Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i live right outside of philladelphia,PA off of Interstate 95
i got down cecil county maryland and thers some good rat/corn and kingsnake area , and this year im going to check out some spots in south jersey that r suppose to yeild all kindsa goodies in the spring , around were i live its all city , nothing but garters and dekays and water snakes ,even were theres losa woods and creeks and ponds and lakes i stil ahvnt found any black rats, milks, green snakes or anything else u can supposevly catch in this area, im gonna do a litter better herpin this spring and keep a log of evrything i catch, the day weather , time, size, weight of the animal ,and the whole tid bit , alogn with photos and photos of the habitat .
also does anyone know about the italian wall lizard? suppose to be found in a few secluded parts in the southeastern parts of PA near me .
any info on the italian wall lizards and info on good spots and parks or lakes and stuff for herping in these areas would be greatly appreciated.and i could use a herpin mate too for this spring .
thank you
- Ryan

Do they have any Ice snakes in Philly, I have meetings there the week of Feb. 19-23 at the No. east Raddison. It looks like it's going to be cold
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1.1 Desert Iguana(Dima, Dianne)
0.1.1 Chuckwalla (roxy,Little Chuckie)
1.3.5 Collared Lizard (Fred, Wilma, Betty, Pebbles #1,2,3,4,5, KND)
1.1 Desert Leopard Lizard (Simba, Kimba)
0.1 AZ. MTN. Kingsnake (Nimo)
1.0 Coatal Rosy Boa (Greer)
0.1 Hamster (Tofu)
1.1 Kids
0.1 Wife

lol, its currently snowing for the past 2 days here, its brutal
spring would yield some good stuff around here, tinicum wildlife refuge is right around the corner from the hotel. all kindsa goodies there in the spring and summer including some of the biggest watersnakes ive ever seen

I live in Philadelphia. There was a population of Italian Wall Lizards in West Philly but they have been gone now for decades. As far as finding rat and milk snakes they are around. Black rats are extremely rare in this area. Some locations I know of are Tinicum, West Fairmount Park, and Bryn Mawr. Milks are in the Wissahickon. The only place to find rough green snakes is a location in Chester County. The only population of copperheads and queen snakes is Valley Forge. Unfortunately most species have been lost due to habitat destruction and probably over collecting in the area. For example, hognosed snakes, skinks, spotted and mud turtles have not been found in many years.

i lived most my life in stonhurst hills, on on the otherside of cobbs creek, its what seperates west philly from upper darby . i catch all kindsa garters and watersnakes down there, is that near were the itialian wall lizards colonized ? i can think of any other woods near

ok , about the milks in the whisahickon . i go swimming in a spring down there , never got much time to wonder off but it looks like a great place for stuff like that .
so if i took a trip in the spring what would be the best time and place in there? ive only been to one spot in there at this spring were evryone jumps of a cliff. theres a little lodge and parking lot type thing next to a bridge right near it off one of the park roads.

what about ridley creek st park ? i go herpin down in there and i swear on my granfathers grave i saw a milksnake . i was currintly in a swamp pullin out water snakes n turtles and he was a few feet off the ground in bushes on land, i couldnt get to him in time n never seen anything like that since. possibility?

The Italian wall lizards were in the urban area near the zoo.
I've never been to Ridley. It could have been a milk you saw but ususally they are under cover such as rocks, etc. Look on rocky hillsides in the woods at Wissahickon.

well then plans have already been made to hit up the whisahickon this spring. hopefully it will yield lotsa little creatures n relaxment .its been a very frustrating winter . is there any skinks or fence lizards in the wisahickon ?
southeastern PA hasnt been to good for me with them.
Any black rats in the wisahickon ?ringnecks?

i was fishing 2 years ago at a pond down in a valley out near media back in the woods near crum creek and i found a old turtle shell(very old) and there was about 6 or 7 one leathery snake eggs, probly a month old .This was in septemberish, gettin the last of the fishing in around here, these were definately snake eggs, the actualy turtle shell wasnt that big (painter turtle) and allthe eggs fit the whole shell and they were definately snake eggs, eather racer or black rat eggs. this is the only proof of blackrat/racerss near this isolated part of woods near crumcreek media but this is still a significant find, i never find anything kool round here, nothing but watersnakes , garters,occasional ribbonsexcept in the last 5 years, dekays,occasional newts and salamanders . hopefully this spring/year

ive also been more than curious about these italian wall lizards. ive seen them in some field guides as a kid but never caught/seen or heard of any ever. specialy since there only introduced to this area ,long island NY and a area in kansas, and living here my whole life ive gotten into some things and been in some places were you would expect to find such creatures but never have. its a shame some stuff u cant find anymore due to habitat destruction and collecting for the "pet trade" , its one thing when your 8 and your like "wow a garter snake " and u bring it home , but i dont think a bunch of youngsters can wipe out snakes like cornsakes and other animals that arent found today were they once were. i would say theres nothing to do now but let nature take its course but it seems as if mankind and our lovely government just wants to take over evrything and feel dominant . and thats not helpin our environment to good . ex. GLOBAL WARMING!!! and our crazy @ss Wars goin on cuz evryone wants to be better than one another
SAVE A TREE EAT A BEAVER!
ha, sorry ,i had to .any more info on the wissahickon and what it holds would be much appreciated .and hey , im always lookin for people to team up with for some herpin in the summer.

