Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have access to many ranches in west texas this summer for the purpose of collecting herps. i was wondering what is the best method of collecting when you are not shinning cuts. Are there any techniques for collecting on ranches? Should I look for rocky ledges similar to rock cuts or should i just wonder around randomly?
thanks,
eliot stone

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Mr Stone,

It is best to NOT SHINE CUTS from the road but to walk them with hand held lights. Also only hunt on ranches that you have written authority from. It is best to obey the law. That way if you are looking for a reptile and you find one, you can legally collect it. (unless it is protected)

Hope you have good luck,

Steve

most of the people I know who have found alterna while walking on private land found them walking arroyos at night. I suspect you could also look around broken rocky outcrops at night.
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Chris Harrison

don't laugh on this one: you camp out at any given rock cut that has produced several alterna of past, you light up the rock cut like it was DAYLIGHT ( legal because you are not driving ). You have several buddies with you doing the same on the opposite side. You scent the light up area with crushed-up lizard scent that has been liquidfied and use a spray bottle to deploy the scent on to the cuts ( or you buy that lizard maker or whatever it is that they sell to change a lizard eating snake over to a mouse eating snake ). You view the rock cut for the next 8-9 hours. You do this for a term of 3-4 nights.
Positives:
You don't spend any money on fuel.
You cut down on wear and tear of your vehicle.
Every body else will come to you to talk to you while they are cruising.
If it was me i would be selling pops/sodas/snaks and snow cones to other herpers while waiting.

Negatives:
LE might get you for a public nuisance infraction or a traffic citation as to causing other traffic wondering what in the heck you are doing and what those very bright lights are.
You are fined for selling goods without the proper tax and or vending license.

LOL !

Wadaya think ?

Chambo

well chambo, if im on private land, it might not be a bad idea, no profit off of other hunters though....but the lizard scenting thing may not be too bad of an idea.
eliot

>>well chambo, if im on private land, it might not be a bad idea, no profit off of other hunters though....but the lizard scenting thing may not be too bad of an idea.
>>eliot
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Chris Harrison

I think it wouldn't be very difficult to do such a thing. Getting that much lizard juice would be a problem, as no one wants to kill too too many lizards, but you could easily use a water solution to make the scent from a few lizards go a long way. A portable generator would power the lights. As for law enforcement, It's your land!!! Do what you want on it. I also think if deer hunters can put out corn to get deer to come, then baiting for alterna should be okay. I'd be interested to see whether or not anything came out, with it being so bright and everything.
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without electricity, we'd be watching television in the dark

That would be an interesting scenario at the least to see what i perveyed would work. I might agree on the too bright syndrom but one would have to have hunters data to determin this. I know that many snakes on cuts move and don't with light hitting them. I have personally beamed several alterna, lepidus, subocs, and black tails on cuts for an extended period of time and they didn't move an inch. of course the light wasn't stationary as to the fact of being beamed before they came out. Yes, the lizard scent would no doubt have to be diluted as to have to be sprayed on the cuts and how much strength of the smell would still be there would be a big question. Also how fast it would disapate would be questioned once it dried. As I said, feasible ? I do remember a time when the norm was just to drive and not do hardley or any rock cut shining. I was part of that time period.

Chambo

walk along the hillsides - find two layers of rock outcrops on the hillsides, and move back and forth between them. If you know the location of good road cuts (say on 277) that produce lots of snakes, go up to the fence during the day and look at the hillside. Get a picture of what that hillside looks like in terms of rock outcrops, then go find similar outcrops on private land. I like to walk hillsides between two layers of outcrops, that way I can go back and forth in a zig-zag pattern between the outcrops. Stay out late - the more time you put in the better your odds are.

Troy

It would be a over whelming situation to figure out if staying out late would have any impact of finding snakes in West Texas. I work the nights till about 4 am. Many of the people that I know ( and I bet you know some of these folks Troy ) try to turn in around 2am. They DO find stuff turning in early. While I also have seen and know that many people find herps all through the night of PM and AM. I also know there is that movement theory of when snakes move through out the night at different time levals. I just don't know if one can take this as fact or theory though. There are to many variables on this such as temps, wind, etc.

Chambo

What is the old state lottery saying: "You can't win if you don't play."

As you said, there are many theories about what makes snakes move when and why. The only certainty is that whatever rule someone comes up with, there will be exceptions!

I stay out as long as I can safely keep my aging bones on the job. Last years Juno Road beauty came just after 3:30 a.m., and it was the only snake seen the whole night.

Besides, why travel all that way to go in and sleep?

I say stay in the car and use high beams when cars aren't approaching and get some fog lights for the sides of the roads. Have a spot light and flash light on hand.

When you stay in the car you cover so much more area per unit time... the odds are much better. I've caught 2 alterna in the past after 40 hours hunting (one gravid female) and a lot of other nice animals including 2 mottled rock rattlers, a few bairdi, a trans-pecos rat, and a great plains rat (further south). I came across many more snakes that simply were not desirable for me... long nose snake, lots of atrox, large bullsnake, large coachwhip, whipsnake, garters.