Slithering to you soon! Just a quick note , it's getting warmer and I've already done my first rattlesnake removal from a garage. I'll have different links and phone numbers soon. They are all good people to work with, remember every piece of our unique Arizona puzzle needs to be understood not feared. If you check the links page you will find the main link  for removal.

    One thing I'm extremely adament about. LEAVE RATTLESNAKES ALONE!! If you are bit go to a hospital immediatly! Only around 5% of snake bite victims will get the full anti-venim treatment, and others will get anti-histamines and pain pills. Don't play the odds! The good news is the majority of rattlesnakes will first freeze, (their #1 defense), and if that doesn't work they'll try to get away, fast. For each rattlesnake you see on the trail there are at least 25  that were hiding under a bush within 6 feet. Rattlesnakes are really pretty smart, they know you're too big to eat and definitely too ugly to breed with, thats why they hide. 85% of bites either have no poison or very little. They need the venom to effectivly knock down their prey. 85% of bites are on young men 15 to 28, showing off to their friends that they can pick up a rattlesnake, big mistake! And usually they've had a few too many beers and are usually also missing a few teeth. The hospitals can spot them right away. During the 2000 new year quite a few were bitten , some around the face and neck. Seems their friends bet them they could'nt kiss their pet rattlesnake happy new year. Do you think they got what they deserved?

    Any way, lets get back to the subject. One of our desert sayings is,"If its pretty don't touch it" that covers snakes and bugs. We have 11 main species and 7 sub species and yes a few of them are different shades of brown. However, one has black and white speckles, another a rusty red and black speckels. Then you have taxi cab yellow with a black diamond pattern, black with a white diamond pattern and some sidewinders have a pink tint when they are fresh shed. Then there are others that are grey or a dirty red, dark green and one with dark verticle stripes. Our most poisonous is the Mojave, usually shades of brown but I've also seen green to a flourecent lime green on one that was freshly shed. Nowhere else is there such a great variation. Look for two main identifying traits, black and white stripes at the end of their tail and a blunt fat tail. Non poisonous snakes are skinny by comparison and ther tail is pointed. For me on any given day out in the desert I'll usually find either a great mineral specimen, a ruin or petroglyph site, or animals and reptiles, sometimes all three. I've never had a bad day in the desert.