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I live near Sedona, AZ Cottonwood 30minuts away from Sedona to be more exact but not everyone knows of Cottonwood anyway. I got off work last night at 11pm go to pull out of the drive way and there it was about 2-3 feet long with his little rattle sticking up in the air. I did not want to run it over I just wanted it to move along, but the snake was more interested in hanging out in the parking lot so I backed in to the parking lot. Went back in to work let them know that there was a rattlesnake in the parking lot. Called my supervisor and asked if there was any protocol on this situation. She said no just to run it over (I do not believe in killing rattlesnakes for no reason) Told her that I could not do that. She suggested that I call 911 well being the middle of the night they could not help. The humane trapper they suggested dose not handle rattlesnakes and told me to spray it with either a water hose or a squirt bottle.(did not want to piss the snake off) thought it would be better to just leave him alone and hope that he would move out of the way. Took the snake 1 hr to move out of the way to a place that he would not get run over. Rattle was quite happy to still hang out in the parking lot

I am going to do the best to describe the rattler. 2-3 feet long (still a young one), pinkish color with the diamonds and black rings around the tail. Makes me think that he is a Mojave Rattlesnake but I am not sure of that. I know my reptiles a little but when it comes to the different species I am not good at. I would like more information in this.

My other thing is that I work at a 24hr inpatient women’s facility with the Guidance Clinic. I am concerned for the women’s safety when they go out on their walks and when they go out late at night to smoke. I want to educate them about rattlesnakes.

I also would like to know if there is any kind of training in how to handle venoms reptiles so next time I could remove the snake to a better place with less people around.

Hey thanks for not killing the snake, and I'm glad you chosen to educate rather than eradicate. I used to live in Phoenix and was always told the best thing to do when you see a rattle snake is leave it be. I'm not an expert though and I know one of these other people will have better advice for you. I can tell you, being how you don't handle venomous reptiles, Don't handle these either. Good luck with ya rattler issue.

that your snake is either a Western Diamondback (Crotalus atrox) or a Mojave rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus)...Mojaves tend to be a bit "greener" than atroxes, but there's alot of variation in terms of color with both of these snakes. The "black and white banded" tail tells me that your snake is one of these two types...

Either way, thanks for not killin' him...they are valuable predators in our desert ecosystem, as they keep rodent populations in check. I've attached a picture of an atrox I found a couple of weeks ago...perhaps you can use that for reference in identifying your new "friend". Atrox generally have a more "mottled" appearance to them, while scutulatus tend to be "cleaner"....

This is a Mojave (Crotalus scutulatus) Note the tail bands on this one, very narrow black with much wider white bands.

This one is a Western Diamondback (Crotalus atrox) Note the tail bands, where the white and black are almost the same width and the white is usually much brighter on a Western.

*photos are from the Arizona Herpetological Assn website (www.azreptiles.com) from their Snake Identification pages. I have pics of my own Westerns and Mojaves from the past somewhere, just a matter of digging them up. lol

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Anja Buffalo
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