Search found 211 matches
- February 9th, 2015, 6:43 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: 2014 Pennsylvania, mostly rattlesnakes
- Replies: 12
- Views: 7786
Re: 2014 Pennsylvania, mostly rattlesnakes
Stunning post! A great representation of the beauty of Pennsylvania's vipers.
- January 31st, 2015, 9:16 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: 2015 Hopes and Dreams.
- Replies: 13
- Views: 4172
Re: 2015 Hopes and Dreams.
I've only ever found wehrle's sals in a handful of places in Potter and Cameron counties, and most of them were just pure luck. Relatively dry, forested slopes with lots of shale are the only natural habitat I've found them in. Apart from black-bellies, I've never found any of your other goals, so I...
- January 23rd, 2015, 4:52 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: How to visually SEX a rattlesnake...
- Replies: 24
- Views: 27142
Re: How to SEX a rattlesnake...
With timber rattlesnakes, gender can be determined through a subcaudal scale count. 21 or more subcaudals, and there's somewhere around a 95% chance that the snake is a male.
- December 18th, 2014, 10:55 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Northeast NAFHA accomplishments in 2014 - complete list
- Replies: 18
- Views: 7388
Re: Northeast NAFHA chapter accomplishments in 2014 - more i
I've done a decent amount of public herp-related activities, like co-leading a herping team during a bioblitz, collaborating with local conservancies and non-profits to survey restricted-access land, writing informative articles, and giving presentations. However, I don't know if these would necessa...
- December 15th, 2014, 8:10 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Herp Nation Magazine - FREE Article Download
- Replies: 11
- Views: 4423
Re: Herp Nation Magazine - FREE Article Download
First off, thank you for sharing this article. I really enjoyed reading it, enough to consider getting a subscription based solely off this article. Axeman asked a legitimate question, one that I can identify with myself, as a high school student who has been forced to summarize scientific papers, (...
- November 25th, 2014, 8:02 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: senior project about reptiles and amphibians
- Replies: 10
- Views: 4123
Re: senior project about reptiles and amphibians
Well would you look at that, great minds think alike...
Your name sounds familiar, but I wasn't friends with you on Facebook. Do you enter your finds in PARS? Butler co. is an area we could use more data from.
Your name sounds familiar, but I wasn't friends with you on Facebook. Do you enter your finds in PARS? Butler co. is an area we could use more data from.
- November 25th, 2014, 6:30 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Fall in Sewanee
- Replies: 8
- Views: 3954
Re: Fall in Sewanee
Nice pics! That slimy from the cave is very interesting... unlike any slimy I've ever seen in person or in a picture. I'm interested to see what others think of it.
- November 24th, 2014, 4:36 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: South Africa Oct 2014, my 4th trip back
- Replies: 16
- Views: 9701
Re: South Africa Oct 2014, my 4th trip back
Getting paid to travel around the world judging skating competitions, and herping along the way... You've got a job that about 10,000 teenage guys, (including myself), would kill for. Nice pics man!
- November 24th, 2014, 1:45 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: senior project about reptiles and amphibians
- Replies: 10
- Views: 4123
Re: senior project about reptiles and amphibians
That thought may have crossed my mind a few times... Especially after I realized that I would have upwards of 800 hours volunteered for PARS if I could include search time on my records from before the current generation of the survey. With a little luck, next summer I'll be doing something herp, or...
- November 24th, 2014, 6:43 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: senior project about reptiles and amphibians
- Replies: 10
- Views: 4123
Re: senior project about reptiles and amphibians
If your program wasn't 4.5 hours away, I would try to make it, but unfortunately that's a bit out of my range. Glad to hear of someone else who's working with herps for their senior project, especially on the education end. For my senior project this year, I managed to get PARS surveying approved as...
- September 1st, 2014, 8:27 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Observation of "Basking" Behavior in Adult N. viridescens
- Replies: 9
- Views: 4256
Re: Observation of "Basking" Behavior in Adult N. viridescen
Thanks for the replies everyone! Parasite elimination had occurred to me, and pollution/poor water quality was suggested to me as well. Basic water quality tests came up normal, I just wanted to see what others thought. Seems like I could do a lot more investigating here. Another interesting aspect ...
- August 30th, 2014, 2:45 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Observation of "Basking" Behavior in Adult N. viridescens
- Replies: 9
- Views: 4256
Observation of "Basking" Behavior in Adult N. viridescens
Last November, while hiking around a large reservoir in South Central Pennsylvania, I came upon a very peculiar sight. Laid out on rocks across the NW shore of the reservoir were dozens of adult, fully metamorphosed Eastern Newts. All had their backs turned to the mid-afternoon sun, and allowed me t...
