A Guide to the Amphibians
and Reptiles of California

Snake Videos

This is a list of links to all the short videos of snakes that you can find on the individual snake pages. The list is in alphabetical order using the Latin names. Some videos include sound, many do not. These simple videos are intended to show how a snake moves or to show it in its habitat, but some of them show interesting behavior. They are kept short, and often without sound, to conserve bandwidth use. Most of them were shot quickly at the time and place where the snake was found before it crawled away. In many cases this was at night with poor artificial lighting, and in many cases the snakes were uncooperative. Because many herps quickly run away and hide and others only move for a few seconds then remain motionless even when prodded, it is often hard to film herps in motion without capturing and staging them. Consequently, many of these videos use a few short segments to avoid showing only motionless animals. Click on the camera icon to watch a video. Many of these videos are in the old Quicktime .mov format. The Quicktime plug-in has been removed from many browsers now so the videos may not play on your browser or your browser might download the video to your computer for you to play offline. Click on a link to visit the home page for a snake.
The following links are shortcuts to the families of snakes listed below: Black-headed and Flat-headed Snakes - Tantilla Blindsnakes and Threadsnakes - Indotyphlops and Rena (Leptotyphlops) Gartersnakes - Thamnophis Glossy Snakes - Arizona Gophersnakes and Bullsnakes - Pituophis Ground Snakes - Sonora Hog-nosed Snakes - Heterodon Kingsnakes - Lampropeltis Leaf-nosed Snakes - Phyllorhynchus Long-nosed Snakes - Rhinocheilus Lyresnakes - Trimorphodon Nightsnakes - Hypsiglena Patch-nosed Snakes - Salvadora Racers and Coachwhips - Coluber Rattlesnakes - Crotalus Ratsnakes - Pantherophis Ring-necked Snakes - Diadophis Rosy Boas - Lichanura Rubber Boas - Charina Sharp-tailed Snakes - Contia Shovel-nosed Snakes - Chionactis Watersnakes - Nerodia Wormsnakes - Carphophis
	Glossy Snakes - Arizona
	Arizona elegans eburnata - Desert Glossy Snake	A large adult Desert Glossy Snake cruises along the desert ground at night.
	Arizona elegans eburnata - Desert Glossy Snake	A tiny juvenile glossy snake is discovered under a board in early spring.
	Arizona elegans eburnata - Desert Glossy Snake	Several views of a Desert Glossy Snake crawling around at night in the San Diego County desert.
	Arizona elegans occidentalis - California Glossy Snake	A California Glossy Snake crawls on a road at night, crossing paths with a potato bug.
	Wormsnakes - Carphophis
	Carphophis amoenus amoenus - Eastern Wormsnake	Two Eastern Wormsnakes in Virginia
	Rubber Boas - Charina
	Charina bottae - Northern Rubber Boa	It was 55 degrees F.around 8 PM at about 8,000 ft. elevation on a mountain pass in Alpine County when I saw this rubber boa crossing the road. It eventually dropped down a huge tree stump to get away from me and curled up under some tree bark.
	Charina bottae - Northern Rubber Boa	As you can see in this video, when they feel threatened, Northern Rubber Boas often curl into a ball with their head hidden in the middle and the tail on the outside, elevated like a head, which it resembles. When a predator attacks what it thinks is a head, it will only injure the tail, which is much less life threatening to the snake. Many rubber boas have scars on their tails from such attacks
	Charina bottae - Northern Rubber Boa	Natalie took Chad and me to a board she found in Marin County that is used by at least 8 rubber boas. When Chad lifts it, we see 7 boas and a Coast Gartersnake.
	Shovel-nosed Snakes - Chionactis
	Chionactis annulata annulata - Colorado Desert Shovel-nosed Snake	A nocturnal Colorado Desert Shovel-nosed snake crawls across the desert floor.
	Chionactis occipitalis - Mohave Shovel-nosed Snake	Two views of a Mohave Shovel-nosed Snake crawling.
