This story is designed to reduce your fears about snakes by empowering your curiosity. I thank naturalist photographer Lisa Robinson for sharing her photos in this blog. Lisa is a Wenatchee Museum docent, Wenatchee Naturalist, and native bee enthusiast. She enjoys nature photography and community science projects.
I enlisted local herpetologist Torsten Watkins, to help me peak your interest in getting acquainted with a few of our valley’s local snake species. Read Torsten’s biography and his essays in two earlier blogs about western skink and long-toed salamanders in this Curious About series.
I interviewed Torsten and our conversation grappled with my question, “How can we help people start to like snakes?”
Susan: Tell me about the first experience you can remember that triggered you interest in snakes?
Torsten: The first experience that I remember was when I was around the ages of 3-5. My dad and I were walking around Walla Walla Park by a large patch of reeds, when all of a sudden a snake appeared out of the blue. Now that I know how to identify the different species of snake we have in the Wenatchee area, it was most likely a terrestrial gartersnake (Thamnophis elegant vagrans). I remember being nervous, but my curiosity and fascination for the snake gave me the confidence to attempt to catch it. I was too slow to react though, and it slithered off into the reeds. This event stuck with me though, and as my knowledge of Earth’s amazing life grew, so did my curiosity.
Susan: What is your favorite snake encounter story?
Torsten: I have a lot of great experiences with snakes, but this is one of my favorites. It was a cool summer night, around 10:30 p.m. Me, my dad, and my brother were out road cruising (a common way of searching for nocturnal snakes that are attracted by the heat roads retain) in the Vantage area. The first few hours of driving had turned up nothing, but we had recently gotten our hopes back up after finding a Northern Pacific Rattlesnake. (Crotalus oreganus oreganus).
We decided to go up one last road my dad had in mind. As we started slowly driving up the road, we all remarked seeing a small shiny “stick” but had thought nothing of it at first. But I eventually decided we should turn the car around and check it out, just to be sure. After we parked the car I ran up to the mystery object to properly identify its true origins, and as I got closer I realized what we had stumbled upon, a Northern Desert Night Snake (Hyspiglena chlorophaea deserticola)!
This species is known to be very elusive and secretive and I had no idea that we would have found one that night. I picked the snake up with no hesitation, as this species is not usually inclined to bite. They do posses a venom that can paralyze the small lizards they feed on, but you shouldn’t be too worried as this toxin can only cause mild irritation in humans. These snakes don’t get very large, with most adults reaching sizes below two feet. Night snakes are very docile snakes, only occasionally mock striking. They inhabit the rocky areas of sagebrush flats, shrub steppe, and even pine woodlands! Night snakes can be confused with gopher snakes and rattlesnakes, but they are much smaller and usually have two rows of blotches running down their backs, instead of one. We made sure to record and photograph our find. After observing this beautiful little snake, we released it on the side of the road, and let it continue its nightly routine of searching for sleeping lizards to eat. Editor’s note: read about Torsten’s 2017 discovery of this species at Saddle Rock, the observation known from our area.
Susan: Why do you think many people fear encountering a snake?
Torsten: I think one of the reasons why people are afraid of snakes is because of the fact that they have no legs, which freaks out a lot of people. This makes sense, since it is very strange for an animal to be able to move around so well, without having any legs. But I think the fact that some species of snakes have venomous bites, or can inflict pain or even death on a person scares people the most. This makes sense too, of course you would be scared by something that could kill you. To give you some perspective though, more dogs kill people per year in the United States than snakes do.
Susan: What do you tell people to help reduce their fear of snakes? What is the most important message to get out to the public about snakes?
Torsten: I think the problem arises when people are unnecessarily fearful about snakes, to the point where they kill them for no apparent reason. Some people might just assume that all snakes pose a threat to themselves, but this is not the case. I think we all need to respect and understand all of earth’s life; plants, animals, humans, snakes. So if you ever see a snake out in its habitat, respect it, and just leave it be.
As long you as you leave it alone, it will leave you alone.
