CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

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Daniel Parker
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CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by Daniel Parker »

All photos by Daniel Parker of http://www.sunshineserpents.com unless otherwise credited.

The Green Swamp is a 600,000 acre area that lies between the Lake Wales and Brooksville Ridges in Central Florida. A matrix of mostly mesic natural habitats including swamps, marshes, flatwoods, and hammocks lies within this region. Despite the lowland connotation of “swamp,” this area is actually fairly high in elevation by Florida standards. A clay hard pan layer and the adjacent ridges help it hold water like a bowl. The Florida aquifer is close to the surface in this area. It is the water source for most of Central Florida, which has sparked constant political conflict over water usage and development of the area. The Green Swamp contains the headwaters of the Withlacoochee, Little Withlacoochee, Hillsborough, Ocklawaha, and Peace rivers.

In times of drought, the Withlacoochee River is reduced to a series of puddles at its headwaters.
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This cord grass marsh is near the historic headwaters of the Peace River.
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Bayheads rise from the marshes in some areas.
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Some of the sawgrass marshes are reminiscent of the vast Everglades to the south.
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I grew up chasing critters in the swamps and marshes here. One of my most significant childhood finds was a spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata). If this had been officially documented, it would have been the southernmost individual ever documented. I spent many years after that searching for another one, without success. I did run into many other interesting critters along the way though.

Florida sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis pratensis) are our constant companions.
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Every year, we watch them nest and raise their young. Here is a hatchling.
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During the winter time, hundreds of migratory greater sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis tabida) and thousands of other snowbirds from up north show up and clog up our roads.
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Every once in a while, we are graced with the presence of whooping cranes (Grus americana).
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During a time of drought a few years ago, a controlled burn got out of the control of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission workers. The resulting smoke mixed with fog and caused a 70 car pileup on I-4 that injured 38 people and killed 4. Some of the areas affected by the fire were in an area with a smattering of spotted turtle records. After seeing some of the most scorched areas it was hard to believe that anything could have survived.
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The fire was intense enough to kill lots of pines. A few years later, some of the areas looked like this.
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Life goes on, as the bark flaking off the dead trees provided habitat for lots of herps. Here is a scarlet kingsnake (Lampropeltis triangulum elapsoides) found under the bark of a partially peeled dead pine. On this day in I found two scarlet kings, four corns snakes (Elaphe guttata guttata), two southern black racers (Coluber constrictor priapus), and one yellow rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta quadrivittata) under bark. It was late December and the high temp for the day was 68 F. Interestingly, all of the snakes were on the sunny side of the tree, probably thermoregulating.
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When searching for herps under bark, I try to do minimal damage to the microhabitat by only searching a few trees in a given area. With much of the land behind locked gates, we don’t have to worry so much about herpers peeling all of the bark off every dead tree around like they do in some areas of the panhandle.


This little SK was found inside the top of a rotting log in a swamp.
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A few years ago, we were hit by three hurricanes in one year. Lots of trees came down and others had the tops snapped off. This hickory was standing for several years before it was decided that it was a danger to the house. My dad had to cut it down. Unfortunately, as he was chain sawing it into smaller sections, he hit a corn snake. I decided to strip the log down before any more were injured or killed. I found two more live corns.
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Photo by Richard Parker

The standing dead tree had been sheltering three corn snakes.
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Citrus groves are planted on some of more well-drained areas of the Green Swamp. The transitions between the groves and the swamps are interesting edge zones that are used by all sorts of animals. Luckily for me, they have also been choice spots to dump in the past, though at this point most of the old trash has been cleaned up and I have had to supplement it with my own artificial cover.
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As with most of Florida, the most commonly flipped snake here is probably the southern black racer.
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This is a very typical yellow rat snake for this area.
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On the edge of the grove pictured above, I flipped a car door. Seeing nothing under it, I set it back down. As I did, I noticed something unexpected about six inches from my hand.
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When my brain processed what it was, I suddenly jumped back. I got my snake grabbers and exposed a hefty eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus).
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This was the first one I had seen in this area in 15 years. They were reportedly once quite common in the area, but a combination of vehicle traffic and everyone killing them seems to have gotten most of them.
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Photo by Richard Parker

I have seen a few more in subsequent years and it is nice to see that they still seem to be hanging on. This is nicely colored specimen that was rescued from a ranch nearby.
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The hurricanes did a few nice things from a herper’s perspective. One of them was to spread some extra cover around. A sign post missing its sign is a good sign.
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A look in the brush nearby reveals a prime looking 4 x 8 sheet of plywood.
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A lot of folks think that orange colored rat snakes like the “rossalleni” phenotype occur only in south Florida. This isn’t true. I actually see about the same percentage of orange rat snakes (around 15%) as far north as northern Polk, Osceola, and Hillsborough Counties as I do south of Lake Okeechobee. These usually have more distinct stripes than the south Florida rat snakes and can have red, black, or red and black tongues. I have associate light or thin stripes more with south Florida rat snakes than orange color.