	Chionactis occipitalis - Mohave Shovel-nosed Snake	A Mohave Shovel-nosed Snake strikes repeatedly at the camera holder.
	Racers - Coluber
	Coluber constrictor helvigularis - Brown-chinned Racer	A very feisty juvenile strikes repeatedly after being discovered crossing a dirt road in Florida.
	Coluber constrictor mormon - Western Yellow-bellied Racer	A large adult racer in bad need of a shed on the crawl in the Sacramento Valley.
	Coluber constrictor mormon - Western Yellow-bellied Racer	A little blotched juvenile racer strikes and crawls away defensively in the Modoc County Great Basin Desert.
	Coluber constrictor mormon - Western Yellow-bellied Racer	A juvenile racer found under a rock in late January in Contra Costa County.
	Coluber (=Masticophis) flagellum piceus - Red Racer	I saw this Red Racer foraging in the desert in San Diego County before it saw me. After turning around in my direction, it became aware of me, raised its head off the ground in a state of alert, wiggled its neck back and forth while holding its head still, then turned around and raced away over the rocks into a bush.
	Coluber (=Masticophis) flagellum piceus - Red Racer	A juvenile racer ready to shed its skin is found under a board in Riverside County, and races away into the grass.
	Coluber (=Masticophis) flagellum ruddocki - San Joaquin Coachwhip	This slender and very fast-moving snake races across a dirt road.
	Coluber (=Masticophis) lateralis lateralis - California Striped Racer	A San Diego County California Striped Racer sits on the ground, then races off into the chaparral.
	Sharp-tailed Snakes - Contia
	Contia tenuis - Common Sharp-tailed Snake	Sharp-tailed snakes found under trash in April in Placer County.
	Rattlesnakes - Crotalus
	Crotalus atrox - Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake	Several views of a Cochise County, Arizona Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake rattling and taking a defensive pose with its head and tail elevated.
	Crotalus atrox - Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake	A Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake rattles in a defensive pose in Sierra County, New Mexico.
	Crotalus cerastes cerastes - Mohave Desert Sidewinder	A Mohave Desert Sidewinder in motion on a windy night.
	Crotalus cerastes cerastes - Mohave Desert Sidewinder	A Mohave Desert Sidewinder sidewinds and crawls across the desert.
	Crotalus cerastes cerastes - Mohave Desert Sidewinder	A sidewinder crawls slowly then very quickly over the sand with its unique sideways locomotion.
	Crotalus cerastes laterorepens - Colorado Desert Sidewinder	A Colorado Desert Sidewinder found on a road at night rattles and sidewinds.
	Crotalus cerastes laterorepens - Colorado Desert Sidewinder	A Colorado Desert Sidwinder sidewinding at night.
	Crotalus cerastes laterorepens - Colorado Desert Sidewinder	A Colorado Desert sidewinder crawls with its unique sideways locomotion.
	Crotalus cerberus - Arizona Black Rattlesnake	A rattlesnake found at the edge of a road at night in Graham County, Arizona, crawls back into the grass. It did not rattle at all, so there is no sound here.
	Crotalus molossus molossus - Northern Black-tailed Rattlesnake	Views of a Black-tailed Rattlesnake in the Pajarito Mountains of Santa Cruz County, Arizona
	Crotalus molossus molossus - Northern Black-tailed Rattlesnake	A basking Black-tailed Rattlesnake high up in the Pinaleno mountains of Graham County, Arizona.
	Crotalus oreganus helleri - Southern Pacific Rattlesnake	A Southern Pacific Rattlesnake poses and rattles and crawls away at night in Los Angeles County.
	Crotalus oreganus helleri - Southern Pacific Rattlesnake	A pair of male Southern Pacific Rattlesnakes wrestle over a mate in Los Angeles County.
	Crotalus oreganus lutosus - Great Basin Rattlesnake	A Great Basin Rattlesnake rattles at night in the Nevada desert.
	Crotalus oreganus lutosus - Great Basin Rattlesnake	A Great Basin Rattlesnake crawls under a bush and rattles in the afternoon in eastern Siskiyou County.
