2,400 sq ft rattlesnake and native reptile zoo located in Cave Creek, AZ open to the public by appt
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We've finally updated the events section of our website to include The Rattlesnake Conservancy's venomous training course that we'll be hosting here in October. Still some seats available! Here is a photo from a past venomous course we did here. To sign up for our next venomous training course, you can visit this link or TRC's website for more info. https://rattlesnakeranchaz.com/events
Our next venomous training course is on the calendar!
Unlike our previous one taught by yours truly, this time we have chosen to host one of
The Rattlesnake Conservancy’s training courses. It will take place at our facility in Cave Creek, AZ October 26th and 27th, 2024. You must sign up prior to attend.
For more information and to register for the course, please check out the conservancy's website at: www.savethebuzztails.org or for more info about our facility, go to www.rattlesnakeranchaz.com
This is open to anyone 18+ interested in building foundational knowledge and skill in safe, venomous snake handling. Come learn a wealth of venomous snake wisdom right in the middle of a beautiful venomous snake exhibit!
Neonate dusky Pygmy rattlesnake born here a few weeks ago. It’s posing with one of Venom Life Gear‘s neonate snake hooks that we absolutely love for the little guys 🐍
Hey everyone! As you may have seen, we added an event yesterday. We are hosting a venomous training course here at the ranch that is being put on by The Rattlesnake Conservancy. We will continue to post details along the way but I wanted to clarify a few things below:
1) Unlike our Venomous 101 that I taught last year that was mostly geared toward zookeepers/venomous in a captive setting specifically, this course covers a more broad range of topics and is recommended for not just keepers but home/land owners and anyone else interested in learning more about coexisting with rattlesnakes. You can visit the conservancy’s website for more details about the curriculum.
2) This is a course with an established curriculum that the conservancy has been using and polishing for years. *They* are the ones teaching it, not us. We get to simply sit back and play the roles of host for this class. For questions about our location and some of the logistics, feel free to reach out to us. For questions about the class, please contact staff at The Rattlesnake Conservancy. Emails below.
3) The class is TWO days - with the first day being a classroom setting of presentations, and the second day is for all of the hands (not) on training. It will be here in Cave Creek right in our zoo’s showroom on Saturday, October 26th AND Sunday, October 27th.
4) Tickets for the full 2-day event are $349 and can be purchased directly from their website. Believe me, it’s well worth it! Not to mention you’ll get special access and an optional tour of our rattlesnake zoo while you’re here, which is included. Keep in mind there are only 30 seats available. Also note that the Rattlesnake Conservancy is a recognized non-profit that directly benefits h**p conservation and most of the proceeds for the course will be going directly to them.
The event link is below which has additional info and links to everything you need. I also put some important links in the comments of this post. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us or the conservancy if you have additional questions. Our last class was a lot of fun and this will absolutely be a blast, too! Sign up using the link below. - Cody
Rattlesnake Ranch AZ email: [email protected]
The Rattlesnake Conservancy:
[email protected]
https://facebook.com/events/s/level-1-venomous-handling-cert/1685237595575997/
Happy world snake day!!! Despite being one of the most persecuted groups of animals on earth, today many of us celebrate their diversity and preservation. While they might not be “fluffy enough” for most, they are undeniably beautiful and more valuable than most will ever know.
Here’s a wee little western Massasauga that was born here a few weeks ago.
We apologize for the lack of posting, it’s been an extremely busy past couple of months! We’ll try to post some exciting updates soon on new litters being born at the zoo along with new projects being completed. In the meantime, check out this Durango rock rattlesnake that is new to our displays. Hope everyone had a happy 4th! 🇺🇸
Now that’s a tiny rattlesnake! Another photo of one of the baby pygmy rattlesnakes born here a few days ago.
𝘚𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘳𝘶𝘴 𝘮. 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 “Carolina Pygmy rattlesnake”
Happy Mother’s Day!!! To all the wonderful mothers out there (both human and serpentine) we see you and we appreciate you!
