Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just wanted to let you folks know that may be in the Chicago area that Jim will be giving a talk on venom extraction for the Chicago Herp Society. It is free to attend, so I am not pushing for any cash out of you, I would just like to see as many people as we can at the meeting!! For info you can visit our site through the following link
http://www.chicagoherp.org

Hope to see some of you there!!

Jason

Is MUCH greener than where I find them! I usually find them in habitat such as this....

LOL Yeah last year in the middle of those overdone monsoons you AZ folks had. I was all excited to get there in the rain, but then it wouldn't stop. Roads were washed out all over and one night we hit about a 100 yard section of 3-4 inch deep water across Rt10. Scary!!!

That guy was from the second most populated area for them dew south about 45 minutes to an hour from the most populated area. Heavily herped area too. That should be enough for you to get the locale.

Jason

Hehehe...mighty cryptic my friend . I put on my secret decoder ring and have successfully decoded your message...and yes, I've had good luck with them in that area as well....

Well some people get all upset if you say you found one at x road in the x range but in my experience they are pretty damn common during the monsoon season. I have been out there for just about 20 days of herping and found over 10 roughly. That breaks done to one every 2 night of looking. They are up there as one of the top 10 most commonly seen reptiles (amphibs don't count) in Az for me. But you Az guys get all upset if you mention one of the most heavily herped roads in Az.

What is funny is I did mention a few roads after a trip out there and a local guy I know called me and told me every road I mentioned had increased traffic when he was there. So I guess it does make a difference but I don't get why?? I mean who are these people who don't go to the good spots until someone post it for them on a forum?? Az natives do it too. I saw one guy on one of the Az forums say he had never been to the road south of where this Gila was found with all the blind curves that is really well known. You know the one where the locals go up to sight see and the herpers drive for just about every good night all season. The combination makes for scary corners on narrow roads with shear drops and when you do run into someone on a corner one of you needs to back up... yeah now you definitely know where I am talking about. Well a Az guy with more than few years of herping under his belt had never been there and never found a Gila??? LOL It is a weird world we live in!!

Jason

Jason...

Yep, you and I both know that Gilas aren't "rare"...but alot of people here are concerned about out-of-staters coming here and illegally collecting animals...I know it happens...considering that an illegal Gila can fetch 1500.00 on the illegal market, I personally applaud people's efforts to protect this animal by not disclosing specific locations.

Your point is well-taken...Are people a bit too guarded regarding herp spots? Possibly...but if I were an out-of-state poacher looking to make a buck, I would certainly utilize this and other forums as a means to illegally acquiring high-dollar animals...After all, if someone is posting pics and disclosing the location it's easier than finding my own spots right? If I'm already a loser and willing to poach for the sake of money, what's to stop me from taking the path of least resistance so to speak?

-AzAtrox

I will be very sorry to miss this, I leave for Europe three days too soon.

That sucks, if you get back in time you can catch Douglas Mader at the next meeting, who may end up being a better talk with all his vet knowledge and experiences!!!

Jason