Reptile & Amphibian Forums

As I sit here typing away instead of studying for a history exam at 3(anybody know anything about the Vietnam War? lol just kidding I'll be fine) a thought popped into my mind....

A new herp season has officially begun(yes officially...I say so because I hear the spring peepers by my house lol) so I was wondering...

Anybody have any memorable herping experiences? Or what was the first herp you caught?

One of the first things that I think of is when I was in Hilton Head Island, SC. My family went on one of those alligator tours where we go out in a boat and just watch gators and other wildlife. On the ride over we were at a light by a retention pond outside some high school. It was very small...but for some reason an enormous alligator, and by enormous I mean 15-20 feet long, one of those really large ones that are almost never found anymore. Well anyway we were watching it(duh!) and suddenly the gator yawned! It was an amazing spectacle.

The tour itself was just as great. We saw many uvenile gators swimming along the shorelines of the lakes...snatching up little frogs and insects. We even saw a green heron eating a frog. But there was one juvenile we were looking at when the guide started explaining the squeak those babies make. I volunteered to demonstrate the call(yea...I forgot to mention I can imitate baby gators and frog calls in my post with my pic...sorry lol). I did the squeak, and this 2 foot juvenile turned its head and swam up to the boat! I got an amazing photo of it(I'll post it later). Then to make sure this wasn't by coincidence, when the juvie swam away, I squeaked to it again and sure enough, he came swimming right back! I could've grabbed him easily if I wanted to...but I decided to play it safe.

It doesn't end there..

We saw 2 or 3 big gators, not as big as the one I mentioned earlier, but about 11-12 feet long. It was fun watching them swim, and even crawl off their basking perches into the water.

To top it off, as we were heading back to shore, we went by this area of leaf-less branches overhanging the water. Sitting among those branches was a rough green snake, my first one I've ever seen alive in the wild, stalking a big dragonfly. Unfortunately, the dragonfly took off before the snake could strike.

And when we were on the shore I began shooting photos of a juvie gator that was nearby and as I was doing so, I swear I heard a male gator bellowing.
-----
Scott

Reptiles
--------
1 Colombian Rainbow Boa (Rocky)
1.0 Ball Python (Sultan)
0.1 California Kingsnake (Leota)
1.0 Eastern Painted Turtle (Yugi)
0.1 Red/Gold Bearded Dragon* (Irwin, R.I.P.)

Other
-----
1.0 Betta Fish (Tyrone)
1.0 Hooded Rat* (Clubber, R.I.P.)
0.1 Albino Rat (Isis)

It all started with a skid overhead and a plop two feet behind me. I was in Texas on May 1st 2004 to attend my cousins outdoor wedding and reception in a Japanese tea garden. Not knowing my way around, I had followed other family members who were going early to help set up. The weather had been rainy and cold with thunderstorms but was just starting to clear. I found a lovely outdoor setting with Koi ponds and a large deck area with several pavilions with steep "A" frame type roofs where the reception was to be held.

Not wanting to just stand around I offered to help with the decorations. In keeping with the Japanese tea garden theme we were hanging up light strings with paper lantern covers. I was hanging up the lights near the corner of one of the pavilions when I heard a skid sound from above followed by a plop two feet behind me. I turned around to see what looked like a rubber snake on it's back. My first reaction was "who's the wise guy that tossed the rubber snake"! I had been telling stories of my snakes at home and I thought one of my uncles "known for their sense of humor" was playing a prank. As I looked at the "rubber" snake I realized it was not moving like a rubber snake going back to it's molded shape but more like a real snake moving really slow since it was really cold.

I quickly switched mental gears from prank snake to real snake, I looked first at the tail and saw no rattles. Then looked at the head and verified it was not that of a viper, slender not wide. Remember, the snake was mostly upside down. I then pulled a small travel umbrella out of my pocket. I used the umbrella to first flip the snake over then to gently pin the head as I grasped it gently but firmly behind the head with one hand. I then picked up the snake and checked it out. I quickly identified it as a adult corn snake. Not like the ones I'm used to seeing with all the various color morphs available but a normal colored corn snake. The poor thing was quite cold and not moving much but appeared none the worse for it's apparent slide down the roof and fall to the deck. There were large trees overhead and I don't know if it fell out of a tree onto the roof or slipped from the roof itself.

