Arizona Herping Help Please

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Hamilton
Posts: 7
Joined: April 12th, 2015, 11:43 am

Arizona Herping Help Please

Post by Hamilton »

Hey. I'm fairly new to herping, especially in Arizona. I don't know all the scientific jazz but I want to find more than just really small lizards. I've gone out everyday since march 3rd and it is now april 19th. I go everyday for a few hours flipping over rocks and climbing mountains. I haven't seen a SINGLE snake! All i've seen is a few scorpions and small lizards and some black widow spiders. Am I herping too early in the year? I figured 85 degrees should be warm enough to herp but i'm no expert. Maybe i'm too close to the housing? I never really go further than a mile or 2 away from the neighborhood. I've tried looking for ponds on google earth but haven't found any nearby. Any tips would really make my experience here in Arizona much more enjoyable. Thanks
craigb
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Post by craigb »

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Hamilton
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Joined: April 12th, 2015, 11:43 am

Re: Arizona Herping Help Please

Post by Hamilton »

Thanks for responding. I usually go at around 11am throughout the day and never later than 11:30pm. I live in Phoenix. I'll check that website out thanks. I got my license even though i don't believe we should need them. Why should we have to pay the government money just to photograph nature? Anyway thanks.
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SurfinHerp
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Re: Arizona Herping Help Please

Post by SurfinHerp »

Hey Hamilton - one of the best ways to learn how to find reptiles in a certain area is to study the HERP database http://www.naherp.com/

Just click on Search Records, then select the herp you're interested in, plus the State and County. You'll most likely get dozens or hundreds of records - especially for Maricopa County. You can sort them chronologically by clicking on the column header "Date". From there, just review the records and pay attention to the time of day, method, and habitat. It doesn't take long to realize things such as 'sidewinders are most often found by road-cruising at night in desert flats'.

If you do start finding some snakes, please consider entering records for them into HERP.

Good luck!

Jeff
Hamilton
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Joined: April 12th, 2015, 11:43 am

Re: Arizona Herping Help Please

Post by Hamilton »

Thanks i'll do that. although I'm not even searching for any specific snakes. I just want to see one! Any kind! But i'm going to try and go later in the night and maybe like 6am as well and maybe i'll have some luck.
Hamilton
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Joined: April 12th, 2015, 11:43 am

Re: Arizona Herping Help Please

Post by Hamilton »

I checked out that website. It seems most the snakes around here are found around 10 pm. But most of the finds are august and September with just a few in April. Is April not a good month for herping? One more thing, there is going to be a thunderstorm this Thursday where i live, should i herp before, during, or after the storm?
Jimi
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Joined: December 3rd, 2010, 12:06 pm

Re: Arizona Herping Help Please

Post by Jimi »

I usually go at around 11am
I think we have located the problem.

- April is fine (a great month for some things), near houses is fine (sometimes good depending on the intensity of development/habitat alteration - e.g., a little irrigation either lures animals in, or actually raises the biological carrying capacity).
- Hot is not so good, unless all you want to see is coachwhips. You should be headed home at 11 AM! Or at 10...and don't head back out until a couple hours before sundown this time of year. When it's hotter, go even earlier in the AM and later in the PM.

Even if the air temp has only hit 70 in the morning, if it's sunny (Phoenix's claim to fame...) ground temps can easily be 95 already. By the time the air is 85, the ground (or your hat) can be 110 in the sun. Try a temp gun, see for yourself. If you want to be out in the heat - or when you're headed back to the car at 10 or 11 - you should only be looking in shade, e.g. in holes & under bushes on the N-facing slopes & cutbanks of washes. Remember - you've got a built-in swamp cooler, snakes only have behavior to maintain their preferred body temp.

Free advice, maybe a bargain, maybe not...just smile and remember, a lot of people would trade locations with you!

Good hunting,
Jimi
Hamilton
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Joined: April 12th, 2015, 11:43 am

Re: Arizona Herping Help Please

Post by Hamilton »

Thanks so much Jimi! I always thought hotter the better. I'm going now since it's dark out now. I went herping again today and saw a really cool looking snake skin, so i'm going to go search out the snake that left it.
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ThamnElegans24
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Joined: November 23rd, 2010, 6:44 pm
Location: Mesa, Arizona

Re: Arizona Herping Help Please

Post by ThamnElegans24 »

I agree with what these other gentleman have said. I'd also like to add that it is getting a little too late for flipping rocks in the desert. And that there's no real need to climb mountains to see snakes. Most snakes I see while hiking are actually around the base of mountains, in washes, under bushes and trees.

To emphasize Jimi's point, it's not the time of day that matters, it's the temperature. 70 to 85 is pretty much the sweet spot. Sure they can be found above and below that, but not as often.

It may help your cause to set a target species to look for. From there you can further narrow down your search times and locations using the websites that have already been suggested. Also if you had a set species in mind you would likely be able to get more specific help from other users here. Keep in mind that asking too many or too specific questions will likely get you some less than civil responses. But there are people here, myself included, that have no problem helping out a newbie. We all had to start somewhere.

Good luck out there, be safe, and please let us know how it goes.
Hamilton
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Joined: April 12th, 2015, 11:43 am

Re: Arizona Herping Help Please

Post by Hamilton »

well it's 82 degrees and i just went out for a few hours. No luck on any snakes.. I did see two very large female black widows, a couple of drunk people, and a tailless whipscorpion. I guess i'll try again in the morning thanks for the help.
Hamilton
Posts: 7
Joined: April 12th, 2015, 11:43 am

Re: Arizona Herping Help Please

Post by Hamilton »

Well i'm excited. I went herping found a new spot and saw a home with about 5 common chuckwalla's. I found a very long Gopher snake with a very vibrant yellow striped black tail. I'd post the picture but it seems hard to do on these forums so w/e. Thanks for your help guys, it was 84 degrees and 2.35 pm.
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SurfinHerp
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Re: Arizona Herping Help Please

Post by SurfinHerp »

Congrats dude!

It's not that hard to post photos. Just sign up for an account on Photobucket.com, upload your photos, then copy and paste the links into FHF. You can probably do it in 15 minutes.

Do it now - I wanna see the gopher snake :P
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