# Various Field Herping Photos (DUW)



## StudentoftheReptile (Apr 25, 2012)

*Snake Road, southern Illinois*






leopard frog





long-tailed salamander





cave salamander





redback salamander (saw lots of these)





red eft newt





ringneck snakes (saw several of these)





western ribbon snake









slimy salamander





*western cottonmouth* (juvenile)

_in situ_ shot














Most of this was around *Mobile and Baldwin County, Alabama*

southern black racer





grey rat snake (found crossing a river while canoing)





Gray's treefrog (probably one of my favorite photos)





another racer





several unknown salamanders













bronze frog





a rescued alligator





the pair of eastern fence lizards that call my back porch home













gopher tortoise that tried desperately to enter my fenced yard 2 years ago, and his burrow (if I had known they were going to develop the land all around it, I may have obliged him "accidentally")

















More photos from *southwest Alabama....*

leopard frog





3-Lined salamanders (found 4 under one rotting carpet!)









eastern box turtles





grey rat snake





speckled kingsnake









eastern mud turtle





slimy salamander





banded water snake









juvie EBT





We have this one place here called the Japanese Gardens. It has somehow become a dumping grounds for unwanted RES and other pond sliders because of two man-made ponds. It is right next to a public park and our local university, so lots of people come here to feed the ducks and turtles. Kind of a lost cause, so my wife and I occasionally come here to do the same. At least we bring actual turtle pellets instead marshmallows and bread!

There's also a couple common snapping turtles here, too, as well as many box turtles. Here's a couple shots of the snappers I got one day, and on another day, a friend of mine and I found 9 box turtles in this one small area close to this gardens. All females, curiously enough.







































One final shot of a cooter by the university.


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## ALDABRAMAN (Apr 25, 2012)

WOW, Brother those were fantastic, looks like you really have fun and enjoy yourself......Love it!


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## cljohnson (Apr 25, 2012)

Nice stuff ( a little jealous )


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## kurmaraja12 (Apr 25, 2012)

I go to school in the upper peninsula and we just took our herp 'field trip' and man, we did not find anything like this stuff. I'm so jealous! We found a leopard frog, some frog eggs and a dead blue spotted salamander. It's still pretty chilly up here though, I could hear the peepers a couple weeks ago however!

The box turtle next to the rail reminds me of one that my boyfriend rescued from some train tracks in ohio. He works for the railroad and some of his guys found a nice looking boxie and wrote the name of their supervisor on the top (apparently he's like a turtle?). So my awesome guy saved the little buddy and tried to wipe off the marker and then put him off in the woods. This is the pic he sent me...

I knew he was the man for me after rescuing a turtle <3 haha I think it was a male because he said the eyes were bright red


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## ascott (Apr 25, 2012)

Fricken sweeeeet


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## Tyrtle (Apr 26, 2012)

Great collection of photos. Your enthusiasm and devotion to understanding is fantastic. I also enjoyed your blog!


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## StudentoftheReptile (Apr 26, 2012)

kurmaraja12 said:


> I go to school in the upper peninsula and we just took our herp 'field trip' and man, we did not find anything like this stuff. I'm so jealous! We found a leopard frog, some frog eggs and a dead blue spotted salamander. It's still pretty chilly up here though, I could hear the peepers a couple weeks ago however!



Yeah, I will admit that there's a little more to it than just walking out into the woods and expecting to see stuff. Not saying that is what you did, but a lot of people do think that. Heck, that's what I did when I was a kid! A lot is knowing the behavior of your natives, the weather, the habitat, your area, etc. Some species are nocturnal, some are not. Overcast days are not the best for herping. Typically, most of your basking species will be out between 8am-11am. When it starts getting really hot, stuff starts going back to ground and hiding. Not always, but most of the time. Look for different habitats adjacent to each other: example being a open area next to woods. And don't be afraid to look under anything! Logs, stones, old pallets, rotting carpets, etc...wonderful, moist hiding places for resting herps! Just be sure to put everything back the way you left it.



I honestly wish I had more time for it. I really only go out a few times year. Anything else is "accidental!" I'm rather jealous of some friends of mine, though. They live close and are avid, die-hard field herpers. They go out, day or night, any free moment is spent looking for herps. In the same spot less than 2 miles from my house, they have seen an eastern diamondback AND a black pine snake (state protected species). So envious!


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## acrantophis (Apr 26, 2012)

Really great shots! Cave salamander! Baby moccasin! I love field herping too. I have a big trip planned through Utah this summer. Really looking forward to it. I will post some travel herp pics soon.


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## Micheal Gibbs (Apr 27, 2012)

I'm pretty sure brother you've got a lot of fun there those all were full of adventure after seen those snapshots I think everyone would just love to be there. Actually this is the first thread I've seen in this forum Because I've joined it a while ago I'm glad that I've got an awesome forum.


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## Yvonne G (Apr 27, 2012)

Micheal Gibbs said:


> I'm pretty sure brother you've got a lot of fun there those all were full of adventure after seen those snapshots I think everyone would just love to be there. Actually this is the first thread I've seen in this forum Because I've joined it a while ago I'm glad that I've got an awesome forum.



Hi Micheal:

Won't you take a few moments to start a new thread in the "introductions" section and tell us a bit about yourself?


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## Kerryann (Apr 27, 2012)

Those pictures are amazing. Is the ribbon snake the same thing as a gardner snake? I don't know very much about snakes.

I have heard that box turtles are native to Michigan, which surprises me because I have never seen one. I grew up out in the sticks too.


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## HonuFonu23 (Apr 27, 2012)

Thanks for sharing your awesome pics.


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