Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone. I went hiking today and found two Northern Water Snakes (very exciting to me since I've never ever seen a wild Water Snake) and lots of Garters. I live too far North to have any wild Corns. Here are some pics I took...

Northern Water Snake #1 was basking on the trail. I was unable to catch him, but at least he posed for some pics before taking off into the undergrowth...

Northern Water Snake #2 was curled up with a group of Garter Snakes and took off into the water when I walked up...

Here is Garter Snake #1, the first Garter that I ever successfully caught and hung onto for more than a second. My desire to get a good picture outwayed my fear of getting bit...

Here is Garter Snake #2 who was my favorite. He was a big fellow with lots of scars. He was Blue but was very calm, didn't musk or strike at all.

This is Garter Snake #3, the last one I caught. I saw many more but they were all too fast or in places I could not get too.

Not bad for my first attempt at field herping, huh? I felt like punching the air and yelling Wooooo Hoooo like the Croc Hunter does. I was beaming I was so excited to see such beautiful animals and to have successfully caught and handled at least some of them. I can't even imagine how thrilling it would be to live where there are wild Corns. I sure would have trouble releasing a Corn if I caught one.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

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Lyns Lair
Frogwatch USA
WNY Herpetological Society

0.1 Cat (Mia)
4.2 Ferrets (Wolf, Shadow, Verdell, Sullivan, Boo, Peach)
1.0 Carpet Python (Bear)
1.0 Malagasy Blonde Hognose Snake (Wilbur)
1.0 Yellow / Everglades Rat Snake (Pumpkin)
1.0 Russian Sand Boa (Fang)
0.1 Normal Corn Snake (Mysty)
0.0.2 Anery Corn Snakes (Suezo & Mocchi)
1.0 Banded Water Snake (Ripley)
0.1 Golden Greek Tortoise (Sunshine)
1.0 Whites Tree Frog (Trevor)
2.0 Solomon Island Eyelash Frogs (Chompy & Gimli)
1.0 AFT Gecko (Cocoa)
5.6 Leopard Geckos (Trouble, Scooter, Simba, Firenze, Teddy, Nala, Mystique, Freckles, Dotty, Zipper, Twister)

I never seem to have success in the wild. I must have turned over a thousand rocks and logs on a recent week vacation in the mountains of Vermont and not one snake I live in south florida which is definitely corn country, but no luck here yet either.

I've been hiking in these woods since March and until last weekend never saw a single snake. I rolled logs and looked all over. Last leekend I took along two of my friends who had never been there. One of them is a seasoned herper. With his help we found many Garters. I was looking in the wrong place at the wrong time. These guys were out in late morning, near noontime. Just out, not under any logs. He taught me the tell tale sound to listen for. A short rustle in the leaves. Like "woosh woosh" then quite. I probably heard it a dozen times and thought it was birds or someting in the leaves and paid no mind. Now that I know to look in the sun, not the shade, they are so easy to find! Not sure about Corns though, so can't help there. I'll bet you have Banded Water Snakes near you, so I'm jealous. I'd love to see one in a wild. Here is Ripley, my pet Banded Water...

Keep trying! It's an awesome feeling when you get the knack and start to find them!!!
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Lyns Lair
Frogwatch USA
WNY Herpetological Society

0.1 Cat (Mia)
4.2 Ferrets (Wolf, Shadow, Verdell, Sullivan, Boo, Peach)
1.0 Carpet Python (Bear)
1.0 Malagasy Blonde Hognose Snake (Wilbur)
1.0 Yellow / Everglades Rat Snake (Pumpkin)
1.0 Russian Sand Boa (Fang)
0.1 Normal Corn Snake (Mysty)
0.0.2 Anery Corn Snakes (Suezo & Mocchi)
1.0 Banded Water Snake (Ripley)
0.1 Golden Greek Tortoise (Sunshine)
1.0 Whites Tree Frog (Trevor)
2.0 Solomon Island Eyelash Frogs (Chompy & Gimli)
1.0 AFT Gecko (Cocoa)
5.6 Leopard Geckos (Trouble, Scooter, Simba, Firenze, Teddy, Nala, Mystique, Freckles, Dotty, Zipper, Twister)

Sounds like you had a good day in the field. I usually only bring one thing home when I go field herping...ticks!

Actually, I have been finding prime, undisturbed snake habitat all over lately BUT no snakes?!?!?!?!? The only possible reason for this is the wrong time of the day. I can't imagine ANY other reason. I go into pretty remote pockets of forests where I know sightings have taken place BUT no snakes yet and I've been looking to photograph some for the past several years now.

