Some action is castlewood canyon, CO

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SnakeDude
Posts: 417
Joined: July 14th, 2011, 9:18 am
Location: Denver, CO

Some action is castlewood canyon, CO

Post by SnakeDude »

so today I took a little hour long trip to Castlewood Canyon State Park, which is about ten minutes from my house. We ended up locating a big, new den of Crotalus Viridis (A total of six adults and a neonate). We also found two sceloporous and a dead racer.

Image

the big girl
Image

and the neonate
Image


-Ian
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BillMcGighan
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:23 am
Location: Unicoi, TN

Re: Some action is castlewood canyon, CO

Post by BillMcGighan »

Tell us more about your study in State Parks that requires disturbing a den?
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RCampbell
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Joined: June 10th, 2010, 6:45 am
Location: wherever poikilotherms can be found

Re: Some action is castlewood canyon, CO

Post by RCampbell »

:(
While I see you are enthusiastic about herping..and from the post...you are new. Please understand that den sites are sensitive areas, and they should be viewed from a distance so as not to disturb the snakes. You did harm by digging snakes out of den areas and disturbing them...I will assume unintentionally from not knowing better.

If you take a soft approach and view them without them knowing you will benefit by being able to come back year after year and enjoy watching natural behaviors and individuals grow...which is way more fun than a couple of minutes of adrenaline for no reason except to stress individuals and disrupt behavior patterns at a VERY sensitive time.
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The Real Snake Man
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Joined: June 12th, 2010, 4:08 pm
Location: Pasadena, CA or Mission, TX

Re: Some action is castlewood canyon, CO

Post by The Real Snake Man »

From the Colorado Parks & Wildlife website:

"It shall be prohibited:
...
To remove, destroy or harass any wildlife or livestock on Parks and Outdoor Recreation Lands."

Not sure about the penalties, but definitely poor behavior.
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pete
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 7:11 pm
Location: cape cod ma.

Re: Some action is castlewood canyon, CO

Post by pete »

Please listen to RCampbell.
Keep up your enthusiasm but use your camera instead of your tongs ;)
SnakeDude
Posts: 417
Joined: July 14th, 2011, 9:18 am
Location: Denver, CO

Re: Some action is castlewood canyon, CO

Post by SnakeDude »

Okay... First off I'd like to apologize. I had no idea there were such strict rules, and I see that it's not even about the rules it's about what's right and what's wrong. We DID mess with ONE of the rattlesnakes. Mess with as in moving it to a better spot for pictures. I now regret this, as I can see it can have a bad impact on the den for reasons you guys probably know better than me. I was only there to get coordinates so that I could GIVE THEM to the park so that they could mark it off, which is what I'm in the process of doing and have already done with one other den. The neonate was in the open by the crevasse and on the crawl but I never messed with it. I would hope people would know that I would never intentionally disrupt a den and I guess I got a little more into taking good pictures than I should have, and I'm sorry. But if you'd like to give me a lecture about how i shouldn't disrupt dens, which after this bombardment of law reminders an ridicule I most definitely won't do again, then please PM me about it and I'll accept your reasoning (which I won't get mad about, because now I know it was wrong to mess with the den at all) just please don't make it a huge thing on my post. I'm still learning these things from you guys, and I'll make sure not to make this mistake again.
SnakeDude
Posts: 417
Joined: July 14th, 2011, 9:18 am
Location: Denver, CO

Re: Some action is castlewood canyon, CO

Post by SnakeDude »

To anyone seeing this now YES there was a pic of me tonging the snake. Sorry to cause any disturbances, I deleted the picture. The parks service WILL be aware of my actions too and might be a little not too happy about it. But I'm still giving them coords to it because that's the whole reason I went out there. Sorry again,

Ian
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BillMcGighan
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:23 am
Location: Unicoi, TN

Re: Some action is castlewood canyon, CO

Post by BillMcGighan »

Very responsible response, Ian.

Good job. :thumb: :thumb:

As mentioned already, channel your enthusiasm, but never lose it!


PS
As a dad and granddad, I have to say this:
Hang your “lucky flip-flops” in the closet and hunt with something more sure-footed. :)
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RCampbell
Posts: 100
Joined: June 10th, 2010, 6:45 am
Location: wherever poikilotherms can be found

Re: Some action is castlewood canyon, CO

Post by RCampbell »

Snake Dude,

A very mature response, thank you for acknowledging the issues we were trying to point out, but more importantly for listening* (odd choice of word for a post you read...).

Don't lose the enthusiasm, in fact grow it. Continue to learn and have a blast, while helping further knowledge and databases.

Others will no doubt respond without having read the post as it is and unfortunately as has become all too common here some harsh comments will be made... roll with the punches and know for yourself you have learned from a mistake. We ALL make them, and some of us have learned the hard way through action what we shouldn't do.... so hey move on and don't let it get to you!

On a personal note in sincere agreement with Bill...ditch the sandals for good footwear!!!!
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Blacktail31
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Joined: March 2nd, 2013, 4:47 pm
Location: Tucson Arizona

Re: Some action is castlewood canyon, CO

Post by Blacktail31 »

I saw my very first rattlesnake in Castlewood Canyon back in the early 90s. It was always a very reliable spot to get some pictures of prairie rattlesnakes. I spent a lot of time there when I was growing up. Nice to see that there are still some in there.
SnakeDude
Posts: 417
Joined: July 14th, 2011, 9:18 am
Location: Denver, CO

Re: Some action is castlewood canyon, CO

Post by SnakeDude »

Thanks for the advice, I'm looking into some bite-proof boots, for when I have the money :) although next time I'll make sure I don't get close enough to need them :roll:

Blacktail- Oh yes! There's either a ton or I've gotten very lucky. I'll hopefully be able to revisit this den more next year and hopefully the neos will be getting bigger.
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