Click the play button on the video window to the right to see the storyPHOENIX -- This time of year, Dan Marshand and the
Phoenix Herpetological Society get up to 25 calls a day.
"Well if it's not moving, it's a good chance it's a diamondback," said Marshand about a snake call Wednesday in far north Scottsdale. "We'll take a look and see what we got."
The snake wasn't a rattlesnake. Instead it was a 4-foot gopher snake, scaring the landscapers.
That call is just one of the many every summer for PHS, which goes around Valley neighborhoods and rounds up snakes.
It's the society's busiest time because reptiles move from the hot desert terrain and head to the cool grass and water near homes.
And Marshand says all too often people are suprised to see a snake sitting in their yard. But, they shouldn't be.
"People are unaware that they live in the desert," he said. "There are snakes everywhere, all around. They just don't pay attention."
But several people in Ahwatukee are paying attention now.
Recently, there have been many reports of a six-foot snake creeping through the area.
Marshand says it's true some snakes in Arizona can grow that large. But usually, those reports are overblown.
"Fear drives people to describe the length of the snake to much larger than it really is," he said.
Still, snakes shouldn't be taken lightly.
Many in the Valley are very poisonous -- even deadly. With about 15 different types of poisonous rattlesnakes in the state, experts say you need to be cautious and know what to look for, especially since a rattlesnake bite can rack up a $100,000 medical bill.
So how can you know if a snake slithering around in your back yard is dangerous.
Experts say, there's an easy way to tell.
"A large head with a small neck," Marshand said. "For a venomous snake, it's typically three to four times larger than the neck behind it.
He also said that if the tip of a tail is larger than a man's finger, that's also a indicator of a poisonous snake.
"Anywhere in Arizona, if you see those characteristics, stay away," Marshand said.
