Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok, here's the deal. my goal for the summer is to get photographs of at least all the snakes(27) in iowa, and as many of the turtles, lizards, and amphibians as possible. i have no interest in taking any of these species home and i would prefer the people i work with feel the same way. i would greatly appreciate any help with information on these species as well as any prime areas to find them. anyone interested in this project can participate in as much or as little as possible. i will be hitting every county in iowa before it's all done probably so we could just hook up when i'm in your area. i currently live in iowa city, but i'm from warren county, and my dad owns a bunch of land in clarke county so i will be hitting these 3 areas often but i'm willing to go to any corner of the state or anywhere in between to get pictures of these wonderful animals. i know i will find foxsnakes, gartersnakes, and northern water snakes in this area with out a problem but other than that i'll be doing some traveling. also any info on where some good sand prairies are would help alot. thank you in advance to anyone that can offer me any help with this and if your not comfortable answering some of these questions on this forum you can email me at staciandadam@aol.com thanks, adam

>>ok, here's the deal. my goal for the summer is to get photographs of at least all the snakes(27) in iowa, and as many of the turtles, lizards, and amphibians as possible.

You should get started as soon as it starts warming up (and I understand you've had some warm days already here and there). Some species will be active during this period, and then retreat during the hottest part of the summer and you'll have difficulty finding them.

Is it OK to get shots of captive animals?
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Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet

yes, i don't know why i put summer there, once it's summer time it will be a lot of night trips. this mission will probably be more like now through october. we have had an early spring so i have already found a lot of frogs but i am yet to see a snake. we're getting a lot of rain and the rivers are starting to leave their banks so some species will be flooded out of their dens soon. i have been scouting for dens hoping i can find a group emerging, i have found some possible areas but nothing to promising yet. i would definitely appreciate photos of any captive specimens but i will not be satisfied until i find each one in the wild. a big part of the reason i am doing this is for the conservation of all these species so i really want to get out there and see how common each are, and the prime areas that they reside so we will be better informed on how to protect them and the status of current populations. many of our snakes that are more common in other states only inhabit the corners of iowa or small pockets here and there. most of them that can't handle farm land(most of iowa) have had their home region diminish. anyways, i would definitely like to see any pics you may have. thanks, adam

i would definitely appreciate photos of any captive specimens but i will not be satisfied until i find each one in the wild. a big part of the reason i am doing this is for the conservation of all these species so i really want to get out there and see how common each are, and the prime areas that they reside so we will be better informed on how to protect them and the status of current populations.

I think from a conservation perspective that you'll be getting an incomplete snapshot (pun intended) of the individual species' status; that is, if you go out a few times in search of species X and come up empty-handed you might deduce the species is uncommon, but in fact it could be very common, but the moon/temp/humidity etc. wasn't ideal when you went out. On the other hand, you could stumble across a known-to-be-uncommon species, and think "gee, if I can find one as a beginner, anyone should be able to scare one up," when even the seasoned field herpers go years without seeing one.

many of our snakes that are more common in other states only inhabit the corners of iowa or small pockets here and there.

That's one of my pet peeves--species with ranges which barely cross into a manmade political boundary (state line) and consequently are found in low numbers, which are therefore protected in that state, thereby barring any captive breeding projects for species which are abundant "just on the other side of the fence." But I guess that's a debate for the Herp Law forum!

Are you familiar with the Iowa Herpetology page?
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Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet