Field Herper.com

Field notes and photography by Bryan D. Hughes
Dec
17th
2016

After nearly a decade – a first Trans-Pecos Ratsnake in Eddy County, New Mexico

My parents moved to Carlsbad, New Mexico about 10 years ago, and like any terrible child, I spent most of my visit time out there roaming the surrounding hills looking for rattlesnakes. Near the top of that list of sights to see was the Trans-Pecos ratsnake (or ‘suboc’ as they’re often called in the pet trade, short for Bogertophis subocularis).

I’d seen quite a few in Texas by this point, but I was still very excited. This large suboc was out crawling across a relatively flat portion of the limestone grasslands near Sitting Bull Falls. I got some photos, and left him to go wherever he’s hidden for the last decade.