	Crotalus oreganus oreganus - Northern Pacific Rattlesnake	A Northern Pacific Rattlesnake crossed a mountain road on a windy spring morning in Contra Costa County then coiled defensively at the edge of the road. Concerned with my presence a few yards away, it is seen here sensing the air with its tongue and rattling its tail, then pausing to watch a bicycle speed down the road, then rattling some more.
	Crotalus oreganus oreganus - Northern Pacific Rattlesnake	A juvenile rattlesnake rattles and crawls off a road in the foothills of Fresno County in early Fall.
	Crotalus oreganus oreganus - Northern Pacific Rattlesnake	A Northern Pacific Rattlesnake rattles its tail.
	Crotalus oreganus oreganus - Northern Pacific Rattlesnake	Most rattlesnakes will do exactly what this one did when I encountered it in the late afternoon on a mountain road - turn and crawl quickly away, with a little rattling thrown in as a warning. Rattlesnakes are often depicted in fiction as aggressors, leaping and striking viciously, often for no reason other than to give the hero an excuse to kill it to prove himself. The truth is that rattlesnakes are almost always defensive, not offensive, when they encounter humans, wanting nothing more than to escape, and the least heroic thing someone can do is to automatically kill them.
	Crotalus oreganus oreganus - Northern Pacific Rattlesnake	The snake here is seen slowly following a snake hook with curiosity, not aggression. The hook had been used earlier to pick up a breeding pair of snakes, and we decided that this one was probably a male that smelled the scent of the breeding female on the hook.
	Crotalus oreganus oreganus - Northern Pacific Rattlesnake	This video begins with a squirrel's high-pitched alarm call coming from a large group of shrubs in the Sierra Nevada mountains. When I got closer the squirrel ran away and I saw this rattlesnake climbing down a branch then farther back into the bushes. Later, after the camera batteries died, the snake returned and crawled outside the shrubs while the squirrel called and ran around outside the bushes near the snake, but outside of its striking range.
	Crotalus oreganus oreganus - Northern Pacific Rattlesnake	A Northern Pacific Rattlesnake in the Sierra Nevada mountains crawls into a crack and shakes its tail.
	Crotalus pricei - Western Twin-spotted Rattlesnake	A small adult twin-spotted rattlesnake basks on talus high in the Pinaleno mountains of Graham County, Arizona.
	Crotalus pyrrhus - Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake	A coiled Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake rattles, uncoils, and crawls into a bush. (The sound has been deleted in the middle due to excess background noise.)
	Crotalus pyrrhus - Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake	A speckled rattlesnake crawls across a road and up into a bush in Imperial County.
	Crotalus pyrrhus - Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake	A large adult speckled rattlesnake rattling and crawling away on a windy night.
	Crotalus pyrrhus - Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake	A large adult speckled rattlesnake rattling and crawling away at night.
	Crotalus ruber - Red Diamond Rattlesnake	A large old Red Diamond Rattlesnake rattles on top of a boulder in coastal San Diego County.
	Crotalus ruber - Red Diamond Rattlesnake	A close view of a rattling Red Diamond Rattlesnake's tail.
	Crotalus ruber - Red Diamond Rattlesnake	A large adult Red Diamond Rattlesnake crawls on the rocks at the edge of a desert wash in San Diego County. Despite the bright lights, it did not appear to notice me and continued its nocturnal wandering.
	Crotalus ruber - Red Diamond Rattlesnake	A Red Diamond Rattlesnake crawls across the hot sand at mid day in San Diego County, then takes shelter between some rocks.
	Crotalus ruber - Red Diamond Rattlesnake	A Red Diamond Rattlesnake found on a desert road at night.
	Crotalus scutulatus scutulatus - Northern Mohave Rattlesnake	Several views of a Northern Mohave Rattlesnake rattling and taking a defensive posture.
	Crotalus scutulatus scutulatus - Northern Mohave Rattlesnake	A Northern Mohave rattlesnake crawls off a road in Arizona.
