Big 'Un, and flooding, minor

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Patrick Moore

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May 17, 2019, 7:08:33 PM5/17/19
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I photographically cut the head off this big rattler -- I assume it's a rattler; I know nothing about snakes. I pulled off Corrales road onto the adjacent ditch road and slammed on the brakes, as this bigfella was slowly crossing in front of me. I courteously insisted he go first.

4' long.

With exceptionally generous rain -- for a city that gets an east-to-west average of 9"/year -- the river was running at 2X its normal flow -- this was 2 weeks ago; maybe more now; and this is before the snowmelt runoff. Flooding in the lowlying areas adjacent to the river as I road a nice 23 mile out 'n' back along the Corrales acequia roads.

Patrick Moore, in balmy but windy ABQ, NM

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Patrick Moore
Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique

4 FOOTER.JPG
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Eric Norris

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May 17, 2019, 7:22:44 PM5/17/19
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Patrick:

Not an expert, but I’ve seen rattlers, and I don’t think that is one. Rattlers are fatter and have a more distinctive pattern in heir backs. Their heads are quite wide and flat. And one that long would have had rattles. 

Any snake experts out there?

–Eric N

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Patrick Moore

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May 17, 2019, 7:28:30 PM5/17/19
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It did occur to me after I posted that i couldn't see anything that looked like rattles -- not that I'd know rattles to recognize them.

But this thing was in real life a lot fatter than it appears in the photo, and the head looked triangular.

Herpetologists ...?

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sameness

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May 17, 2019, 7:33:26 PM5/17/19
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Not an expert, but I used to catch snakes (including rattlers) when I was a kid. That there looks like your garden variety gopher snake. They often get the business end of the shovel owing to the confusion. They are harmless to man but helpful with rodent population control.

Jeff Hagedorn
Los Angeles, CA USA

Jim M.

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May 17, 2019, 7:36:25 PM5/17/19
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Rattles are pretty obvious on a snake that big.
 Image result for rattlesnake rattle

I'm gonna guess a rat snake, which has a triangular head but is not a viper: 
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jinxed

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May 17, 2019, 7:38:02 PM5/17/19
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Well, I don't have the expert feather in my cap either, but I dont think that ones a rattler either. ONLY because we have tons of them out here in Colorado, and I see them constantly. Eric is spot on, they are noticeably fatter given their length. That said, we do get some big ones like that too and they love to sun themselves on the hot trails and paths. FREAK me out every single time. 

Deacon Patrick

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May 17, 2019, 7:38:47 PM5/17/19
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Without the head or the tail in the photo, hard to know for sure, but I agree the pattern is less angular than a rattler, and a rattler likely would have ... rattled.

With abandon,
Patrick

John M

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May 17, 2019, 7:51:58 PM5/17/19
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Patrick,

My best guess is a Sonoran gopher snake.  They can mimic the tail rattling of rattlesnakes but are non-venomous.


Surprised the Rio Grande is that high!


john (down here in Silver City)

Patrick Moore

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May 17, 2019, 7:53:39 PM5/17/19
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I didn't see any rattles, so perhaps rat snake as you say. Heck, I've not have been as retiring hand I known that. But long and fat!

For the next couple of miles I started at each fallen branch in the road.

This reminds me (onlookers rushing for cover) of finding a spitting cobra in our woodpile and calling the snake park to come and catch it -- young Brit on crutches with graspy stick.

On another occasion, evening, the dogs were frantic and we went outside to see a fat, green pit viper (?) crawling down the driveway. The askari bludgeoned it to death with his knobkerrie and my brother, 11 or 12 at the time, stuffed it, poorly because it started to stink.

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Ray Varella

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May 18, 2019, 7:06:17 PM5/18/19
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That looks like a gopher snake to me.

Rattlesnakes are fatter for a given length. They inject venom and don’t need the extra length to coil around their prey.

The pattern is different from any rattlers in your area.

Rattlesnakes have large diamond shaped heads with visible open pits (extra holes located on the head).

A gopher snake will have a smaller more slender head than a rattler.

Rattles can easily be broken off so don’t go by that alone.

Most of all, if bitten, do not attempt to suck out the venom or apply a tourniquet.

Ray

Jon Dukeman,central Colorado

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May 19, 2019, 6:23:19 PM5/19/19
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It's a bull snake. They come in different color patterns and can imitate a rattlers.
They say if you have bull snakes you won't have rattles. See them all the time in Colorado
Jon

Patrick Moore

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May 20, 2019, 5:50:36 PM5/20/19
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I googled bull snake and yes, it does seem to be much like what I saw. Please forgive my inept or very likely nonexistent photography capability; a good photo would have showed the snake more as it was, not only long at at least 4 feet, but thickish with wide, triangular head -- which is what made me think it was a rattler. Wikipedia just now tells me that the bull snake is a "subspecies" of the gopher snake.

I've run over (on a bike) or almost run over quite a few snakes during the warm weather months, but this one was far longer and far fatter than the others.

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Scott Calhoun

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May 21, 2019, 11:31:22 AM5/21/19
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95 percent sure that is a gopher snake and not a rattler. I had one as a pet as a boy. Also, I see several rattler species here frequently (and gopher snakes) and this doesn't look like a rattler. See image here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/42389547@N00/3081243186

Scott Calhoun
Tucson, AZ
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