Record-setting rainfall brings out snakes in the Valley

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - It's been raining cats and dogs for days and now the snakes are out because of it.

"They're just on the move to find a safer place," Daniel Marchand said.

Daniel Marchand with the Phoenix Herpetological Society says in just the past few days, each day the non-profit has been called out at least 10 times, if not more.

"We're getting a lot of activity... snakes moving," Marchand said. "Some of them can actually be flooded out of their burrows, the burrow or the place they're residing basically getting flooded out because of this rain we're having."

Those snakes, like this venomous rattler that includes baby rattlers, end up in people's yards.

So do gopher snakes, like this one.

"Similar have patterns, they are confused with rattlesnake, they will hiss and strike if they feel threatened," Kathryn Lee said. "They are completely non-venomous. If you get bit, you're not going to the hospital."

No matter what type of snake, Marchand says if you spot one, don't attempt to move it yourself.

"We'll take that snake from the backyard and we'll relocate it to close proximity," he said. "It's safe for the snake, safe for the neighborhood and all that."

Phoenix Herpetological Society
www.phoenixherp.com/welcome.html