Northern California Rattlesnake - Crotalus oreganus oreganus / 2014 Pics & Video

Hello fellow herpers, I am new to VenomLand, and as of June 2014 my wife and I are new to field herping.

If two years ago someone told us we would be hunting rattlesnakes for catch/release pics and video... I'dda said "you crazy...!"

We have soooooooooo many pics... it's overwhelming. However, the following are our favs of the 2014 season.

The rattlesnakes we catch here in Northern California are (as you know)... Northern Pacific Rattlesnake - Crotalus oreganus oreganus

We are new at this, so... and I had a new camera - Nikon D80... had to get used it, learn how to operate it... very complicated.

NOTE: We found 13 rattlesnakes in a course of about two months. I'll post a few... a little at a time... there's a lot...!

The first one... the pics came out so bad... I was only able to salvage only one good pic. And the pic I did get... I'm so sorry, but we were very-very inexperience and we had the rattlesnake, we named Standley in the sun too long. We felt so bad, but we also learned a very good lesson! After Standley, in other videos, you'll hear me constantly say I'm moving rattlesnake to the shade. And in 2015... I will be taking serious effort in NOT handling the rattlesnakes so much. I'm not to fond of that pincher anymore... I'll use it if I have to, but with the hook to support the south side. The 2014 season was the year of the noob...!

Full videos of each are at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCohUvAnDUjG-NsYEmqzwjHg

My favorite rattlesnakes of the 2014 season are as follows; Sylvester Rattlesnake File #02, Travis #05, Henry #07... and Tommy #12 -- But in no way diminish my admiration and love for all the others... they are ALL #1 in my book...!

..

★1. This is Standley, and Standley is okay... we got him to the shade and in some very shallow water from a little spring by the side of the dirt road. We stayed with him for a approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Stanley pulled through and scurried away... and we learned a very-very valuable lesson. We don't keep the rattlesnakes in the sun anymore... scared both me and my wife but good why I'll tell'ya...! - We felt really bad.


★2. This second rattlesnake is "Sylvester" -- Sylvester was a BIG BOY   He was 45" length and he had an 11" girth "measured". Now, since Sylvester was only the 2'nd rattlesnake we had ever caught, and only the 3'rd we had ever seen in our lives... we had NO IDEA what we had. Sylvester would be THE biggest rattlesnake we caught in the 2014 season. Sylvester makes his home right next to a camp site with picnic tables and BBQ grills... so, no wonder how he got so big. He dines on the rodents that feed on the trash and food refuse that people leave behind. Sylvester is a very health rattlesnake... he is absolutely gorgeous




★3. This is Randy -- Randy makes his home at 3100 ft. elevation -- And unlike the lower elevation rattlers at about 2100 ft. elevation and different color soil. Randy was a grey/red color matching the ground color of his natural environment. This area is a clay mountain... the ground is red/grey




★4. This is Rocky -- We found Rocky under a big ole rock, so his name was obvious. Rocky was shedding... and he was a feisty bugger when we first encountered him. But, we was quick to settle down and all he was interested in was getting that old skin off his body. We kept him cool in the shade and he gave us a GREAT show of how a rattlesnake sheds his old skid. I'll post the video in another thread.

Hello John,

thanks for this addition.
Very nice animals again, and an interesting mix of variations from different localities.

Rainer

Then there was "Travis" -- And Travis was a spectacular rattlesnake.

This was the first time I ever experienced a rattlesnake that rattled in warning the entire time I had the pleasure of spending with him.... about 30 minutes.

You'll notice that he has a blue color to him, and he was blue in person... more turquoise color. The blue depended on the lighting. These photos are not retouched, nor altered in any way. I shoot in .JPG -- I have yet to figure out what .RAW is, but... these pics are straight from the camera.

When they are this pretty... I hate to... really hate to say goodbye. It is my life resolution to never collect. My personal belief is rattlesnakes belong in their natural habitat. This is just me, I have no opinion of those who do collect... I respect their love. I've seen some spectacular terrariums on YouTube... some guys go all out, some rattlesnakes I've seen live better lives than the guy taking care of him.

The full Travis video... this will go 1080p and full screen

Then we have Henry -- And Henry was prone to hissing a lot, so we nicknamed him "Hissy-Fit Henry"

Henry was an absolutely stunning rattlesnake -- he was the ONLY one my wife called "beautiful" - But, she didn't see Travis in person, however she did think Travis was mean after seeing him on video.

Now, Henry... Henry never rattles, not even once. He never struck... he was an absolute gentleman. And for the record, I have NO IDEA if Henry was a Henrietta, we don't know. So... we call him a him, just because. Maybe someday I'll learn how to determine sex of a rattlesnake. I'm not a fan of popping the hemipenis... I'm not a herpetologist on pro field study. I'm only a very green amateur noob what has A LOT to learn. And is why I'm here, to learn from you nice people.

Please feel free to comment; I am a firm believer in constructive criticism. I'm a grown man and I freely admit that I know nothing of rattlesnake handling. I want to learn anything that will help me to help my rattlesnakes.

The video of Henry is the best... I'm not so good in it. I wasn't aware that I say uhhh a lot when I talk. Working on fixing that.

This is the full Henry video -- Go 1080p and full screen for best results.

Next we have Ralph... nickname of "Ralphie Boy" My wife and I were married on July 16, 2014 -- My wife asked me where I wanted to go on our honeymoon, so like any field herper would say I answered... "rattlesnake hunting" So... the next day on July 17'th we went rattlesnake hunting. And we named our catch "Ralphie Boy" after the main character in the old sitcom The Honeymooners

Then for the next 8 days we did what she wanted to do  

At this pont, I'm starting to get better with the new camera... enjoy

Then there was Huey -- a yearling. Just a little guy... he was my first youngin' - all the other rattlers in 2014 were older, bigger... some much bigger!

My inexperience is really shows here... I have to get better. I never knew what I look like on video before... never knew what I sound like... I'll get better.

Beautiful pictures, more beautiful rattlesnakes. Well done.

John,
Very cool photos, thank you for sharing! There are a few absolute stunners in there. It's great to see more people like yourself taking such an intrest in these animals. As far as the sexing goes, once you've seen enough you will be able to just take a look at the tail length and judge sex fairly easily. Males will have considerably longer tails than females, and in larger, healthy adult females the tail should have a pretty dramatic tapering that'll be pretty obvious. Anyway, keep the pics coming and stay safe.
Frank

Next we have one of my fav's - haha... I have a lot of 2014 favs, what can I say

This is Buddy and buddy was... wow what can I say, Buddy was absolutely delightful. No joke, if I could pick this guy up and hold him... I'wudda give him big hug too

May I say now, I am certain there are seasoned herpers out there that see these vids and cringe at my handling. Well, I understand... please believe me, I understand. 2015 will be an all new type of video and photograph. I'm interested in and I like the in-situ type pics and vids y'all are talking about. So, please forgive my newness. However, I will say it's gonna be rally hard for me to not handle the rattlers in 2015, but if it's good for my rattlers, it's good for me and I'm all for it.

Lets have a look at my friend Buddy -- I will be looking for Buddy in 2015... I just have to see him again.









This next one, not one of my fav's, but I'm posting it because it best shows Buddy's hexagonal dorsal pattern characteristic of Northern Pacific Rattlesnakes - Crotalus oreganus oreganus.



This is a fun one... I'm a rattlesnake... do you SEE ME...???  

very nice post and pictures
thanks for sharing