Snake Sightings Increase As Southland Temperatures Rise

OAK PARK (CBSLA.com) — Warm weather in the Southland has prompted an increase in snake sightings.

Two Southern Pacific rattlesnakes were spotted at a campground in Agua Dulce in the past two days.

Three snakes were found in one Santa Clarita neighborhood over the weekend.

"We had approximately 25 snake calls over the weekend with the majority of those being here in the Conejo Valley and Oak Park area," Capt. Robert Welsbie of the Ventura County Fire Department said.

"You'll usually find them on the ground, you'll find them at the base of trees, at the base of shrubs," Welsbie added.

Snake wrangler Bruce Freeman, who has handled venomous snakes for 30 years and has never been bitten, is the guy Agua Dulce residents call when they find the reptiles on their property.

He said he received three calls by 1 p.m. Monday.

"The hotter it is, the more active they are. Until it gets too hot and then they go search for shade," Freeman said.