Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I will be attending my wifes family reunion towards the end of July. The location is near a town called Foresthill in Placer county CA. The place where the reunion will be held is on a river or lake. I have looked up what herps that I can find there but have no idea what to expect since I will be there in late July. Will daytime herping yield many animals or would some night time road cruising be better? I Don't know what the night time temps are like that time of year. I have done some field herping during the daytime in June in the Rogue River Valley (near Medford, OR) and have seen numerous snakes and lizards including Ringnecks, Garter snakes, Alligator Lizards, Salamanders, Zonata and Yellow bellied racers. Not to mention the many Scorpions and Black Widows.

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Woody

I'll reply just cause no one else is. My best experiences finding herps during the warmer summer months is a couple hours after sunrise then a couple hours around sunset. Flipping during the hotter hours and then road cruising after dark has almost never failed to yield at least a couple snakes if the day time temps are over 90 for several days and theres not a full moon, not saying that you can't find anything in other times of the day. I once found a basin gopher cruising in the deshutz drainage on a 102 summer day.

snakes are where you find them
Nate

I wanna respond, but I only know So. CAl. spots. It sounds like you are traveling to Nor. CAl.
Good luck on your search, and post some pics of what you find!

Jasonmc

I have never herped the area you are talking about, but I know that California herpers are roadhunting at night now. In NoCal, I think most herpers go out in the late afternoon, hike and flip, then roadhunt at dusk until the temps get to the lower 60s.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

Plan on herping as suggested in the weather is typical summer temps. I've been in the area in August and it was HOT. Good luck!

I've lived in NorCal for most of my life, but I had to look this place up on the map. In late July you can expect Sacramento to get up to 105-110, Lake Tahoe will be up around 90-95. According to yahoo maps, Foresthill is about half way between the two, so you can probably expect daytime temps somewhere in that range. Since the town looks to be on the small side and pretty rural, night cruising definitely has possibilities. Flipping boards during the day will get you at least a Gilbert's skink or alligator lizard (southern are the most common), possibly a Pacific gopher snake. The Cal kings tend to stay hidden or underground until it cools off a bit.

Here's one of my favorite links for native herps:
http://www.californiaherps.com/

Hope this helps.

Wayne