	Crotalus stephensi - Panamint Rattlesnake	A Panamint Rattlesnake found on a road at night in Inyo County, rattles and crawls away.
	Ring-necked Snakes - Diadophis
	Diadophis punctatus amabilis - Pacific Ring-necked Snake	A Pacific Ring-necked snake is found under a log in the woods and is filmed on an old picnic table before being released to crawl back under its log.
	Diadophis punctatus amabilis - Pacific Ring-necked Snake	A Pacific Ring-necked Snake is found under a board in a forest clearing and demonstrates how quickly it can move.
	Diadophis punctatus amabilis - Pacific Ring-necked Snake	A Pacific Ring-necked Snake is found under some trash in Santa Clara County, then another one is uncovered in Santa Cruz County.
	Diadophis punctatus similis - San Diego Ring-necked Snake	A few brief views of a large San Diego Ring-necked snake and its habitat.
	Diadophis punctatus similis - San Diego Ring-necked Snake	Another San Diego Ring-necked snake is released back where it was found.
	Hog-nosed Snakes - Heterodon
	Heterodon kennerlyi - Mexican Hog-nosed Snake	A Mexican Hog-nosed Snake is found stretched out on a road. It goes into a defensive coil, smearing its feces on itself and hissing and striking, before crawling away and down a hole.
	Heterodon kennerlyi - Mexican Hog-nosed Snake	A Mexican Hog-nosed Snake blows and hisses and strikes.
	Heterodon kennerlyi - Mexican Hog-nosed Snake	Hog-nosed snakes are well-known for their strategy of rolling over and playing dead to dissuade a predator. This one rolls over and plays dead, then uses a combination of playing dead and hissing.
	Heterodon kennerlyi - Mexican Hog-nosed Snake	A Mexican Hog-nosed Snake is released and crawls away.
	Nightsnakes - Hypsiglena
	Hypsiglena chlorophaea deserticola - Northern Desert Nightsnake	A nightsnake crawls across an old cement highway into the desert.
	Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha nuchalata - California Nightsnake	An uncooperative California nightsnake found on a road at night refuses to do anything worth putting on video.
	Blindsnakes and Threadsnakes - Indotyphlops and Rena
	Indotyphlops braminus - Brahminy Blind Snake	A Brahminy Blind Snake found in Florida is released, and crawls away rapidly with serpentine motion.
	Rena humilis cahuilae - Desert Threadsnake	A large nocturnal Desert Threadsnake wriggles rapidly across rocky desert ground until it finds a hiding place.
	Rena humilis cahuilae - Desert Threadsnake	This large Desert Threadsnake was observed searching out then attacking an ant colony that was moving or relocating their eggs in San Diego County. © Jeff Nordland
	Rena humilis humilis - Southwestern Threadsnake	An adult threadsnake was observed just after dark in Los Angeles County at the mouth of an anthill where it burrowed into the nest, presumably to feed on the eggs and larvae. Ants can be seen swarming around the snake but it does not appear to be concerned about them. © William Mason
	Rena humilis humilis - Southwestern Threadsnake	A Southwestern Threadsnake discovered on a cool spring morning races across it's coastal San Diego County habitat with amazing speed.
	Kingsnakes - Lampropeltis
	Lampropeltis californiae - California Kingsnake	A very large banded kingsnake crawls off a road and up onto a rock face in a Kern County desert canyon at night.
	Lampropeltis californiae - California Kingsnake	A kingsnake crawls very quickly across the Colorado desert at night in San Diego County.
	Lampropeltis californiae - California Kingsnake	A striped California Kingsnake crawls across a dirt road.
	Lampropeltis californiae - California Kingsnake	A distressed California Kingsnake vibrates its tail.
	Lampropeltis californiae - California Kingsnake	A disgruntled aberrant kingsnake rears up in a partially-coiled defensive posture, strikes repeatedly at the photographer, then leaps off a rock to freedom.