Here is a nice big orange one with thick, dark stripes found under the hurricane-downed sign.
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Here is an in situ shot of two scarlet kings found under a rotting board.
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We found this scarlet king under my niece’s turtle-shaped sand box on a 95 degree day in July. It was in the shade and the sand is apparently a good insulator. This is the only sk I have ever flipped in the middle of summer.
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I bred rodents for many years in the Green Swamp. I found that this attracted a never ending stream of rodent predators, the most abundant of which being the yellow rat snake. Here is one sitting on a shelf in the mouse rack anticipating its next juicy meal.
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Every once in a while one would find its way into a pan of mice, causing mass hysteria within the colony. This two-footer made a bloody mess as it ate all of the pinkies and fuzzies and then started trying to kill the adults.
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Even after getting snake proof rodent racks, I found it necessary to remove rat snakes out of the rat shed because it seemed they would not leave as long as they could smell food. They would start to get skinny and rub their noses raw trying to get to the rodents. Here I am with one June day’s haul out of the shed. I am making that face because I have a yellow fly biting me on the hand. These flies are possibly the worst thing about living in this area. In the dry late spring and early summer they are nearly unbearable.
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Photo by Nick Mesa

Here is a comparison of two of the juveniles from the shed.
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A pretty orange one.
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This one was a more dull shade of orange.
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Snakes aren’t the only things that show up trying to eat the rodents. Here is our friendly neighborhood barred owl (Strix varia).
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Here she is with a rat.
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Green anoles (Anolis carolinensis) used to be the most common lizards that we saw. 20 years ago there weren’t any brown anoles (Anolis sagrei) around our house. Like just about everywhere else in Florida, the browns became the most abundant lizards by far. We have have two record cold winters in a row now, and the browns seem to be knocked back quite a bit, though there are still plenty. They aren’t going anywhere. Here is a green anole in the brown.
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This green anole met its fate at the fangs of a big ‘ole backyard banana spider (Argiope aurantia). Thanks to my mom for holding a light while I photographed this one.
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A night walk around the garden will almost always turn up a rat snake. The shots that follow are in situ.
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Photo by Richard Parker

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The ones that aren’t trying to get a mouse in the shed are getting anoles in the garden.
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Corn snakes are equally as common as the yellow rats. This one is munching down an exotic brown anole (Anolis sagrei). Anoles are very easy to catch because they sleep on the bushes at night. I have seen individual snakes eat up to three lizards in a night.
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Corn snake on a rose bush. As my friend Alan Rivero would say, “Every rose has its corn.”
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Snakes eating anoles is such a common sight that I decided to see if I could hand feed some of the snakes. Catching anoles at night is as simple as picking fruit and there is almost always one in easy reach when you see a snake.
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This one took the anole out of my hand with no hesitation. I never use green anoles for this, only the exotic browns. I have found yellow rats to be a little bit more hesitant to do this than corns, but they still aren’t too difficult to hand feed. That is why these snakes make such good pets. They are very adaptable and seem to be low stress animals.
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Tree frogs are also easy to spot around the garden at night. Luckily, our's are still mostly native species. Here is a squirrel tree frog (Hyla squirella).
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A big green tree frog (Hyla cinerea)
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This is one of my favorite roads in the Green Swamp. It is a lime rock road through flatwoods and swamp that produces a wide variety of critters, especially in the late afternoon and right at dusk. I have more photos of dirt roads than anybody I know.
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Here is Lisa with a yellow rat found stretched out on the road.
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Florida chicken turtles (Deirochelys reticularia chrysea) are pretty common in wetlands in this area, though they are most often seen on the road.
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Eastern mud snakes (Farancia abacura abacura) captured my imagination at a young age. They are such beautiful and distinctive snakes, yet many locals don’t even recognize them, even though they are very common in this area.

