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Southern Pacific
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by Jahon on December 26, 2008
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I finally found out how to get some pictures of my snakes up! So, I uploaded the picture of my favorite snake, a very mean southern pacific rattlesnake I have. He's about 3 feet I believe, never really bothered to take an exact measurement. But yeah, just wanted to see what you guys think of him.
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RE: Southern Pacific
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by 23bms on December 26, 2008
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These guys apparently vary quite a bit from rather dark, like yours, to fairly high contrast. I have one that I caught many years ago as a neonate in San Diego County that, as an adult, is quite a bit higher contrast even after darkening with age. I saw numerous others during excursions in the same area that had equally light backgrounds. Specimens that I have serendipitously encountered north of there have been darker as have been most of the exhibited specimens I've seen, but this may just be chance. Where did yours come from?
My SP is one of my favorites, but, it is nasty. It hits the plexiglass more than all of my fifteen other Crotalus species combined. My elderly, and very cranky, atrox comes close in the foul temper competition, but loses on style points. In the field, however, I haven't found most SPs to be a whole lot worse than the Crotalus 'median' in terms of temperament, though there are certainly exceptions.
Btw, mine grew to about three feet and then stopped. Hasn't gained an inch in years. Including field sitings, I haven't seen one larger, but my sample size is decidedly small.
jrb
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RE: Southern Pacific
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by FSB on December 27, 2008
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Jahon, where's the link to your snake? The first rattlesnake I ever caught (at age 14) was a very dark, almost entirely black southern pacific near the conference center at Lake Arrowhead. I'm sure it's all been developed into oblivion by now, (probably looks like the hellishly bland neighborhood in Steven Spielberg's Poltergeist movie), but in 1975 it was surrounded by beautiful woods and streams. My father was lecturing at a medical conference there and I spent every blissful day out roaming in the woods, mostly catching alligator lizards, until one morning I was making my way along a mossy stream and looked down to see this vision of a gorgeous velvety-black rattlesnake resting on a bed of vibrant green moss. I emptied the alligator lizards out of my pillowcase and used two sticks to catch the snake, one to hold the bag and the other to lift the snake into it. Just as I was easing him in, I lost my footing on the mossy rocks and sat down hard in the creek, right on my ____, thinking, well, there goes that snake. To my surprise, however, when I got up the snake was coiled quietly in the bag. Keeping it was out of the question, I knew, so after showing it to everyone at the conference and taking a few pics that didn't turn out too well, I released it again at the same spot. I have yet to see a C.o.helleri as dark as that one though.
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RE: Southern Pacific
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by FSB on December 27, 2008
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Thanks, Karl.... yeah, that's a beautiful snake, but still nowhere near as dark as the one I found. Its pattern was completely obscured, like the darkest of the dark-phase horridus.
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RE: Southern Pacific
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by Jahon on December 27, 2008
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I'm not sure the locality of this particular snake because it was given to me by a friend. As far as defensivness goes, ALL of the southern pacifics I have encountered have been extremely docile. This one doesn't really strike at the glass all too often but it will not hesitate to bite if you get too close and it does get quite aggressive during feeding time. Southern pacific however have been the most docile rattlesnakes I've seen. Even the red diamondbacks by my house have been quite a bit more defensive than the southern pacifics I have encountered.
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RE: Southern Pacific
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by Jahon on December 27, 2008
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Amazing that you found a rattler that high up in the mountains though FSB. I've heard that they are up in Lake Arrowhead but extremely rare. All I found last time I visited was a ringneck snake and a coachwhip.
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RE: Southern Pacific
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by FSB on December 29, 2008
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Well, like I said Jahon, that was a lo-ong time ago. I hadn't thought of it before, but perhaps the high altitude could account for the darkness of this snake. Had I only been older, and not traveling with the folks... (I was adept at sneaking snakes onto planes back in those days, but knew a rattlesnake would be pushing it. I did manage to make it home with a few alligator lizards though, which were just as exotic to me).
So maybe the place hasn't been completely ruined if you could still find coachwhips or ringnecks up there (how about alligator lizards - any of them left?), but I remember seeing surveyor's markers denoting building lots, which depressed me greatly. It was truly a wonderland to my east-coast eyes, and I was finding all sorts of things besides western lizards that I'd only seen in pictures. I saw my first roadrunner, who was also out catching lizards, and several amazing species of hummingbird, as well as various western raptors and other birds. One day I walked until I came to the edge of the woods and stood looking down on the panoramic expanse of the Mojave desert far below, stretching endlessly to the horizon. It was just amazing to stand on the edge of one world and be looking out over another one so drastically different. I have always had fond memories of that place.
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RE: Southern Pacific
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by Jahon on December 29, 2008
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No a lot of Lake Arrowhead is still pretty much forest. I mean there are homes and businesses around it, but it isn't that developed. I went up there with my family to visit my aunt and uncle so I never went up there planning on looking for snakes. It was in October and it was COLD! To my surprise however, when I went up there and looked around, I managed to find a coacwhip and a little ringneck snake by a stream. A lot of it still remains good habitat BUT when I went up there I did see quite a lot of construction going on. Didn't see any alligator lizards up there but it looked like great habitat for them. As far as the deserts go, I do visit Joshua Tree National Park quite a bit during early autumns but just like how you would enjoy to visit here, I would love to visit the East. Roadrunners are quite common around here. They come in my yard and feast on the lizards all the time.
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