	Lampropeltis californiae - California Kingsnake	A beautiful adult banded California Kingsnake is crosses a road at night in Alameda County, reminding me that my favorite thing about finding a snake is watching it crawl away.
	Lampropeltis californiae - California Kingsnake	Three videos of two kingsnakes breeding on somebody's back porch in San Diego County.
	Lampropeltis knoblochi - Madrean Mountain Kingsnake	A little juvenile and its mountain talus habitat in Graham County, Arizona.
	Lampropeltis multifasciata - Coast Mountain Kingsnake	A short look at a juvenile Coast Mountain Kingsnake found under a rock.
	Rosy Boas - Lichanura
	Lichanura orcutti - Rosy Boa	A Borrego boa crawls around on a spring nignt.
	Lichanura orcutti - Rosy Boa	A desert phase Rosy Boa crawls at night on a mountain road in Imperial County.
	Lichanura orcutti - Rosy Boa	A rosy boa discovered at night on a sand bar in the middle of a creek prepares to swim back to the shore.
	Watersnakes - Nerodia
	Nerodia sipedon - Northern Watersnake	A large adult Northern Watersnake in Placer County crawls into the water.
	Nerodia sipedon - Northern Watersnake	A large adult Northern Watersnake in Placer County in the water.
	Ratsnakes - Pantherophis
	Pantherophis alleghaniensis - Eastern Ratsnake	A yellow ratsnake in the Florida Everglades.
	Pantherophis spiloides - Gray Ratsnake	A Gray Ratsnake in a Florida forest.
	Pantherophis spiloides - Gray Ratsnake	I spotted a ratsnake basking in the woods in Tennessee so I turned the video camera on and walked towards it. It moved away slowly and after a few minutes it began to buzz the tip of its tail in the dry leaves to scare me away. This behavior could be an imitation of the rattling of a rattlesnake, or it could just be a defensive behavior similar to that which caused the evolution of the rattlesnake's rattle.
	Pantherophis spiloides - Gray Ratsnake	This is a shorter video that shows only the gray ratsnake tail buzzing behavior.
	Leaf-nosed Snakes - Phyllorhynchus
	Phyllorhynchus decurtatus - Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake	A leaf-nosed snake craws across the desert floor.
	Phyllorhynchus decurtatus - Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake	As shown here, this snake is typically found on a paved desert road at night. Using a serpentine motion, it is capable of moving quickly over the asphalt.
	Gophersnakes and Bull Snakes - Pituophis
	Pituophis catenifer affinis - Sonoran Gophersnake	A huge Sonoran Gophersnake puts on an impressive defensive display of hissing and blowing.
	Pituophis catenifer affinis - Sonoran Gophersnake	A Sonoran GopherSnake crawls around in Imperial County.
	Pituophis catenifer affinis - Sonoran Gophersnake	Gophersnakes in the wild often take a defensive stance when threatened; they hiss, rear up, and sometimes even strike at the threat in order to protect themselves from harm. In this video, a newly-hatched juvenile Sonoran Gophersnake trying to cross a road at night is threatened by the bright light and the video camera stuck in its face so it hisses loudly and strikes at the camera before crawling away.
	Pituophis catenifer affinis - Sonoran Gophersnake	A Sonoran Gophersnake races across a road just after sunset.
	Pituophis catenifer annectens - San Diego Gophersnake	A San Diego Gophersnake is discovered on a dirt road in the morning. It becomes defensive when I follow it, hissing and striking out to warn me to back off.
	Pituophis catenifer annectens - San Diego Gophersnake	A San Diego Gophersnake flicks its tongue and crawls across a dirt road.
	Pituophis catenifer catenifer - Pacific Gophersnake	A Pacific , not happy to be picked up off the road by a crazy human, curls up in a defensive stance, investigates the camera, then crawls away. This movie contains no sound.
