Ran into this Western Diamondback while hiking this weekend....

Screwdriver

Screwdriver

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Feb 27, 2010
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Spent three days camping out at the Salton Sea and during a hike I ran into this Western Diamondback on the trail. Scary part is I was chatting with my wife and the snake let me know he saw me first and started rattling. We stayed about 20 feet away and it took him about five minutes to calm down before he moved off. He looked to be a little over four feet and according to his rattle he was about 9 years old.

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Great pic. I grew up going to Salton Sea most weekends and got pretty used to seeing them around. Even though the Lake has gotten pretty nasty, I still love that area.
 
Great picture of a beautiful snake. As an aside, the rattle on a rattlesnake is not an indication of age. A rattlesnake gains a new button every time it sheds. In an abundant year with lots of rain a rattlesnake will have more food available to eat. It will shed more and develop a longer rattle. Environment can play a factor in how short a rattle is by wear. The rattles degrade with time and break off. It is possible for a two year old rattle snake to have a longer rattle than say a nine year old snake; the two year old would have eaten more and be found in an area "softer" on the rattle.
 
Awsome pic ! & 762shooter is correct, you can't really go by the rattles to tell how old the snake is.
 
Beautiful snake. I have seen only a couple westerns, I mostly see southern pacifics. His coloring is awesome.
 
Yeah, that' a great photo of a beautiful rattler...one of my favorite snakes! I took a sponge bath out in the remote area of Fort Irwin, CA during a long exercise rotation with one coiled up about 8 feet from me. He rattled and didn't move and that was "my" spot so I wasn't moving...he settled down and I stripped down. If you give them space and remain calm, they're not aggressive...

ROCK6
 
Now that is a smoken pic for sure, congrats for not getting to close and getting a good pic!!!
 
Wow, what great coloration! Love the black and white warning stripes. Good job on not pissing off the snake and getting such a sweet photo.
 
nice find and shot. Actually your snake is a Red Diamond Rattlesnake (Crotalus ruber) a cooler looking cousin of the Western.
 
Thanks for sharing wonderful picture.
Very sharp image with exact focus on the snake.

Haven't seen a snake this spring so far.
 
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