The Rattlesnake Conservancy

06/17/2026

Check out this young Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake found and moved safely from a building by our friend Robert Fenwick - the Land Resources Manager for Destin Fort Walton Beach FL and member of the Board of Directors of the Florida Trail Association! The Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake is currently under review by USFWS for federal listing through the Endangered Species Act. Thanks for promoting safe coexistence and giving this young and imperiled snake a chance at a long and healthy life in its natural habitat!

06/15/2026

It's Meet the Species Monday! This week's species is the Tancítaro cross-banded mountain rattlesnake (Crotalus tancitarensis).

Fun fact: Cited as the rarest rattlesnake known to science, this species has the least number of specimens in museums than all other rattlesnakes! Museum specimens are important to study change (evolutionary and otherwise), biology, and genetics.

The Tancítaro cross-banded mountain rattlesnake only occurs in a very small area of the Transverse Volcanic Cordillera in Michoacán, Mexico. Their diet is primarily lizards. They occur in habitat consisting of rocky slopes bordered by pine-fir forests around 10,000 ft elevation. This species is considered data deficient and is not listed as endangered at this time.

ID Tips: This rattlesnake is small, has a small rattle, only occurs in a small area, and is distinctly banded. It is quite different from other rattlesnakes that might be around!

Photo by Jason Jones with H**p MX

06/14/2026

New merch alert! 🚨 🐍 👕 🚨
Respect The Locals, available now!

savethebuzztails.org/product-page/respect-the-locals-t-shirt

Custom linocut artwork printed on high quality Next Level 3600 unisex crewneck made using premium 100% combed ringspun cotton that gives them a soft feel and modern fit!

This linocut design was handmade by Candacee White and is screen printed by Atlas Screen Printing. We're proud to support small artists and local businesses!

06/08/2026

"Amigos, queremos agradecer a nuestros patrocinadores de The Rattlesnake Conservancy, por ser patrocinadores por segundo año consecutivo del festival mexicano de las serpientes con sede en Aguascalientes. Seguramente con su apoyo tendremos un extraordinario evento. Nos vemos el sábado 25 y el domingo 26 de julio.
🫶🐍🇲🇽
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Friends, we would like to thank our sponsors from The Rattlesnake Conservancy for being sponsors of the Mexican Snake Festival based in Aguascalientes for the second consecutive year. Surely with their support, we will have an extraordinary event. See you on Saturday, July 25th and Sunday, July 26th
🫶🐍🇲🇽

05/27/2026

Classes are filling up but there's still room to join us for our next Level 1 Venomous Handling Certification Course at Rattlesnake Ranch AZ this August! Register today at savethebuzztails.org/classes

05/21/2026

We had an awesome time over the weekend at the Wild Amelia Nature Festival! Thanks to everyone who came out to learn more about our native wildlife and support conservation! 🐍💚

05/19/2026

We had a great time helping with the annual Eastern Massassagua Rattlesnake SAFE survey! This is a long-term monitoring project to track the health and population dynamics of this federally threatened rattlesnake species.
Learn more: emrssp.org
https://tinyurl.com/bdzhjkm8

We spent last week hiking through the swamp, surveying for our favorite rattlesnake.
We found a total of 76 Eastern Massassagua rattlesnakes, with 29 individuals that were identified from previous years. With an average of 52 snakes across the 18 years of the study, this was an exceptional year!

We also recaptured/released our oldest known snake and established a new longevity record in the wild of 16 years!

This year the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake SAFE had 41 attendees being from zoos, aquariums, state and federal wildlife agencies, and conservation organizations.

Big Thank you to Edward Lowe Foundation and Lincoln Park Zoo, Detroit Zoo, The Buffalo Zoo, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Milwaukee County Zoo, Brookfield Zoo Chicago, The Toronto Zoo, Indianapolis Zoo, The Rattlesnake Conservancy

05/17/2026

Courses are filling up and seats are limited! Register now!

Are you a land manager, environmental consultant, first responder, homeowner, zookeeper, veterinary professional, biologist, herpetology enthusiast, photographer, or anyone looking to learn how to safely handle venomous reptiles while receiving a professional certification? This course is for you!

05/13/2026

Thanks to Cova Gentry for sharing her caving gear sporting a TRC decal! You never know where The Rattlesnake Conservancy might show up next. 🐍✨

Where have you taken your TRC gear? We’d love to see! Don't have any yet? Grab yours at savethebuzztails.org/shop

05/11/2026

It's Meet the Species Monday! This week's species is the Guerreran long-tailed rattlesnake (Crotalus ericsmithi).

Fun fact: The tail length of this rattlesnake is 15% of its total body length! Additionally, the Guerreran long-tailed rattlesnake possesses one of the smallest rattles of the rattlesnakes.

This small rattlesnake is endemic to the Mexican state of Guerrero in the mountains of the Sierra Madre del Sur. Long-tailed rattlesnakes are considered lower montane habitat specialists and reside in the ecotone of tropical deciduous to pine-oak forests. This species was described in 2008, and little ecological research has been conducted for it.

ID Tips: The long-tailed rattlesnakes do not overlap in range. This is a beautiful, small, brightly patterned rattlesnake with one of the smallest rattles.

Photo by © Katiya (Yekaterina Pavlova)
Link to license for use: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/