- August 18th, 2014, 1:23 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Questions from your President
- Replies: 43
- Views: 16120
Re: Questions from your President
Those are some very good points Cbernz. When I started herping, I fell into the trap that is thinking the only way to help herps is to document them. Only recently, when I became heavily involved in my home state's atlas project have I realized that education and outreach are just as important as da...
- July 26th, 2014, 11:10 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: South Philly herpin'
- Replies: 4
- Views: 2310
Re: South Philly herpin'
I enjoy the narration. It's not like we all don't talk like that when we're with friends anyway. It's a nice departure from the sterile atmosphere of a forum filled with professionals and intellectuals who only partake in profanity where it isn't publicly viewable.
- July 17th, 2014, 11:50 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: eastern box turtle help :( anyone know what this could be?
- Replies: 4
- Views: 2804
Re: eastern box turtle help :( anyone know what this could
I've heard of this malady occurring at least once in box turtles in my area (SC PA). I do not know enough about box turtles to give you any information on what it may be, but I can tell you that I've learned that herps are very resilient. Early this summer I was hiking through the most herp-diverse ...
- July 14th, 2014, 1:40 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Questions from your President
- Replies: 43
- Views: 16120
Re: Questions from your President
I rarely post in the Northeast Chapter Forum any more for a few reasons. The first is that it has simply already served its purpose for me. When I first stumbled across the forum, I wanted to get to know the herpers that lived near me, and I did, in a way. I realized that there really aren't any for...
- May 31st, 2014, 7:36 pm
- Forum: Fish Forum
- Topic: Farm Ponds
- Replies: 3
- Views: 12399
Farm Ponds
I've started to notice that the fishing sub-forum goes through dead periods, and maybe this can help. Where I live in Southern Pennsylvania, the best fishing for sunfish and bass is without a doubt, on private property. Public waters get hit hard, and levels of trash, trampled riparian cover, and ge...
- May 31st, 2014, 6:56 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Florida herping, catching up after my FHF absence
- Replies: 31
- Views: 10054
Re: Florida herping, catching up after my FHF absence
This is one of the best posts I've seen here in a while. Great photos, and great commentary. I knew that South Florida was a melting pot of non-native herps, but I never realized the extant of the diversity of naturalized alien species. I too have noticed that I post less and less on here, favoring ...
- May 23rd, 2014, 5:01 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Philly in July
- Replies: 5
- Views: 1982
Re: Philly in July
Hi Zach, sorry that I can't answer all of your questions, but I live a couple counties West, so I'm not at all familiar with herping the Philadelphia area. Herping in SE Pennsylvania in july will be good, but not as good as it is right now. You will probably be able to flip a handful of snakes and o...
- May 23rd, 2014, 4:18 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Herper and a fan of Heavy Metal Music? Check it....
- Replies: 39
- Views: 10048
Re: Herper and a fan of Heavy Metal Music? Check it....
Cool, a bunch of indignant adolescents (or developmentally retarded white males), frying in angst and anger, screaming their lungs out ...geez, what's up with all the drama? :lol: :roll: I've got to say, that's one of the most ignorant comments I've seen in a while. I mean really, It's just music. ...
- May 1st, 2014, 2:46 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Frustration
- Replies: 28
- Views: 8830
Re: Frustration
One cool morning last June, I was mountain biking on a very remote road in Northern Pennsylvania. I rode right past what I thought was a stick, did a double take, and realized it was a yearling timber, slowly crossing the road. Even though I had been riding for 20 minutes and hadn't seen a car, I fi...
- April 19th, 2014, 8:33 am
- Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
- Topic: Rattlesnake constantly rattles?
- Replies: 19
- Views: 8057
Re: Rattlesnake constantly rattles?
It won't hurt the snake to remove the rattles. However, that wouldn't fix the underlying issue, whatever it may be.
- March 25th, 2014, 3:47 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: First Post
- Replies: 5
- Views: 3183
Re: First Post
Man I just can't stand all these young NE herpers named Jake! Just kidding. Welcome to the forum! There are a lot of great people on this forum, and a surprising amount of younger members. As someone around your age, I can tell you that one of the best things to have when herping at your age is a fr...
- March 9th, 2014, 2:15 pm
- Forum: Image Lab
- Topic: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thread..
- Replies: 212
- Views: 868532
Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre
PA Eastern Newt
PA Wood Turtle
PA Wood Turtle
- March 4th, 2014, 7:13 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: My Junior Paper Is To Include Rattlesnake Roundups
- Replies: 23
- Views: 8309
Re: My Junior Paper Is To Include Rattlesnake Roundups
You may want to include information on non-lethal round-ups in your paper. The ones we have here in Pennsylvania are not perfect, but they are without a doubt a step in the right direction. PM me if you'd like more information, as you probably won't find many articles in print or on the internet.