Carolina pygmy rattlesnake mother and baby born here at the zoo just a few days ago…
tHe OnLy gOod sNaKe iS a dEaD sNaKe! - is a common phrase in our culture because we so badly fear what we don’t understand. They are far more interesting, more valuable, and far less threatening than most will ever know. Can you imagine if the cure for cancer was hidden in snake venom, and we killed them all off cuz we couldn’t get past our cultural “eww gross scary” mentality?
Introduction: If you follow TRC - or any organization which promotes the conservation of snakes -you've probably heard the phrase "venom saves lives". Snake venom has already been used in other medications, such as the heart medication Integrelin, which is a synthetic cyclic peptide derived from bar...
While this snake is not actually ours, it paid us a visit to the ranch yesterday for a photoshoot. This is a prairie rattlesnake with a color mutation that makes it completely white - a mutation deemed “snow”. Yes, it is 100% real.
Our North American rattlesnakes are out of hibernation and back on display. Of course during their transition we had to take some fresh photos. Enjoy this teaser sampling of some of the beautiful animals we have here. Can you guess each species?
Warmer weather means more active wildlife! As temperatures rise, you may be more likely to find animals crossing the roads. Roads are one of the greatest sources of mortality for snakes, and dead snakes on the road can attract other wildlife species like small mammals, hawks, vultures, and eagles who feed on the carcasses and become at risk themselves of getting killed in a vehicle collision.
You can save our native wildlife species by staying alert and driving carefully this season! Watch for snakes and other animals on the roads and give them a brake! 🐍🦅🦝🐸🐢
An adult male Huamantlan rattlesnake with a bit more red/pink than the average specimen! 𝐶𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑠 𝑠𝑐𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑠 𝑠𝑎𝑙𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑖
One of our neonate Crotalus scutulatus salvini, "Huamantlan rattlesnake". For those unfamiliar with the subspecies, Mike Cardwell took some time to update their wikipedia page online. Mike is a biologist, author, and rattlesnake enthusiast (he wrote the book on Mojave rattlesnakes). He also photographed our specimens for the wikipedia page as well. Feel free to check it out to learn more:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotalus_scutulatus_salvini
Several months ago, we hosted a showing of the Orianne Society's new timber rattlesnake documentary. Here's a short and sweet video of the event. The documentary will also be available online very soon - be sure to check them out and see it for yourself! You can do so by visiting their website. Links in the video description. Lastly, we are donating support to them for each new subscriber we pick up!
For this short and sweet video, we wanted to showcase a wonderful h**p conservation group called the Orianne Society. They recently produced a short documen...
Arizona pet owners - this impacts you. Please read and send emails to stop this bill.
ALERT: Arizona Warrantless Seizure Bills
For easier reading and to take action, click here: https://usark.org/24az/
Hearing: Thursday, February 15
Senator Bolick of Arizona has introduced Senate Bill 1603 that will allow for warrantless search of private property and seizure of your pet animals. Senate Bill 1204 (Senator Kavanagh and Representative Shah) was also introduced and is almost identical.
Remember, warrants protect us from unreasonable governmental intrusion. As if that is not bad enough, the bills would make it so that, “The formal rules of evidence do not apply and reliable hearsay is admissible in the postseizure hearing.” Please read that last sentence again! “The formal rules of evidence do not apply and reliable hearsay is admissible…”
First, the formal court rules are tossed out the window. This means that the due process that typically exists in court does not apply. Additionally, hearsay is generally inadmissible in court unless a special exception is provided because it is not considered reliable or trustworthy. If this bill passes, hearsay will be good enough for the seizure and State possession of animals in Arizona. Needless to say, this goes against our constitutional rights as Americans.
There is much more wrong with the bill such as committing class warfare against lower-income families who cannot afford court, required bonds, or impound fees. Most Americans could not afford the attorney fees if they chose to challenge one of these seizures. The bill allows for too much subjectivity in assessing the welfare of the animals in question and does not provide for any checks or balances against the agencies in charge.
The bills' language also provides that the seizing agency can place the animal with any “person, agency, or shelter, including a volunteer” and the animal owner is responsible for covering all of the costs billed by that party in addition to the legal fees. Just the required bond may be too much for people to fight for their animals. Imagine your pets being seized and then being kept by some random person as allowed in this bill.
