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View Full Version : A Glossy Snake?

marionsclan
07-10-11, 02:15 PM
My friend went on a hike in Arizona and came across this snake. He believes it to be a Glossy Snake, but when I saw pics of one it didn't look like it. Can anyone tell me for sure what it could be?
13634
KD35WIN.AS.ONE
07-10-11, 02:22 PM
Crotalus mitchellii
marionsclan
07-10-11, 02:39 PM
A pitviper? Are you sure?????
KD35WIN.AS.ONE
07-10-11, 02:45 PM
Hard to be 100% sure about the individual species within the Genus of Crotalus. The Crotalus mitchellii has such a wide variety of colors it could easily be one. Take a look:


http://i54.tinypic.com/2nsvtq9.jpg
KD35WIN.AS.ONE
07-10-11, 02:46 PM
This is a younger one (in the one i posted) the black will begin to outline the semi-circles on his back as he ages, like the one you posted. No Arizona colubrid has girth like that...
marionsclan
07-10-11, 02:54 PM
Yeah, I can see the similar pattern too. Wow, so what he thought was a Glossy snake is actually a venomous one. Wow.. talk about close call. Thank you for the information.
KD35WIN.AS.ONE
07-10-11, 03:06 PM
Yea that is defiantly a Crotalus. I wouldn't want to take a bite from this one, because of there venom output... Great find for him/her though, id love to see one exhibited in its natural habitat. And no problem if it had been a Colubrid, i wouldn't have been able to help you.
stephanbakir
07-10-11, 04:26 PM
Great find!
marionsclan
07-10-11, 08:09 PM
Well, turns out my friend said it didn't have a rattle, but when I compared his pic with those of Glossy snakes, they don't come close.
KD35WIN.AS.ONE
07-11-11, 03:19 AM
It is not uncommon for a rattlesnake to be missing its rattle do to a number of reasons, just like its not uncommon for a human to be missing a finger...