Thursday, April 28, 2011

South Florida

Devin and I took a few days to herp South Florida, and here is a conglomeration of what we found. A small corn snake began the trip. Cane toads sat on lawns on warm, humid nights.


A fiesty ribbon snake. One of the most common snakes of the trip.

A 5-foot corn snake standing its ground.

A nice-sized gator sunning itself away from water.

Still catching some afternoon rays...

We've bothered him, and he's decided to seek refuge in the brush.

In an area of spring peepers and green treefrogs, we also snapped a photo of this squirrel treefrog.

Southern leopard frog out in the open.

Under the duckweed in this pond were some little gators and a couple pig frogs.

Cricket frogs were also out in force.

We managed to cut off a large gopher tortoise from retreating to its burrow. You can almost see our reflection in his eye.

Cottonmouth showing us his dental work.


A nicely patterned juvenile cottonmouth looking for some warm asphalt.

Ringneck snake.

An extremely large eastern garter snake cruising through the grass.

A Cuban treefrog contemplating his next move.

A wood slave (Hemidactylus mabouia) found on a tree at night in Everglades N.P.

Several green anoles were found sheltered in crevices at night on a boardwalk.

I've never had a frog climb up out from under the hood of my car while driving. A green squirrel treefrog it seems.

A little alligator that wanted to get its photo taken.

I have the feeling we're being watched...

Five-lined skink.



A sickly little gecko.

Eastern narrow-mouthed frog.

Some South Florida habitat.

Brown anole.


A big ol' Eastern diamondback rattlesnake!

Black racer making sure I don't get any closer.

Striped mud turtle hesitant to peek out for a camera shoot.

A couple of Florida cooters feeding on grasses.

Not a herp, but an interesting bird called an anhinga.

Brown water snake.


Yellow ratsnake.

Mud snake in a defensive posture.

An odd toothless American crocodile.

A tropical house gecko.

We loved our mud snake!

A huge centipede creeping across the road.

Scarlet snake

Close up of the scarlet snake.

Crested anole.

Spiny-tailed iguana on his perch.

Brown basilisk.

Juvenile spiny-tailed iguana caught in a tree.

Bark anole.

Bark anoles have pretty camouflage.



A jungle runner chilling at a distance on Key Biscayne.

Some boring red-eared sliders. A black iguana was sitting nearby also but didn't wait around.

A knight anole about to scoot up a tree.


Gecko found flipping boards.

A dark five-lined skink.

Fowler's toad.

Eastern glass lizard

Glossy crayfish snake

Southern toad



Small juvenile American alligator

Scorpion
Island glass lizard
Small Eastern diamondback rattlesnake.
Mama and child.
Eastern diamondback letting us know who's boss.


The sun setting through the trees.

Monday, March 28, 2011

I took a camping trip to Valley Of Fire, just north of Las Vegas, Nevada with my wife Diana, brother Derek, and sister-in-law Brittany. The weather was much better that Salt Lake City, Utah, but it was not as warm as I had hoped. The cooler temps left no chance at road cruising. The high on Friday was about 68 degrees, and the low was about 48 degrees. So there was not much when it came to reptiles, but I did manage to see about 8 Chuckwallas, and the obligatory Side-Blotched Lizards, as well as some beautiful landscapes and sunsets. Here is a play by play of the capture of the first Chuckwalla.

There is not much to say in way of captions, so here are a couple more photos taken of the above Chuckwalla





And one parting Landscape shot.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Some Winter Florida Herps and Sun

There's no better place in the winter than South Florida. Here's a few shots from a recent outing into the wild swamps and pine flats of Florida.
A spring peeper taken from a hole along a marshy area. Breeding season is in full swing, and tadpoles can be seen diving into the sludge during January and February.
A softshell turtle casually maneuvering across a lonely dirt road.
An alert ribbon snake that didn't wind up like his DOR friend I saw previously on the road.
A little out of focus, but he's smiling for the camera.
Another water-loving snake, but this time a glossy crayfish snake.
Green anoles were out enjoying the beautiful weather, too.
Here's an alligator slide at the edge of a water hole that's beginning to dry up. He slipped into the remaining water, but left his tail mark and hand print behind (center of photo).Nice! Basking in a shallow, marshy field, this alligator has few places to hide.
I tried blindfolding him with my shirt, but he kept tossing it aside and growling at me. I'm not sure what I'd do with a 7-foot alligator anyway, but it was worth a try.
Hmmm....I have to get my shirt back now. He didn't like me in the water with him, so I saluted The Colonel and let him have his shallow bog back.