Realizing a wedding is not the place for a wild snake I started off to the gardens to release it back into the wild. As I was walking away I thought "we should get some pictures" I went back and my daughter snapped a Polaroid and my wife used our 35 mm. I turned to go back to the gardens and a park person offered to take it from me. He probably didn't know I was familiar with snakes and had no intention of harming it, only taking it to be released away from the wedding reception.

Well, the story spread, soon it was quite the wedding story about the snake that fell from the sky right next to the one person who was not afraid of it. Several people wanted to hear the story and see the picture, Bride and Groom included. I was quite the hero, being the snake wrangler that nonchalantly just reached over and captured the "wild" animal. As usual in any group (except herp groups) there were several that were relieved it didn't drop near them. I even heard that the minister had said something about it being a good thing it didn't fall near him or there would not have been a wedding. I was just happy to be there to take care of the situation and ensure the snake was not harmed.

The moral of this story is that snakes can't really fly. They can however drop in when you least expect it.

A true story by: Dave Colling
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
19.29 BRB
13.18 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

..it reminds me of another herping incident. My family was in Vero Beach at the Disney resort there. My aunt and uncle live very close...so we decided to pick them up for dinner at our hotel.

So we pick them up, see the typical anoles running on their lawn, and head back to the restaurant. We pull into the parking lot. I get out of the car and what do I see on the curb right next to me? A corn snake! A young one, not even two feet long but that beautiful Okeetee pattern. I sneak up and quickly grabbed the snake behind the head. I was amazed that it didn't even struggle when I grabbed it. I pick it up, and it was like holding a stick. Why? Because it turned out to be dead! Its eyes were even shriveled. I didn't notice it was dead till I saw the eyes. I was grossed out but out of respect to the body I placed it gently where I found it.

It was a real shame, because I hadn't(and still haven't) seen a wild corn snake yet. Unfortunately they're endangered in my state and are very rare.
-----
Scott

Reptiles
--------
1 Colombian Rainbow Boa (Rocky)
1.0 Ball Python (Sultan)
0.1 California Kingsnake (Leota)
1.0 Eastern Painted Turtle (Yugi)
0.1 Red/Gold Bearded Dragon* (Irwin, R.I.P.)

Other
-----
1.0 Betta Fish (Tyrone)
1.0 Hooded Rat* (Clubber, R.I.P.)
0.1 Albino Rat (Isis)

This is a super idea for a post. I've been on a few memorable herp trips but one of the coolest was for a herpetology class I took my last year at Davis. We spent Memorial Day weekend in the Mojeve National Preserve in Southern California. The purpose was to identify as many herps as we could. We saw just about everything! Snakes to make the list were

speckled rattlers
C. ruber (forgot common name)
Sidewinders
Gopher snakes
Coachwhips
Rosy Boas

Desert Iguanas
Chuckwallas
Collard lizards
Zebra-tailed
Horned lizards
fringe-toed

California Desert Tortoise

The two highlights of the trip were finding a Rosy boa and, one day after we had hiked up to the top of these dunes, we were returning home absolutly exhausted. As I was walking I heard a very distinct rattling sound. I looked down to see a sidewinder sitting just inches from the horned lizard it had bitten and tracked down. We didn't stay to watch him eat it. We wanted to give him some space.

It was such a great herping experience. Someone was really smiling on us until the very end. As we were returning to Davis we noticed a SNAKE!!!! in the raod. It happened to be an adult corn snake (not indigenous to Davis Ca.)

Hey, I've got a silly idea, we should get together sometime for a little trip of our own. Nothing major, maybe a long weekend sometime. Mojve in spring is a great place to be. Any other suggestions?

Thanks for a great thread and for bringing up some cool memories.
-----
Mike Lockwood
www.tooscaley.com

Isn't Crotalus ruber a red rattlesnake, red rock rattler or something similar?
-----
Scott

Reptiles
--------
1 Colombian Rainbow Boa (Rocky)
1.0 Ball Python (Sultan)
0.1 California Kingsnake (Leota)
1.0 Eastern Painted Turtle (Yugi)
0.1 Red/Gold Bearded Dragon* (Irwin, R.I.P.)

