Search found 1744 matches
- January 20th, 2020, 12:34 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Board Flipping Suggestions in SoCal
- Replies: 8
- Views: 4606
Re: Board Flipping Suggestions in SoCal
I suggest you consider physiology and security. Those are the main drivers that result in an animal electing to place itself right up under a surface object. Never forget that - the animal put itself there . Ask yourself why, or why not. My assumption is that it really depends on the weather and the...
- January 20th, 2020, 12:17 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Any herp trips in March? Central America?
- Replies: 4
- Views: 2051
Re: Any herp trips in March? Central America?
There you go - pick the right activity for the season. Rainy-season snorkeling sucks - often, you just can't see. Dry season is where it's at, for snorkeling.
Have fun, good luck!
Have fun, good luck!
- January 15th, 2020, 8:52 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Any herp trips in March? Central America?
- Replies: 4
- Views: 2051
Re: Any herp trips in March? Central America?
So, the way you pose this, a guy trying to respond helpfully could fixate on destination, timing, or activity. I'm gonna fixate on timing. I've never done any herping (just played normal tourist) in South America - it's probably different closer to the equator. But in Central America as I know it (h...
- January 7th, 2020, 3:41 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Arizona herps & stuff
- Replies: 6
- Views: 2598
Re: Arizona herps & stuff
Yeah, wow, nice pics. I like the pinkish belly on that NM klaub (people get bit like that though. Don't push your luck.) And the little skunk was super-cute. Skunks are almost always charming little weirdos. We hiked upon this bear while birding and he was disconcertingly unafraid. They're such indi...
- January 5th, 2020, 9:06 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: New to the Forum! Tips for getting started in herping
- Replies: 11
- Views: 4727
Re: New to the Forum! Tips for getting started in herping
100% of my connections came through this forum and NAFHA/NAHERP events. I participated in discussions here, talked to people, got invited to group trips, made friends, and then we scheduled private outings. Unfortunately NAFHA/NAHERP has deceased in activity but the model of meeting people online a...
- January 3rd, 2020, 1:08 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: New to the Forum! Tips for getting started in herping
- Replies: 11
- Views: 4727
Re: New to the Forum! Tips for getting started in herping
Flip right, if you're gonna flip. Don't flip like a bear, don't flip like a hog, don't flip like a monkey. Flip like an ethical herper. Put the object - or the pile of objects - back so that you can't even tell it's been flipped or otherwise messed with. If it's a huge rock on a steep slope, and you...
- January 2nd, 2020, 2:34 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: NW Oregon in November
- Replies: 8
- Views: 3666
Re: NW Oregon in November
Thanks Richard! Way more info than I had any right to hope for. I'm missing something on the boa stench thing. Probably just normal issues with communicating humor with writing. I know boas best from coastal NorCal, where they really don't stink much. Not compared to garters anyway...yuck. Ha ha. Sa...
- December 30th, 2019, 1:27 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: NW Oregon in November
- Replies: 8
- Views: 3666
Re: NW Oregon in November
Hi Richard, There's a small crew of us that are headed that way in early April. General herping, not boa fixated, but we will be looking. Intend to be around Morro Bay around 4/8 or so. Re this: I would hope that someone will eventually collect a specimen from San Luis Obispo Co. and more specimens ...
- December 19th, 2019, 4:40 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Northern Rubber Boa Elevations
- Replies: 5
- Views: 3148
Re: Northern Rubber Boa Elevations
Hi Bart, Sorry I can't help directly with your question - I've only found them near the coast and on the east side of the Sierra. I really didn't herp the west slope too much when I lived there - all those nasty trees! Ha ha ha. But the reason I write is to suggest cold air drainage might be a facto...
- December 17th, 2019, 12:28 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: 2019 EOY Recap
- Replies: 9
- Views: 4230
Re: 2019 EOY Recap
I lost two dogs. My God. Sorry to hear that. I have a 16-year old GSD who's nearing his end. Hard times, very hard times. Life's a serial heartbreaker - get well soon. Regarding the fossorial taxa, they are reliably flipped under rocks during late March and early April, assuming moisture is decent....
