Reptile & Amphibian Forums

movement of reptiles so late in year compared to other places. We have seen reports of herp movement from the south to the north and east with numbers and these states have much cooler days and nights. Some movement are not even indicative to climatic event like rain and such. I have been monitoring temps down around the Rio with the weather bug web-site and see that along River Road it has been in the 90ties and 100dreds. Except for very few, is it no one chances looking this early and therefore no reports. Is it that the few that does doesn't give it more than one night ? Sure the night time temps drop but that has to take awhile after the sun goes down. One could say or think that it's because they go down so late in the year but in my own state of Kansas one can find herps out in very late October and re-emerge early April and in numbers.
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I may be old , cantankerous, crabby, and cynical, but......

No one is out there looking, or going about it the right way. Road cruising would not be the preferred way to locate most species of Trans-pecos Herps from about November through March.

You can find Herps every month of the year in West Texas. Finding the species that most folks are looking for can be a crap shoot, but so it is April through October as well.

You have to adjust your search pattern according to the time of year, the conditions at the moment, and the species you are seeking.

There is a unique "best way" and "best time" for every unigue ecosystem / species relationship. A prime example of this are the Milksnakes in a few West Texas counties. If you hit it right you can flip 6 in a day (like a group recently did), yet you may not find another all year long.

Of course, those folks were out there looking. I've never seen another person out there looking during any of my "off season" trips, not once. You can't find squat if you don't go look.

Of course, who wants to waste gas at $3/gallon in December, besides me?

Forky

HaHA, I do and have done in Feb., one of the crappiest months! Still came up with an indigo! But no gbk in June, dangit! I don't know but I "feel" that the dark of the moon this May is the window for finding that gravid female, lol!
Todd Hughes

LOL-hope you're right, Todd! At any rate, I'll be down there that week. The continued sparse rainfall is worrying, I must admit-but the next dark of the moon comes rather late in June, and no guarantee conditions will be any better by then.

Brad Chambers

Yep the only guarantee is there are no guarantees, unless you hook up with the likes of Forky, LOL! Man, that dude is crazy! Hey Joe, you look like you have a little German in you!? LOL! Brad, Zee and I will be there the 19th or 20th and hunting that night most likely starting in Langtry or Juno Rd. but I hope to take a few shots at 277 early on. We are firming up the plans as we speak on where we will be staying in Del Rio but it looks like the motel 6 is on the slate.Look us up and let's break bread.
Todd Hughes

I the last 19 years I've pretty much split my trips. About half have been in may and half in june. I personally have had better luck at the end of june. Last year was two alterna in three nights. It's all luck of the draw.

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Steve W.

The reason people think that is that the snakes people are interested in are pretty strictly nocturnal. During March and April, nightime lows in most of the Trans-pecos are still getting into the 40s and 50s (and temps drop quickly at night).

When I lived in El Paso, a good rule of thumb for when roadhunting started to pick up was when nightime lows stayed above 60°F. That was usually around mid-May. Prior to that, you could find a few snakes out night, but they were mostly less interesting species (Hypsiglena, Arizona) and generally around dusk. Snakes were active in the day, however, just not the nocturnal "target" species.
I have found quite a few lepidus in the field in March-April.

Further east and south (VV or Brewster counties), it does warm up sooner. I think if you get some rain in late April, herping can be good. I found a DOR bairdi, bogey and an alterna in late April a few years back on a night with some light rain.

But alterna are more active in May and June. If you only have the time/money to spend a few nights a year and you want alterna, why not do it when it is most active?

If you want bogeys, going later is certainly better. For crotes, August is the best month.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

i have found record numbers of subocs in August and early Sept. and if I'm right, aren't subocs late breeders in the wild ?
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I may be old , cantankerous, crabby, and cynical, but......

i have found record numbers of subocs in August and early Sept. and if I'm right, aren't subocs late breeders in the wild ?

Wild bogeys tend to breed in June and even July. They aren't nearly as common in May as they are in June, in my experience.

And I agree about August-September. I haven't found them as commonly in August, but early September is a great time for them.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

"But alterna are more active in May and June." - only in Val Verde and Terrell Co.s. In the Davis Mts, more are found July-Sept following monsoonal rains.

Another factor to consider is that in the bulk of the Trans-Pecos, rainfall occurs later in the year - they just don't have a wet spring most years.

Troy