Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Anyone know if everything should be out and about come Early March in Southern CA.? And I mean WAY SOUTH! I will be making a trip down around the Salton Sea area. Saw alot there a few years back. And I love to fish there too. SO I figured I would kill 2 birds with one stone!
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http://photos.yahoo.com/gwas79
"The Critters"

HI,
I am going to be in S. California (San Diego) in March as well. I am coming down from Vancouver, Canada for the week so I would really like to see some herps in their natural environment. Where is a good location to spot lizards and snakes? Hope you have success in your herping!
Sean

Sean you can write me at zooanimalsgirl@yahoo.com. Maybe we can do some team herping. I am going to go through SanDiego as well since that is where I was born and raised, and my familly lives there. I know where some gophers, kings and Diamondbacks are there and I'm sure much more I haven't seen in those locations. Hopefully will get to locate them this time around. And if your into scorpions at all I know where to find those too. Also alligator lizards, and the all too common fence lizards.
Maybe we can get lucky and see them. I dont know how soon they emerge. Just where to find them.
Sarah
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http://photos.yahoo.com/gwas79
"The Critters"

I suggest cruising the agriculture canals for the not so elusive checkered garter snakes.

I would like to photograph a Checkered garter Snake, what particular Canal have you had luck with finding it?

Not sure of the name of the canal they were talking about but its an easy one to find. Look at a map of California, look way down south and you'll see the Salton Sea. And just to the west of the Salton sea is a mountain range.. The Chocolate mountains isn't it? Well anyways the canal runs along the mountain. It should show the canal on a map.
Southern California, the best place to herp!

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Just Hatched, growing fast!
Http://www.Nifty-Critters.com

I can show you some nice areas around there. How long are you going to be there for and when?
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Ed
Tortoise_Keepers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

Well not too sure exact dates yet.
I do know the area pretty well and where to find all sorts of reptiles. Just not sure what will be out and how early in the month everything will be out.
I lived there for about 3 months at Bombay Beach. Soooooo many reptiles!!! The best herping experience of my life.
You can email me at zooanimalsgirl@yahoo.com
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http://photos.yahoo.com/gwas79
"The Critters"

With the rains we've been having and the rains expected that time period you are talking about should be fantastic in the desert this year. Night time crusing might not be too productive but the days should be great.
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Ed
Tortoise_Keepers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

Just curious, with it being rainy and all....how warm is it going to be really? I remember when I was living there (remember this was only for 3 months) it was nice and warm during the rainstorms. But I think that was more into the summer.
Is it even going to be warm enough this early on with the rain?
Do the reptiles come out with the ground and dirt being wet still? I have never tried herping in the rain or on wet ground before. Used to do night cruising there though, and found LOTS of Diamond backs at night.
Lots of red racers, desert tortoise, various lizards and gophersnakes during the day.
But this was during the warmer months.
Will they be out on wet ground?
Ewww...just a thought..it's prolly going to make the mudhole areas pretty nasty to try to get into...
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http://photos.yahoo.com/gwas79
"The Critters"

IF you are the same woman in the photos holding the stringer of fish or the rattlesnake....

surely a little mud or rain is not going to stop you!

Good luck/hunting!!!

hehehe. Well I am not worried about it for me!
I am more worried about wether or not the snakes will even be out on wet ground?
And I only have a Ford Taurus GL so I cant drive it back in those muddy roads if they are.
But I CAN ALWAYS HIKE IN!
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Just Hatched, growing fast!
Http://www.Nifty-Critters.com

The fish die offs of 2001 and 2002 has just about made the Corvina in the sea extinct. No Croker have been found in any studys for the last year. Help us save the sea..............

(

It's very sad I grew up fishing the sea....... Had a wide open bite in 2001 of Corvina 8 to 15lbs several weekends in a row..

But them days are gone for ever..

Fundad

OMG!!!
NO!
I knew it was bad when I was down there last. But the Telapia died off every Summer in the Green Tide. But they always kept going strong! But the Corvina and Crocker? They were always found every Summer. They swim in from the Gulf of Mexico.
Has the Sea gotten so bad that they cant survive in it now? What can we do? It would cost so much money to even begin to clean it. What can we do?
That is my most favorite place on earth to fish. Nothing more exciting than getting a 20lb Corvina on your line!
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Just Hatched, growing fast!
Http://www.Nifty-Critters.com

Not only is the Salton Sea pretty dead, no WAY would you catchme eating any fish,or anything, that comes out of there. Not only has the salinity increased greatly, so have all th eother toxins and agricultural runoffs in the lake. Yuk.

I'd definitley check out the Anza Borrego desert. I used to see, quite often, rattlers in Mission Trails - but that was burned a lot, and now only part is open.

With all the surveys I do around here, I have noticed abundance of red diamonds is way down. Very sad.

There are lots of good places in east county. Check out the USGS's local data on herps, to see where pops are found. Robert Fisher's group has done a lot of pitfall data collection.

Renee