess of 70 pounds.

Vader was named such because when you walked into the room he was kept in, the hissing sounds he made sounded just like Darth Vader's breathing noises from the Star Wars movies. His bite could deliver so much venom (through 2 inch-long fangs) that your only chance for survival would require you to amputate whichever part of your body that took the strike. Either that or you had better be somewhere near Phoenix, Arizona, because that's the only place where you can obtain the anti-venin for this monster.

I was more impressed with Vader than any other snake I've ever encountered, and more impressed with C.J., Johnathan and Tom Wyant than any other snake people I've ever met. I'm thrilled each time I get to go herping with them. It's like being a Lakers fan and getting to play with Kobe.

Fishing Garter Snakes

06/04/2006 @ 03:44:36 PM MDT
I have a favorite canyon I visit on the east slope of the southern end of the Sangre de Cristo mountains. There's a creek that runs through this canyon that has a few nice trout-filled pools. You'll see fish of all sizes, from fry to 14" whoppers, all stuck in these pools with little more than a trickle for a water flow.

You'll also find some fishing terrestrial garter snakes (Thamnophis elegans). They have developed a special behavior that lets them get away with it. As they move underwater through these pools in their attempt to ambush a fish, they sway to and fro and move somewhat jerkily, as if they were fallen branches buffeted by the current, one that just happens to not really exist in the pools they fish in. Obviously, the snakes are smarter than the fish in this instance.


06/04/2006 @ 01:14:15 PM MDT


07/02/2005 @ 01:14:15 PM MDT

Caha Meanie

06/05/2004 @ 06:13:26 PM MDT
I found this prairie rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis) while 4-wheeling in the Caha del Rio section of the Santa Fe National Forest on the east side of the Rio Grande. It was very determined to not be picked up, struggling so much that I decided then and there that rattlesnakes don't need to be handled unless absolutely necessary.

Micro Snake

11/23/2005 @ 03:05:37 PM MDT
You can't really tell from this photo, but this baby sharptailed snake (Contia tenuis) was less than 3 inches long when photographed. It was found in a backyard in San Anselmo, California, a few days before Thanksgiving.

My Culpability in the Stupid Snake Movie

09/15/2005 @ 09:13:07 PM MDT
We captured two Sonoran mountain kingsnakes (Lampropeltis pyromelana) on the Labor Day 2005 Gila trip. I gave one to Tom Wyant, head of the Wildlife Center snake rescue program. The other I kept, this small yet very spirited female. Before she escaped (never to be seen again,) I took this picture along with another and submitted them to Defamer.com as artwork for their coverage of the movie Snakes on a Plane. As you may already know or have imagined, it's a horror film where someone releases many snakes on a plane in flight. Mayhem ensues.

As it turns out, New Line Cinema used this very photograph as the basis of their title artwork. Not that it was any great stretch of the imagination for anyone involved:

''The inspiration initially came from the Internet after [fans] did their own art,'' says director David R. Ellis of online designs like Defamer.com's. ''New Line took that and ran with it.''

By the way, New Line; here's my bill (scroll down to the last comment.)

Gila River Blacktails

05/28/2005 @ 04:04:43 PM MDT
An early September trip to the west fork of the Gila River last year turned up 5 blacktail rattlesnakes (Crotalus molossus). I almost stepped on this one while brushing my teeth. It looks like it's just had a real nice meal.


05/28/2005 @ 04:04:43 PM MDT
Another blacktail rattlesnake along the trail.


05/28/2005 @ 04:04:43 PM MDT
This little guy was caught by a boy scout counselor.


05/28/2005 @ 04:04:43 PM MDT
This snake would not stay still for a photo. I don't think it ever rattled or tried to strike. It just wanted to get out of the way.


05/28/2005 @ 04:04:43 PM MDT
My dog Cisco ran right over this snake without even noticing it.