Reptile & Amphibian Forums

well im probaly going to the ozarks this fall and was wondering what herps i can find

I went through the liberty of searching "herp atlas of arkansas" and i found this sight
http://www.agfc.com/wildlife-conservation/reptiles.aspx
it only has snakes and turtles but i'd assume that the lizards would be the same as most of the south.
have you got a digital camera yet?
let me know what you find as i have alot of family down there and might have to make a trip down there.
I'd also be sure before grabbing down there from the looks of it theres alot of hots.
Nate

The ozarks is a great herping area. There are quite a few interesting salamanders in the area that are worth looking for. If you aren't an amphibian person (shame on you!), Osage Copperheads are abundant and other species (Speckled Kings, Wormsnakes, Midland Watersnakes, Black Ratsnakes) are also common.

I have herped there in September once and it was surprisingly productive. I basically flipped rocks and logs on roadcuts and hunted rocky hillsides within national forest areas.

Beware of ticks! There are literally trillions of ticks there in the fall and they can literally swarm all over your body in just a few minutes (I'm not making that up, I've watched it happen). Wear long light-colored pants, tucked into your socks and put lots of deet on your pant legs. Then check yourself religiously every evening.

I hate to sound like someone's paranoid mother, but a close friend of mine almost died from a Rickettsial infection they got from a tickbite while out herping. She was bitten by a large number of ticks which we removed each night. However, a few days later she was deathly ill.

Tick bites are dangerous, and can be fatal in a short time (less than 2 weeks). Like most herpers, I have been bitten by ticks dozens (hundreds?) of times with no ill effect. But having watched someone get so sick so quickly has made me realize I had been lucky.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

now there's some solid advice. being from the northwest and only dealing with the larger ticks when you get southeast the ticks get smaller and more prolific and also tend to Carry disease it gets pretty gnarly. why do they always go to the hot sweaty hairy places it gives me the chills? and don't tell me it only creeps me out more. At least around my area (Oregon) you can feel them on you.
Amphibians are cool, It seems where I am they are all earth colered but at least some get big. wohoo Dicamptodon tenebrosus. and when you go herping for phibs around here that's all you can find.

when i was in Kentucky we found a couple of long tailed sallys and i have to admit they were beautiful. they were a little to squirrly to photograph in the field.

Nate

thanks guys so how hard would it be to find a timber rattlesnake im realy intrested in those

If they're around and your in the right spot it shouldn't be that hard..lol!
"Snakes are where you find them"

Nate

ok last Q where do i look for scarlet snakes and milk snakes? i realy wanna find a scarlet but heard there rare

I'm pretty sure you'll have to look long and hard to find a scalet and i would also assume that this is the completly wrong time of year for them as they would be completly fossorial when its mid summer. I am by no means an expert on field herping in that area, or anywhere for that matter so these are my best guesses regarding that.
good luck,and your welcome,
Nate