Jan-Aug 2012 MEGA POST...with a little something special!!!!

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Dave S
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Jan-Aug 2012 MEGA POST...with a little something special!!!!

Post by Dave S »

Hello Everyone,
Well it has been awhile since I have posted so I decided to make 1 MEGA POST from the last few months and a few different trips I have taken. Please forgive some of the photo quality as some of the photos where taken with camera phones, little point and shoot cameras or my Nikon D100 etc.

My year started out GREAT with a long time goal finally achieved. Finding Diamondback Terrapins in the Florida Keys.
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You can see that complete post here:
http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/vie ... =2&t=11327

I've also been down to the ENP a few times this year with mixed results. Below is mix of stuff found on those trips from Late Dec 2011 till late Aug 2012.
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The 1st and most likely the only Scarlet Snake I will ever get bit by. YES, it bit me. I didn't believe it either.
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This corn was freaky, when the flash would go off he would try to climb the air.
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These snails are very cool and colorful, my wife and I always get a kick out of seeing how many we will find. After some heavy rains and flooding we found 43 on 1 trail!
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This big corn was sitting in broad daylight on a very popular trail.
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Next are some random shots from Broward, Palm Beach and surrounding counties.
1st baby Coral Snake in 20+ years only about 8 inches.
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This guy was stuck in a fence so we helped him out.
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1 of many Box Turtles that live around one of my fishing spots.
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This is proof you never know where you can turn up a nice find. Something about the dead tuff of grass just said "check me". Glad I did.
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1 of the nicest corns I have found in many years, IMO.
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In late May I took a short trip to Maryland to visit family and help work on a Terrapin project. The Terrapin project got axed before I even arrived but we still had a great time and found some nice stuff.
Black Ratsnakes were all over the place and we found 7 in just the few days we were there.
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While on one outing we came upon this in the road. I'm not sure but maybe Sasquatch is cross dressing because that was the biggest stripper heal (black and red) I have ever seen!!! :D
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I'm also lucky enough to have family that have a large peace of property with the perfect habitat and a healthy population of Box Turtles around the area. Over 11 were found.
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A 2fer
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A 3fer
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Some nice looking males.
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Another down by the stream with his friend the toad.
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Early in June I went to visit a good friend in South Carolina. It was slow finding herps but we had a good time and it was a nice visit.
After driving around on back roads for awhile our 1st snake was this big Grey/Black Ratsnake that appeared to have been beaten in the road. :(
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The next couple days turned out a bit better.
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Spotted Turtle habitat. We saw 1 on the trip but were unable to get a photo.
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Even in SC I can't get away from these guys.
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Here's a sign I will never forget.
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Neat little birds.
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Now for the BIG FINISH........
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I did not find the following snake but was very lucky enough to get it to someone who has been working with them for years. It was very dehydrated and lethargic when I 1st saw it but has since then regained much of the typical Coral Snake behavior.
This snake is possibly the most special snake I have ever had the pleasure of photographing. It was also one of the hardest to photograph.
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At about 38 inches it is also the biggest I have photpographed.
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I leave you with a shot of this Scarlet Kingsnake a friend purchased for me from a local dealer. He just happened to be there when someone walked in with 3 of them. I have been on a major dry spell when it comes to finding them and it has been years since I've found a live one. This year alone I've found 4 DOR.
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Thanks for viewing and I hope you enjoyed as much as I did being out and about.
Dave S.
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JAMAUGHN
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Re: Jan-Aug 2012 MEGA POST...with a little something special

Post by JAMAUGHN »

Incredible stuff here, all of it, but that Coral Snake...man, oh man. Stunning.

