Field Herp Forum

Gorgeous photos from you, as always!

-Bree

Jake, I've got a garnotii for him, maybe you could pick up if it's convenient to take with you to Athens. If not, no biggie.

~Bree

I'm driving to Okeefenokee tomorrow, but don't know what I can round up by then, or if you'd even be available.

What city are you in? I might be interested in bringing you some anoles.

Simus - did you notice at the end when the middle tortoise did a brief head bob? Do females bob, too? I was imagining the two on the mound were males. In any case, I do know now without doubt that the very small population isolated in our neighborhood is still reproducing, as I found a hatchling in ...

I wanted to share a short video I shot on Christmas of some gopher tortoise interaction in the yard, and get some input. Two of the three tortoises in this video are "head-butting" and I am wondering if they are males fighting over a female. I have seen the head bobbing behavior before, but never se...

Thanks for the comments, Tamara! I try my best to take interesting pics when I can. And yes, finding a gila is always a great experience. I have herped AZ four times, and been blessed to find gilas all four times. It never gets old.

~Bree

Simus, I am very fortunate to live on a large river. I see 2 alligators regularly, and a variety of snake species, but usually only have my phone on me for pics, so I post more on FB and Instagram these days.

~Bree

Kyle, those cottons were in a roadside ditch. There was a piece of plywood at the top of the ditch, which I flipped to find the smaller of the two you see pictured. It wasn't until that snake flipped itself down the bank that I noticed the big mama stretched out by the water. That got me looking aro...

Dave, I do have other pics on my cell phone, but too much trouble to try to post here. If you haven't seen it already, check out this video of the hog on my Flickr account.
https://flic.kr/p/uBheCS

~Bree

Nice finds! I would like to go on a sally-huntin' trip one of these days. I love your newt photos, and the trout!

~Bree

Nice photos, Daniel! I really like that NEWT!

~Bree

Hello, herpy people. It's been a while since I visited here. But as I sit here on my Thanksgiving holiday weekend, too full to move, it occurs to me this might be a good time to catch up. Perhaps, you are also too full to move, and would enjoy seeing some photos of animals we all love? Well I will i...

Dang, I wish I could just click "LIKE" on all my favorite photos from this post. Too many to comment on!

~Bree

Nice hognose. I have only found easterns. Would be nice to get to some simus habitat one of these days! And your sky photographs are AMAZING.

~Bree

YES.

This is pure speculation, but I wonder if poverty has anything do with it too. If you don't make much money, live in low cost rural areas with limited economic opportunity, and the tortoise is a cultural delicacy, why not take one now and again to put food on your table? I do not believe this to be...

Yes, Dave, sad but true. I wrote a newspaper article about this very subject last year. It is typically older black folks here in the south that still eat gopher tortoises. It's a way of life they never gave up, even when the tortoises were granted federal protection.

~Bree

I agree - I find it sad that people eat turtles. They are one of my favorite critters! I honestly don't know all the laws here in FL about what turtles are legal to take, but I can tell you the gopher tortoise is protected and people still eat them.

~Bree

I find it curious that my own husband, who herps with me on occasion, can't get approved membership here by Mr Scott Waters, yet someone with the user nam "AlterEgo" can. :?: To the original poster: if I were you, I would tell no one the locality and continue to go back to the spot myself. Imagine t...

Looks a bit extreme to be conjunctivitis. May be avian pox, but I'd think there would be more than one large lesion. It reminds me of the malignant tumors that guinea pigs get sometimes in old age. Pretty sad to see a wild animal afflicted like this. If you're concerned for the other birds, it defin...

It makes me think of the Sierran tree frogs I saw occasionally in Placer County. Who knows where it came from?! Ask Costco where they harvest their lettuce.

~Bree

Josh Holbrook wrote:
I know what you mean, a lot of ego in one place and I say that with all the love in my heart.

You don't say!

I felt certain the last is garnotii. Was leaning towards mabouia on the first two, as umop stated, but I only feel sure about the last one.

~Bree

I'd like to see the springs, but I won't be able to make it either, as that is one of two weekends in July I am participating in a turtle research project with a local grad student. Additionally, while I enjoy camping, doing it in the middle of summer in Florida is not my idea of fun.

~Bree

Would love to see some sals, but I'll be heading to AZ about that time in September. Looking forward to everyone's photos though!

~Bree

Well, the year is half over, and I'll have to call this recent find my most significant so far. Only the second eastern hognose I have EVER found, cruised one afternoon on a forest road in north Florida. https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/375/18163897814_be6d9a0bd3_c.jpg eastern hognose by Bree McGhee , ...

I love your calling pinewoods video! That looks like a striped mud turtle to me, but not 100% sure.

~Bree

Very nice post, Solomon. I'm sorry to hear about your grandfather. I also find road cruising to be a great stress release, particularly solo trips. That's good you have been able to get out. Keep it up whenever possible.

~Bree

Super cool!! I liked the little crab swimming as much as the footage of the sharks.

~Bree

Hellihooks, the two individuals I'm thinking of are not "kids", to my knowledge. But rudeness can exist in any age group. Just to be clear though, I'm not talking about giving locations. I don't give my spots to people I haven't personally herped with. I have tried to help people with other things, ...

One of my biggest gripes here is people who have asked me directly for help, which I gave, and then they never said thank you, and similarly, people that posted generally, and then never said thank you when I PM'd them. I'm about done bothering trying to help anyone. There are a lot of arrogant arse...

Awww, kicked back, leaning against the tree trunk. Love it!

~Bree

Hi Heather! Here are my answers, boring as they may be.... 1. Where do you herp? Do you herp solely in one area, do you herp a large region, nationally, internationally, etc? Is there a particular habitat you prefer or species? I do have a "home range", which I road cruise as much as possible. Last ...

Nice pics, Adam. Love those brakers!

~Bree

That pine looks old in the face. How long was it?

Well, time and money to herp have mostly eluded me since my vacation. But I got out yesterday for a late afternoon road cruise, and turned up some beautiful snakes. Eastern Diamondback https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5454/17727538376_36ddde30d2_z.jpg Eastern diamondback by Bree McGhee , on Flickr http...

When I was in NorCal, I missed Florida. Now I'm in Florida, and I miss NorCal! Your pics make me miss it more! I never got to see any sallies while we lived there. That will be on the top of my list when we return. Great pics!

~Bree

Tim's got jokes.

Love your kitty pics! Nice caging, too.

~Bree

A pair of Florida Cottonmouths, and an unfortunate circumstance for the little one. They were near each other on the road, and I moved them next to each other for the picture, and the big one apparently didn't like the little one, and... :( So don't be dumb like me and try to get a two for one deal...

Awesome pics! I love the scarlet king, mud, and swamp snake. Your owl pic is very nice, too!

~Bree

You have some really beautiful photos. Herps in habitat shots are really cool. And I love the bats in flight!

~Bree

That gratiosa pic is excellent!!

~Bree

How awesome for you! You look very proud. Congrats!!!

~Bree

No worries, Daniel. There will be other times!

~Bree

The black garters ARE cool. How common are they?

~Bree

Wow! I've never seen a blond chuckwalla. Great find!

~Bree

Thanks, Josh. I hope you're enjoying life in the mountains!

Thanks, Bill!