# Another snake ID request **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 27, 2011, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-snake-id-request/583407 "2011-05-27T06:15:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-snake-id-request/583407/1 "2011-05-27T06:15:59Z")
Stumbled across [this freshly-fed guy](http://www.ericlevonian.com/SNAKE!.htm) in the park behind my house today (warning: not dial-up friendly). Uh…baby rattler, right? I think I got a little closer than prudence would dictate, but he was so lethargic I thought he was dead. This is Southern California, Ventura County. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-snake-id-request/583407/2 "2011-05-27T06:25:55Z")
[Western diamondback](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotalus_atrox) rattlesnake? ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-snake-id-request/583407/3 "2011-05-27T06:37:58Z")
:eek: EEK! Sure looks like it. Glad I didn’t poke him with a stick or anything. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-snake-id-request/583407/4 "2011-05-27T16:10:35Z")
Most definitely a rattlesnake. But doesn’t look to be any “baby” - looks pretty mature (especially to have munched whatever was still in the belly). Tips to look for: - Rattle on end of tail (and yes, that is what you’re seeing in your pictures). But they can lose their rattle, so not always the best indication. And, as it appears in your case, they may not actually rattle the rattle. - Triangular shaped head (as opposed to to more “thumb shaped” relative to the neck/body). Found one in my backyard a couple months ago (also digesting). I think all the extra rain we’ve received this year has really boosted the whole foodchain. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-snake-id-request/583407/5 "2011-05-27T16:18:49Z")
[Southern Pacific Rattlesnake](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Pacific_Rattlesnake). No diamondbacks in Ventura County, far as I know. Actually, no other species of rattlesnakes in that area, period. You have to get farther inland or south before you start picking up other species, for the most part in the southeastern part of the state. You can find diamondbacks in San Bernadino, Imperial or Riverside counties. Here’s a handy guide for the state of CA, with [range maps](http://www.californiaherps.com/identification/snakesid/rattlesnakes.html). ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-snake-id-request/583407/6 "2011-05-27T17:06:13Z")
> [@wiki](#): > > Adults are 24-55 inches (61-139 cm) in length. **cormac** ’s right—it ain’t no baby. It was about 20” long. Very skinny though—if he didn’t have the bolus inside he would have been narrower than a felt-tip marker. Now I’m really glad I didn’t get any closer. When I first saw him I squatted down to get a better look, but when I saw the translucent thing on the tail I backed off. I shot the rattle from behind with the zoom lens. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-snake-id-request/583407/7 "2011-05-27T17:23:01Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > **cormac** ’s right—it ain’t no baby. It was about 20” long. Very skinny though—if he didn’t have the bolus inside he would have been narrower than a felt-tip marker. Now I’m really glad I didn’t get any closer. When I first saw him I squatted down to get a better look, but when I saw the translucent thing on the tail I backed off. I shot the rattle from behind with the zoom lens. Shooting from a distance was probably a good choice; rattlers can strike surprisingly far. Since this one was digesting, you were probably pretty safe, but no sense taking chances. Each bead on a rattler’s rattles is formed when it sheds its skin yearly, so yours is a minimum of 3 years old. Babies have no rattles and are poisonous, so sometimes people do stupid things with them. The rattle-bead-counting only establishes a minimum, because the beads can break off, but since the snake is so small and its rattles terminate in a pointy bead, it’s probably a 3-year-old. ETA: I should check my facts before posting, not after; snakes can shed their skins more than once a year in warm climates, which yours is. Your snake may be younger than three years. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-snake-id-request/583407/8 "2011-05-27T17:26:59Z")
I thought they could shed their skin more often than once a year. ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-snake-id-request/583407/9 "2011-05-27T17:34:45Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > [Southern Pacific Rattlesnake](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Pacific_Rattlesnake). No diamondbacks in Ventura County, far as I know. Actually, no other species of rattlesnakes in that area, period. You have to get farther inland or south before you start picking up other species, for the most part in the southeastern part of the state. You can find diamondbacks in San Bernadino, Imperial or Riverside counties. Probably correct. Could also be a [Mojave Rattler](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotalus_scutulatus) though. Note the black-and-white rings at tail. SS ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-snake-id-request/583407/10 "2011-05-27T17:36:14Z")
Oh, he’s so pretty! ---
**Author:** ![Stormcrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/0ea827/32.png) [@Stormcrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stormcrow)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-snake-id-request/583407/11 "2011-05-27T17:42:22Z")
You should have offered him an after-dinner mint. They’re wafer-thin! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-snake-id-request/583407/12 "2011-05-27T17:49:05Z")
Behind your house? Aren’t they more typically seen on planes? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-snake-id-request/583407/13 "2011-05-27T18:15:56Z")
> [@SeldomSeen](#): > > Probably correct. Could also be a [Mojave Rattler](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotalus_scutulatus) though. Note the black-and-white rings at tail. > SS Yeah, but many rattlers have tail rings, including the SoPac. But more specifically note this from the wiki description: _In adults, the base of the tail and the first segment of the rattle are brown._ Looking at the close-ups of **Washoe** ’s very nice tail & rattle pictures shows this clearly. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-snake-id-request/583407/14 "2011-05-27T18:25:34Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Behind your house? Aren’t they more typically seen on planes? Did you happen to catch the title of the .html document? 😃