There are ringnecks in the Wissahickon. There are also long-tailed and northern red salamanders. No skinks or fence lizards in this area anymore. The closest place to Philly for fence lizards is northern Bucks County. Five-lined skinks can only be found in one location in southern Bucks County. There are still some populations of racers in the area. One place is in the Cobbs Creek area. There's a golf course next to the park where a racer was found recently.

what area of the golf course?
i used to drink n have keggers in there back in the day
i used to party at thhe northest part of cobbscreek in the golfcourse but that would be peco energys golf course inbetween township line and west chester pike next to lynn blvd , i used to go catch watersnakes round the 69ths street area behind west chester pike .thats cobbs creek golf course(im sure you know) i would think that area would probly hold some if anywere.
when was this black racer caught and in what area? if u dont mind me buggin you more.

have u ever been under the blue route next to W chester pike near darby creek? theres a huuge strech of woods all around there, i fish there but havnt realy done any herpin

The Academy of Natural Science did a plant and animal survey of all the parks in Philadelphia a few years back. Here's the link for the racer http://www.ansp.org/research/pcer/projects/fairmont/pdf/Volume_II_Chapter_1_Cobbs_Creek.pdf

Except for Tinicum, I don't go to that area. I live in the Far Northeast so I do most of my herping up here...Pennypack, Lower Bucks County and Lorimer Park. I was told there was hognosed and red-bellied snakes in Lorimer but I have not found any yet.

what abuot, "the devils pool" thatr big water hole were evryone jumps off the cliff n swims .right off valley green road . what about right around there ?

I'm not familiar with that.

it would be in the center of the whisahickon , theres more clifffaces and hiltops and stuff for them probly round this area. any specefic spot in the whisahickon ?

i've have seen e. milks throughout the park & dor too, watch out for the deer ticks though! as far as cobbs creek goes, i've never seen any snakes in there except n. waters & e. garters. red fox are usually out & about in the open but watch out for the cougar on the 10th hole, very tough par 4! lol!

haha, yeah that cougar scare was pretty funny and classic. glad somebody remembered it .
were them DOR milks found in side the park on the park roads or in that general vicinity?
anyone lookin to team up this spring and hit up the whisahickon ?

ive always had more trouble with ticks in cobbs creek than i think i would in the whisahickon, but whoknows outa the million ticks i found on me i never found one IN me . jinx
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0.0.1 Dusky pygmy rattlesnake
1.0 Amelanistic greatplains ratsnake
0.1 Greatplains ratsnake
0.1 Amelanistic Cornsnake
1.1 Everglades Ratsnake
0.1 Greenish ratsnake
0.1 Speckled kingsnake
1.1 eastern garters
1.0 blue onestriped northwestern garter
0.1 Red sided gartersnake
1.1 anoles
0.0.1 tokay gecko
0.1 graceful chamelion
1.0 green iguana
and a bangin @ss drumset

the milks can be found pretty much all around that general area. i understand that they hibernate in numbers in the abandoned wells that dot the park. i've also seen them out rt. 1 in the mushroom country aka kennet square & beyond. if you want to see black rats, cross the commodore barry bridge & cruise 322 or any road down there for that matter. despite the road slaughter, they seem to be hanging on pretty well.....

what about near the brandywine ? for the milks, thats relitivaly close to kennet square on rt 1.ive seen a black rat there 10 years ago or so
and your sayin ridley is were the abbandoned wells are?
were should i go in ridley for the milks?
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0.0.1 Dusky pygmy rattlesnake
1.0 Amelanistic greatplains ratsnake
0.1 Greatplains ratsnake
0.1 Amelanistic Cornsnake
1.1 Everglades Ratsnake
0.1 Greenish ratsnake
0.1 Speckled kingsnake
1.1 eastern garters
1.0 blue onestriped northwestern garter
0.1 Red sided gartersnake
1.1 anoles
0.0.1 tokay gecko
0.1 graceful chamelion
1.0 green iguana
and a bangin @ss drumset

i'd just look for abandonded buildings, old springhouses, etc. on the fringe of the park. i haven't been in there myself in a long time but not much has changed.

i see, good idea and thank you, i keep a log of evrything icatch n record and send it into PA fish n game so i will keep yous updated on how i make out around here.i know theres lots of old historical broke down houses in there from the colonial times i believe.these are probobly what your talking about right? i was thinking of taking whatever extra slabs of concrete and woodthat fell off these old houses and laying it in spots around it for reptile/amphibian shelter but im assuming ide have to be shady im sure they(park rangers n stuff) wouldnt like to see me taking all the rock slabs and old floor boards n wood and scattering them around . i always have respect for historical landmarks and focourse iw ouldnt go destroying anything.
is there realy wells scattered throughout thepark?or are youjust talking about them litte spring houses next the tributaries and stuff around there?
i used to go off of bishop hollow road next to thewater fall at barren and sycamore road therres theseamrsheson the side of the creek were i catch all kindsa watersnakes, garters, newts, frogs,n [bleep] , this is all marshy lowland im assuming i would have to hit upthe other side of thecreek or down creekwere its more woods and rocky hills and such ?
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0.0.1 Dusky pygmy rattlesnake
1.0 Amelanistic greatplains ratsnake
0.1 Greatplains ratsnake
0.1 Amelanistic Cornsnake
1.1 Everglades Ratsnake
0.1 Greenish ratsnake
0.1 Speckled kingsnake
1.1 eastern garters
1.0 blue onestriped northwestern garter
0.1 Red sided gartersnake
1.1 anoles
0.0.1 tokay gecko
0.1 graceful chamelion
1.0 green iguana
and a bangin @ss drumset