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This is another wetland dwelling herp that is most commonly observed crossing the road. A ventral view:
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This nicely colored scarlet king was found on the road right before dark.
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A pretty corn found on the same road.
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The black coloration is reduced in many corns from this area, giving some a hypomelanistic look.
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The more grayish background of this corn is unusual for this area.
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My friend Jan van den Berg is from Amsterdam. The cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti) we found this day were his first American venomous snakes. He really wanted to see a diamondback, but that would take a few more trips to the states.
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A juvenile cottonmouth
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Lisa watches a gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) from my good old Toyota. I miss that truck. It got 35 mpg. They just don’t make them like that anymore.
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A gopher tortoise retires into its burrow. Though most people think of them as upland animals, gopher tortoises are actually common in many sandy mesic areas. There burrows may be no deeper than three feet underground in these areas.
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In the last few years, I have spent a lot more time searching for the elusive spotted turtle, truly the rare gem of this region. This pond looks like a prime spot, but as several of my experienced spotted turtle expert friends have found, Florida is a much more difficult place to hunt them than many areas further north.
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Most of the spotted turtles that have been found in Florida have been seen crossing the road. I am hopeful every time I see a small turtle on the road at distance before it is readily identifiable. This was not a spotted turtle, but a welcome find anyway. Florida box turtles (Terrapene carolina bauri) are uncommon here.
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Jan and I found this crossing a dirt road. It “boxed up” and remained shy. This little peak was the only look of its face that it would give us.
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This was my niece Gracie’s first wild turtle spotted on her own. She pointed it out to Blue, Louie, and I. It was a striped mud turtle (Kinosteron baurii).
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Photo by Richard Parker

The striped mud turtle is undoubtedly the most common turtle here. These turtles are semiterrestrial and wander extensively on land, even being known to eat cow dung in cattle pastures.
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This one was found in a time of drought and drank heavily upon being placed in the water.
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Striped mud turtles are variable in color. This is the “blonde” phase.
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Mud turtles can be distinguished from musk turtles by their box turtle-like hinge.
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The babies are abundant in the late summer and you can usually find a few by roadcruising through wetlands in the morning. It’s easy to mistake them for beetles or little rocks in the road.
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Photo by Lisa Parker

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Florida mud turtles (Kinosteron subrubrum steindachneri) are somewhat less common. They seem to occur in most of the same habitats as the striped muds, but are more aquatic and cross roads less frequently. An exception to that was after the hurricanes when we saw both species of mud turtles crossing roads at night in numbers. This one was rescued off the interstate.
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This Florida mud turtle has a nice algae mohawk.
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A male/female comparison shot. The male on the left has the longer, thicker tail.
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The common musk turtle (Sternotherus odoratus) also crosses roads infrequently, though this was another one we saw crossing roads after the hurricanes.
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This chicken turtle was found in a pasture the day after a hurricane. If you haven’t noticed a pattern here, turtles like to move after hurricanes.
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For some reason, one morning we took Lisa’s car out turtle cruising. On this morning we were fortunate enough to find a big Florida snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina osceola)…
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…and a big Florida softshell (Apalone ferox). I didn’t have my camera with me, but I wanted to photograph them both, so I suggested to Lisa that we load them into her car. She groaned at the thought of putting “giant pissing turtles,” as she called them, in her vehicle. Well I put them in anyway and. of course, they did manage to piss on everything.
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This is one of the most commonly misidentified turtles on this forum, the melanistic male red ear slider (Trachemys scripta elegans).
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I never used to see these, but I have seen more of late. I think the recent new FWC rule banning their sale or transfer has actually led to more being release than ever. When the turtles get too big for typical pet owners, they call the herp society to see if they will take them off their hands. We have to explain that we can’t take them anymore because they are now illegal to keep. The inevitable result is that the exotic turtles are released. This is a typically colored female.
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I searched my turtle pens frequently for eggs and was noticing that many of the eggs appeared to have hatched. I knew, however, that they couldn’t be hatching because I was checking often and there were new ones all the time. As I dug around for eggs one evening, I found the cause of my situation. This Florida scarlet snake (Cemophora coccinea coccinea) had its head inside one of the eggs and was sucking out the good stuff inside. It had consumed the contents of 17 eggs. The most interesting thing that these snakes do is punch through the shells of eggs too big to swallow with their hard noses. I have found many skinny scarlet snakes in the late spring and early summer and notice that they are usually quite plump in the late summer and fall. I believe that these snakes may go a long time without eating anything and then gorge when reptile eggs are readily available.
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The heaviest of summer rains may bring the eastern spadefoots (Scaphiopus holbrooki) out in mass for breeding. This can be an extraordinary event to observe. They will breed in temporary ponds that often only last a matter of days or weeks. I counted over 600 individuals one night.
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Apparently, one of the most common snakes in the area was the famous toad predator, the eastern hognose snake (Heterodon platirhinos). An old herper told me that years ago you could walk the edge on the orange grove in the afternoon and find three to five of these snakes on a given day. I found one under a railroad tie in the yard as a kid and never found another one in this area myself.
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A local brought me a baby a couple of years ago and I have confirmed a few other reports in the last few years, so they don’t seem to be completely gone.
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Even more perplexing than the extreme reduction in the hognose population is the possible extirpation of the Florida king snake (Lampropeltis getula floridana). This spot produced king snakes as recently as 1988, but I can’t confirm any being found in the area since then. Hurricane Charley did a nice job of knocking down some billboards and replenishing the cover, but it has since only produced corn snakes, racers, garters (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis), and ringnecks (Diadophis punctatus punctatus). The habitat seems good. There are plenty of private and protected lands behind locked gates that should be able to support kings, but confirmed sightings just don’t seem to pop up.
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See Part 2 here:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3970
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Matt J
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by Matt J »