- December 16th, 2019, 1:27 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: 2019 EOY Recap
- Replies: 9
- Views: 4230
Re: 2019 EOY Recap
Likewise, Frank - I always enjoy your excellent pics and stories. Sorry about the hard parts - did you lose two dogs, or one? It was nice to meet you at the OB Oasis in late May this year. Great trip. Hope to see you again. Curious, if you've got a sec - on the small fossorial csquamates like ground...
- December 12th, 2019, 1:50 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Tips to find sidewinders without cruising
- Replies: 14
- Views: 17270
Re: Tips to find sidewinders without cruising
I did manage to find 2 live ones at Anza Borrego in mid-November. The first one found at midnight, it was very cold. Second one in the morning. Also, I've seen tracks in other spots closer to the Arizona border, so there is definitely late-season activity of this species. Nice follow-up, thanks. An...
- November 21st, 2019, 4:09 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: How cold/high can snakes go?
- Replies: 7
- Views: 2875
Re: How cold/high can snakes go?
There are couple of records of Gloydius Ah, yes I forgot the old-world pitvipers. There are a few of those that are either very high-elevation, or pretty high latitude, too. I'm not sure who winds the record for "excels in the most awful climate". Maybe the Gloydius in North Korea and Man...
- November 20th, 2019, 9:16 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: How cold/high can snakes go?
- Replies: 7
- Views: 2875
Re: How cold/high can snakes go?
You've got a lot of questions. Too many to get into ATM. However - I think, if you don't already know it, that a good hard look at Geoff Hammerson's CO herps book would please you. You might wish to own it, if you don't yet. Stepping back a sec, living in a high cold state, and pushing the limits of...
- November 19th, 2019, 3:45 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Trail Cameras?
- Replies: 4
- Views: 2331
Re: Trail Cameras?
I have not deployed any personally but at my work we have lots of them installed in various places. We've got still images of just about every basic kind of wildlife you can imagine, including several snake species. Evidently, even rubber boas crawl fast enough to trigger a trail cam! Ha ha. Really ...
- November 19th, 2019, 11:41 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: 2019 10 - Australia trip report
- Replies: 2
- Views: 1803
Re: 2019 10 - Australia trip report
Indeed. Wow, well done and congrats, Jeroen. Amazing fortune and success.That was insane!
cheers
- November 7th, 2019, 3:38 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Lower Coastal Plain Pine Snakes Advice?
- Replies: 17
- Views: 15281
Re: Lower Coastal Plain Pine Snakes Advice?
I also wonder if pines would simply just create a burrow in the very sandy soil. I think so. They've got that skull and face for a reason. From what I've read, pine snake burrowing & hibernation behavior varies around their range. I would think SC animals would exhibit some aspect of "nort...
- November 5th, 2019, 3:42 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Lower Coastal Plain Pine Snakes Advice?
- Replies: 17
- Views: 15281
Re: Lower Coastal Plain Pine Snakes Advice?
I would also repeat what I said about my learnings in Florida - June was what I observed to be the peak month for surface activity. I'd put a lot of effort into June, if I was there trying to do what you are. The March-April stuff would really be more about chances at "fun bycatch" like ho...
- November 5th, 2019, 3:38 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Lower Coastal Plain Pine Snakes Advice?
- Replies: 17
- Views: 15281
Re: Lower Coastal Plain Pine Snakes Advice?
I have some addition questions. My approach has been hiking around a spot walking moderately slowly looking around at the ground maybe 5-8ft infront of me, basically hoping that I walk up on a pine sunning itself or looking for food. I look inside any hibernaculum I find, and I frequently stop walk...
- November 4th, 2019, 10:11 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Lower Coastal Plain Pine Snakes Advice?
- Replies: 17
- Views: 15281
Re: Lower Coastal Plain Pine Snakes Advice?
You had me at turkey oak. Ha ha. Really though. Nothing says high and dry in SC like turkey oak. I clicked your pix link. That's a super-exciting place you found, just from a generic field-herping perspective. I especially like the adjacency of the xeric uplands with the forested wetlands - I have s...
