See a Man Discover the Biggest Rattlesnake You’ve Ever Seen Under a Barbeque Grill

There’s nothing like a diamondback under your grill for a housewarming present! That’s exactly what this couple in Arizona found. They wisely decided to call a removal expert rather than take on the venomous snake themselves.

Watch the Heart-Stopping Video Now!

The video below begins with the expert assessing the situation to see exactly where the rattlesnake is. Opening the metal door, he captures the snake’s telltale rattle sound on video. Arizona is extremely hot in the summer and the snake likely looked for a cool place to get in the shade. The enclosed base of the large grill area was perfect.

Removing an installed mini fridge, he gets his first glimpse of the Western diamondback rattlesnake. “Oh wow,” he says. “That’s a big snake.” Grabbing a long-handled tool, he prepares to remove the snake from the grill. He grabs the snake near its head using the tool and pulls it out. Making sure to keep a firm grip, he puts the snake in a nearby empty bucket. You can easily see the rattles on the end of the snake.

Once the diamondback is situated completely in the bucket, the man lets go and quickly screws a tight lid on the top to keep the snake enclosed. After getting back to a holding facility, he measures the snake using a clear tube to keep its head contained. The snake is a whopping 4 feet 10 inches long. He notes that it is probably one of the biggest rattlesnakes in Arizona and that most measure closer to 2 or 3 feet.

What Rattlesnakes Live in Arizona?

The snake in the video is identified as a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. These snakes live in Arizona and other parts of the southwest and Mexico. They prefer dry, arid climates. But they also like to have places to get shade, such as the area under the grill. Southwest speckled rattlesnakes, western black-tailed rattlesnakes, tiger rattlesnakes, sidewinders, Mojave rattlesnakes, Arizona black rattlesnakes, twin-spotted rattlesnakes, banded rock rattlesnakes, Arizona ridge-nosed rattlesnakes, New Mexico ridge- nosed rattlesnakes, desert massasauga, great basin rattlesnakes, Grand Canyon rattlesnakes, midget faded rattlesnakes, and prairie rattlesnakes are all venomous snakes that live in various parts of Arizona. The Western diamondback is by far the most common, however. Some of the other snakes have very limited ranges or numbers.

The expert estimated this snake to be as old as 30 years, possibly more. One of the reasons that he gave for keeping the snake and not just releasing it into a less populated area right away was to allow time to break the snake’s habit. If he had released it, the snake likely would have gone right back to its familiar spot, the cool space under the grill.

See the video footage here to watch the diamondback in action.