Search found 71 matches

by narrowfellow
April 3rd, 2017, 1:43 pm
Forum: Reading Room
Topic: Reptiles of Paraguay
Replies: 1
Views: 10901

Reptiles of Paraguay

FYI, here's a new and completely open-access book on the reptiles of Paraguay.
https://repository.unm.edu/handle/1928/32390
by narrowfellow
April 2nd, 2017, 3:46 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Man Eaters
Replies: 91
Views: 37490

Re: Man Eaters

edited
by narrowfellow
April 1st, 2017, 9:45 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Man Eaters
Replies: 91
Views: 37490

Re: Man Eaters

deleted
by narrowfellow
September 22nd, 2016, 9:08 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Kids books for snakes
Replies: 5
Views: 2829

Re: Kids books for snakes

*
by narrowfellow
March 30th, 2016, 5:15 pm
Forum: News
Topic: RIP Don Broadley
Replies: 1
Views: 3243

Re: RIP Don Broadley

Sad news. I considered Don to be the leading expert on the Python sebae/P. natalensis group, and his papers were thorough and well-written. When I wrote a review of the biology of these snakes and asked him to review it, he sent thoughtful and biologically insightful comments that were really helpfu...
by narrowfellow
April 1st, 2015, 7:25 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Handheld GPS for tech idiot
Replies: 24
Views: 6694

Re: Handheld GPS for tech idiot

For those who are most comfortable using their tablets and phones, you can add a Garmin GLO for $100. It uses both GPS and GLONASS satellites, so more options for connecting with magic boxes in the sky. Throw it in your pack and it syncs with your device via bluetooth so that you can get 3m accuracy...
by narrowfellow
March 21st, 2015, 8:09 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Top Down Effects of Snakes
Replies: 15
Views: 6575

Re: Top Down Effects of Snakes

deleted
by narrowfellow
March 12th, 2015, 2:16 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: That guy
Replies: 19
Views: 6470

Re: That guy

deleted
by narrowfellow
February 9th, 2015, 7:33 am
Forum: Reading Room
Topic: Alien Reptiles and Amphibians: A Scientific Compendium and..
Replies: 1
Views: 3233

Re: Alien Reptiles and Amphibians: A Scientific Compendium a

Kraus' book was published in 2009, so it doesn't include many recent records. That said, it's very well-written and contains a huge amount of info. It has ~130 pp of text and a few hundred pages of data-rich tables, as well as a CD that allows you to sort/extract data more easily. I reviewed it for ...
by narrowfellow
January 29th, 2015, 6:25 pm
Forum: Reading Room
Topic: New paper on translocation of reptiles
Replies: 5
Views: 5399

Re: New paper on translocation of reptiles

I'd consider the cost:benefit ratio. If it costs $100 in gas, labor, etc for an employee (whether biologist, Venom One unit, whatever) to make a snake call, and there are a couple hundred calls per year, it could be that in the long run the species would benefit more from using that money to buy lan...
by narrowfellow
January 29th, 2015, 12:57 pm
Forum: Reading Room
Topic: New paper on translocation of reptiles
Replies: 5
Views: 5399

New paper on translocation of reptiles

This looks to be a solid review of the evidence with respect to moving 'nuisance' reptiles: B.K. Sullivan et al. 2015. Problems with mitigation translocation of herpetofauna. Conservation Biology It appears to be an 'unlocked' pdf that's accessible to anyone: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.11...
by narrowfellow
January 28th, 2015, 1:40 pm
Forum: Reading Room
Topic: Snake in the Grass vs. Invasive Pythons
Replies: 20
Views: 12904

Re: Snake in the Grass vs. Invasive Pythons

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by narrowfellow
October 31st, 2014, 9:09 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Looking for advice on setting up a pit-trap array
Replies: 33
Views: 12058

Re: Looking for advice on setting up a pit-trap array

Mesopredators can be a huge problem for pitfall arrays that are left in place for a while - in the US raccoons and opossums quickly learn to check buckets and eat your prizes, and I assume civets etc would do the same at Lawachara. I've even seen racers start traplining along pitfall arrays within a...
by narrowfellow
August 29th, 2014, 9:36 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Can snakes control disease?
Replies: 10
Views: 5606

Re: Can snakes control disease?