- October 17th, 2019, 10:35 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Lower Coastal Plain Pine Snakes Advice?
- Replies: 17
- Views: 15281
Re: Lower Coastal Plain Pine Snakes Advice?
The only extant GT populations in SC, as I understand it, are right down by the GA border. A very narrow strip, with zealous private-property protections and not much in the way of public road access. Sure, you could definitely find a pine snake down there, but...you should also be able to find them...
- October 10th, 2019, 5:10 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Lower Coastal Plain Pine Snakes Advice?
- Replies: 17
- Views: 15281
Re: Lower Coastal Plain Pine Snakes Advice?
I've never seen a pine in SC, but in peninsular North Florida I came to understand them as a June - mid mornings - dirt roads cruiser animal. (That's a pretty hot sunny time of year there.) Substrate was key, land cover less so. They're big and slow, so get hammered by traffic. You'll probably get s...
- September 28th, 2019, 11:12 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Herping tips holiday Utah California in july
- Replies: 23
- Views: 21794
Re: Herping tips holiday Utah California in july
Thanks Bob. Yes, I'm eager to hear the results of your research. Particularly concerning MNP. This could possibly trip up some readers - I will try to clarify: regarding units of the National Park System (covers all parks, monuments, preserves, etc) Don't read this as "all monuments, preserves ...
- September 26th, 2019, 4:48 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Finding Snakes in the City
- Replies: 4
- Views: 11782
Re: Finding Snakes in the City
His snake room was amazing!!! The collection was not bad, and pretty interesting. I've seen similar set-ups (nicely appointed sweater boxes - sounds oxymoronic but then you actually see it done and... huh, how bout that ) depicted from Taiwan I think it was. So - mostly we saw Asian stuff but I rec...
- September 25th, 2019, 4:38 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Chinese Cobras Spit?
- Replies: 6
- Views: 12949
Re: Chinese Cobras Spit?
Yeah Lou I always enjoy your stuff. I thought just about any non-giant cobra you saw in Asia "might be a spitter". Like, just assume it is and don't dick around & get an eyeful. Just something I picked up osmotically I guess. Not the most reliable method, but certainly low-effort. Ha h...
- September 25th, 2019, 10:42 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Herping tips holiday Utah California in july
- Replies: 23
- Views: 21794
Re: Herping tips holiday Utah California in july
Glad to help, Frank. One way to maybe understand better, and also suffer less heartburn over "all those dumb rules and contradictions and general messiness", is to think of the USA as somewhat akin to post-Schengen mainland western Europe. But you should also think of USA as more like, oh,...
- September 23rd, 2019, 3:06 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Herping tips holiday Utah California in july
- Replies: 23
- Views: 21794
Re: Herping tips holiday Utah California in july
Thanks for your reply More than happy to try and provide help. Time will tell if I succeeded! Ha ha ha. Hopefully when you get here, there are not too many unpleasant surprises. It's a casino with a pool for the kids so when i try my luck (not in the casino but road cruising :D ) they can swim. It ...
- September 18th, 2019, 5:54 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Herping tips holiday Utah California in july
- Replies: 23
- Views: 21794
Re: Herping tips holiday Utah California in july
I think Jonathan said and meant "the Mojave", as in "that desert". But if I understand that you misunderstood - it all worked out better in the end. Sweet Jesus, Yermo is an armpit . I would not take my family there. I do not know the other place, it's in Arizona right? When I tr...
- September 17th, 2019, 12:22 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Herping tips holiday Utah California in july
- Replies: 23
- Views: 21794
Re: Herping tips holiday Utah California in july
Thanks Jimi for your extensive response. It helps a lot. Sure thing. Price is free - you determine the actual value. Ultimately, it's an effort & numbers & luck game. We all have a personal collection of anecdotes, a few have made serious studies of it, and if we all just pooled our anecdot...
