The previous night we didn’t see much, except for a pissy Sonoran Gophersnake, Pituophis catenifer affinis, or two.

Sonoran Gophersnake

Pituophis in Arizona

Gophersnake

We also found some Sonora Mud Turtles, Kinsternon sonoriense.

Sonora Mud Turtle

Sonora Mud Turtle

Sonora Mud Turtles

We also found a couple of frogs. The invasive American Bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana, and the protected Chiricuahua Leopard Frog, Rana chiricahuensis.

American Bullfrog

Chiricuahua Leopard Frog

The dry and the heat gave us an uneventful first evening and early morning hike, except for this Ring-Necked Snake, Diadophis punctatus. It was the first either of us had ever seen of this snake, despite it being fairly common throughout much of the state.

Ring-Necked Snake

A look at the brilliantly colored underbelly.

Diadophis punctatus

Oh well, still good to see them.

Sonoran Gophersnake

Pituophis catenifer affinis

In the morning, the first thing I found was a biggie for me. It was a Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum), only my second find of this animal.

Gila Monster

Heloderma suspectum

I took a lot of pictures. I’ve only seen 2 in so many trips to the desert, who knows when the next one would be.

Gila Monster in Arizona

Gila Monster

Although they’re venomous, the bite is most likely not going to be fatal to a human unless there’s some other problem going on. Unlike rattlesnakes, their bite is purely defensive. They’re slow moving animals who just want to get away, and will face you and slowly back up to cover if bothered. I tried my best to keep my distance and let this one do what he was doing and get my photos without hassling him. It was on its way somewhere and I was pleased to follow it for awhile as it did what Gila Monsters do.

Also found with the earlier-mentioned coral snake was this big gross desert bug, the Arizona Desert Centipede (Scolopedra heros arizonensis). They’re the largest centipede in the U.S., capable of reaching up to 12 inches in captivity. Always cool to see, they are one of the few things out here that just creep the hell out of me.

Arizona Desert Centipede

Scolopendra heros arizonensis

Here’s one crawling on a boot, just so you can see how big these things are and why they make me feel like a scared little girl when I’m around them.

Gross dude.

I went back to town at this point to meet up with a couple of guys from Pennsylvania who were out in Arizona to see some desert animals. Right away, we were able to photograph this young adult Sonoran Gophersnake (Pituophis catenifer affinis) enjoying the warm dirt roads of Apache Junction.

Sonoran Gophersnake

Pituophis catenifer affinis

More to come.

The first animal seen was an unusually dark Crotalus scutulatus (Mojave Rattlesnake).

There were many of these neonate Sonoran Gophersnakes (Pituophis catenifer affinis) around. All but this guy were hit by cars, unfortunately.

Early the next evening we found our first C. lepidus in habitat looking nowhere near what I had expected and searched earlier. I flipped out, hard.

… then we found another.

We found this unfortunate Crotalus willardi willardi (Ridgenosed Rattlesnake) that had just been hit by a car. It was still alive, though I am sure not for long with the many owls and skunks we saw that night. I could have taken some better photos of at least the front end of it, but my girlfriend reminded me that I should probably leave it alone and let it die without some douchebag with a camera right in it’s face. I agreed and we left disappointed to not have come across it minutes before. Crotalus willardi is arguably the most highly prized herp find in our state, if not the country. Field herpers come to monsoon-season SE Arizona from all over the country each year with willardi on their wish-list. I can’t accurately convey how sad it is to see something for the first time that you’ve seen so often in books and posts by respected field herpers in real life for the first time, and watch it die. I am sure I will have plenty of experiences with willardi in the future, but the first is the one you’ll always remember.

Awhile later we found a Chihuahuan Hook-nosed Snake (Gyalopion canum), my second of the year. This snake is one of two (the other being the Sonoran Coral Snake) that defend themselves by means of “cloacal popping” … otherwise known as farting. Here are a few pictures and a video where you can hear these terrifying farts.

That was it for the night. In the morning, on the way home, I wanted to try some hiking in the area where we’d seen the lepidus the night before. They are primarily active in the daytime, so two in a night hints at some high activity in some previously unconsidered habitat, driven by many times on multiple trips.

Here’s some habitat shots Kelly took. One has a fat animal of some sort ruining the shot.

After hiking for awhile through the grassland below the mountain, it took only a few minutes of searching on the first pile of rocks we saw to turn up this extremely green adult lepidus and a few Yarrow’s Spiny Lizards (Sceloporus jarrovi). It was a good end to the trip.