Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Since there has been a boom of zonata pictures being posted on the forums, I guess I should share in the California tri-colored fun! Being a zonata nut ever since I was probably about 10, I would beg my dad to drive me to the Santa Cruz mountains for years and years trying to find one of these elusive critters. Well, fast forward 13 years and I was finally lucky enough to encounter Z's in the wild for the first time! Not only were they from San Mateo county (just a county south of me [San Francisco]), but two were under the same cover! From comments left on fieldherpforum a while back, it appeared that the two were possibly mating! Needless to say, I was speechless and utterly stunned to finally see black/red/white in California...the Bay Area at that!

None of the snakes sat still for nice posed shots, so all I managed were crappy, "on board" pictures. Enjoy

Very cool.......
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

very nice.

i live in san mateo county (south san francisco actually), and i've had absolutely no luck finding any of these red gems this year. plenty of gophers, garter, rattlers, lizards, and even a couple freaky bugs like this one:

maybe i'll have better luck in the fall.

If I wasn't so terrified of spiders, I'd say that is an excellent find LOL!
Do you hit the field a lot? I'm more of a fieldherper and its always good to meet fellow bay area herpers!

i have a few places on the coast, off highway one, that i hit a few times a month.

i've been going a lot during the week (to avoid the weekend nature rushers), but i'm starting a new job and it's going to be hard not to be a weekend warrior.

oh, and that false tarantula (calisoga longitarsus) scared the ever loving crap out of me too. she definitely had some attitude, but sat still for a couple of pics.

Yeah, I frequent a few "known" spots in the Bay and have a few areas I've been boarding. Other then that, there are a few places I take walks through.

I graduated from SF State a few months ago and work part time, so I try to get out during the weekdays too.

That false tarantula spider terror thing is freakin scary man. I'd probably have to use my hook to move that thing outta the way!

The Bay Area is great for herpin...I'm in east bay, and while we've found cal kings, alameda whipsnakes, rattlers, gophers and garters, and even a San Francisco Garter, but NEVER a zonata! Congrats on seeing any ever! Dave

i literally had a san francisco garter come in my house, through an open backyard door, back in '99; when i was living in daly city.

easily one of the prettiest snakes i've ever seen.

since she was a only a few months old, i took her to an area about 10 miles south of where i was; where i'd seen multiple san francisco garters previously. i still hope i made the right decision (my neighborhood in daly city wasn't good for anything but fog and racoons).

Zach,

Congrats again! That's just a wonderful way to find your first wild zonata(s). What beauties.

Mitch

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Wow I know you must have freaked! Congratulations on such a beautiful pair. I assume it's a sexed pair?
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
Jorge Sierra

My Site > www.Sierrasnakes.com

I did freak out haha!
I didn't sex them but people have messaged me saying they were most likely a pair.

BAM! It just doesn't get much better than that. Awesome. Welcome to the club, but we wary of the zonata cops. LOL. Congratulations on your awesome discovery!
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Jerry Kruse

UPDATED!
www.zonatas.com

And God said, "Let there be zonata subspecies for all to ponder..."

Wow, those are some nice ones! It must have been like a dream come true to find them like that.
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Congrats again man... Isn't it nice to see something other that those rubbery worm looking snakes?!?

Although I like finding them too!

If only those rubbery fellas were tricolored haha

now thats a strange thought lol..... A tri color charina... hmmmm should it have a black mask or pyro mask??

pyro mask all the way for the northern clade, black mask for southerns!

That is outstanding! I live fairly close to that area; should do a road trip that way and see if I can find anything besides just those darggone rattle snakes.
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Bob
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire
Keeping cats allows man to cohabitate with tigers. Keeping reptiles allows man to cohabitate with dinosaurs.