	Pituophis catenifer catenifer - Pacific Gophersnake	A Pacific Gophersnake shows its defensive arsenal, which includes coiling, puffing up, and elevating the body, flattening the head into a triangular shape, hissing loudly, shaking the tail, and striking repeatedly. When its tormentor (and photographer) backs off, the snake crawls away, keeping its head and neck defensively arched, ready to quickly coil and strike if needed.
	Pituophis catenifer catenifer - Pacific Gophersnake	A distressed Pacific Gophersnake shakes its tail rapidly, which makes a buzzing sound as the tail touches the ground. This behavior might be a mimic of a rattlesnake's rattlng, or it could be a similar behavior that helps to warn off an animal that could be a threat to the Gophersnake.
	Pituophis catenifer catenifer - Pacific Gophersnake	A juvenile Gophersnake is found under a log in early spring in Conta Costa County.
	Pituophis catenifer catenifer - Pacific Gophersnake	A big Gophersnake is discovered under a small rock on a sunny late winter afternoon in Kern Canyon.
	Pituophis catenifer catenifer - Pacific Gophersnake	Two adult male Pacific Gophersnakes wrestle for dominance during the May breeding season in Napa County. © Woody Davis
	Pituophis catenifer deserticola - Great Basin Gophersnake	A large Gophersnake crawls off a road in a Mojave desert canyon.
	Pituophis catenifer deserticola - Great Basin Gophersnake	Here's a little taste of roadcruising - driving, driving, driving, then finally a snake is spotted on the road. This one is an intergrade Gophersnake from the sagebrush desert of eastern Siskiyou County.
	Pituophis catenifer deserticola - Great Basin Gophersnake	A Great Basin Gophersnake crawls across a road and into the grass in the Owens Valley.
	Pituophis catenifer deserticola - Great Basin Gophersnake	A Great Basin Gophersnake crawls across a dirt road in Okanagan County, Washington.
	Pituophis catenifer sayi - Bullsnake	A large bullsnake in Kansas is found on a dirt road. On approach it coils back defensively then strikes before slowly crawling away into a grassy field.
	Pituophis catenifer sayi - Bullsnake	A large bullsnake rears back in a defensive striking posture, then strikes with a loud hiss, and continues to make a rattling hissing sound. This is a short excerpt from the video above.
	Long-nosed Snakes - Rhinocheilus
	Rhinocheilus lecontei - Long-nosed Snake	This video shows a Long-nosed Snake using a disgusting but effective defensive behavior - it coils up with jerky movements then smears itself with red fluid from its cloaca. After that I certainly did not want to touch the snake again.
	Rhinocheilus lecontei - Long-nosed Snake	A Long-nosed snake crawls across a road in San Diego County.
	Rhinocheilus lecontei - Long-nosed Snake	The snake moves away quickly into the brush. You can sort of see how the banded pattern merges into a blur as the snakes moves away.
	Rhinocheilus lecontei - Long-nosed Snake	A black and white Long-nosed snake crawls at night in the Arizona desert.
	Patch-nosed snakes - Salvadora
	Salvadora hexalepis hexalepis - Desert Patch-nosed Snake	A cold and sluggish Desert Patch-nosed Snake is gently prodded with a stick to encourage it to move for the camera, but the snake retaliates by racing away in a blur in typical patch-nosed snake fashion.
	Salvadora hexalepis mojavensis - Mohave Patch-nosed Snake	A Mohave Patch-nosed snake in Inyo County.
	Salvadora hexalepis virgultea - Coast Patch-nosed Snake	A Coast Patch-nosed snake races across a dirt road into the brush.
	Salvadora hexalepis virgultea - Coast Patch-nosed Snake	A Coast Patch-nosed Snake trying to kill and eat a San Diegan Tiger Whiptail in San Diego County © Tom Day
	Salvadora hexalepis - Patch-nosed Snake (Intergrade)	An intergrade patch-nosed snake on a dirt road in the morning makes a few attempts to get away from me, then after waiting patiently for the right moment, finally dashes across the road to freedom.