- September 16th, 2019, 1:28 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Herping tips holiday Utah California in july
- Replies: 23
- Views: 21794
Re: Herping tips holiday Utah California in july
Holy crap, Frank, your timing is awful. For snakes anyway - lizards will be easy. - is it worth to stay 2 nights near Mohave desert for night cruising and early morning walks near kelso or will there be no activity ? Morning walks are always a pleasure. So yes, just from that perspective alone, it i...
- September 3rd, 2019, 2:02 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: A North Carolina Summer
- Replies: 1
- Views: 12395
Re: A North Carolina Summer
Sounds like a great newlyweds trip! Congrats on the luck you had in a rough time of year and under some not-helpful circumstances. North Carolina had been in drought, and due to that fact, when we tried to look for more traditional Plethodon in the woodlands, we had no luck. The leaf litter, even up...
- August 28th, 2019, 3:41 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: SF Bay Area Rubber boa Herping Advice?
- Replies: 5
- Views: 18420
Re: SF Bay Area Rubber boa Herping Advice?
My guess would be, your timing is awful. But I don't know that area very well, for herps anyway.
Good hunting.
Good hunting.
- August 27th, 2019, 3:18 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Charina bottae distribution
- Replies: 12
- Views: 26887
Re: Charina bottae distribution
I don't know boas from the Sierra Nevada - have seen a half-dozen there & in the Southern Cascades at most - but I got to know them reasonably well along the CA North Coast, in commercial timberlands (a matrix of all age classes through uncut second growth of ~80-90 years old). Casual boa encoun...
- July 13th, 2019, 8:32 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Recent Kansas Trip! (part 3)
- Replies: 1
- Views: 8937
Re: Recent Kansas Trip! (part 3)
I think "Man, his hands must have stunk SO BAD!!!!" Ha ha ha. Question - "what are Baby Wipes good for?" Ha ha ha.
Looks like a blast. I think your kids look like they're maybe not so sure about those turtles.
Crazy water, wow. Whole lotta water.
Thanks for sharing!
Looks like a blast. I think your kids look like they're maybe not so sure about those turtles.
Crazy water, wow. Whole lotta water.
Thanks for sharing!
- July 10th, 2019, 10:34 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Costa Rica - June 2019 Report
- Replies: 6
- Views: 16698
Re: Costa Rica - June 2019 Report
Looks like quite a satisfying trip.
Nice to see the Porthidium nasutum - they occupy a special place in my heart. Sweet little fatties.
cheers
Nice to see the Porthidium nasutum - they occupy a special place in my heart. Sweet little fatties.
cheers
- July 3rd, 2019, 10:01 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Costa Rica 2019 trip report
- Replies: 5
- Views: 11248
Re: Costa Rica 2019 trip report
Congrats, and thanks. Looks like an exhausting but rewarding trip. The high country there is tough herping eh?
cheers!
cheers!
- July 1st, 2019, 11:16 am
- Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
- Topic: Switching an Eastern Coachwhip
- Replies: 93
- Views: 165241
Re: Switching an Eastern Coachwhip
That's great, thanks for sharing the continuing story! This is similar to when I've started neonate tropical snakes on live frogs or lizards - that being all they want. There usually comes a time when they will readily accept a small mouse, with no extra prep (scenting or whatever). I find this appr...
- June 26th, 2019, 9:21 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Recent Kansas Trip! (part 1)
- Replies: 5
- Views: 10569
Re: Recent Kansas Trip! (part 1)
Agreed - the happy family is the best takeaway. Your kids are getting big!
Got any bootheel or Gila trips planned?
Hope all's very well, see you around.
Got any bootheel or Gila trips planned?
Hope all's very well, see you around.
- June 12th, 2019, 11:00 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: The best 22 seconds of a C. mitchelli....
- Replies: 10
- Views: 26072
Re: The best 22 seconds of a C. mitchelli....
I didn't look very closely - do you think it's the same animal? Or are you just noting one of very similar appearance in the same general area? Within a 20-minute walk of a certain campground with a little pupfish pool by the toilets, over the years since about 1983 I've seen animals just like yours...
- June 10th, 2019, 10:08 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: The best 22 seconds of a C. mitchelli....