Other
-----
1.0 Betta Fish (Tyrone)
1.0 Hooded Rat* (Clubber, R.I.P.)
0.1 Albino Rat (Isis)

Yeah, I remember the red part because of "ruber". But I can't remember the rest of the common name. Red-banded, red-rock, red-tail...???
-----
Mike Lockwood
www.tooscaley.com

CA like my older brother who was born in San Diego back in '73 when my dad was in the Navy. So who knows someone who is gonna buy my plane ticket jk but Mike that sounds great but really more like a dream come true to be totally honest with ya.
Bob

Hey Bob, no one said herping in LA was out of the question. You guys must have some awesome animals down in the Bayou. Plus, it'd give me the opp. to try out the fabulous cajun cooking I've heard so much about.
-----
Mike Lockwood
www.tooscaley.com

Wow, what a great story, Dave. That is funny that the snake landed by you, the only herper there. I would have been so excited if that happened to me. Glad it was able to make it out of the the shindig safely.
-----
©

were you drinking some saki cuz you pulled an umbrella out of your pocket lol. I have NEVER seen a snake in the wild and after reading all of these stories about them and I like some lizards too, but I need to go on my first herping adventure when my back is better and take my little boy with me but he won't like it at first but would soon love it after realizing that you don't wipe your hands clean everytime you get a speck of dirt on them.
Bob

LOL, really did pull a umbrella out of my pocket, it was one of those multifold micro jobs. No good in a wind but will keep you a bit drier in the rain. Great for travel.

I never have to go far to go herping. I found I have a colony of california slender salamanders living in my backyard. LOL, I live in a big city 40 year old tract home. I lived her about eight years before I noticed one, now I can pretty much go out and find bunches every winter. Just lift any rock or piece of wood in the back yard. I think they burrow down deep in the drier summer months as I rarely see them in the heat of the summer.
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
19.29 BRB
13.18 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

That's neat that you were able to "call" the gator over like that. Great story, thanks for sharing!
-----
©

and great stories!!!

When I was about 8 my Dad was (still is really)into running mountain races. I always liked going to the races because I could go herping while waiting for him to finish much to my Mom's despair.

So there I was waiting for him to finish and I see a runner coming around the corner with a HUGE bull snake. Then I looked at the face and realized it was my old man!!!! He finished the race and handed me the snake which he had been running with down a mountain for 4 miles!! ha ha ha! I held him for a while and then reluctantly let him go away from any human activity. I'll never forget that snake and I'll never forget that my Dad did that for me.

Gotta Love herp memories.
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---------JAMIE ROTH---------

-----www.reptilepad.com-----
---------------------------------------

...
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Frank Roberts
Roberts' Realm Of Reptile Research

awesome story jamie!
-----
Scott

Reptiles
--------
1 Colombian Rainbow Boa (Rocky)
1.0 Ball Python (Sultan)
0.1 California Kingsnake (Leota)
1.0 Eastern Painted Turtle (Yugi)
0.1 Red/Gold Bearded Dragon* (Irwin, R.I.P.)

Other
-----
1.0 Betta Fish (Tyrone)
1.0 Hooded Rat* (Clubber, R.I.P.)
0.1 Albino Rat (Isis)

country boy story there haha jk but maybe catch and release at it's best?
Bob

youtube video calling baby alligators and frogs- I do I do n/p Scott and very nice thread just wish I had a herping experience to share will ya'll.
Bob

When I was approximately 3 or 4 years old I was camping with my family at Swartswood State park in Sussex county NJ. My brother Scott was really into collecting snakes (he grew out of it) and he had several dozen snakes in a container with a snap on lid (like the kind ice tea mix comes in) in our campsite. Out of curiosity I opened the container and all the snakes started slithering out, in a panic I tried capturing as many as I could, being barefoot I was sitting on my bee-hind and putting a snake between every toe on both feet and also had two handfuls and at the same time I was trying to get them all back in the container, there where many garter, water, and ribbon snakes all of which were biting me all over my arms and legs. My Mother was screaming at the top of her lungs to drop the snakes, drop the snakes, she said, I then asked her to help me, and she once again screamed at me to drop the snakes, she then said, I turned to her calmly and asked her, Mommy why are you afraid? I do remember the scenario even though I was so young, I do not remember saying those things to my mother however, she was sure to tell me allllllll about it and everyone else as well. My mother said she was freaking because they were all biting me, and imagine your son with snakes tucked between every one of his toes on both feet, both hands full, plus wildly striking and biting and she saw blood as well, plus yes, she's afraid of snakes, and yes I was really 3 or possibly 4 at the time. Maybe that explains why my first Python was Python reticulatus at 11, not one of those "tame" ones either lol.
-----
Frank Roberts
Roberts' Realm Of Reptile Research

Frank...for some reason I can picture a swamp monster as you describe yourself covered in all those snakes lol.
-----
Scott

Reptiles
--------
1 Colombian Rainbow Boa (Rocky)
1.0 Ball Python (Sultan)
0.1 California Kingsnake (Leota)
1.0 Eastern Painted Turtle (Yugi)
0.1 Red/Gold Bearded Dragon* (Irwin, R.I.P.)

