Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Lot going on over the past few weeks but stuff is still turning up like crazy.

Queen Snake
Regina septemvittata

Timber Rattlesnake
Crotalus horridus

Lampropeltis getula

Rough Green Snake
Opheodrys aestivus

Timber Rattlesnake
Crotalus horridus

And another

Massasauga Rattlesnake
Sistrurus catenatus

Kingsnake

Racer

One of three coppers seen on the road

Jason

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www.buckeyeherps.com

Nice finds!

Man I wish I could get out more.
That dark phase timber is BAAAADD!
(so is the yellow one though!)

np
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www.buckeyeherps.com

Were do you herp man? I've been trying all summer but nothing so much as a garter snake. I've only found like 1 eastern painted turtle and like a billion frogs. I guess its just not good in the norther parts of Ohio.
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0.1.0 Sonoran Gophersnake
0.0.1 Brown Banded Watersnake
1.0.0 American Toad
0.0.1 Bright Red Woodfrog

Jason,
I have never heard of anyone finding THAT many different species here in Ohio(current day anyway) I know people don't like to give away field herping locals, but could you tell me what county you are herping in? I assume it is southeast ohio somewhere. Very awesome results though.

John Bortel

Without getting into specifics as to the counties that Jason herps...let me just say that Jason along with a few other young guys in southern Ohio (Mike Graziano comes right to mind as well)...is raising the bar as far as herping the region goes.

As a herper of the region of many years, I should be embarrassed at the way these wipper-snappers are turning stuff up, but I've decided to take another angle...forgetting about pride and learning from them!

Jason has taken a studious and strategic approach to herping the state. That, combined with his relentlessness...(like driving alone on no sleep to boo-foo land Ohio EVERY SINGLE WEEK) and a tad of good fortune here and there to boot, has landed him some incredible and numerous finds. I can tell you from personal communication from the source that he is turning heads in the scientific community with his success and knack for finding and documenting species. and he does it in a very ethical way, not to collect animals or brag about his accomplishments...but to photograph and log GPS coordinates to for the advancement of science.

I know I sound like a commercial for Jason here, but he didn't pay me a dime to make this post and I'll probably embarrass the heck out of him with it, but I feel that it needed to be said.

The new methods and new blood in field herpetology are expanding our knowledge throughout the country...Ohio is no exception.

This buds for JF!

Dean is way, way too kind. Most of it just comes down to not having a solid home base. A few years here, a few years there, my parents live over there, my girlfriend is out there... I end up driving alot, and not just too herp (although it helps!)

I can't take credit for any of it though really. I have some amazing friends who all equally contribute and I just try to learn something new everytime I step out. There has bunch much time spent, but most of it is some good ol luck.

None of us will ever live up to the likes of Roger Conant, George McDuffie, Hank Seibert, Charles Walker, and Jared Kirtland, just to name a few...

Jason
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www.buckeyeherps.com

John,

If you are referring just to that post, than those are just a small portion of stuff that has turned up this year... I am sure there are those out there though that have seen everything native to OH within OH. I don't know who they are, but I would love to meet them and talk herps. I only have handful or so animals to go, and I know Mike G is also very close to finishing the species in OH, if not closer. I can say while it is a goal of mine, it is not my main concern. I have found all the species that I need from SE OH , and yet I still return almost every weekend. The few remaining animals are from areas I might hunt once a year or so. I hope it happens within the next two years before I move away, but to tell the truth I am not that optimistic. Right now I am trying to get back to what got my into the hobby, just getting out and having a damn good time! One of my biggest goals is documenting kings in all the counties they are known from and extending their known range. I only need kings from maybe 2 more known counties, and I have found them in many new townships. This is what really keeps me going!

Like Dean said, I do travel too much. Almost all of it is to the SE though. My most heavily herped counties are Athens, Vinton, Jackson, Hocking, Pike, Gallia, Scioto and Adams.

Thanks for the comments! Where are you located??

Jason
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www.buckeyeherps.com

I am up in Preble County. I work in Dayton. I used to be a member of GCHS way back. I attended a meeting in Feb., but it is very hard for me to get down there during the week for the meetings. Up here in Preble, I find lots of queen snakes and black rats,garters, northern water snakes, hognose once in a while(but not since I was a kid) and my buddy keeps saying he sees "corn snakes" out at his place. I think they have to be milk snakes, but I will check it out this weekend. I have been getting back into field herping, as I love being in the woods. It also helps that i do a lot of scouting this time of year for the hunting season, so I take my 4 year old son with me and we go "snake hunting" as he calls it. If you ever plan an outing and need some company on a weekend, let me know. I would love to learn more about field herping...I only kind of "guess" where they are. I don't really know what to look for. my email is johnbort2@yahoo.com

BTW, DEAN, if you are reading this...I got a pair of Texas Indigos from Mike Meade who bought the parents from you. I am in the process of trading one or the other to someone else so I can make an unrelated pair. They are AWESOME!