Recent Snakes

Here are some somewhat-recent snakes.

Red-tailed rat snake and skin. Columbus Zoo, January 2, 2024

 

 

 

A red-tailed rat snake's tail. WikiPedia says the tail is sometimes red but is usually brown. Columbus Zoo, March 25, 2025

Lake Erie water snake. Columbus Zoo, January 2, 2024.

Canebrake rattlesnake. Columbus Zoo, February 11, 2024. Focus stack of 5 images

Red spitting cobra. Columbus Zoo, February 11, 2024. Focus stack of 5 images.

Mandarin trinket snake. Columbus Zoo, April 23, 2024

Scrub pythons. Columbus Zoo, November 6, 2024

Arizona black rattlesnake. Toledo Zoo, March 1, 2025. Focus stack of 3 images

Russell's viper. Toledo Zoo, March 1, 2025

King cobra. Columbus Zoo, February 11, 2025:

January Reptiles

I visited the Columbus Zoo's reptiles a couple times in January.

Burton (Burt) the Magnificent! Grand Cayman iguana. Focus stack of two images.

Weber's sailfin lizard

smooth-fronted caiman

green basilisk

red-tailed rat snake. Focus stack of two images

scrub python

Malagasy leaf-tailed gecko

Stick it out

Is it rude if an animal sticks out its tongue? All pictures are from the Columbus Zoo except as noted.

cheetah

 

Amur tiger

African lion

scrub python

Aldabra tortoise

reticulated giraffe

Ojibwe, a moose

great black-backed gull (Toledo Zoo)

Snakes

A scrub python flicks its tongue. (Columbus Zoo)

A snake's skin. It's from a Lake Erie water snake or an eastern fox snake. (They're in the same enclosure at the Columbus Zoo.)

blood python (Columbus Zoo)

a venomous snake's skull (Columbus Zoo)

an eastern diamondback rattlesnake's rattle (Columbus Zoo)

Gaboon viper (Toledo Zoo)

eastern green mamba (Toledo Zoo)

green tree python (Toledo Zoo)

A canebrake rattlesnake takes a drink (Columbus Zoo)

Reptiles

I've never been interested in reptiles, and I've rarely visited them in zoos. I've got nothing against them; it's just that mammals and birds are more appealing to me. However, after my first visit to the reptile building at the Columbus Zoo and a Grand Cayman iguana in particular, I'm happy to try to get compelling shots of reptiles.

This picture looks a little weird/interesting at the top because of reflections from the surface of the water.

Siebenrock's snake-necked turtle

sc

scrub python

Grand Cayman (blue) iguana

black-tailed rattlesnake

I had assumed that basilisks are magical beasts that show up in places like Harry Potter books, but here's a real one.

green basilisk

Aldabra giant tortoise

The lighting in the Komodo dragon exhibit is difficult for me to handle, mainly because of reflections off the glass, so here's a picture of a statue of one. 

Komodo dragon statue

I do my best to identify animals correctly, and I rely mostly on zoo signage. I have a bit of trouble when there are multiple snake or turtle species in the same enclosure.

My first choice for a link to more information about an animal is a page on the website of the zoo where I took the photo. If I can't find a page there, I choose a page on the site of a nonprofit organization such as the Smithsonian National Zoo, a university, or an international wildlife organization.