Other
-----
1.0 Betta Fish (Tyrone)
1.0 Hooded Rat* (Clubber, R.I.P.)
0.1 Albino Rat (Isis)

in the late 70's early 80's, and when I was little my mom used to strip me naked at the front door because I always had some type frog or snake in my pocket!!!!
-----
Frank Roberts
Roberts' Realm Of Reptile Research

she used to shake those clothes off the front porch and the critters would scurry away lol
-----
Frank Roberts
Roberts' Realm Of Reptile Research

strip searching started, I was gonna ask but babbling Frank done spilled the beans on this subject and I have a very good memory so I don't think I will be forgetting about this one anytime soon.
Bob

but if I was those snakes and had to smell between them toes u got, I would bite you too. Their Jacobsen's Glands were probably going crazy telling them to squirm for their life

On a just a little more serious note that is cool to be around reptiles at such a young age and I was never fortunate to grow up around any herpers so I was scared of everything under the sun lol but true. What other pets did ya'll have growing up in the house Frank?
Bob

hummm I have had dogs, cats, birds, ferrets,a skunk I bottle fed every 2 hours and successful raised and released,squirrels,wild deer mice(made a hybrid with albino lab mouse at age 12),wild crow,Meadow Mice, Rats (stayed in pet store I worked in from the age of 9 till 14) ,snakes,lizards,caiman,turtles, spiders,
centipedes,millipedes,praying mantis,frogs,toads,salamanders, and probably left some out. I kept just about everything, I had the best parents, when I was little they asked me If I wanted a bike for Christmas, I said no I want a 55 gallon fish tank so I could make a Hardian Unit (terrarium), I was an odd child lol, oh yeah and all kinds of fresh water insects.
-----
Frank Roberts
Roberts' Realm Of Reptile Research

I captured a snapping turtle and pulled a leech off of him, I kept the leech alive and fed him off my own blood, one day I was drunk and noticed the leech wouldn't feed, yes I went thru a few years that I may have drank more than I should have (in recovery now)so, I noticed over several occasions he would not feed if I had drank a lot, so I stopped feeding him for 3 months, then got really inebriated and he fed heavily, the leech died in less than 10 minutes of alcohol intoxication, it was swirling around lost control of motor function and perished, wasn't a pet though. Please spare the cruel treatment of a parasite, if you have an attitude like that, do not kill those snake mites!!!!
-----
Frank Roberts
Roberts' Realm Of Reptile Research

I used to want one sooo bad. I heard they are incredibly smart and can even talk.
-----
Scott

Reptiles
--------
1 Colombian Rainbow Boa (Rocky)
1.0 Ball Python (Sultan)
0.1 California Kingsnake (Leota)
1.0 Eastern Painted Turtle (Yugi)
0.1 Red/Gold Bearded Dragon* (Irwin, R.I.P.)

Other
-----
1.0 Betta Fish (Tyrone)
1.0 Hooded Rat* (Clubber, R.I.P.)
0.1 Albino Rat (Isis)

a friend of mines father had one that did, they are very interesting but crap wayyyyyyyy to much, if you want a crow like bird with the potential to talk up a storm get a Myna(ssp) Bird, same thing though, they crap alot, my grandmother had one and he constantly said, "All you so is blank, blank, blank." lol thats what my nana always said to the bird when she changed his cage and he said it alot lol
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Frank Roberts
Roberts' Realm Of Reptile Research