Almost forgot - here's one of the few manipulative studies out there for snakes:
http://www.esajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1890/11-1359.1
The response for rodents was even stronger when we knocked back snakes in a 5-ha enclosure a couple years ago, but that hasn't yet been published.
by narrowfellow
August 29th, 2014, 8:50 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Can snakes control disease?
Replies: 10
Views: 5606

Re: Can snakes control disease?

deleted
by narrowfellow
July 10th, 2014, 8:07 am
Forum: News
Topic: Bathroom breaks reveals venemous snake...
Replies: 5
Views: 4073

Re: Bathroom breaks reveals venemous snake...

It's obviously a ratsnake.
David Steen did a blog post on it: http://www.livingalongsidewildlife.com/
by narrowfellow
June 10th, 2014, 11:51 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: QUICK! how could u safely remove a snake from a mouse trap?
Replies: 16
Views: 5646

Re: QUICK! how could u safely remove a snake from a mouse tr

We use glueboards all the time for sampling skinks on Pacific islands, mortality rates are close to zero if you check the traps every half hour and keep them in the shade. I've spent the last 3 mornings sampling with glueboards, they're a great field tool in some circumstances if you consider the li...
by narrowfellow
May 1st, 2014, 7:21 am
Forum: Reading Room
Topic: Snakes of Borneo
Replies: 5
Views: 4204

Re: Snakes of Borneo

I got my copy straight from Bjorn complete with cool Malaysian stamps on the package, hadn't realized that it's not in stores yet. Jeff, the book is 310 pp and the accounts seem to average about a page of text each. A few spp have text but no illustrations (e.g. Xenophidion acanthognathus, known fro...
by narrowfellow
April 30th, 2014, 4:00 pm
Forum: Reading Room
Topic: Snakes of Borneo
Replies: 5
Views: 4204

Snakes of Borneo

Just got my copy of Snakes of Borneo, by Stuebing, Inger, and Lardner. My first impression is that it's a massive improvement over anything else available. Gorgeous pictures, very nice line drawings, and concise species accounts. Now I want to visit and find a Xenodermis javanicus, among other beaut...
by narrowfellow
April 22nd, 2014, 9:09 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Everglades Python Documentary
Replies: 15
Views: 4371

Re: Everglades Python Documentary

deleted
by narrowfellow
April 1st, 2014, 8:50 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Hiking the Grand Canyon: the Havasupai Indian Reservation
Replies: 13
Views: 4642

Re: Hiking the Grand Canyon: the Havasupai Indian Reservatio

It's a great hike and gorgeous spot, although some of the campsites are (or used to be) over-used and dusty as all hell. You'll burn a lot of camera card memory just on waterfalls and travertine. The trail is wide and obvious - bring enough water and a big hat and you should be fine. There are some ...
by narrowfellow
February 20th, 2014, 5:26 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: A reminder to feed your snakes pre-killed food.
Replies: 23
Views: 6826

Re: A reminder to feed your snakes pre-killed food.

Not quite on topic, but we once found a radiotelemetered massasauga in SE AZ that had been neatly unzipped and all the organs removed, along with the major muscles along the spine. There were incisor holes into the brain case, and little rodent footprints in the dust all around it. We suspected a gr...
by narrowfellow
December 24th, 2013, 10:08 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Fake Snakes for Road-Cruising--CHEAP!
Replies: 17
Views: 4280

Re: Fake Snakes for Road-Cruising--CHEAP!

Cheap fake snake: Take a handful of white pebbles and put them in a sinuous pattern on blacktop, with a gap equal to the pebble size between each one. Presto, you have a Cal king. You get brake lights and cussing every time. Used to a be common practice in the Mojave.
by narrowfellow
August 9th, 2013, 3:31 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Light question...
Replies: 10
Views: 2780

Re: Light question...

(and by the way, the Lupine Betty is now burning at 3600 lumens!)
by narrowfellow
August 9th, 2013, 3:21 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Light question...
Replies: 10
Views: 2780

Re: Light question...

