Snake ID!

[walterick]

Just came home and found the cat playing with this out back. Any ideas?

[paulnj]

Yeah...

Loose the cat first off, because nature isn't safe from cats ;)

It's a variable sand snake

This snake is found across the southwestern portion of Arizona from roughly Tucson to Wickenburg to Yuma.They eat insects including centipedes ;)

[c.j.]

Just came home and found the cat playing with this out back. Any ideas?

Don't mean to stick a pin in Paul's balloon, but it isn't a sand snake.

It is a (Sonoran) Ground Snake Sonora semiannulata



I don't know about losing the cat, but, control it. We have (had, for quite a few that I've 'popped') a feral cat problem in our area. Coyotes and owls take care of most of them, I help nature out when I can.

said with Rainman voice, "Dad says I'm an excellent shot, excellent"

[paulnj]

http://www.reptilesofaz.com/herp-snakes.html

Your right ;)

I looked at this link to ID it and the variable sandsnake image looked exactly like it. They are wrong though! Had I gone farther, I would have seen the ground snake.

Same diet, slightly wider range .

[c.j.]

http://www.reptilesofaz.com/herp-snakes.html

Your right ;)

I looked at this link to ID it and the variable sandsnake image looked exactly like it. They are wrong though! Had I gone farther, I would have seen the ground snake.

Same diet, slightly wider range .

Snakes out here reveal a lot about id by the head. Note that the head is the same size as neck and body. A sand snake has a flattened protruding snout.

I have these around my place. They really vary in color, but all kind of have 'a look' to them.

Audubon has an excellent book called, simply, "Deserts". I've worn out one and I'm close to the end this one's usable lifespan. I can't recommend it enough for anyone living out west or just interested in the desert.