....I have been very lucky to have spent time in some of the best herping locations on earth. I was 5 years old when I moved to central Florida in 1958. There were snakes all over the place. I remember seeing really big Eastern Diamondbacks and Eastern Indigos around the neighborhood orange groves and also when hiking and fishing with my dad at an early age. Around 1964 my brother and I started keeping snakes and our very first pet one an Eastern Gartersnake had babies a few months after my brother caught her. From then on I have been fascinated with keeping and breeding snakes. Through the 1960s we hunted snakes nearly every day and we caught as many as 35 snakes in a single day. Except for the Florida Mole Snake we caught every species that was native to east central Florida. I joined the army in 1972 to fly helicopters and spent the next 21 yearts traveling all over the world. I got to hunt in some really great places. I have lived here in Savannah GA most of the last 28 years. I am about 35 miles south of the famous Okeetee SC snake hunting area. This area was the primo snake hunting area in the country during the late 1940s and 1950s. There was somewhat of a revival of the snake hunting in the Okeetee during the late 70s and early 80s and I hunted the area thoroughly. The hunting was not nearly as good as the snake hunting in central Florida had been 15 years earlier but I did catch a lot of snakes and ran into a bunch of serious snake hunters from all over the eastern half of the country. I have nearly quit hunting but I still do find and release them. For the last 20 years I have mostly concentrated my efforts on breeding and most of that has been with boids. I have been to every National Reptile Breeders Expo (The Daytona Show) except for the first one when I was getting ready to go to Desert Shield/Desert Storm. I can tell hundreds of stories about snakes and snake hunting and the snake people I know.
Jeff

>>As I sit here typing away instead of studying for a history exam at 3(anybody know anything about the Vietnam War? lol just kidding I'll be fine) a thought popped into my mind....
>>
>>A new herp season has officially begun(yes officially...I say so because I hear the spring peepers by my house lol) so I was wondering...
>>
>>Anybody have any memorable herping experiences? Or what was the first herp you caught?
>>
>>One of the first things that I think of is when I was in Hilton Head Island, SC. My family went on one of those alligator tours where we go out in a boat and just watch gators and other wildlife. On the ride over we were at a light by a retention pond outside some high school. It was very small...but for some reason an enormous alligator, and by enormous I mean 15-20 feet long, one of those really large ones that are almost never found anymore. Well anyway we were watching it(duh!) and suddenly the gator yawned! It was an amazing spectacle.
>>
>>The tour itself was just as great. We saw many uvenile gators swimming along the shorelines of the lakes...snatching up little frogs and insects. We even saw a green heron eating a frog. But there was one juvenile we were looking at when the guide started explaining the squeak those babies make. I volunteered to demonstrate the call(yea...I forgot to mention I can imitate baby gators and frog calls in my post with my pic...sorry lol). I did the squeak, and this 2 foot juvenile turned its head and swam up to the boat! I got an amazing photo of it(I'll post it later). Then to make sure this wasn't by coincidence, when the juvie swam away, I squeaked to it again and sure enough, he came swimming right back! I could've grabbed him easily if I wanted to...but I decided to play it safe.
>>
>>It doesn't end there..
>>
>>We saw 2 or 3 big gators, not as big as the one I mentioned earlier, but about 11-12 feet long. It was fun watching them swim, and even crawl off their basking perches into the water.
>>
>>To top it off, as we were heading back to shore, we went by this area of leaf-less branches overhanging the water. Sitting among those branches was a rough green snake, my first one I've ever seen alive in the wild, stalking a big dragonfly. Unfortunately, the dragonfly took off before the snake could strike.
>>
>>And when we were on the shore I began shooting photos of a juvie gator that was nearby and as I was doing so, I swear I heard a male gator bellowing.
>>-----
>>Scott
>>
>>Reptiles
>>--------
>>1 Colombian Rainbow Boa (Rocky)
>>1.0 Ball Python (Sultan)
>>0.1 California Kingsnake (Leota)
>>1.0 Eastern Painted Turtle (Yugi)
>>0.1 Red/Gold Bearded Dragon* (Irwin, R.I.P.)
>>
>>Other
>>-----
>>1.0 Betta Fish (Tyrone)
>>1.0 Hooded Rat* (Clubber, R.I.P.)
>>0.1 Albino Rat (Isis)

That's really cool Jeff! What were some of the snakes you found in Okeetee? I've only heard about the corns there, and I think yellow rats too...but I might be thinking of another area..
-----
Scott

Reptiles
--------
1 Colombian Rainbow Boa (Rocky)
1.0 Ball Python (Sultan)
0.1 California Kingsnake (Leota)
1.0 Eastern Painted Turtle (Yugi)
0.1 Red/Gold Bearded Dragon* (Irwin, R.I.P.)