Susan: Let’s focus on two common snakes in North Central Washington- Northern Pacific rattlesnake and Pacific gopher snakes. How do you tell them apart?
Torsten: Pacific gopher snakes (Pituophis catenifer deserticola) and Northern Pacific rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus oreganus) are some of our more frequently seen snakes, along with Valley (Common ) Garter Snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis fitchi).
Rattlesnakes and gopher snakes are commonly confused with each other though, so I will give you a few tricks to identify them from each other.
Gopher snakes often mimic rattlesnakes by puffing up their head to appear more triangular and by rattling their tails which in grass can sound almost exactly like a rattlesnake.
So the best way to identify them from a distance is mainly by their patterning and general body shape. Gopher snakes have a more slender appearance than the rattlesnake, and lack a rattle at the end of their tails.
Gopher Snakes also have more blotches running down their sides and backs than rattlesnakes do. If you are able to observe the head easily, rattlesnakes posses a heat sensing pit located between their eyes and their snouts and they have vertical pupils which Gopher Snakes lack.
Gopher snakes have a ’teardrop’ blotch running down from their eye’s to their mouths which rattlesnakes lack. Take note that these characteristics should not be used to identify gopher snakes from rattlesnakes in other states.
Gopher snakes (Pituophis catenifer spp.) inhabit a variety of open habitats from grasslands, shrub steppe, sagebrush flats, and open ponderosa pine forests often using mammal burrows, vegetation, and artificial cover as retreats. During the cooler spring months this species is active during the day (diurnal), but as the months get hotter in the summer they become active during the evening/morning (crepuscular) or the night (nocturnal) when temperatures are more bearable.
When the day becomes hot, they retreat into cooler areas, such as the shade of a shrub, under a rock, or in a mammal burrow. These snakes feed primarily on mammals like rodents, gophers, moles, etc. but also feed on birds, other snakes (Including rattlesnakes!), lizards, and amphibians. During the day they forage on the ground, in burrows, or in shrubs/trees, where they search for their prey by smell. Most prey is swallowed immediately after capture, but larger prey is usually constricted first. These snakes will coil up in striking position and hiss loudly, sometimes while rattling their tails as mentioned above to mimic rattlesnakes.
Northern Pacific rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus oreganus) inhabits open habitats similar to the gopher snake including sagebrush flats, rocky canyons, brush land, and open woodlands. They do prefer to stay near rock formations where they hide in the crevices during hibernation. Gopher Snakes often share these “hibernaculum” with rattlesnakes. This species of snake prefers temperatures in the 70’s and is primarily active during the night (nocturnal), although some day time activity is done.
Rattlesnakes have similar diets to gopher snakes, primarily eating mammals, birds, other snakes, lizards, and amphibians. Rattlesnakes are usually able to secure larger prey than gopher snakes can. During the night (or evening/morning in spring) these snakes forage/ambush their prey by smell and a special heat sensing organ. After foraging they retreat to hiding spots like shrubs and cover (e.g. rocks/logs) and/or bask.
Rattlesnakes are venomous, and should not attempted to be handled. Respect this species at a safe distance.
If you happen to encounter one of these snakes, observe them from a distance unless you are absolutely certain it is a gopher Snake. They will usually try to slither away anyway.
Itching to learn more? Check out my photo field guide to native reptiles and ampbhibians of Chelan County here. This bibliography includes field guides and online resources. The University of Washington Burke Museum Herpetology webpage has terrific photos and life histories of native amphibians and reptiles. Serious students use the California Herps Pacific Northwest species website.
The Washington Department of Wildlife’s “Living with Wildlife- Snakes” webpage begins with this insightful text by author Russell Link: Snakes are among the most misunderstood of all animals. As a result, many harmless, beneficial snakes have met untimely deaths at the hands of
shovel-wielding humans. Of the dozen of so species of snakes found in Washington, only the Western rattlesnake is capable of inflicting a poisonous bite, which it seldom does… All snakes are an important part of the natural food chain, eating a variety of prey—from mice and birds to frogs and insects. Besides their ecological value, snakes offer the careful wildlife viewer a chance to watch one of nature’s most efficient predators.