Reptile & Amphibian Forums

this year has been good. Although not over yet here is my 3 favorite finds so far and info about each one. This Pricei was found in the Huachuca Mts. of SE Ariz. The time was 115pm and the temperature was cool that day. It rained slightly that afternoon and also found a klauberi in this same spot. Twin Spotted Rattlesnakes have been a long favorite of mine and this was my first ever.

Found this guy in Ohio but cant tell the locale , sorry. She was garvid when found

she is a beauty!

this is the habitat the caelonops was found amongst! 2 were found there in one morning. June is usually not good for finding caelonops at this spot.

It is odd to find celeanops under rocks in NM. Milks are such a moisture dependant animal that it seems rare for them to be found in such a way in that area. I have found several celeanops around Albaquerque, but all were either AOR or under wood. Thanks for including the habitat shot.

I went to visit ABQ and went looking for milks. One was found out crawling in the field (not AOR or under anything). It wasn't dark at all, but it was later in the day.

there are plenty of milks in the area. this spot is unlike most that produce them. I have found milks there more than once and found DOR , AOR , Crawling in the open , and under plywood I laid out--I mentioned on the milk forum that this is a non-typical way of finding milks in that area especially in late June-In fact this is not typical dream hunting habitat in that area for caelonops , it will be interestying to see if I have the same luck again at this spot next year--Joe

all three awesome finds!....all three also appear to be (in the pics) captive....i know catenatus are federally protected...i know pricei are legally protected by the state of arizona as well...last i checked the milks are not(in n.m.),but this may have since changed....i read about your partner's study of the twin-spotted when asked why it was in an aquarium;are you all conducting studies on the massassauga and milk as well?

That is an absolutely awesome find, Joe! I've seen lots of albino rattlers but no melanistics and that is as black as an Mbk! Excellant and thanks for sharing.
Todd Hughes

Joe,

Do you live in Ohio? I was just wondering about the conditions, time of year and whether or not you found the snake under cover. The saugas in the northern part of the state dropped a few weeks eariler than normal this year and I would just like to add a little blurb in my notes about when you saw a gravid female. I visited one of the melanistic pops in June, and was able to see a snake, but didn't luck into one of those gems. Do you have any better pictures?

You can email me at foltjr AT email.uc.edu if you would like. I look forward to hearing from you.

Jason

Are you aware there is a very large concentration of melanistic eastern garter snakes in Ohio? By the pattern on that snake, if you were to just post the pic, I would guess it was a garter. Considering I own some melanistics....

-----
Mike
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
Helmz777@aol.com
www.freewebs.com/mikesnake
Updated 9/19 NEW PICS/INFO

the catenatus in Ohio are not true mellanistics. The snakes are born light grey with pattern and after each shed become darker and only a few become solid black. Are you saying that the snake I posted is a garter snake and not a Sistrurus?????
Look at the stripe from eye to mouth angle and there is no grey on the head like found in the garters.--Joe

Where'd you get that Goatskull for your tank?

It looks awesome!

Chris

....just as he was found in Borneo...

/

Is that in an aquarium?

Never seen any substrate like that up in TS habitat.

I didnt keep the snake but it is not in its natural habitat either. The photo was taken with a unnatural to the area substrate and prop--joe

why?

I was there with field biologist Mike Baker who has been studying populations of lepidus , pricei , and willardi in the Huachuca Mts. since 2002. He weighs them , sometimes pit tags them , and records locality etc.. the pic was taken before the animal was re-released 2 days after caught--Joe

n/t

He is doing population estimates and tracking snake movement.--Joe

...I still got some of those cages you left at Brad's.

The locking hasps just turn round and round but I manage to keep 'em locked anyway

I had a hypomelanistic enyo born this year but it died

Chris