Mohave Green Rattler in Wyoming?

[WyoDoug]

A friend sent me this picture. It was taken outside of Chugwater. This is a mohave green rattler and I have never seen one in the wild in Wyoming myself. I seen a number of them in California. Their normal range does not include Wyoming so I suspect this guy might have been a hitchhiker on something. One of the more potent of the rattlers in the US.

 

[Runnin_Chupacabra]

Cool looking snake I wouldn't mind admiring from a distance.

 

[Oak]

That's just a greenish colored prairie rattlesnake.

 

[WyoDoug]

That's just a greenish colored prairie rattlesnake.

You sure? Supposedly, someone at the G&F identified it as a mohave green. I am not sure myself. I know it is not a diamond back. Could be a prairie rattler. Never seen one take on a green hue though.

 

[p_ham]

Looks like a prairie rattler to me too.

 

[WyoDoug]

At @Oak: After looking at identification charts and other images, you are right. It's a prairie rattler for sure. First time I seen a green one even in pictures though.

 

[MarvB]

That's just a greenish colored prairie rattlesnake.

I can't see the tail but if I remember right (and often don't lol) the prairie has about equal colored bands (black/white) near the tail similar to a diamond back but the mohave has wider white bands than black. (Would have to pick him up and play with him to be sure ) Is that "kind of" correct Oak?

 

[WyoDoug]

I can't see the tail but if I remember right (and often don't lol) the prairie has about equal colored bands (black/white) near the tail similar to a diamond back but the mohave has wider white bands than black. (Would have to pick him up and play with him to be sure ) Is that "kind of" correct Oak?

You are correct there. The white rings on a mohave are wider than the black. I have hunted rattlesnakes (mostly diamondbacks) in the younger days but have not seen a mohave in a long time.

 

[Oak]

I can't see the tail but if I remember right (and often don't lol) the prairie has about equal colored bands (black/white) near the tail similar to a diamond back but the mohave has wider white bands than black. (Would have to pick him up and play with him to be sure ) Is that "kind of" correct Oak?

I'm not sure, but I've seen plenty of green prairie rattlers. I handled more of them when I was younger than I care to admit. And Wyoming is so far out of range for the Mojave green that there's no reason to assume that's what it is.

 

[WyoDoug]

I'm not sure, but I've seen plenty of green prairie rattlers. I handled more of them when I was younger than I care to admit. And Wyoming is so far out of range for the Mojave green that there's no reason to assume that's what it is.

LOL, that is why I put the title ending in a question mark. Figured someone would know for sure where I wasn't.

 

[Doublecluck]

100% prairie rattler, I’ve seen several in Montana that look just like that and grew up hunting Mohave green country and seen lots of em.

 

[wytex]

Yep , plain ole prairie rattler.
That G&F person needs to get out and see the size of some of the PRs we have, lol.

 

[WyoDoug]

Yep , plain ole prairie rattler.
That G&F person needs to get out and see the size of some of the PRs we have, lol.

I don't think no W&F person ever really did. I know most of the licensing staff on a professional basis and some of the director's staff and the fish and biology people that work at the main office. Anyone from the licensing staff would have contacted a biologist I would think. And game wardens likely run into prairie rattlers enough to know them well plus I think they receive training in that area if I remember right. I put the title with a question mark because I had a feeling my friend was blowing smoke. And I didn't really have the expertise handling anything other than diamondbacks to be sure.

 

[Wildabeest]

If I didn’t know better, I’d think @WyoDoug was trying to scare everyone away from WY with all these bear and rattlesnake posts!

 

[WyoDoug]

If I didn’t know better, I’d think @WyoDoug was trying to scare everyone away from WY with all these bear and rattlesnake posts!

Now yer giving me ideas to chase away them terrorist types LOL...err tourist types I mean. Not with the bears though LOL. Lot of us want to hunt them and there's plenty where I hunt.

 

[bowhuntmontana]

Seems like the green prairie Rattlers I have come across were a little fresher from shedding their skin. At least that's what I have told myself. Anyone know if that holds water?

 

[WyoDoug]

What I know about the true Mojave rattlers and what threw me and why the question mark on the title is they are a desert creature. I just don't think one would survive in Wyoming especially with the long bitter cold spells. One of you expert types can confirm that, but seems to me the harsh winters would kill it.

 

[MTGomer]

You can tell(if you can get close enough) by the number of scales between they eyes.
You would have to use google to know how many that is though, I don’t recall.
I follow an Instagram page called milehighherper
He posts all kinds of cool snake content from around the west. I think that’s where I saw that.

 

[WyoDoug]

You can tell(if you can get close enough) by the number of scales between they eyes.
You would have to use google to know how many that is though, I don’t recall.
I follow an Instagram page called milehighherper
He posts all kinds of cool snake content from around the west. I think that’s where I saw that.

Aint gonna see me getting that close to that one unless I have the proper snake handling tools and wearing snake bite proof boots. LOL

A true green Mohave rattler is probably one of the most potent snakes in the US. Would be a mighty painful bite.

 

[JEL]

Killed this prairie out at the farm a few weeks back.