- February 27th, 2014, 8:11 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Countdown to Spotted Salamanders!
- Replies: 65
- Views: 18669
Re: Countdown to Spotted Salamanders!
The 10 day forecast for the area I'll go to for spotteds this year is absolutely dismal. Just 2 of the next 10 days will have a high above freezing...
- February 26th, 2014, 3:26 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping
- Replies: 215
- Views: 39977
Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping
I dropped a large rock on my right middle finger this fall while trying to grab a particularly large slimy salamander. Though not badly broken, the fracture was still enough to bug me for months. Also, I sprained my left shoulder during the very first high school wrestling practice I went to this pa...
- February 18th, 2014, 3:55 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: My Year In Pennsylvania
- Replies: 4
- Views: 3169
Re: My Year In Pennsylvania
Thanks Berkely! I too would be interested to hear what others think of those newts.
- February 18th, 2014, 3:49 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: My Year In Pennsylvania (Same as main forum)
- Replies: 6
- Views: 3786
Re: My Year In Pennsylvania (Same as main forum)
Thanks guys! Trust me, my views on rattlesnake round-ups have changed too. They are far from perfect, but they're unique in the range and number of people they educate.
- February 17th, 2014, 3:10 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: My Year In Pennsylvania (Same as main forum)
- Replies: 6
- Views: 3786
My Year In Pennsylvania (Same as main forum)
2013 was by far the best year I’ve ever had herping. This year was the first time I had really targeted any herp species other than timber rattlesnakes. I also discovered my passion for photography, which, combined with an abundance of live subjects, helped me get some shots I’m happy with. As the y...
- February 17th, 2014, 3:08 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: My Year In Pennsylvania
- Replies: 4
- Views: 3169
My Year In Pennsylvania
2013 was by far the best year I’ve ever had herping. This year was the first time I had really targeted any herp species other than timber rattlesnakes. I also discovered my passion for photography, which, combined with an abundance of live subjects, helped me get some shots I’m happy with. As the y...
- February 12th, 2014, 7:04 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Siren in Delaware?
- Replies: 9
- Views: 3325
Re: Siren in Delaware?
Have you looked into electrofishing? That would be a sure-fire way to confirm what you saw.
- January 13th, 2014, 12:34 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Herping Goals for 2014
- Replies: 23
- Views: 7080
Re: Herping Goals for 2014
1. Find an adult ambystomid- I found a maddening amount of maculatum eggs last spring. It seemed like every time I went on a hike I found a new vernal pool. It's about time I put some time into finding an adult. 2. Find a home county timber- I know they're here, but I can only seem to find them when...
- December 21st, 2013, 6:19 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Interesting Long-Tailed Salamander Behavior: (Same as NE)
- Replies: 1
- Views: 780
Interesting Long-Tailed Salamander Behavior: (Same as NE)
I've been looking back on my photos from this year while putting together my year end post, and ran into this set that I had forgotten about. On a cool, humid evening this past August, a friend and I were walking the edge of a lake in SE Pennsylvania looking for newts, water snakes, and rat snakes, ...
- December 21st, 2013, 6:18 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Interesting Long-Tailed Salamander Behavior
- Replies: 3
- Views: 1265
Interesting Long-Tailed Salamander Behavior
I've been looking back on my photos from this year while putting together my year end post, and ran into this set that I had forgotten about. On a cool, humid evening this past August, a friend and I were walking the edge of a lake in SE Pennsylvania looking for newts, water snakes, and rat snakes, ...
- December 19th, 2013, 6:02 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: You thought the milksnake changes were bad?
- Replies: 32
- Views: 8835
Re: You thought the milksnake changes were bad?
Though I don't pretend to know much about mtDNA sequencing, but I have always thought that animals with very small dispersal distances, like salamanders, that can be completely geographically isolated from reproducing with other populations would experience some kind of radiative speciation over tim...
- December 7th, 2013, 6:25 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: End of the Year 2013, Let's Keep it Going... #3 - TURTLES
- Replies: 27
- Views: 8370
Re: End of the Year 2013, Let's Keep it Going... #3 - TURTLE
If you are local Unfortunately, I live four hours away, although I spend a good amount of time there at our cabin each summer, so it's possible that I could be there next summer at that time. This is in PA I assume? I'm sure you already do, but keep that site secret! You got it- Potter county. The ...
- December 6th, 2013, 12:29 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: End of the Year 2013, Let's Keep it Going... #3 - TURTLES
- Replies: 27
- Views: 8370
Re: End of the Year 2013, Let's Keep it Going... #3 - TURTLE
I had no idea that those woods were nesting. The way they were behaving I kind of figured that it was a male following a female, but I know next to nothing about turtle behavior. I found them at about 6 p.m.. If that was in mid-June, what time would they hatch out?
