Reptile & Amphibian Forums

...well, since some are getting into the first stages of winter,and maybe already feeling "cabin fever" (not necessarily a northern latitude thing) I was wondering who is making plans for the spring and what species of kings/milks and areas you might have in mind. Are any planning trips to FL early in the spring? TX in June? Snake road?? You get it.
Is THIS the year you get to see and photo the one that has eluded you?
Anyone looking to extend known ranges??
Myself, I hope to get to the FL panhandle to explore my hunches and spots in the spring where I fully expect (ha!) to find goini.
Other than that, maybe some TN herping if and when I get the chance.
OR maybe go up and bug KY Phil and see some of those pet black kings he's got under that tin!
What about you?
:Mark

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Surrender Dorothy!

www.crimsonking.funtigo.com

Well i am going to be in the cane fields at least once during my Christmas vaca. This coming summer i am hoping to have the money for a trip to AZ again to pair up my Pyro on Mt Grahm and hopefully see some of the "rare" snakes of Az.

later Jason

Good Topic

I'd pass out if I found a pyro like that. Man that's killer!
Doin' a little recon tomorrow actually. Down south.
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

www.crimsonking.funtigo.com

Mark
I have already started implacing more A/C in some "sweet" spots here in KY. On my "wish" list are:
KY locale northern pine (trying to give Phil and Will a hand)
western pygmy rattler
MS green water snake
copperbelly water snake
broad banded water snake
yellow bellied water snake
Kirtlands
eastern and western ribbons
KY locale red milks
southeastern crowned snake
and a KY locale scarlet king

Some of those are a tall order, but those are my target species this year!!!!
Brian

>>...well, since some are getting into the first stages of winter,and maybe already feeling "cabin fever" (not necessarily a northern latitude thing) I was wondering who is making plans for the spring and what species of kings/milks and areas you might have in mind. Are any planning trips to FL early in the spring? TX in June? Snake road?? You get it.
>> Is THIS the year you get to see and photo the one that has eluded you?
>> Anyone looking to extend known ranges??
>> Myself, I hope to get to the FL panhandle to explore my hunches and spots in the spring where I fully expect (ha!) to find goini.
>> Other than that, maybe some TN herping if and when I get the chance.
>> OR maybe go up and bug KY Phil and see some of those pet black kings he's got under that tin!
>> What about you?
>>:Mark
>>
>>
>>-----
>>Surrender Dorothy!
>>
>>www.crimsonking.funtigo.com
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RATS
1.0 Corn snake "Warpath"(KY locale)
1.0 Black rat snake "Havok" (KY locale)
1.1 Black rat snakes "Reaper and Mystique" (MO locale)
1.0 Albino Black rat snake "Malakai" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Everglades rat snake "Deadpool" (Dwight Good stock)
0.1 Greenish rat snake "Rogue" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Great plains rat snake "Reign Fire" (TX locale)
1.0 Grey rat snake "Punisher" (White oak phase)(Dwight Good stock)

Good luck and Happy Herping
Brian

Hey Mark, wassup? Looking forward to finding some graybands this late spring/early summer and finding a mate for the black and white splendida. Also a bairdi and maybe a caelanops. Gonna try and make it down to Fla/Ga for a whirlwind tour also as I hope to go to Daytona next year. Sounds like y'all have too much fun after hours! May even try my hand at a cali king this next year but coast to coast would be a tough thing to pull off. Too many kings and not enough time/money! Well, I will be keeping on the local splendida/holbrooki thing and trying to find some more intergrades locally. Wish list priority:
1. female splendida for b/w male
2. alterna, any phase
3. canebrake from north of my location
Todd Hughes

I'm going to try and find a pair of Eastern Kings and Eastern Milks here at home, Viginia Bch., Va.. I'm also hopeing to make it down to Tyrrell Co., Nc. to find some Temporalis.
Wish me luck!
-Phil

This will be my first year out so I need to get off my butt and lay out the A/C. I am not going anywhere special this year, just locally. We have all the best species right here in MO . My list this year is Speckled King, Prairie King, Black Rat, Great plains Rat, And hopefully a Red Milk.
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0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1.0 Ball Python "Wilson" (Castaway)
1. Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Chunk" (Goonies)
.1 Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Peaches"
0.0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake "Onyx"

Mark, I found a copperhead and a ringneck last Sunday when the temp hit 72 high. The ringneck was between sheets of tin. The copperhead was warming itself on a paved road at sundown 200 yds from my acreage in NW Florida....However, the only Kings I have seen are in my collection. In Okaloosa/Walton county this year I have found 15 copperheads, 1 EDB, 2 pigs but not one king. I'm cursed(LOL).BTW, an old photo from the Spring.

..I'm well aware it's not over just yet!
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

www.crimsonking.funtigo.com

Mark, usually in the early spring we take an out of state herping trip just for the fun of it. We went to Florida the last few years and thought this year we might search out some Carolina tin fields.

