Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey i"m planning on taking a herping trip out to Florida/Miami this Fall and was wondering which fall month to find a lot of herp activity(September, October, Novemeber) also in the fall would it still be warm enough to night drive?Any info would help.

isaiah

Isaiah -

I live 250 miles north of Miami, in Gainesville, but even this far north it's hot and muggy through September and often well into October. Up here September is an excellent month for herping and for road-cruising. I would hazard a guess that you could find herps and maybe go road-cruising throughout the entire winter in Miami.

Rex

thanks for the info.

not a native and surprised that a native resident hasn't posted in on your query but, on my past pet store and me driving to Florida to cherry pick herps for resale at local wholesalers through the winter months, there was never a large decrease in some species coming in ( wild caught ) from the Homestead and other southern areas. On fact i was downright surprised on how many species that was indeed brought in. My brother that works for a company that is in Tampa that legally harvest lagoon and pond plants for resale says that all winter long he sees numerous species south. He unfortunately doesn't deal in reptiles though. I spent several weeks out in south Florida during Nov. and Dec. and one year of week in Jan. and had a friend that lived down there take me to several animal sanctuaries and there was among other animals active was a lot of lizards and amphs around plus a few snakes roaming. BUT the gators were like in some kind of calling ritual of what I was told was of males vocalizing to females. I think though it might of been just coming into breeding age on the males because I thought breeding season was not at this time of year ?
-----
I may be old , cantankerous, crabby, and cynical, but......

the day after a hurricane road crusie the everglades

I agree, road cruising shortly after a hurricane or tropical storm can produce some great results, however, it is easier said than done. The hard part is finding a road that is open. If it is a park road, they are usually closed after hurricanes and most other roads are usually blocked by fallen trees, downed powerlines, or deep water. And even if you do find a passable road, most if not all gas stations are out of gas for several days after the hurricane hits. Do you really want to spend what's left of your gas road cruising?

To answer the original post...

Yes, snakes can be found all year around in South Florida. I actually prefer the winter since I can field herp most of the day without it getting prohibitively hot like the rest of the year. Road cruising is also effective during winter months, provided that the ambient temperature is not too cold. I won't go if the temps are going to be below 70 during cruising time. There are plenty of nights in winter when the temps stay above 70 until 10 or 11pm. Good luck and take pics.