First Rattlesnake of the Year

[GQ.]

I took one of my daughters out for a hike a couple weekends ago and we found this nice little Southern Pacific Rattlesnake on January 9th. I tried to find a rattlesnake on January 1st, but I took my chances and headed to an area where I have found Crotalus ruber early in the year. Unfortunately that didn't pan out so I still don't have my New Years rattlesnake.

I didn't notice any open tarantula burrows in the area we visited. We did spot the usual trapdoor spider burrows and a few scorpion burrows. We saw plenty of Jerusalem crickets, millipedes, a few of those long skinny orange pedes, and a lot of lizards. I was hoping to hit the hills again this week, but the rains are here right now. Maybe this weekend...

Southern Pacific Rattlesnake - Crotalus oreganus helleri

 

[Noexcuse4you]

Nice, Gil! This is going to be an awesome spring with all the rain we're having!

 

[Shrike]

Nice find! Must be great living in CA. I've got some time to kill before I can do any quality herping.

 

[Teal]

Great find! I'm jealous.. I haven't been able to find anything around here yet

 

[UrbanJungles]

You guys are making me itch for spring, alas we are months away from thawing.

Great find, congrats.

 

[GQ.]

Thanks everyone. It is definitely nice to be able to find herps every month of the year. The heavy rains we are experiencing now are going to make for a great spring as Kyle mentioned. Cal Kings and rattlesnakes should be out in force. I forgot to mention I saw plenty of rodents which will help out too. I can hardly wait to hit the field again. I'll try to post more field photos this year.

Later,
G

 

[sharpfang]

Look forward to more Pics! From SD

Hey Teal - You know that there are Albino Rattlers out here right!

You'll have better luck than me in spring for Mt. Cal-Kings.......But there are some interesting creatures in Annadel and Armstrong to observe.

I have found 3 different Salamanders so far in January! No Giant-Pacific yet though 7" - 12" specimins have been Reported nearby.
View attachment 82320
Here is a slender salamander.....Sorry No macros yet.......Very "Ribbed" texture.......for pleasure I guess......quite noticable though......Like their sometimes Gold-flecked appearence.....Gotta see in person, or with Macro-Lenses! Thank Goodness for Rain....... Purple Rain - Purple rain

 

[GQ.]

Hey Sharpfang,

It was captive bred, but the exact pairings couldn't be verified. It certainly has the attitude of a Biak. It is the only chondro I have that regularly tries to remove my face. It also has a very high percentage of bright yellow now that it is an adult.

 

[sharpfang]

Beautiful animal

I just lost my 1st c.b. specimin.........due to Temps......My fault

I'll try again in the Spring.....Mine was Wamena X Aru, and docile at 6 months old! Sounds like yours is indeed a typical Biak mix.....Even Prettier now probably. Is that snake an NRA member ? - LOL

 

[Texas Blonde]

Fantastic Gil! Im jealous, I cant wait to get back out again. I think I might try to head south for my birthday next month.

 

[GQ.]

I had this week off for vacation and had big plans for some hiking and critter seeing. This week happened to be plenty rainy so I decided to dig through some old photos and finally put up another post. Here are a few herps and a tarantula from the last couple of years.

Huge alligator lizard

Close up of same alligator lizard

Crotalus oreganus helleri - Out cruising around

Crotalus oreganus helleri - A buddy called me over to their neighborhood after their kids found this nice rattler
laying out in the street. Their dog spotted the snake first. It had its nose actually touching the rattlesnake by the time the kids realized it was sniffing a rattlesnake. This snake had some great color with some nice peach colored accents.

Tarantula from a couple years ago

Crotalus oreganus helleri - Found under a fallen fence

Crotalus ruber - Another January rattler

Sceloporus with two tails - This guy was hanging out in the back yard this year

Later,
G

 

[Jorpion]

Fantastic pics!!! I just ran into a rattler here in the Thousand Oaks area (Ventura County). Didn't have my camera

 

[Wadew]

Nice Pics!

Great to see your pictures Gil!


Cheers Wade

 

[galeogirl]

So envious! The only wild rattler I've seen was down near Sunriver in Eastern Oregon. Seeing lots of garters this year, though, more than I've seen in years previous.

 

[GQ.]

Thanks everyone. I haven't been out as much as usual, but I steal sneak out for a walk if I have an hour or so to burn. I may add a few more photos this weekend if the rain lays off for a bit.

Later,
G

 

[J.huff23]

That two tailed lizard is awesome!

 

[Texas Blonde]

Thanks for sharing Gil! One of these days I'll get out and find one!

 

[GartenSpinnen]

Beautiful Crotalus spp.! Amazing pictures, as always...

 

[Sunset]

i week about a week ago and then a week before that and found a couple rattle snakes. found the biggest rattler snake in the world two weeks ago its a red damon back or something i hear those were the biggest. the one i saw was a good five feet.