Snake Safety from Rattlesnake Solutions

03/06/2025

The March edition of our newsletter, News From The Pit, is now available on our website. This month's newsletter discusses rattlesnake behavior during rattlesnake season and also provides safety tips.https://azpoison.com/sites/default/files/march_2025_news_from_the_pit.pdf

02/06/2024

In 2020, an email came into our survey requests from our study area in the Phoenix Mountains. A hiker had seen a rattlesnake in ambush on the trail, on multiple days. I got information and planned on heading up there to see if this was one of our tagged snakes, and if not, make that happen. I figured that based on the description and the snake's staying put over several days, that this was one of the many unauthorized spider trails that lead all around the mountain and not frequented by human feet, and that there was plenty of time to make it up there.

3 days later: up on the mountain, here's what I saw: a Speckled Rattlesnake coiled fully in the open, a few feet from where it was described earlier in the week. As I set up a working area and took out equipment needed to process the snake, a couple of hikers approached. I told them about it and they routed appropriately. Then another group, which did the same, followed soon after by a couple of guys on bikes and a woman and her (off-leash) dog. This was all within the span of about 2 minutes, and the reality of these snakes was revealed then.

This snake had been not noticed, and likely stepped right over, possibly a hundred times in the past week. The snake didn't reveal its position, and didn't need to, since its exceptional camouflage was doing its work. This is normal, and happens across all desert parks throughout the year. This is what rattlesnake encounters usually look like: a one-sided observation by an animal who remains hidden as we walk right on by.

We often get comments on crypic rattlesnake photos like "I would have been bitten"! or "I would have died for sure!", but that's the least likely situation, regardless of if the snake was seen. The most likely scenario, in the event that a rattlesnake isn't seen and is on a path we're on, is that we'll just keep on moving, and finely-tuned crypsis evolved over millennia will keep it from being discovered.

And of course, in the event that this fails, they have their famous warning system. Even then, the action is almost always to escape, appear dangerous, and get time and space to evade the threat.

Yes, bites do happen and if someone were to step directly on this snake that's a possibility. But the numbers of these instances are low, even in this area where multiple species of rattlesnakes and thousands of weekly visitors share space, the overwhelming fear that these animals occupy in the minds of most is hard to justify.

The snake was tagged and measured, then released under a boulder just left of the photo.

02/02/2024

Do you have a pile of wood, bricks, landscaping debris, building materials on your property? If you live on the edge of the desert, keep in mind that you are inviting the critters to stay.

01/24/2024

The RS crew is back from the Amazon, ready to get back to it! Here we are with the largest viper in the world, a South American Bushmaster, found on this trip.

Video coming soonish to https://www.youtube.com/c/rattlesnakesolutions

12/30/2023

A rattlesnake in a house! It happens, though infrequently. In almost every situation, this is due to a door propped open on a nice day. To a rattlesnake, an air-conditioned cave is a nice thing to check out. To our friends moving to the state from cool climates and excited about our "winter", here's your gentle reminder to keep doors closed.

12/29/2023

A Western Diamondback Rattlesnake fround in a break room of a busy office building in Tucson! Nikolaus was called out to get this little one to a better spot.

12/29/2023

A rattlesnake fence customer called about this western diamondback poking around their back fence, trying to get in. The fence did its job though, because CJ found it cruising another neighbor’s fence line a couple houses down.

12/26/2023

Marissa saves a baby Gophersnake that was caught in a pool filter. Was she wearing acid-washed jeans? We don't know. Probably not.

12/21/2023

A Western Diamondback Rattlesnake found under a cabinet in the garage. These locations are common over-winter spots for rattlesnakes. Derek relocated this one safely to a suitable replacement den.

12/20/2023

Yes, we still get rattlesnake removal calls in December, including Christmas day. If your visitors have snake anxiety about their upcoming visit, here's what you can do ... or not do, depending on how that visit goes ;)

It’s finally cooling off out there and rattlesnakes have mostly ended their surface activity for the year. They’ve gone to their Winter dens to wait out the cooler temperatures – but those dens can often be places close to (or in, under, or next to) home. If you live in a place where rattlesna...

12/14/2023

Dogs have no natural history with rattlesnakes and don’t know to avoid them. As a result, dogs are often bitten by them ... but there's a fix. Rattlesnake aversion training teaches dogs to avoid rattlesnakes using simple, safe, and effective correction techniques. Marissa visits Rattlesnake Ready in Cave Creek, Arizona, to get her dog trained. Meanwhile, Nick and Jeff run a couple of snake removal calls nearby.

Rattlesnake Solutions and Rattlesnake Ready are entirely different entities :) We strongly believe in what they do, and our mission is to help keep all people, pets, and animals safe; we see this as an essential aspect. Learn more at https://rattlesnakeready.com

Dogs have no natural history with rattlesnakes and don’t know to avoid them. As a result, dogs are often bitten by them ... but there's a fix. Rattlesnake av...