What a spectacular post, absolutely loved it. Too many awesome shots to single out, but the scarlet kings and the musk turtle mohawk really stuck out.
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kyle loucks
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by kyle loucks »

Great post, I have visited the area once or twice with only a fraction of the success you had. thanks for posting.
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Chris Smith
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by Chris Smith »

Great post!! All the snakes around the house would be sweet!!

-Chris
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Fundad
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by Fundad »

I really really enjoyed your tour, through your swamp..

Great pics and narrative.. :thumb: :beer:

Thanks for Sharing
Fundad
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Nick
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by Nick »

Wow. You found that all in one trip?! :lol:
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DaneConley
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by DaneConley »

The scarlet kings are absoulutly beautiful...I have to move there!
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cayrip
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by cayrip »

I LOVE THE GREEN SWAMP and miss it terribly. Any panthers yet?
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MHollanders
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by MHollanders »

Cool post, I especially like the chicken turtles.
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ahockenberry
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by ahockenberry »

WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So many great photos of so many species - what a smorgasborg - love the Scarlet King Snake shots most - awesome. Thanks for sharing!
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The Real Snake Man
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by The Real Snake Man »

Awesome!!!!! My favorites were the rossalleni rats.
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Ross Padilla
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by Ross Padilla »

Great post, Daniel!!! Some really pretty snakes here. :thumb:
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by monklet »

Rich, informative narrative and great pics - one of my favorite posts ever! :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: I love the mix of animals you have down there. Thanks for taking the time to produce such a warm, personalized account.
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Daniel Parker
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by Daniel Parker »

Thanks for all the nice comments. Keep in mind that I have lived most of my life in this area and these photos have been culminated over years. This wasn't a one trip deal.

I haven't seen any panthers here, but I know people who have.

We also have chupacabras. Check out this informative video:
http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/125-fa ... 4461618535

All I have to say is "Ain't got no feet like a dawg."
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justinm
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by justinm »

Nice work, some beauties in this post.
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NeatoLizardGrrrl
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by NeatoLizardGrrrl »

If there's one thing that I like almost as much as lizards it's cute birds and children. I have to say that I was pretty repulsed by the image of the spider eating the lizard and the fact that you fed a lizard to that snake. NOT COOL. Other than that it was a great post. I learned a lot.
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Nick
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by Nick »

Wow, Daniel. You just got TOLD.
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by VICtort »

Really a fun and edifying post...a combination of herping and cultural anthropology, I felt like I was there. The scarlet king in July is the most stunning red I have seen, and the orange phase "yellow rats" are interesting indeed. I was not upset about you testing the feeding response and tolerance level of your backyard ratsnakes, and those are some fascinating behaviors and photos. With your experince in Florida, I hope you will post some Indigo photos sometime. Your comments and others I have heard about the decline (?) of Florida kings is really alarming. Nice work, thanks for posting, it made my lunch break a great one. Vic H.
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Rags
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by Rags »

Wow, interesting post. You live in a great area for herps.

Photos were excellent and I enjoyed the narrative too. Thanks for putting this together.
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John Martin
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by John Martin »

I really, really did not want this post to end - just got lost in it, it was that good! Beautiful pics documenting both animals and their habitat. Thanks for your time Daniel! :thumb:
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by mrichardson »

Reading this post was a great way to spend by lunch hour. I look forward to part 2!
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by billysbrown »

There is so much to enjoy and learn about in this post, but I was particularly excited by the scarlet snake raiding the turtle eggs. Scarlet snakes have been documented using specially adapted teeth - more blade-like than you usually see on a snake and similar to other snakes that specialize on reptile eggs (like Asian kukri snakes - oligodon - named for their blade-like teeth) - to get through the turtle eggs and then stick their heads in to drink out the contents. The shot of the scarlet stuffed like a little sausage was just awesome.

