Field Herp Forum

I don't know if it's an elevation record, but on 4 June we recorded a long-nosed leopard lizard at 7500 ft elevation, also in the White Mountains, on the Nevada side- I was in the south east area of the whites in late june. I dont think I saw a leopard lizard at 7500 but I know I saw one at 7000. I...

stlouisdude wrote:Roadkill huh? I can just imagine when the cop got back to the station after seeing you, "so there was this guy anally probing a dead snake on the side of the road on hwy 8"

Haha! I generally save the scale counts and probing for after I get home.

I mostly don't collect. I do keep various mountain kingsnakes (CB), and attempt to breed them. For scenting purposes, I collect a few (3-4) fence lizards every year. For keeping purposes, I imagine, in the exact right circumstances, I might collect an animal, but it is not too likely. I currently ha...

So, I probably am biased against the government scientists (even as I truly attempt an unbiased post). Just getting that out of the way. I do have a favorite scientific fraud (Hein Tran and CARB), it is a wonderful story about forged degrees, faulty data, coverup, political protection, and money, bu...

HERP.MX wrote:Juveniles, and some adults, have a pale tail tip that apparently at some point was interpreted as being bone.

-HERP.MX

Super cool. Thanks for the info!

Beautiful! What is the meaning or story behind the common name? On first reading, I would think "bone tail" would have more to do with a rattlesnake, or a snake with a white tail.

When I see things like Nile Crocs being released or escaped, I have to wonder if it wasn't unregistered reptile breeders (like the article states), but likely some drug dealer. I obviously have zero evidence, but nile crocs feel like what somebody with a bunch of drug money who wants to show they ar...

If I came across those, my thought would be "Hey, free bucket!".

Kelly Mc wrote:Wow this all would mean that thayeri is like, the most ratchet of the lampropeltis.

Bravo for your use of "rachet" in that context, in a reptile forum. I almost spit out my iced tea onto my monitor.

I am sorry to report that Oregon's wildlife agency is going down the same path as CDFW. ODFW is proposing the adoption of reactionary, mean spirited, repressive, and punitive draft revising existing regulations on herps in Oregon. The new laws are on ODFW’s website at: http://www.dfw.state.or.us/wi...

hellihooks wrote:I would suggest you start with Popper. in your search for truth.

!

Thanks for posting that hellihooks. I had no Idea who Popper is before you post, and I am only 1/4 of a wikipedia article deep, but I am engrossed. Thanks again.

So, Porter, I have reread most of the thread (as best I could). You seem to have a "scientific american" or "discover magazine" overview of how genetics (and pigmentation, and light, and scientific method) works. That isn't a bad thing, but your knowledge is not complete enough. And, you seem to con...

Awesome! Thanks for posting. I don't believe the mitochondrial DNA is coming from a striped phase gopher snake (unless its being passed down through the Gopher snake). I'm wondering if it has been passed down from a gartersnake. Gartersnake hybrids with both gopher and kingsnakes either separately ...

While I am hesitant to post anything, but whatever. For your test to see if the locals with non- normal patterns (stripped gophers, or kings, or whatever), and seeing if they are of hybrid origin, all you have to do is find a large enough sampling of mtDNA. If striping is super present in a local, a...

Kent, while your egg is certainly worse off than mine, it is a testament to how tough colubrid eggs can be.

I did ambient temps for incubation for my knobs, and because of the cool weather this summer, I know the eggs got down into the 50s a few times. Still hatched though.

Porter, those are great shots, I especially the last pic. Thanks.

Great vid

If only real news could be as accurate as The Onion.

Not being an expert in crotes (or anything really), but on the pacfic island(s?) that have rattlesnakes that lost thier rattles, do the other snakes there rattle thier tail? How about in the areas with species that have considerably smaller rattles?

thanks, matt

OK, so I read the article, and I am doing my best not to pile on the guy who died. That being said, my reading of the article leads me to believe he didn't die from a snake bite. He died because he was too manly to go to the hospital after a a snake bite, and then still refused after he started exhi...

Also, looks a little small to be Cal King.

So in the first pic, is the cat using the heat lamp embedded in it's eye to defrost the mice? Or is it using the Terminator eye to calculate the odds of getting away with stealing one.

Berkeley Boone wrote: Just for the record, this was when I lived in South Carolina. I had 92 eggs laid that season (two different females) and more than 70 hatched.

Good luck! I wish you success!
--Berkeley

Is this a normal amount of eggs? Holy cow, that is a lot of little mouths to feed!

Thanks for the help! I plan on checking the ponds no matter what, but just wanted to get some opinions. More info on the ponds. They are pits from hydraulic mining, that have be reclaimed and turned into wildlife areas. I don't know what the water pH is, but pictures show that normal flora is growin...

Hi everybody, I have some ponds I want to check out, and I have found out that they are man made. How far do pond turtles roam overland to find new ponds?

