Ya, I was quite surprised last time when the first thing we saw was a juvi copperhead. It got away then but then...I pretty much stunk at usuing a hook. Im better with tongs. Anyway. I didn't go there today but found a really old undeveloped park in Coppell and went herping there. No less than 25 down a trail we found a juvi southern copper (14" under some bark. After chasing the little guy/gal through some undergrowth it was finally caught. Still had a bit of yellow on its tail. It sure was great. Was my first venomous capture, too. After that less than 10 feet away from the copper while digging through the brush (after painfully realizing we forgot a camera) my dad started yelling he saw a snake and sure enough. There casually slithering away was some type of rat snake. It looked like a corn at first and I was ecstatic wondering how a corn got this far west. Then on closer inspection I realized it was an Elphae guttata emoryi. That made me chuckle a bit. Nice odd find though and also a first time with that species for me. He/she was about 16". A bit fiesty at first but calmed down. After that I was waiting for my dad to get off a call from a client and absent-mindedly staring into the leaf litter when I saw a small ground skink foraging and went dashing off futilly for it. Oh well I've caught plenty of them anyway. All in all a great trip today. Maybe sometime I can show you were it is. (Its near a nice area too, so hobo free. Made me feel a bit safer...)
Happy Herping,
Mason

[ Hide Replies ]

• Hey woodsrider.... - thekidgecko, Sat Oct 8 17:37:17 2005
• RE: Hey woodsrider.... - woodsrider, Mon Oct 10 12:35:42 2005
• RE: Hey woodsrider.... - thekidgecko, Mon Oct 10 19:11:09 2005