As for the comment about feeding the lizard to the snake - ordinarily I would be turned off by actively feeding a wild animal to another wild animal (that kind of thing can feel like too much meddling for sport), but given that you were taking out an invasive exotic, I'm all for it.

Thanks for the great post,
Billy
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Daniel Parker
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by Daniel Parker »

I didn't know that about the scarlet snake teeth. That is very interesting.

I don't mind feeding exotics to natives. The corn snakes are helping to keep the brown anoles in check and I am willing to help them!

If you didn't want the post to end, take heart; I will be posting Part 2 very soon!
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Warren
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by Warren »

"every rose has its corn" :D

LOVED the hand feeding :thumb:

great post daniel, thanks :beer:
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Bill Love
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by Bill Love »

SPECTACULAR ! ! !

That was a book-quality post --- the "Herps of the Green Swamp", or, "....of Central Florida". And to think it's just 'Part 1". I'd better seek out Part 2 (if it's already up)....
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by TimCO »

"Every rose has it's corn" hahahahaha

Great post Daniel.
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Daniel Parker
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by Daniel Parker »

You can credit my friend Alan Rivero for that. I didn't come up with it all by myself.
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Brian Hubbs
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by Brian Hubbs »

I love those yellow phase Scarlet Kings! Oh, by the way, I could use some screamer Scarlet King pics Daniel, hint, hint...Great post. I will definitely call you when I get down to Florida this year (I hope, I hope...).
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chrisr
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by chrisr »

What a righteous post. Thank you! Can't wait to read the next one...

-C
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Daniel Parker
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by Daniel Parker »

Thanks Chris.

Brian, what exactly is a "yellow phase" scarlet king? The ones I have seen generally include that color, along with two others.

These ones don't have very much red though:
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DaneConley
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by DaneConley »

Woah...those are some intresting kings
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by joeysgreen »

Thanks for this mega-cool post. I'm off to read part II

Ian
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Daniel Parker
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by Daniel Parker »

Those kings were from south of Lake Okeechobee in the old Everglades region.
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Brian Hubbs
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by Brian Hubbs »

I'd like those pics too...
A yellow phase is an SK with yellow rings instead of white. Most people have sent me pics of white ringed Scarlets, but the yellow ones are brilliant.
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Josh Holbrook
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by Josh Holbrook »

Brian,

I've always thought that yellow was a mature color in SKs, like this one:


Image

Image

whereas the young'ns were white:
Image

Image


Though I could be wrong... I've never kept an SK from cradle to grave.
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DaneConley
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by DaneConley »

Ok I just looked over it all over again...Best post I've seen in a long time. :thumb:
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Nick
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by Nick »

Josh Holbrook wrote:Brian,

I've always thought that yellow was a mature color in SKs, like this one:

Though I could be wrong... I've never kept an SK from cradle to grave.
A lot of the Scarlet Kings north of Florida have white/whitish bands throughout their life.
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Josh Holbrook
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by Josh Holbrook »

Nick wrote:
Josh Holbrook wrote:Brian,

I've always thought that yellow was a mature color in SKs, like this one:

Though I could be wrong... I've never kept an SK from cradle to grave.
A lot of the Scarlet Kings north of Florida have white/whitish bands throughout their life.

gotcha - this is what happens when you only field herp and don't keep much by way of pets :-D
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Daniel Parker
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by Daniel Parker »

Most SK's from FL have white bands as babies and turn yellow as they mature. I don't think I have seen adults in FL with white bands as adults, though the intensity of the yellow varies. I have seen white banded adults from the Carolinas. The one I saw in KY had kind of off white bands.
Durban Keeper
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by Durban Keeper »

Man oh man! You live in paradise dude. This post really captivated me. Can't imagine finding things like that in my garden. All your in situ pics are very good. Love all the kingsnakes. Off to go read part 2! Thank you for taking the time to put this together.
knox
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by knox »

Some of the prettiest wild Corns I have seen outside of the Carolinas!
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by BillMcGighan »

Daniel and Josh,

I have to agree with Nick on this.
A lot of the Scarlet Kings north of Florida have white/whitish bands throughout their life.
I hate to agree with him cause you know how he gets, all blown up ;) ;) , cocky ......

but I've seen several fully mature SKs in the panhandle that were white:

Image
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Daniel Parker
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by Daniel Parker »

I hate to agree with him cause you know how he gets, all blown up , cocky ......
Yeah, I can see that !
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Nick
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Re: CENTRAL FLORIDA'S GREEN SWAMP Part 1 Life in the Swamp

Post by Nick »

Yeah, yeah. I once found an adult scarlet king at the old trash pile in Glades County that had white bands. I have a picture of it in a deli cup buried away somewhere :lol:
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