	Ground Snakes - Sonora
	Sonora semiannulata - Variable Ground Snake	A tiny juvenile Variable Ground Snake is found under a rock in Imperial County
	Flat-headed and Black-headed Snakes - Tantilla
	Tantilla gracilis - Flat-headed Snake	A quick look at a slow then fast moving flat-headed snake in Texas.
	Tantilla hobartsmithi - Smith's Black-headed Snake	A tiny Smith's Black-headed Snake crawls across a paved road at night.
	Tantilla nigriceps - Plains Black-headed Snake	A tiny Plains Black-headed Snake moves in typical serpentine motion across desert blacktop on a summer night in New Mexico.
	Tantilla planiceps - Western Black-headed Snake	A Western Black-headed Snake discovered at night crawling in a sandy wash in Imperial County.
	Tantilla planiceps - Western Black-headed Snake	A tiny Western Black-headed Snake crawls around in San Diego County.
	Gartersnakes - Thamnophis
	Thamnophis atratus atratus - Santa Cruz Gartersnake	A feisty little Santa Cruz Gartersnake in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
	Thamnophis atratus hydrophilus - Oregon Gartersnake	An Oregon Gartersnake basks on a rock in a river in Mendocino County, then swims away.
	Thamnophis atratus zaxanthus - Diablo Range Gartersnake	Diablo Range Gartersnakes in and around a small cattle pond in Contra Costa County.
	Thamnophis atratus zaxanthus - Diablo Range Gartersnake	Diablo Range Gartersnakes swimming in another cattle pond in Contra Costa County.
	Thamnophis atratus zaxanthus - Diablo Range Gartersnake	Many snakes squirt and smear a foul-smelling fluid consisting of feces, uric acid, and anal gland musk from their cloaca to deter a predator or a grabby photographer. In this short video, after it is picked up, a big adult Diablo Range Gartersnake demonstrates how it smears its nasty-smelling stuff all over me. You are fortunate that they haven't invented online video with smells yet.
	Thamnophis couchii - Sierra Gartersnake	A Sierra Gartersnake crawls and swims in a Tuolumne County lake.
	Thamnophis cyrtopsis cyrtopsis - Western Black-necked Gartersnake	A Western Black-necked Gartersnake is discovered in the middle of swallowing a Chiricahua Leopard Frog, back legs first, at the edge of a slow creek in the Pajarito Mountains of Arizona. The snake swims across the creek to finish eating, then swims into some roots to hide.
	Thamnophis cyrtopsis cyrtopsis - Western Black-necked Gartersnake	A juvenile Black-necked Gartersnake in the Pajarito Mountains of Arizona climbs down a large rock and dives into a the pool of a drying creek where many small fish present a dining opportunity.
	Thamnophis cyrtopsis cyrtopsis - Western Black-necked Gartersnake	A brief look at a snake resting in a cattle-trampled Arizona pond (which was full of Chiricahua Leopard Frogs.)
	Thamnophis elegans elegans - Mountain Gartersnake	A Mountain Gartersnake crawls around a pond in Placer County.
	Thamnophis elegans elegans - Mountain Gartersnake	A small Mountain Gartersnake next to a high mountain pond in Alpine County.
	Thamnophis elegans elegans - Mountain Gartersnake	A Mountain Gartersnake at a creek in the Plumas County mountains.
	Thamnophis elegans terrestris - Coast Gartersnake	A couple of snakes from the coast of Marin County, doing what snakes do - trying to get away from those annoying humans.
	Thamnophis elegans vagrans - Wandering Gartersnake	Wandering Gartersnakes found beside a creek in the mountains of Arizona.
	Thamnophis elegans vagrans - Wandering Gartersnake	A melanistic Wandering Gartersnake found in Washington State.
	Thamnophis hammondii - Two-striped Gartersnake	A Two-striped Gartersnake filmed in San Diego County.
	Thamnophis ordinoides - Northwestern Gartersnake	A Northwestern Gartersnake on the move.
	Thamnophis rufipunctatus - Narrow-headed Gartersnake	A Narrow-headed Gartersnake basks on the rocks above a creek in Arizona.