JimM
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mywan
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Re: Jan-Aug 2012 MEGA POST...with a little something special

Post by mywan »

That coral is indeed stunning. Glad you got it some help :beer:

I also love the pure white on those Diamondbacks.
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dery
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Re: Jan-Aug 2012 MEGA POST...with a little something special

Post by dery »

mywan wrote:That coral is indeed stunning. Glad you got it some help :beer:

I also love the pure white on those Diamondbacks.
yep, ....... AND WHaT AboUT thEm TrEE SnAiLS???? :lol:
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Tonia Graves
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Re: Jan-Aug 2012 MEGA POST...with a little something special

Post by Tonia Graves »

Thanks for putting this together, you had some great finds this year. That coralsnake is stunning!
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Josh Holbrook
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Re: Jan-Aug 2012 MEGA POST...with a little something special

Post by Josh Holbrook »

Sweet DBTs!
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soulsurvivor
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Re: Jan-Aug 2012 MEGA POST...with a little something special

Post by soulsurvivor »

Killer coral!! :thumb:

Very nice post. That coral is amazing.
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Eric East
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Re: Jan-Aug 2012 MEGA POST...with a little something special

Post by Eric East »

I love that coral snake, that was a once in a life time find!
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jayder85
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Re: Jan-Aug 2012 MEGA POST...with a little something special

Post by jayder85 »

Awesome post! I have to go with the Coral as my favorite! That is a tough one to beat!
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Sam Bacchini
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Re: Jan-Aug 2012 MEGA POST...with a little something special

Post by Sam Bacchini »

Beautiful pictures, especially the coral snake. Would love to know the back story on that shoe...
hellihooks
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Re: Jan-Aug 2012 MEGA POST...with a little something special

Post by hellihooks »

Great post! I know that Coral is a remarkable find, and I hope you don't take this wrong, but I don't care for it much. I LOVE the King that follows it. I personally would take a perfectly patterned normal over a un-symmetrically patterned aberrant any day. Perhaps it comes from living here in So Cal, where as far as kings go... the more messed up a pattern is... the more people seem to like it. I THINK it's almost as hard to find a snake with an absolutely PERFECT pattern as it is to find an aberrant. Here's the most messed up pattern I've ever seen... that many King guys would give an arm and a leg for... :roll:
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I gave it to a kid who liked it... cause I just couldn't take looking at it's messed up pattern any more... :roll:
Don't get me wrong... a perfectly-patterned aberrancy blows my socks off... :thumb: that said... I really liked a lot of the other herps you posted... :thumb: jim
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Tim Borski
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Re: Jan-Aug 2012 MEGA POST...with a little something special

Post by Tim Borski »

I run into Corals frequently and I've only seen one abberant one ever. That's certainly an interesting looking critter. (I keep looking at it's head. It looks "bulbous," or elongated...can't really put my finger on it.)

The little one is cool too.

Looks like a great season!
Tim
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Dave S
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Re: Jan-Aug 2012 MEGA POST...with a little something special

Post by Dave S »

Thanks for all the comments everyone. It's always nice to get feed back from others on the forum.

Tim: I think the reason it's head looks bulbous is because the snake was dehydrated and under weight, (IMO). It was a monster 38+ inches. It's head was almost as big as my thumb!!!
hellihooks: I agree with you somewhat, sometimes finding what some consider perfect, can be just as hard.

A tad of background about the Coral:
It was found in Martin County by some guy that had very little knowledge of reptiles and to this day I still think he was not convinced that it was a Coral Snake and very dangerous. He had found it after all the flooding we had with the passing tropical storm weeks back. The story I got was he found it in his front very residential yard, not even 2 blocks from the beach..?? He was keeping it in a large fish tank with no lid on pine shaving that you would use for a rodent, there was no hide and the water dish was to big for the snake to get a drink. He thought it was some kind of Milksnake and had taken it to a few pet shops in the area trying to sell it, someone posted a photo online and a friend of mine saw it and contacted me. A few calls and 6 days later I got in touch with the guy and he agreed to let me come see it. I took a good friend who works with Corals with me and after trying to explain it was a Coral Snake and it was rather rare and he should NOT be free handling it (right in front of us!!!!) he agreed to let us have it and get it the help it needed.
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Robyn@TRR
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Re: Jan-Aug 2012 MEGA POST...with a little something special

Post by Robyn@TRR »

That coral is gorgeous, as are the snails : )
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