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Snakes of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona

As we’re off to Denver shortly for a tour of the … what do you call the area … the Southwestern States? The Mountain States? Well, anyway, we’re probably going to be taking in bits of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona.

A couple of years ago two black bears ran right past us as we sat picnicking in the Shenandoah National Park, Virginia.


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And a few years earlier, I think we very nearly came across a mountain lion (cougar) when we climbed up to a fire watch tower in the Sierra Nevada, California:


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On the first part of the walk, before we started climbing up the rocks to the fire tower, we walked along a sandy path between the fir trees; on the way back down, there were large cat-paw prints in the sand that hadn’t been there before.

So, bears and a cougar on previous visits to the States. I’m wondering what we might encounter this time. Colorado’s a pretty wild State so I’m breaking the list up by category. First off, the Serpentes.

Venomous Snakes
Osage Copperhead
Western Rattlesnake
Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake
Western Pygmy Rattlesnake
Non-venomous snakes
New Mexican Blind Snake
Glossy Snake
E. Yellow Bellied Racer
Prairie Ringneck Snake
Great Plains Ratsnake
Plains Hognose Snake
Texas Nightsnake
Common Kingsnake
Milk Snake
Green Snake
W. Coachwhip
Northern Watersnake
Bullsnake/Gophersnake
Texas Longnose Snake
W. Ground Snake
S.W. Black-headed Snake
W. Blackneck Garter Snake
Texas Brown Snake
Lined Snake
Rubber Boa

Posted in Science and Technology, World and Travel.

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4 Responses

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  1. Ivan says

    Bonjour,

    J’étais dans le colorado (boulder) il y a quelques temps et je me suis retrouvé nez à nez, en pleine montagne, face à un serpent jaune/vert avec une petite tête 25cm (environ), je voudrais savoir ce que c’était comme race de serpent?


    I was in colorado (boulder) some time ago and I found myself nose to nose, in the mountains, facing a snake yellow / green with a small head 25cm (about), I would like to know what it was as race snake?

  2. leona says

    We have caught Scarlet King snakes in Boulder Colorado. Why don’t I ever see them on Colorado snake lists or hear of anyone else catching them? Are they just very rare in Co?

  3. joe says

    You don’t hear of anyone else catching scarlet kings in CO because they don’t live around here. You’re seeing L. t. gentilis or the plains milk snake.

  4. T Branson says

    I found a scarlet king snake in my yard in Pueblo, CO. -not a milk snake.



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