Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi, im going herping/camping at joshua tree national park in 3 weekends and i was wondering, what are some of the best places to find chuckwallas and desert igs there? you know like best campground, best place to go hiking for them, etc. thanks.
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-Marshall
1.1.0 ball pythons
0.0.1 red ackie

Chucks are found almost anywhere in the park with rock outcroppings especially in the south end. I have seen desert igs everywhere in the park. Just drive the roads and check out the tops of the rocks for chucks and burms and rocks at the side of the road for the igs. Good luck and get us some pics. The best thing to do is research their habitat then look for that habitat and you will find them provided the weather is good.

http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images/view?back=http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=Joshua+Tree+National+Park+chuckwalla&ei=UTF-8&fr=FP-tab-img-t&x=wrt&w=256&h=384&imgurl=www.wildherps.com/images/herps/standard/chuckwalla_colors.jpg&rurl=http://www.mavicanet.com/weblink?MGWLPN=CATA&MGWAPP=g&id=805954&size=25.9kB&name=chuckwalla_colors.jpg&p=Joshua Tree National Park chuckwalla&type=jpeg&no=1&tt=3&ei=UTF-8

thanks, i already know what their habitat is because ive already researched them extensively i was just wondering where in the park their habitat(s) are.
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-Marshall
1.1.0 ball pythons
0.0.1 red ackie

are chucks hard to catch? like are they really quick and timid or are they normally pretty easy to catch?
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-Marshall
1.1.0 ball pythons
0.0.1 red ackie

They usually shoot down a crack in a rock and puff up so they are hard to dig out. I dont know if you classify that as hard or not?

well im a scrawny 13 year old with scinny arms so that shouldnt be too hard. lol
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-Marshall
1.1.0 ball pythons
0.0.1 red ackie

I don't think you want to take animals out of the park and yes, they are VERY hard to catch. If they see you first, then you will have to work them out of a crack. That can take a couple hours in the hot sun. Bring water and NEVER move any rocks. If you disturb the habitat then chucks for the next 10,000 years no chucks will be able to live there.

Here's a shot of a chuckwalla I took in Joshua Tree earlier this year, in April.

They're all over the place, you just have to know where to look. After you pay the toll, drive down the main road for about 5 minutes. There are some hills and rocky outcroppings about 300 yards from the road. That's where I got the shot of this guy.

I was there from mid-morning til sunset, here's the last picture I took (filled up the memory card of my camera!)

Also, please please PLEASE don't capture anything in Joshua Tree National Park. Aside from being illegal, anything that you'd want you could find from captive breeders. More likely to survive in captivity and all that.

I wanted to say something but didn't want to come off sounding like a pompus a-hole(been accused of that before). There are a few good breeders and the cb do a lot better as mentioned. There were some nice cb animals from the San Diego locale for sale in the classifieds. Tom Greb

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Joshua Tree is such a beautiful place but the only way it's going to stay that way is if we appreciate it but not meddle with it!

I'd love to go back there some time this summer when I finish with school, I'd love to find other people in the area interested as well. Herping is always more fun with other people.

I have been there at least 6 times and I live in MI. It is a beautiful place. I was walking through the cholla cactus patch or garden(I little pull off that has a trail through a cholla patch) and I witnessed desert iguanas breeding. It was awesome. It was early June and I must have been the onlky fool in the park. LOL. and I noticed a male chasing a female. He finally caught her and I was ablew to witness copulation from with-in a few feet. They acted like I was not even there. After a few minutes they seperated and went their seperate ways. It was just really cool to see this in the wild. I hope it was not the guys intention to collect in the park but as the thread went on it sure seemed that way.

lol, im not going to be cathcing and keeping the chucks. i just want to get my hands on one to take a close look. i think they're the coolest little lizards. i also dont plan on messing up any habitat.
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-Marshall
1.1.0 ball pythons
0.0.1 red ackie

"Because the park resources belong to all, no one may collect or disturb any animal, plant, rock, artifact or fossil within park boundaries."

Although the following "rule" can be interpreted in many ways, it's pretty clear that catching of lizards is not permitted in the park. I've heard of rangers stating that causing an animal to move by getting too close to it to photograph it constitutes as disturbing it.

Tim

Third Eye