- Replies: 10
- Views: 26072
Re: The best 22 seconds of a C. mitchelli....
That is a nice one. The phenotypic diversity of that taxon in that specific area is amazing - no "locality look" at all to them, unlike elsewhere. I love the salt & pepper, low-orange ones like yours.
cheers
cheers
- June 6th, 2019, 2:05 pm
- Forum: News
- Topic: Western Pond Turtle survival study - drought-related
- Replies: 1
- Views: 9345
Western Pond Turtle survival study - drought-related
https://www.fwspubs.org/doi/abs/10.3996/012016-JFWM-005 Abstract (I broke it into "paragraphs" to improve readability, and added the bold+enlarged emphasis on something I found astonishing): Drought has the ability to affect the persistence of small animal populations, especially those ti...
- June 4th, 2019, 9:14 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Madison, WI
- Replies: 2
- Views: 5296
Re: Madison, WI
Hi Martti! Glad to hear you've got a USA visit coming right up. I'm sorry I can't meet up with you or otherwise be very much help, but perhaps one point of clarification might help you get some help. When you write 2-15.6, are we in USA to understand you mean you are (already) here June 2 - June 15?...
- May 21st, 2019, 12:35 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Herping the Island of St. Lucia
- Replies: 6
- Views: 8499
Re: Herping the Island of St. Lucia
Thank you for taking it as I meant it, Ackee - nothing twitchy or overheated, just a straightforward factual statement devoid of any hostility or anything.
I envy your time in the Caribbean.
cheers
I envy your time in the Caribbean.
cheers
- May 20th, 2019, 9:40 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Herping the Island of St. Lucia
- Replies: 6
- Views: 8499
Re: Herping the Island of St. Lucia
These venomous snakes were imported and released in large numbers during the slavery period in order to deter African people from escaping into the interior. That is a falsehood. Often repeated, "sounds sort of plausible" (until you think about it for a second...), but never true. The St ...
- May 8th, 2019, 1:42 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Milk Snakes and 'Manders-Virginia Springtime 2019
- Replies: 1
- Views: 4494
Re: Milk Snakes and 'Manders-Virginia Springtime 2019
Lovely account, I always enjoy herping vicariously with you two. One question, leading to a suggestion - Q: did you really just post on The Innerwebs, an account of your going into a National Park and flipping (hunting / taking) for an ESA-listed sally? And - to make it slightly worse - actually get...
- May 3rd, 2019, 10:19 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: The year of exploration. 2018 review.
- Replies: 15
- Views: 14415
Re: The year of exploration. 2018 review.
Wow that represents a lot of work , several times over. Thanks for sharing. You're an artist, as well as an accomplished herper. Great depictions of the subjects. I like how much habitat you include in your portraits. I was glad to see (after a lot of scrolling) that you were able to get outside of ...
- May 2nd, 2019, 4:07 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: 2019 04 - Eurotour III trip report
- Replies: 4
- Views: 6963
Re: 2019 04 - Eurotour III trip report
That was most enjoyable, Jeroen. Thanks very much. I wasn't aware there were quite so many salamanders in Europe.
Was that whole thing basically a big circular road trip?
Was that whole thing basically a big circular road trip?
- April 16th, 2019, 1:59 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Herping Las Vegas area from June-December
- Replies: 6
- Views: 9330
Re: Herping Las Vegas area from June-December
Would that be a good place to check out different elevations? Either the mainstem Colorado or either of its nearby tributaries - the Virgin and the Muddy rivers- offer good opportunities, within 60 to 90 minutes of town, for low-elevation walking and cruising. They all also offer nearby mountain ra...
- April 15th, 2019, 5:27 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Herping Las Vegas area from June-December
- Replies: 6
- Views: 9330
Re: Herping Las Vegas area from June-December
My answer would be a lot like Bryan's, "of your 4 options 2 are hopeless, 1 pretty much sucks unless you can stay up REAL late at night, and 1 isn't really that bad". Winter, August, and early June, respectively. August depends if there's clouds and humidity - if so, it isn't always awful....