	Thamnophis sirtalis concinnus - Red-spotted Gartersnake	These are all shots of the same Red-spotted Gartersnake I spotted at the edge of a pond. It swam away when I approached it, but I snuck up on it and grabbed it, took a few shots of it on the ground, then let it swim away.
	Thamnophis sirtalis fitchi - Valley Gartersnake	A Valley Gartersnake is discovered resting in the sun near the edge of a mountain pond which is still half-surrounded by snow. When I get too close, the snake races off, showing the speed with which this gartersnake can crawl and swim to safety.
	Thamnophis sirtalis fitchi - Valley Gartersnake	Valley Gartersnakes race over land and in water at a high-elevation pond in Siskiyou County.
	Thamnophis sirtalis fitchi - Valley Gartersnake	A Valley Gartersnake at a creek in the Plumas County mountains.
	Thamnophis sirtalis infernalis - California Red-sided Gartersnake	A red-sided gartersnake swims around in a small pond on a sunny spring afternoon in Alameda County.
	Thamnophis sirtalis infernalis - California Red-sided Gartersnake	A huge feisty Red-sided Gartersnake from Santa Barbara County strikes out a few times at its captor. © Vince Semonsen
	Thamnophis sirtalis infernalis - California Red-sided Gartersnake	A juvenile CA red-sided gartersnake in Marin County.
	Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis - Red-sided Gartersnake	Thousands of Red-sided Gartersnakes recently-emerged from hibernation, wrestle for breeding opportunities down in the Narcisse snake dens in Manitoba, Canada.
	Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis - Red-sided Gartersnake	Thousands of Red-sided Gartersnakes recently-emerged from hibernation, wrestle for breeding opportunities down in the Narcisse snake dens in Manitoba, Canada.
	Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis - Red-sided Gartersnake	Thousands of Red-sided Gartersnakes recently-emerged from hibernation, wrestle for breeding opportunities down in the Narcisse snake dens in Manitoba, Canada.
	Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis - Red-sided Gartersnake	A mating ball of Red-sided Gartersnakes flows down the hill in the Narcisse snake dens in Manitoba, Canada.
	Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis - Red-sided Gartersnake	A female Red-sided Gartersnake is pursued by several males in the Narcisse snake dens in Manitoba, Canada.
	Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis - Red-sided Gartersnake	A Red-sided Gartersnake mating ball in one of the Narcisse snake dens in Manitoba, Canada.
	Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis - Red-sided Gartersnake	A Red-sided Gartersnake mating ball in one of the Narcisse snake dens in Manitoba, Canada.
	Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis - Red-sided Gartersnake	A Red-sided Gartersnake leaves the dens and runs into a fence put up to divert the gartersnakes into tunnels under the highway so they don't crawl over the road where they might get crushed by traffic. We see it crawl along the fence until it finds the tunnel and crawls inside.
	Thamnophis sirtalis pickeringii - Puget Sound Gartersnake	A large dark Puget Sound Gartersnake in Pierce County Washington.
	Thamnophis sirtalis pickeringii - Puget Sound Gartersnake	Looks at several Puget Sound Gartersnakes in Pierce County Washington.
	Lyresnakes - Trimorphodon
	Trimorphodon lyrophanes - California Lyresnake	A lyre snake coils up defensively and strikes.
	Trimorphodon lyrophanes - California Lyresnake	A lyre snake shows off its rock climbing skills at night in San Diego County.
	Trimorphodon lyrophanes - California Lyresnake	A lyre snake crawls up a steep rock outcrop at night.
	Trimorphodon lyrophanes - California Lyresnake	I put the video camera on the dashboard one night while road cruising a rocky pass in San Diego County and eventually a lyre snake showed up on the road. It might look like I stopped in the middle of the road, but actually I drove ahead and parked safely before running back to film the snake from closer up.
	Trimorphodon lyrophanes - California Lyresnake	Two males found in combat at night on a road in Baja California Norte. At the end, one of them gives up and races away. © Stewart Young

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