Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ive spent most of my time in TX where herping is fairly easy, was wondering if you guys new of any good spots to find reptiles up here at these high elevations?

Used to herp Colo. frequently back in the mid 80's. What is it that you're looking for? There are plenty of cool herps east of the Front Range and also out in west Colo. Let me know if there's anything in particular you are interested in.
Best...
Jim

Im really looking for snakes. Mainly wanting to find the milks, kings, and rats that are in the state, also wouldnt mind finding a midget faded rattlesnake. Any advice on where to start looking would be greatly appreciated.

In keeping with the usual tradition of not divulging exact locales, I'll give you "ballpark" areas to start your search:
1. For concolor, look around the Grand Junction area.
2. Anywhere east of the Front Range is good for milks(gentilis). There are a couple of places just northeast of Denver where gentilis is fairly plentiful.
3. Kings I have found near the town of La Junta. This is a splendida/holbrooki intergrade.
4. Massasaugas are also found anywhere between Pueblo and La Junta. This is also a tergeminus/edwardsi intergrade.

Good Luck with your search. Also, make sure you check out the herp laws for Colo. It's been a few years since I herped there, but I believe that concolor is protected there. There might be other species that have been added since I was there.
Best....
Jim

Thanks for the info. I really do appreciate it, always nice to have a starting point. I cant wait for early spring! Ive already started looking into some of the herp laws for the state.What were some of yur favorite finds when you herped this area?

Thanx again for the info
WES

I lived in Colo. back in the 80's and when I was there, some of my favorite finds were the little massasaugas near Crowley. I'm not a big prairie rattler fan, but near the Comanche Grasslands some friends and I found a good sized den very close to several prairie dog dens. Must've seen 30-40 snakes in about 1 hour that day. Some average looking gentilis under some railroad ties near just north of Denver and 1-2 concolor near Grand Junction although most concolor I saw were in Utah. Never did see the triangulum that lives near Grand Junction, but was supposedly in their area. I saw various other herps while in Colo, but those few are what stick out in my mind now.
Best of luck herping! BTW, some of the massasaugas were found road cruising right after a brief snow shower on Memorial Day back in '85.
Jim

Thanx again for the info! happy herping 2 you Jim