Reptile & Amphibian Forums

...up in GA this weekend...
A few friends, Gary M., Chuck S., Paul M., and I were having a rather uneventful field herping day when we saw a good looking spot behind a field being worked by a farmer....We asked if we could trespass and look for critters and just out of the vehicle we spotted a steel door and frame..
Underneath was our "find of the day".
A total of 9 cottonmouths. 3 adults and 6 neonates. 1 zillion ants.
A few pix...

A while later we saw this little red bellied snake.

They saved the day as we saw little else..snake-wise until we returned to FL. where Daniel D. and I saw a few other snakes

This li'l canebrake neonate was crossing our path...

and this was one of a few pigmies seen.

as I was photographing this Paul called and said he found a coral.
Maybe he has some good pix to post.

:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

crimsonking.piczo.com/

...here's the coral in a hold box...Man...they can be difficult to photo in the field!

a 4 species hot day isn't all that bad really but we would've loved to find one of these!

well..it's what keeps us goin' back!
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

crimsonking.piczo.com/

Great finds! I love those baby cottonmouths

Dan

Do you think that the red ants can bite the snakes through their scales? I found a copperhead(also under an old car door coincidentally) and it was right next to an ant hill. They weren't all over it like the baby cottonmouths you took photos of, but there was a little mark close to it's neck that looked like an old ant bite. I have heard that the fireants will eat snake eggs, but I wonder if they could take a whole snake? Anyone know any more about this?

They certainly can take down the neos for sure. Biting between the scales and in huge numbers, they can easily overrun a small snake.
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

crimsonking.piczo.com/

The baby Cottonmouths have a simmilar patern like a copperhead but the head is a lil diffrent and color