This is a bill that sounds good and attempts to protect animals, on the surface. It would be great if actual animal cruelty could be properly addressed faster. However, one must consider that any rogue enforcement officer could seize animals as they see fit whether there is animal cruelty or not. Any animal rights-minded officers could seize healthy animals and claim there were problems. This scenario has already played out.
SB1204 has a hearing on Thursday, February 15 with the Senate Natural Resources, Energy and Water Committee. Read the agenda at https://www.azleg.gov/agendas/0215012028128.pdf. The hearing starts at 9:00 AM in Senate Hearing Room 2 (SHR2).
Sample letter and more. Go to the alert link.
The baby Huamantlan rattlesnakes born here just a few weeks ago are taking food on their own and doing phenomenally. The other day we pulled a baby for a quick photo shoot. These get better and better with age in terms of color/pattern, especially some males that can have very red and black bodies with yellow/green eyes. Vipers in general have undeniably beautiful eyes and this little baby is no exception!
The cute and slightly derpy face of a little neonate Baja rattlesnake (Crotalus enyo). This snake was produced by Brett Welch and is a relatively new acquisition for the zoo. Once he gets a little more size he’ll be out on display. This is a neat, relatively small rattlesnake species found where its name implies - Baja, Mexico!
Thanks Voyage Phoenix for the interview and interest in our business!
Today we’d like to introduce you to Cody Will. Cody Will Hi Cody, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself. I grew up in a rural area where snake encounters were common. I was always fascinated by nature, especially the creatures most people seemed to loathe. My first job in high schoo...
Did you know that Ben Franklin was actually talking about a rattlesnake in this quote? It’s from a longer article printed on this very day in December of 1775 where he goes on to further share other observations about rattlesnakes and their symbolic nature in regards to this [soon to be] country. More specifically, he would have mostly encountered timber rattlesnakes - which therefore is the species we pictured here with the quote.
While we often think of the bald eagle as a symbol of this country, it turns out our founding fathers had a fascination with these snakes as well. They certainly would have encountered their fair share in the northeast when this species was far more abundant within the landscape at that time.
My 2nd favorite quote from the same article he writes: ”She never wounds ‘till she has generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of treading on her”. You can read a digital version of the full publication online including here: https://www.greatseal.com/symbols/rattlesnake.html
Timber rattlesnakes are one of our favorite species here at the ranch and they are most certainly an iconic species of this great country. Like all rattlesnakes, they are amazing and unique animals of great worth that deserve utmost respect and awe. 🇺🇸 🐍
We wrote an article that explains more about our facility and it was published in this journal. Check it out, along with all the other great articles in this growing magazine!
Having been initiated once as a hobby, h**petoculture (known in Europe as terrariumistics) brought together hundreds of thousands of people passionate about the idea of keeping and breeding amphibians and reptiles in their homes, yards and farms. Step by step this movement has grown into a large com...
Our friends over at Rattlesnake Solutions did a superb job putting together a video that showcases our dog training here at the ranch. Be sure to check out and subscribe to their channel, and watch this video in particular! 🐍 🐶 🇺🇸
Dogs have no natural history with rattlesnakes and don’t know to avoid them. As a result, dogs are often bitten by them ... but there's a fix. Rattlesnake av...
Excited to see this issue as our facility will be featured in it. We were featured in a past issue sharing our experience breeding Hopi rattlesnakes, too! Thank you Responsible Herpetoculture Foundation "RHF" for featuring our zoo in your magazine! If you haven’t, please check out and follow their page. Their publications are wonderful.
Dear friends!
The latest Responsible Herpetoculture Journal (Issue #12) is almost here! In just a few days you can check out some of these interesting reads that are valuable to h**petoculture:
· Breeding Kaiser's newts at Antwerp Zoo, Belgium
· Thorny Devil Husbandry with Alice Springs Reptile Centre
· EMYS-R: A Pan-European Approach to Wetland Conservation
· A Tour of Rattlesnake Ranch AZ, Arizona
· Captive Management of Emerald Tree Boas by Lee Warren of Millenium Reptiles
· And many many more!
