herping in vietnam/cambodia

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legerdemian
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Joined: December 12th, 2010, 9:37 pm

herping in vietnam/cambodia

Post by legerdemian »

hey all,
i have been lurking on this site for a while(thanks to all those with excellent posts on the southwestern deserts this past season!) and wanted to join now that i may have something to finally add..
i am a total newbee to forums so be nice! i have seen some pretty harsh replies to some first time posters on here! lol..

so i will be in vietnam and cambodia thru february and hopefully getting some quality herping in. and i wanted to invite anyone that may be in the area to meet up! i have a bit of experience so i am not totally useless.. ;) (studied herpetology for a year at Cal under harry greene and david wake..)

if anyone has any tips- locations, local contacts, etc- i would really appreciate them. the only contact i have been able to find so far is Nguyen Quang Truong, who seems to be THE man here, but he is in the north and for the next month i will be in the south, saigon and environs. in researching locations here there is so much possibility it is almost overwhelming!

so, if anyone is up for it please feel free to contact me!

and there are some people back in the states that i would be happy to meet up with sometime, maybe borrego in the spring(my local stopmng grounds..), or with some of the east bay/central valley guys that seem pretty down too...

cheers and thanks for having me on the forum!

daniel
DavidG
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Joined: June 8th, 2010, 2:17 am

Re: herping in vietnam/cambodia

Post by DavidG »

Hi,

Herping in South-East Asia can be extremely challenging, as herps are either secretive, high up in trees, or very well camouflaged, BUT its not impossible. Best way to find stuff is usually at night in good primary forests around streams. This means walking through streams at night to find things, trust me this is the most effective method. A final tip, when in Cambodia you must realize that going of the trail is not always the smartest option; there are a lot of landmines....
jimoo742
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Re: herping in vietnam/cambodia

Post by jimoo742 »

I can't offer much help, as I had very little success in Cambodia. I would give you a heads up about the leeches though. Be very mentally prepared for them, they're all over you in no time. At least they were in the Cardomann Mountains. I found seeing any wildlife difficult. I was especially surprised by the lack of non domestic waterfowl or wading birds anywhere.
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dezertwerx
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Re: herping in vietnam/cambodia

Post by dezertwerx »

I have a buddy that has herped there before... pm me if you'd like his info.

Rich
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Rags
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Re: herping in vietnam/cambodia

Post by Rags »

Try the forests around Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. That way if you strike out on herps you'll still have an amazing time around the temples and ruins.
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David Tobler
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Re: herping in vietnam/cambodia

Post by David Tobler »

I have a particular affection for the bug-eyed frogs of the genus Theloderma, certainly what I'd be looking for over there. If I ever made a trip to Vietnam I would certainly visit the Tam Dao National Park, from what I've read there's some amazing biodiversity there.
TimCO
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Re: herping in vietnam/cambodia

Post by TimCO »

I can't offer any tips, but take a ton of pics. That trip is high on my mission list.
Mikhail F. Bagaturov
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Re: herping in vietnam/cambodia

Post by Mikhail F. Bagaturov »

Hi!
DavidG wrote:Hi,
Best way to find stuff is usually at night in good primary forests around streams. This means walking through streams at night to find things, trust me this is the most effective method.
I concur. It is not only so said effective, but in fact the only way for successful harping there, but it is not easy believe me especially in karst limstone areas. You must be very careful otherwise you may find your death there. Tree and karst vipers, bungarus spp and some others are not easy to see but bite may be deadly.
The best way is to slow exploring with powerfull torch walking into water up the streams especially under the rain. Also be care as it was told for leaches - they are everywhere around you looking for fresh blood. And do not forget of the phase of the moon too - its maybe the best success for nigh herping at all.
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Viridovipera
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Re: herping in vietnam/cambodia

Post by Viridovipera »

PM sent. Enjoy yourself and hopefully I'll see you over there.

-Alex
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jonathan
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Re: herping in vietnam/cambodia

Post by jonathan »

Mikhail F. Bagaturov wrote:
DavidG wrote:Hi,
Best way to find stuff is usually at night in good primary forests around streams. This means walking through streams at night to find things, trust me this is the most effective method.
I concur. It is not only so said effective, but in fact the only way for successful harping there, but it is not easy believe me especially in karst limstone areas. You must be very careful otherwise you may find your death there. Tree and karst vipers, bungarus spp and some others are not easy to see but bite may be deadly.
The best way is to slow exploring with powerfull torch walking into water up the streams especially under the rain. Also be care as it was told for leaches - they are everywhere around you looking for fresh blood. And do not forget of the phase of the moon too - its maybe the best success for nigh herping at all.

That's really interesting information. When you do that do you see most stuff in the trees, on the banks of the stream, or in the stream itself?

Now all I need is to get a powerful torch, find a place with a stream, and get a free night to go there....that's not happening for a while...
Mikhail F. Bagaturov
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Joined: June 22nd, 2010, 10:22 pm
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Re: herping in vietnam/cambodia

Post by Mikhail F. Bagaturov »

Hi!
During tralling the streams like that most of the amphibians found near the water, as well as some vipers on branches close to it. Species like Amolops spp and other cascade frogs are found in streams usually sitting on rocks, large rhacophorids as well mostly found on rocks or large leaves near the slow moving basines on stream (in breeding season).
As for Tam Dao herping many species (in other parts too) may be found on "beasts' treails" in forest near streams.
But some species like Theloderma spp and Philautus spp in Viet Nam are found aside from the streams in forest exsclusively in large trees' hollows or on leaves near stagnant pools (usually formed by rain (temporary) or spring water).
Hope this helps.
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frogshot
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Re: herping in vietnam/cambodia

Post by frogshot »

I just returned from a trip to Viet Nam and saw many fairly common species of frogs and toads around streams and waterfalls and pools. The road running through Cuc phuong national park after rain was really good for terrestrial frogs and if you explore the pools atthe side of the road and the stremas you should have some luck. I was there in the wet season as I was after amphibians. Not sure what it would be like when it is dry. Tam Dao was also pretty good for frogs, even the stream that runs through the town itself. Cat Ba island in Halong bay yielded a few snakes and Agamids. Good luck
DavidG
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Re: herping in vietnam/cambodia

Post by DavidG »

That's really interesting information. When you do that do you see most stuff in the trees, on the banks of the stream, or in the stream itself?

Now all I need is to get a powerful torch, find a place with a stream, and get a free night to go there....that's not happening for a while...
Frogs can be found usually on the banks of streams and such, but also some ranidae species have a tendency to rest on objects low above the water, e.g. on fallen branches/twigs. Others, e.g. litter frogs, appear to prefer sitting in the leaf litter about 1 to 2 meters away from the stream. Litter frogs may be difficult to locate, but i assume that their large eyes may light up with use of a powerfull torch (eye-shine). Finally, some larger ranids and many Dicroglossidae species sit inside sandy, shallows streams at night or on muddy/leafy stream banks (only really stream banks that leave the stream at a small angle (not very steep banks, because most dicroglossids cant really climb)).

Agamids may be found resting on leaves of saplings and bushes, but also very often on palm leaves during the night. Small Cyrtodactylus geckos can be found sitting on saplings, especially on their leaves, at night, whereas larger ones can be found on steeper stream/river banks or large tree trunks. During the day, large tree trunks and granite outcrops may be home to certain cnemaspis spp, and walking slowly through forest trails will allow you to detect draco spp. by scanning tree trunks.

Snakes are usually very different in their habitat at night. At most times they can be found draped over low bushes and in trees that hang across the river/stream.
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