Well, we've done a snake array before (I think). However, I'm losing the snow quickly, and snakes are starting to emerge from brumal dens, meaning I'm trying to get back in the snake-catching mode. Idaho, especially where I live at over 5000-foot elevation, is one of the worst places for snakes, compared with other states in the nation. We've only got a few species.


Commonly called the bullsnake or gophersnake, this is our biggest snake, up to nearly 6 feet in length.



These snakes are aptly named, as they are exceptionally fast. Racers, Coluber constrictor.



Racers are the only snake in Idaho where the young animals (less than a year old) don't look anything like the adults.



Even at this relatively high elevation, rattlesnakes, Crotalus viridis, are common.



Rubber boas, Charina bottae, are not commonly seen, but I suspect they might actually be our most common snake. They are shy, nocturnal, and usually live underground, so they are rarely found.



The western terrestrial garter snake, Thamnophis elegans, my most-often caught snake, is actually a poisonous snake. However, the poison is barely toxic to humans. If I provoke them into biting me, the venom causes slight redness, swelling, and itching. Not generally considered as a poisonous snake.



Like the snake above, the common garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis, is mildly poisonous as well.

What nice photos, Jack.

Among those, my all time favorite is that rubber boa. When I do finally catch one, you will know, no matter where in the universe you happen to be !

Thank you for the share, as always.

What do you find for lizards? We used to see a few Horned Lizards,but now I never see them.

Awesome MJM!

caldwellite - in addition to th3e two species of horned lizards, we periodically see the following:


northern alligator lizard



western skink



Down there in your country (read Owyhee County, Ada and Canyon Counties, we see Leopard lizards, Collared, Fence, Sided-blotched. Sagebrush, and other lizards.

I am not afraid of snakes per say I am a lot less afraid of any snake I do not see as opposed to any I do see I understand they are a part of the grand plan of wildlife that makes up our planet I am not in favor of killing them on sight as some do But neither am I in favor of them showing up in what I consider my territory I must admit some of them do look amazing as far as their marking s.

Bull snakes were my favorite to catch as a kid running around farms outside Omaha. Garters were plentiful.

Ran on to this cottonmouth back on March 10 while beaver trapping. He was pretty docile, wouldn't want to meet up with him now. Those things will make a man hurt himself.

Our view from camp
It's not a snake , but sure is beautiful up here.

Beartooth - Certainly a view I'd be staring at with a burned down campfire, a good friend or two, and a wee bit of sippin' whiskey. Thanks man, for the photo.

My ball python

Your welcome Gulo

We have just four species of reptiles here in Western Siberia: two snakes (the common grass snake and common viper) and two lizards (sand lizard and viviparous lizard). The latter is the only lizard species in the boreal/taiga zone.

The common viper is more abundant up north in the taiga belt. There are several color phases (gray, brown, copper, dark brown, black...), and black ones seem to be the most numerous. I found this one resting on a grassy bank of a small taiga river during mycological fieldwork with a friend. I didn't know much about snakes back then, so I grabbed and lifted it by the tail and the tail was well above my waist while its head was still near my boot, and it was thicker than my wrist in the middle. At that moment, my friend walked out of thick brush and saw me, and this was the first time I saw a person's face go from rosy to white in a matter of seconds. I had thought it was a metaphorical exaggeration before that I later learned that the biggest viper ever recorded, from Scandinavia, was 104 cm/41 in long, meaning the one that I caught was much bigger, and its bite would definitely kill me, either very quickly or slowly and painfully, depending on luck



I had to vipe my camera lens after taking this picture, because it was covered with venom:


normally, they're just 1-2 ft long:



Common vipers are good swimmers, and sometimes try to get into people's boats:




Down here in Southwestern Siberia, grass snakes are more common, but they seem to be almost semiaquatic, and are usually seen along the Ob river and its tributaries:



Lizards mostly live on sunny slopes. Male sand lizards are vivid green and can be pretty agressive (but harmless). This one is from my vegetable garden, from today:





Viviparous lizards also live in mires/peatlands, which is a strange habitat for reptiles. They are smaller and more brownish-drab overall, like this one, but there's also a beautiful dark phase that has a really bright orange belly.
;

Really like that big green lizard, Tatiana. I would have lots of fun catching and playing with those, before letting them go. Just as I do with the Gator lizards here.