**petoculture **pingtheglobe **petology
Follow us to stay updated and invite your friends!
The beautiful dusky pigmy rattlesnake from the southeastern United States. This small rattlesnake’s venom contains a protein that was used to develop a blood thinner/cardiovascular drug (Eptifibatide…brand name Integrilin).
𝑆𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑟𝑢𝑠 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑢𝑠 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖
“Dry bite” is a term often thrown around in the rattlesnake/veterinary/medical world. We especially hear it a lot from our dog training clientele with stories like “it must have been a dry bite cuz there was very little swelling” and “I heard 50% of snakebites are dry bites” and things like that. If there are ANY signs of envenomation (swelling, bruising, coagulopathy, etc) then the bite is not dry because those and other symptoms arise from venom in their system. Dry bite = zero venom, or at least zero symptoms of envenomation after confirmed fang entry from a venomous snake. Unfortunately half of bites are not dry either, it’s far less than that. This is a great article that speaks in detail to a lot of this and clears up what is and isn’t a dry bite, why it sometimes happens, and some actual numbers that are helpful.
The December issue of News From The Pit is live on our website. This month’s edition is all about dry bites: what they are, why they might occur and how often they happen in Arizona. Read it here:https://azpoison.com/sites/default/files/december_2023_news_from_the_pit_0.pdf
**petology
Yesterday we had the privilege of sharing a deeper glimpse into the world of venomous snake h**petoculture with this incredible group of people. These 27 individuals (a couple not pictured) invested a full day of their time to listen to a lengthy slideshow covering all sorts of reptile husbandry topics. These included basic day to day care to more advanced topics. We finished off the day with safe handling techniques utilizing the proper tools. Many of them hooked, tonged, and safely tubed a live rattlesnake for the very first time. They also got to see some demonstrations in venom extraction methods, force feeding, probing, and other more tedious/exciting activity that regularly occurs here at the zoo. All to say, we had a blast. Most importantly, everyone went home safely and kept all 10 of their fingers in tact. Thanks guys for being a part of our first ever venomous course! Now be safe out there!!!!
Get it? I call this one “pumpkin-pyro”. It’s the most Thanksgiving thing we could come up with. Have a happy thanksgiving everyone!
Lampropeltis pyromelana “Arizona mountain kingsnake”
If only every property owner would listen to this.
A neonate male Arizona black rattlesnake (C. cerberus) with an adult female. The shift in coloration from baby to adult in this species is truly fascinating. These are unrelated specimens but from the same locality in Gila County, AZ.
Cave Creek, AZ
| Tuesday | 8am - 5pm |
| Wednesday | 8am - 5pm |
| Thursday | 8am - 5pm |
| Friday | 8am - 5pm |
| Saturday | 8am - 5pm |
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Baby Huamantlan rattlesnakes! We had suspected the parents of these got the job done but wasn’t exactly expecting a January litter. What an awesome surprise! This is a really, really cool species of rattlesnake from Mexico. Check out those little green eyes! #rattlesnake #venomous #zoobred #uscbb
Spicy spaghetti! Another litter of albino rattlesnakes born here at the zoo. This time we have 18 Western Diamondbacks. Lots of new mouths to feed over the past couple months here but everything is doing great and we’ll be posting updates on the other litters soon.
More baby snakes born here at the zoo! This time, we have x10 #westerndiamondback rattlesnakes. These are actually bred for mellow temperament using exceptionally mellow, native adults. The parents of these are actually a part of our dog training program. Generally speaking, western diamondbacks tend to be flighty and/or quick to defend themselves, but as you can see in just this few second-long reel, these are not skittish at all and most should remain that way. This is the 2nd year we’ve gotten babies out of our mellow-line “work” snakes. This is litter number 4 so far here. Hopefully there will be several more posts just like this soon. #captivebred #rattlesnakes #reptilezoo #venomous
Healing Hearts Animal Rescue and Refuge
E Peak View Road
Animal Health Services of Cave Creek
North Cave Creek Road
Animal Hospital at Tatum Ranch
N Cave Creek Road