Here in Ky we are always hoping to add to the known range of the kingsnake. We were able to document a record in Harlan county Ky in the extreme southeastern part of the state in the Cumberland mountains in 2003. We are also hoping to record a new record length for the black kingsnake next year. This years largest measured at 57".

If you pass my way look me up. I know a couple of tin sites that might have a snake or two hanging around haha!

Phil
Snake Hunting in Kentucky

Good Topic. I'm planning to hit the NC Sandhills twice in April, there is so much diversity down there that I have a number of target species I would be thrilled with. Also checking out the South Mountains in April. Unique habitat there...the Piedmont and Mountains meet there and there is a lot of undisturbed habitat. Eastern Milks, Scarlet Kings, Mole Kings, and Eastern Kings have all been found there in the past couple of years. Not too many places you can say that about! I go every spring and always make some nice finds, but have struck out of the milks so far. Other than that, a family vacation to the SC coast should hopefully offer a few hours in the field and I will sneak away at least 2x a week for a lot of locale herping. Unfortunately, three of my best sites were bulldozed in 2005, so I will spend a few weekends in January setting up new sites in Iredell and Catawba Co. (NC) with hopes of finding at least one nice Iredell Co. Eastern King and a Catawba Co. Female Mole King.

A question for everyone...in search of better habitat, I am working to set up sites farther off the beaten path. one of the sites I want to set up is about a mile down a railroad track that is bordered by wetland habitat on one side, then some upland hardwood/pine on the other...looks ideal...I can't get my SUV down there, so I'm going to have to pack in my A/C. I'm thinking about using a roll of black plastic, cutting it in 4x4 squares, stacking a small pile of wood or rocks under the middle (to allow for a little air to circulate) and then a few rocks around the edges. I have happened upon plastic tarps like this in the NC Mountains and found snakes under them before, just wondering if anyone has any other suggestions on setting up a site far away from your vehicle.

Thanks,
Michael

I am hoping to hit North Carolina this year. Actually I plan it every year and never actually make it there. My problem is what to do when I get there. It seems like every thing is private property. I don't know where to go once I get there other than asking land owners. Is that the way to go or is there public lands available?
I hope to find Eastern Kings and Canebrakes. Plus I am a huge Duke fan so I can't wait to go. Any suggestions on where to go? Of course this would be soon after Duke cuts down the nets in the big dance.

Dan

Hi Dan,
Most of the land down here is private land. This makes for a challenge...especially for folks coming from out of town. I usually scope things out in the winter, looking for old abandoned farmland for sale, and contact the owner to request permission. Most folks will let you "get all the snakes you want"...however it's always better to ask in advance. I would also look for rural areas where bridges cross large bodies of water. People tend to throw out a lot of trash as these spots. Old, empty parking lots that border appropriate habitat usually will yield a few nice trash piles as well. I have been stopped at these as well by law enforcement who thought I was dumping trash.

If you are just looking to observe, our state parks are outstanding down here. Some of the rangers can be real assholes when they find out you are looking for snakes, even if you are not looking to collect (which is illegal in the parks).

Hope this helps.

Michael

We're going to AZ for Christmas this year, so won't be going for Spring Break. I'll be staying home and here's one of the snakes I hope to find at Afton Farm (kingsnake)...

This site is on our property in Northern Michigan and produces Eastern milks, along with lots of other species...

Eastern milksnakes are one of my main study species every year. I might get away at Spring Break to hit a couple sites in s. MI, or OH.

I'm hoping I can make a trip to south Texas later in the spring. I can't tell you all the herps I'm looking for because most are not (kingsnakes), but I do want to see the intergrade area for desert X speckled kings.

We will be making our annual pilgrimage to AZ near the end of July for the monsoon vacation. I usually stay about two weeks, and once again won't mention all the fantastic species there, but the (kingsnakes) are the desert and mountain kings. These are always on my list to see. My partner and I had a male and female desert king from Green Valley, but the male had an unfortunate accident this fall (story for another time) and we might be looking for a male to pair up with our female.

We're leaving in 12 days for s. AZ and I'll be hitting the upper reaches of the mountains there to check out the aftermath of a forest fire from this summer. Maybe I'll see one of these hardy little (kingsnakes) crawling around

Florida Canyon, December, 2003...

Good luck everybody....

TC

Terry, let me know when you come down to s. Texas and I'll hook you up with the "splesert", "deckled" kings! Do you have a life list running? Hope to chat you up when you are down.
Todd Hughes

Todd, I'll definitely let you know. It'd be great to get to spend some time doing stuff together, and I do have a life list. I can show you how northerners herp and vice/versa. Talking is a specialty of mine...heheh. Look forward to seeing the Gulf again and all the new stuff

Terry

Photo: wintering site for Eastern milksnakes at Afton Farm (kingsnake)