I would love to go herping at night BUT I have no one to go with and some places are so remote that its freaky. I can't imagine how I'd explain getting stopped by police or whoever in the middle of the woods by myself at night.lol. I guess I could try early in the morning just when the sun rises but who wants to get up early.lol. Anyone have any thoughts on my theory about timing being the key to finding snakes? Anyway, what time of day did you go?
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Sincerely,
Jason
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0.2 Green Tree Pythons
2.2 Bismark Ringed Pythons
2.3 Ball Pythons
1.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boas
1.1 Argentine Boas
0.1 Solomon Island Ground Boa
1.2 Hogg Island Boas
1.1 Sonoran Desert Boas
2.2 Nicaraguan Boas
7.8 Cornsnake morphs
1.1 Northern Pine Snakes
2.2 Bairds Rat Snakes
1.2 White-Sided Black Rat Snakes
My Website & Pics (click here)

Last weekend when I went with my friends we got to to the woods at 10am and were seeing the Garters but no Waters. We weren't able to catch any of the Garters so I didn't get any pictures. This weekend I went about 11am. I should clarify, I call them the Woods but it is actually a Nature Preserve with Wetlands and Ponds and Meadows. There are Woods too, but also open areas. All of the snakes I found were in the open areas, not in the actual woods. I go there all the time at night to monitor the Frog populations (we do it after the sun goes down) and I never saw a single snake at night. But again, these are just Garters and Waters, I don't know about other snakes. I know lots of people out west go herping at night on the roads hoping to find snakes. So probably depends where you live and what kind of snakes you hope to find. There are Ringnecks and Northern Browns in the woods but I don't see them during the day, maybe they only come out at night? I still have to master finding them, and some kind of Racer is supposed to be in there. I've still a long ways to go!

Here is a Turtle I found there a couple weeks ago. I see them basking out on logs all the time, this one was basking right on the trail...

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Lyns Lair
Frogwatch USA
WNY Herpetological Society

0.1 Cat (Mia)
4.2 Ferrets (Wolf, Shadow, Verdell, Sullivan, Boo, Peach)
1.0 Carpet Python (Bear)
1.0 Malagasy Blonde Hognose Snake (Wilbur)
1.0 Yellow / Everglades Rat Snake (Pumpkin)
1.0 Russian Sand Boa (Fang)
0.1 Normal Corn Snake (Mysty)
0.0.2 Anery Corn Snakes (Suezo & Mocchi)
1.0 Banded Water Snake (Ripley)
0.1 Golden Greek Tortoise (Sunshine)
1.0 Whites Tree Frog (Trevor)
2.0 Solomon Island Eyelash Frogs (Chompy & Gimli)
1.0 AFT Gecko (Cocoa)
5.6 Leopard Geckos (Trouble, Scooter, Simba, Firenze, Teddy, Nala, Mystique, Freckles, Dotty, Zipper, Twister)

I came accross a breeding group of FL Bnaded water snakes last month by Vanderbilt Beach in Naples FL and there were two big females and 5 smaller males all climbing all over each other, it was very cool.
The Big female in Blue is probably a girl either going into "heat" or sheding and getting ready to give birth to a hundred little baby garters (if you kept her get ready to feed a zillion babies LOL, crickets and minnows, feed the minnows to the garters by letting the minnows swim in a small water bowl inside the snakes enclosure). Feild herping is always fun when you get something! good job.
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Jim Hopkins "Hoppy"
Hopkins Holesale Herps
Hopfam1@aol.com

Nope, didn't keep any of them. It's a Nature Preserve, nothing in and nothing out kind of place. Cool about the Banded Waters. I would love to see some in the Wild. This is my pet Banded Water, his name is Ripley. He may have been WC but was in captivity for a while before I got him. He eats live or frozen fish and will even eat right out of your hand. Cool snake.

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Lyns Lair
Frogwatch USA
WNY Herpetological Society

0.1 Cat (Mia)
4.2 Ferrets (Wolf, Shadow, Verdell, Sullivan, Boo, Peach)
1.0 Carpet Python (Bear)
1.0 Malagasy Blonde Hognose Snake (Wilbur)
1.0 Yellow / Everglades Rat Snake (Pumpkin)
1.0 Russian Sand Boa (Fang)
0.1 Normal Corn Snake (Mysty)
0.0.2 Anery Corn Snakes (Suezo & Mocchi)
1.0 Banded Water Snake (Ripley)
0.1 Golden Greek Tortoise (Sunshine)
1.0 Whites Tree Frog (Trevor)
2.0 Solomon Island Eyelash Frogs (Chompy & Gimli)
1.0 AFT Gecko (Cocoa)
5.6 Leopard Geckos (Trouble, Scooter, Simba, Firenze, Teddy, Nala, Mystique, Freckles, Dotty, Zipper, Twister)