Other
-----
1.0 Betta Fish (Tyrone)
1.0 Hooded Rat* (Clubber, R.I.P.)
0.1 Albino Rat (Isis)

Scott,
... The Okeetee area is famous for the Okeetee Cornsnakes which are supposedlyy prettier than from anywhere else. In that area I have caught Corns, Yellow Rats, Mudsnakes, Rainbow Snakes, Eastern Kings, Scarlet Kings, Scarlet Snakes, Eastern Hognoses, Garters, Black Racers, and Watersnakes. I have also seen Diamondbacks, Canebreaks, Cottonmouths, and Copperheads. Most of these snakes were caught or seen road cruising at night which is usually the most productive method in the Okeetee.
Jeff

>>That's really cool Jeff! What were some of the snakes you found in Okeetee? I've only heard about the corns there, and I think yellow rats too...but I might be thinking of another area..
>>-----
>>Scott
>>
>>Reptiles
>>--------
>>1 Colombian Rainbow Boa (Rocky)
>>1.0 Ball Python (Sultan)
>>0.1 California Kingsnake (Leota)
>>1.0 Eastern Painted Turtle (Yugi)
>>0.1 Red/Gold Bearded Dragon* (Irwin, R.I.P.)
>>
>>Other
>>-----
>>1.0 Betta Fish (Tyrone)
>>1.0 Hooded Rat* (Clubber, R.I.P.)
>>0.1 Albino Rat (Isis)

About 10 years ago, I was on a whitewater rafting trip with some friends and a bunch of other folks. Was a two day job where tehy company provideds meals etc. We had pulled the rafts off to the side of the river and all climbed over a log at the edge of shore. I had wandered off to take care of business My friend comes calling me, that there was a snake. Sure enough, that log we all climbed over, it had a baby rattlesnake at it's base. Cute lil devil, all riled up and bad ass. No rattles yet but it's tail was going furiously. Fortunately for everyone, it had recently eaten a huge meal and was not moving too well. I csarefully scooped him onto a long piece of bark and relocated him away from the group letting everyone know to aviod that area. Of course there were those that thoughit should be killed for the groups safety. Thankfully, the guides would hear none of that, we were in fact intruding into it's home, not the other way around.
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
19.29 BRB
13.18 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Sooo cool! Was that your first experience with a hot herp in the wild?
-----
Scott

Reptiles
--------
1 Colombian Rainbow Boa (Rocky)
1.0 Ball Python (Sultan)
0.1 California Kingsnake (Leota)
1.0 Eastern Painted Turtle (Yugi)
0.1 Red/Gold Bearded Dragon* (Irwin, R.I.P.)

Other
-----
1.0 Betta Fish (Tyrone)
1.0 Hooded Rat* (Clubber, R.I.P.)
0.1 Albino Rat (Isis)

Actually I believe it was my fourth.....

First was when I was eight in Dayton Ohio. Was playing in the woods with the neighborhood kids and found an abandoned pool. In it was a snake swimming about. The other kids said it was a copperhead. Honestly, I had no idea what it was.

Second was while swimming in the American river outside Folsom Ca, looked up and here comes a snake swimming downstream right at me...Rattlesnake. I dove down and let it go by, scared the crap out of me.

Third was in some woods near Sacramento CA, I musta been about 20. I was out hiking and there was that oh so familiar buzz sound. Stopped me dead in my tracks. A juvenile rattler. I checked it out for a while and then left it alone.

Also a few years back at a campground my wife called me about a snake in the campground road. Was a dead rattler. I played a major prank with that one. There was a three-ish foot fence around the garbage cans. I arranged the body on the top rail and left it. Such a bad boy!! When the guy came to collect the garbage, he saw it and musta jumped a mile, I just about busted a gut laughing inside.
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
19.29 BRB
13.18 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

LOL!! The scaring the garbage man story is great!!!
-----
©

...handling a harmless snake(like a garter snake) in front of someone who knows nothing about them and when they ask if it's venomous, saying it's the deadliest snake in the world. Great reactions! Then saying it's in fact really harmless lol
-----
Scott

Reptiles
--------
1 Colombian Rainbow Boa (Rocky)
1.0 Ball Python (Sultan)
0.1 California Kingsnake (Leota)
1.0 Eastern Painted Turtle (Yugi)
0.1 Red/Gold Bearded Dragon* (Irwin, R.I.P.)

Other
-----
1.0 Betta Fish (Tyrone)
1.0 Hooded Rat* (Clubber, R.I.P.)
0.1 Albino Rat (Isis)