
On Saturday, May 12, the Wildlife Center held an open house. I spent the day hanging with CJ Carmen as he demoed snakes for the folks who visited. Here he holds a snappy great plains skink
(Eumeces obsoletus), a common yet not commonly seen lizard in northern New Mexico.

CJ's portable herpto-menangerie.

A striped whipsnake
(Masticophis taeniatus), the less common local cousin to the widespread coachwhip snake.

CJ pulls a prairie rattlesnake
(Crotalus viridis) out of its box.

Visitors get up close to a western diamondback rattlesnake
(Crotalus atrox).

A close up of the western diamondback.