- December 3rd, 2013, 4:47 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: End of the Year 2013... #8 - VENOMOUS SNAKES
- Replies: 16
- Views: 4394
Re: End of the Year 2013... #8 - VENOMOUS SNAKES
Alas, timbers were the only venomous snakes I found this year. A first for me was flipping this pair of juveniles that were curled up under a rock I propped up to attract garters and red bellies. Needless to say I was pretty startled! I shooed them out from under it with my hook and replaced the roc...
- November 24th, 2013, 1:39 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: End of the Year 2013, Let's Keep it Going... #3 - TURTLES
- Replies: 27
- Views: 8370
Re: End of the Year 2013, Let's Keep it Going... #3 - TURTLE
The only turtle that I actually tried to photograph was this wood turtle-
hanging out with another wood turtle at the edge of a creek. Regrettably, I only had my iPhone to take pictures.
hanging out with another wood turtle at the edge of a creek. Regrettably, I only had my iPhone to take pictures.
- November 14th, 2013, 2:41 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: End of the Year 2013... #1 - FAVORITE FIND
- Replies: 32
- Views: 11885
Re: End of the Year 2013... #1 - FAVORITE FIND
This is my lifer wehrle's salamander, flipped during a downpour under one of the flagstone steps up to the porch of our cabin in Northern Pennsylvania. Before this year I had almost no experience finding salamanders, and I chalked this one up as a species I probably wouldn't find unless I spent a lo...
- November 12th, 2013, 2:18 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Masters at A&M?
- Replies: 23
- Views: 3921
Re: Masters at A&M?
That article makes him sound like a villain from a Richard Preston novel.
- November 7th, 2013, 2:48 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: New to herping
- Replies: 8
- Views: 1795
Re: New to herping
Welcome to the forum, those are some great shots!
That first toad almost looks like a fowler's from the top, did you happen to get any photos from a ventral view?
That first toad almost looks like a fowler's from the top, did you happen to get any photos from a ventral view?
- November 7th, 2013, 3:59 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: i need rattles
- Replies: 10
- Views: 1597
Re: i need rattles
Rattlesnakes brought to nonlethal round-ups in Pennsylvania are marked on the head and rattles with a series of fluorescent colored nail enamel dots on the head and the base of the rattle to differentiate them and to make sure that each hunter returns his snake to the spot it was captured. Over the ...
- November 5th, 2013, 2:12 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Queen Snakes and Artificial Cover
- Replies: 8
- Views: 1838
Re: Queen Snakes and Artificial Cover
Thank you for posting that link! I have since decided against the population size study, for the reasons that Jimi mentioned; I will instead be studying what ac setups work, and why/why not compared to natural cover. The snake that I found was out basking on top of part of a massive system of rock g...
- November 2nd, 2013, 8:25 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: GPS Suggestions?
- Replies: 2
- Views: 1131
GPS Suggestions?
Hi everybody, I just wanted to ask what suggestions you all had as far as what I should get for a handheld GPS. I'm looking for something under $200, that can be used to set waypoints so I can find herping spots in areas without cell reception, and maybe something that shows topography/terrain. Afte...
- October 24th, 2013, 4:28 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Rattlesnake protective gear, thoughts and opinions?
- Replies: 64
- Views: 49392
Re: Rattlesnake protective gear, thoughts and opinions?
While visiting timber dens and basking areas in Pennsylvania, I always wear my wind river gaiters. They are hot, and not very comfortable, but they saved my bacon last year when I unwittingly stepped on a rattlesnake in an area of tall, dense ferns. I have no idea why said rattlesnake was in tall, d...
- October 17th, 2013, 3:50 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: timber video
- Replies: 9
- Views: 2942
Re: timber video
I kept expecting to see one of them to eat concrete off a five stair through a fisheye. I guess I've watched too many skating videos too.
Great video, I can't imagine how time consuming it must be to sift through hours of footage to fit all the best parts into an 18 minute vid.
Great video, I can't imagine how time consuming it must be to sift through hours of footage to fit all the best parts into an 18 minute vid.
- October 10th, 2013, 8:23 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: some more salamander hunting after school
- Replies: 9
- Views: 2110
Re: some more salamander hunting after school
That's awesome that you have that stream so close to school, but it's even more amazing that it's still pure enough to hold this type of diversity.
- October 8th, 2013, 9:33 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: My overly ambitous target species list for 2014
- Replies: 17
- Views: 3219
Re: My overly ambitous target species list for 2014
I get hung up on the photo thing too. For example, I found 4 black rat snakes this year, but I wasn't able to photograph any of them with my good camera, and for some reason that just bugs me. The only things I really want to find next year would be a copperhead, and an adult spotted salamander. I f...