It is only a mile or so from a river I would imagine has pond turtles, but the area in between looks pretty dry.

thanks,
Matt Wentz

Thanks for sharing, I love seeing "odball" species, especially when it appears they are thriving.

Fieldherper wrote:Awesome!!

What's the story on the tricolor? VERY low band count!! Never seen a pyro with count that low. Milk?

FH

I was going to ask the same question.

Great gila monster shots too!

Just to put my 2cents in , I think that a gopher snake would be great for your purposes. Calm, but large enough to not get hurt easily. Plus there is the added benefit of teaching kids (and parents) that not all blotched snakes are rattlesnakes, and they don't all "need" to be killed, "just in case"...

Then sale of Uncooked Chicken, either in parts or whole needs to be banned immediately. And Damp Kitchen Sponges - we mustnt forget the deadly Damp Kitchen Sponges. Add sprouts to the list of things that need to be banned. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/salmonella-10-states-linked-raw-sprou...

This is a great chapter to the story of the Torts being stolen, and then on the roam!

Was the snake able to get the whole thing down?

I wish Nerodia were still legal in California, I had one about 20 years ago, and she was a facinating snake.

Interestingly the news outlets got the ID correct (albino cobra). Usually we see things like killer anaconda on the loose, or someone identifies a gopher snake as a timber rattle snake. Wasn't there a scare up north where a ratsnake was thought to be a venomous snake in some sort of locker room?

What about the state water resources control board (SWRCB) or the EPA? All water is regulated by some agency. Under the most strict reading of EPA regulations, they have dominion over every molecule of H2O in the universe, including hydrogen and oxygen that could possibly combine to form water Stirr...

Out of curiosity what is the proceedure to report these sort of things? Is there an email adress to send CA F&G a link or screen cap? It isn't poaching (right?) so Cal tips would be the wrong contact?

Soooo, your saying that getting my head done to look like a box turtles carapace might not be the best idea??? Once again I find myself re-thinking priorities :? if people are trying to dissuade you from getting that tattoo, I will set them strait. The universe demands a box turtle carapace helmet ...

I don't have any good spots, or even good recommendations, but I know that 395 is one of the most beautiful drives you could take. Have fun. On that long of a ride, you should come across some snakes on the road. Parts of 395 are pretty lonely, you might even find the snakes still alive. If you have...

Weird. Some sort of scam? I don't know how it would be a scam, but the two combined are super weird.

whoops, didn't mean to post. back to work everybody, nothing to see here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=iL9TH9X7cfc too bad i have no sound on my computer right now. -ben If you can play the youtube clip, there is a button on the player for closed caption. It works, but a few of the words are wrong, but can easily be figured out. Such as using ...

Mwentz i didnt mean to come off cavalier, it wasnt at heart direct to your comments, its just so wearing to hear about killing rattlesnakes, or people wanting to kill them, again and again. And yeah - in reference to your post, to think that a little lock, once again, could have prevented the whole...

I would attribute this less to karma, and more to a lack of gun training. here are a few things that went wrong 1. Kids thought that a gun was a solution to kill a snake. (there is greater chance of getting bit trying to kill a snake, than by pure accident) 2. Kids went to get gun from gun safe. 3. ...

Interesting topic, because Monday evening I saw a woman who was sporting a well done turtle tattoo. It looked like some sort of slider, but not a red eared turtle. It was accurate enough that I would have guessed it was a male due to the tail shape and long claws. I almost said something to the lady...

Thanks for stopping a potentially very dangerous situation :beer: And for the reminder to all to carry our phones with us. I have a backup non-smart phone that I take if I am going into rough terrain. I don't like the idea of breaking my very expensive smart (but still dumb) phone. The backup is MIL...

I'm not sure...there have been as many as 8 turtles seen basking on that board in the recent past, and they have been in the troughs for over 70 years...so that indicates breeding, leaving the trough to lay eggs and access for the juveniles and adults to return to the troughs. One has rocks piled a...

Congrats on the recovery of the male! He just wouldn't ask directions, while the girl got tired of wandering around in cirlcles, and left him.

mwentz, the tortoise was found within the same neighborhood. I think the guy that found her really did just find her, and not have anything to do with her disappearance. --Berkeley I wasn't implying anything nefarious with the guy that found her :) If found more than a mile or two, I was just think...

Just out of curiosity, how far away was the Tortoise?

John Martin wrote:Man, I'll bet that boxie has some stories to tell

I was going to say the same thing . I have never seen a box turtle in the wild, but I guess that guy is a testament to how well the shell can close to "box" them up.

I don't mind any sort of reminder or question about an entry. I have been known to make a mistake or forget something. plus the dog ate my homework. And I have questioned somebody (i forget who) about a toad subspecies. It was on honest mistake on their part. Just clicked wrong on the pull down menu...

[quote="hellihooks"
Excavator, Backhoe...whatever... you don't pay much attention to heavy equipment... when you ARE heavy equipment...

[/quote]

make sure you put the rock back after you backhoe it!