The costs for quality bulbs and high-density batteries are coming down quickly, and should continue to do so. The Lupine Wilma line, for example, has almost doubled its lumen output (now at 2400) in 3 years while staying at more or less the same price point. Pretty soon even those cute Fenix lights ...
by narrowfellow
April 16th, 2013, 10:24 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Moon phases and herping
Replies: 46
Views: 9152

Re: Moon phases and herping

Check out the Sperry et al paper in the latest JHerp (and talk to Kevin Messenger). Keep in mind that many herpers have some degree of confirmation bias re: moon phase. For example, if someone thinks that snakes are more active on moonless nights, then they may be more likely to go herping on moonle...
by narrowfellow
April 12th, 2013, 2:52 pm
Forum: Image Lab
Topic: Nikon macro advice
Replies: 4
Views: 3072

Re: Nikon macro advice

Thanks, Chris, but I'm talking about the SU-800 (wireless Speedlight Commander), not the SB-800 (a flash).
by narrowfellow
April 12th, 2013, 1:38 pm
Forum: Image Lab
Topic: Nikon macro advice
Replies: 4
Views: 3072

Nikon macro advice

I just ordered a Nikon D7100 and the R1 macro kit for fieldwork; it's time to get back to getting decent images after a decade of point and shoot. So far we're planning to use my old (ca. 1996) 105mm f/2.8 macro, but it may not have all the TTL capabilities of a more recent version. The pop-up flash...
by narrowfellow
March 25th, 2013, 2:55 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Success! Florida Python Bio-Blitz
Replies: 57
Views: 18203

Re: Success! Florida Python Bio-Blitz

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by narrowfellow
March 11th, 2013, 7:36 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Success! Florida Python Bio-Blitz
Replies: 57
Views: 18203

Re: Success! Florida Python Bio-Blitz

deleted
by narrowfellow
March 8th, 2013, 9:34 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Snake Hook?
Replies: 27
Views: 12714

Re: Snake Hook?

One more note on this subject - I get excited when I catch a snake, and I'm absent-minded, and this combination means I leave hooks in the field. Sometimes I recover them, sometimes I don't. I can think of two lost stumprippers off the top of my head, one in the bottom of the Grand Canyon and one in...
by narrowfellow
February 28th, 2013, 10:18 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Aruba herping?
Replies: 13
Views: 3652

Re: Aruba herping?

I agree that getting bent out of shape about localities in this instance indicates lack of familiarity with the island. It's not a big chunk of land, and Arikok represents about a quarter of the island, including most of the undeveloped barranca. I didn't provide any specific localities, nor much mo...
by narrowfellow
February 27th, 2013, 3:19 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Aruba herping?
Replies: 13
Views: 3652

Re: Aruba herping?

Get yourself on up to Arikok Natl Park for starters. Go from tree to tree looking on horizontal branches for invasive boa constrictors, then scan the litter for rattlers. I found 6 boas and 1 rattler in 2 hrs the last time I was there, but that was probably better than average. While walking between...
by narrowfellow
February 22nd, 2013, 3:15 pm
Forum: News
Topic: Interesting solution to Guam's snake Problem
Replies: 27
Views: 10633

Re: Interesting solution to Guam's snake Problem

deleted
by narrowfellow
February 22nd, 2013, 12:53 pm
Forum: News
Topic: Interesting solution to Guam's snake Problem
Replies: 27
Views: 10633

Re: Interesting solution to Guam's snake Problem

deleted
by narrowfellow
January 17th, 2013, 1:13 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Borneo Dispatches #64: Roadcruising Study (HELP REQUEST!)
Replies: 16
Views: 5012

Re: Borneo Dispatches #64: Roadcruising Study (HELP REQUEST!

Sounds like a great project, and lots of fun. If you've read the Reptile Biodiversity book, then you've read Gordon's chapter on population biology. I think it's perhaps the most important chapter in the book, because he really stresses detection probability. The problem with most of the older road ...
by narrowfellow
December 11th, 2012, 8:31 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Film, gasp!: Slide Scans From the Past
Replies: 15
Views: 4315

Re: Film, gasp!: Slide Scans From the Past

I've been meaning to start scanning the cream of my slides. What make/model of scanner did you use? Anybody else have recommendations? I'm thinking about getting a few people together, buying a good one with our pooled resources, then selling it after we're done with it.