Rattlesnake mocked for eating so much, it couldn’t fit into its den on Arizona ranch
One of Arizona’s plentiful rattlesnakes is being mocked on social media for eating so much it couldn’t squeeze back into its den.
A photo of the embarrassing predicament was shared on Facebook by Rattlesnake Solutions, a snake catching service that was called to remove the snake.
It shows the shameless snake resorted to leaving its swollen belly hanging out of the front door for all to see.
“I was laughing. It was too full to do anything. It barely moved,” snake catcher Marissa Maki told McClatchy News. “The snake didn’t even know what was going on. I think it was in a food coma.”
It happened at a horse ranch in Scottsdale, and video shared on YouTube shows the snake was limp when she picked it up with tongs. “Look at how fat he is,” Maki is heard saying.
The snake was identified as a western diamondback and it was young and small. It was discovered when riders went to take a break in the shade, and saw the snake’s butt hanging out, so to speak.
It’s suspected the venomous snake gorged itself on a chubby kangaroo rat or ground squirrel earlier in the day.
Hundreds of people have reacted to the photo, including many who saw it as symbolic of average Americans on Thanksgiving.
“Looks like that one was temporarily rendered safe by its gluttony,” Constance Zec Bessada wrote.
“Can you imagine like if you were all stuffed full after Thanksgiving dinner, then in through a window comes a hook to drag you off to who knows where,” Kathy Kladar posted.
“I can’t tell if he ate a kangaroo rat, or a kangaroo!” Danny Jamison said.
The snake was released unharmed back into the wilderness area, “without losing its meal.”
Western diamondbacks are native to Arizona, live up to 20 years and have been known to reach 7 feet, according to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
Maki says the rattlesnake at the ranch was so young, it did not have the capacity to generate much of a rattling sound with its tail. The horses on the ranch didn’t seem to notice it was around.
Bryan Hughes, owner of Phoenix-based Rattlesnake Solutions, says rattlesnakes will find their way to wherever there are tasty rodents and comfortable places to hide, which makes ranches a choice home.
“In this instance, had the railroad ties not created underground hiding spaces, this snake would have slithered off elsewhere to digest its meal, albeit slowly,” he said.
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