Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I’ve gone the ENTIRE summer without seeing one *&^%$# snake!!!
Not even a rattlesnake! Nothing, no road kill, nothing in the state parks, nothing on my country road, nothing in my huge
Wooded yard! ZIP! ZELCH! Nuttin!
How can i find a snake??????
Where to look?????
HOW?
Is there a way to "bait" them out?
Aggggghhhhh
Please help,
DJW

OHHH yea if anyone is interested i'm in central Texas -76513-
Temple ,Belton , Killeen area , right by the lake

The key to finding them is not to look so hard. I used to go reptile hunting and would only find blue bellies.
One day walking to my car in a condo complex and what do i see on the walk way, a baby gopher snake. Mind you this is no where near wooded area..

to find snakes. I've lived there for about three years (and still own a house there), and even with my 32 years of herping/field collecting experience my finds have been limited. I did find a few however: At Belton lake - patchnose snakes and some pretty ribbon snakes with nice wide red stripes on their backs. In and around Killeen I found primarily several Great plains ratsnakes. I found one, and only one, 3 foot speckled/desert intergrade Kingsnake. On Ft. Hood I've found only three rattlesnakes (western diamondbacks), the biggest was only about 3.5 foot.
But if you can afford a 4 hour trip straight south (on I 35), about 40 miles south of San Antonio you WILL find a bunch of snakes, especially in the spring and fall and even some warm winter days (don't go in the summer, snakes estivate there and in your area as well due to excessive heat and lack of rain for up to 2.5 months sometimes). So you will find only a few heat loving snakes out like patch noses and coachwhips and centex whipsnakes. And now, YOU, know the REST of the story!
GOOD LUCK!
ZEE

DOE!! man i can't even explain................................
my heart weeps with sorrow,
that sucks
i'm going to have to drive next year
Thanks man......
hey i'm moving at the 1st of the year have a house for rent?
ha ha ha ha
DJW

nm

n/m

also, please --- is there a prime local south of San Antonio?
like a town or a park?
Thanks for the time you put into your response!
DJW

Your best places will generally be in ALL the areas south of the Carrizo springs to Beeville line. The furhter south you go, the more snakes you'll find. I usually hang out around places like Hebronville (and all nearby roads), La Gloria,Benavides,Freer and a lot of other towns about 3-10 miles inland from HWY 83 from the Laredo to Brownsville stretch.
I have found: Lots of Diamondbacks and bullsnakes (they get HUGE there, found 6 foot plus of both), Desert Kings, glossy's, longnoses, milksnakes, checkered garters, great plains ratsnakes, texas ratsnakes, ruthven's whipsnakes, coral snakes,and quite a few Indigos (protected), one cat-eyed snake(protected), and a few other smaller species. Remember road hunting is illegal and you'll need a hunting license to collect snakes. You can cruise down roads and look for favorable spots get out and walk a little. That works pretty well, if you have a good flashlight!
There are also some nice lizards you can find there (if interested) Blue spiny (found one huge blue male 14.5" long), great plains skink, texas banded geckos (at night on roads), mediterranean geckos (on almost every single building at night), texas spiny, reticulated collard (protected),whiptails, some stray spiny tailed and green Iguanas (mainly around Brownsville) and a few others.
Just avoid going there in the summer (even in your area it gets worse then), snakes tend to estivate (summer hibernation) for up to 2.5 months during hot and dry weather, usually around July to September are bad times to go. All the times I've went I've never been disappointed. I've always found something. Out of all the many different states I've been herping in (in my 30 plus years),this is by far the best spot in the US for me! I always enjoy going down there!
Good luck!
Zee

Ditto on the above!!! I have in-laws that live in Belton and we have only found a few snakes each year over the past 20. I'm told that there were lots before the fire ant invasion. I've lived south of San Antonio for seven years now and have found all that Zee has mentioned with the exception of the cat eyed. And the Bulls are huge!!!!! I have found snakes as late as December and as early as February. I road hunt to relieve stress and never bring anything back. The County Mounties are serious down here (especially on 16 between Tilden and Freer!) about checking for licenses, etc., so be careful that you are legal! We have also seen Mountain Lions, Bobcats and a host of other mammalian life as well as a significant amount of toads and frogs. Hunting in the late spring and early fall is awesome after a Thunder shower. I grew up hunting in Arizona after July/August showers and it is just as good here! Good Luck!

What you need is a snake call, I just happen to be the national distributor for one of the best ones around. It mimics four varieties of injured rodents and ten injured birds. Coming soon an updated version that mimics injured amphibians. The updated version will also be MP3 compatible so you can add your own sounds. It's only $19.95 shipping not included.
On a more serious note, time spent in the field = amount of snakes seen. Other influences, time of year time of day, amount of forage (rodent population)in the area your hunting, availability of cover (boards, old roof tins, brush, rocks). Finding snakes in the wild does seem to be getting harder across the country.

Tim

Sounds cool man, i'm sure your post was meant to be "cool"
but............
DON'T SPAM ME DOGG,

"snake call"
i would not belive an ad for it....
i'm totally not trying to be mean -more a means to a debate
soooooooooo.......
Prove it with data, that it works, explain in great detail
Please, here's the mic

...that he was kidding severely about that snake call and you seriously need to calm down cause it's really iratating(sorry for spelling errors) to read a post by someone who seems angry all the time and is so urgent when nothing really vital is happening. I don't intend to be mean but going without seeing a snake all year isnt the worst thing in the world. I too have had to get used to that when I moved to temecula, california because where I am everything is protected or in rarity.
But if you really want to find snakes go to areas where you know that rodents are about and go at the right time of day. For bullsnakes go during the 7-10 hours in the morning and the 6-9 hours in the after noon. For rattlesnakes and other snakes the best time is about 10 to 11 at night. Whipsnakes and coachwhips are snakes that you will find in the heat of the day. 90% of snakes love rock piles and wood piles so if there are those around and some rodents there is a good possiblity that snakes are about too.

-->EvAN!! !

that he was kidding severely about that snake call and you seriously need to calm down cause it's really iratating(sorry for spelling errors) to read a post by someone who seems angry all the time and is so urgent when nothing really vital is happening----------------------------------------------------

man, i'm as easy as sunday morning
i didn't mean to "come off" like i'm having a rectal prolapse
or nuttin'