Today's Catch- little critters

[stolenheron]

ok, so as most of you know, I'm a reptile fanatic and a zoology major. Well my buddy and I went hiking today for 5 hours out in Chewacla state park (10 minutes from my apartment). Our purpose of the hike was to snag a copperhead or cottonmouth, but it turned out to be a much less hazardous and less badass day...but successful regardless. We caught a myriad of little guys today:
-3 eastern fence lizards
-countless green anoles
-several ground skinks in various sizes
-a Northern Ringneck snake
-a creek frog
-an eastern toad
-a crazy millipede and beetle
-a baby Slimy Salamander

sorry if this is a diversion from the forum's usual topics, but i was just so excited from the results of my little excursion.








^Think I'm good or what? caught all three at the base of 1 tree in about 30 seconds without a net.

[pickuprover]

Oh the memories of radio tagging Salamanders come flooding back......

[stolenheron]

anyway, i went back out today. caught some new species for me to add to my growing excel sheet.
-3 southern zigzag salamanders
-2 female eastern fence lizard, 1 male
-1 juvenile five lined skink
-finally, the sweetness of the day. 1 Southern Devil Scorpion.

the scorpion was about an inch and a quarter long, its not considered deadly, but the sting is extremely painful and death WILL occur if you have an allergic reaction lol. and i was about to let the little fucker sting me just so i can feel what its like :lol2

[Dragunov]

Beautiful pics! and beautiful animals! I to, am a herp nut. I completely
understand your exitement!! I'm excited for you.

[stolenheron]

i was hoping to catch myself a copperhead, considering they are much harder to find where I am in south florida, but it was a no go on the venomous snakes the past few days.

[jimfoo]

Here's a bark scorpion.


A couple Collared lizards.

And the pic I refer to as My Lizard.

[SpeleoRover]

Cool!

[Nomar]

Nice pics!

So, how did they taste?

[XtremeMarine]

Nice pics. Couple of nice finds. Which one is in the first photo with the blue diamond patterns on it? Never seen one of those before.

[stolenheron]

my photo? that is a male eastern fence lizard, we have them in florida, but i've never seen one as far south as we are XM. the eastern fence lizard gets booted out in S. florida by other species like the curly tailled lizard.

i got bit by a squirrel i rescued with a broken leg last night. it scratched me with its tooth. its like less than a millimeter...but i'm waiting on animal control's rabies test results to see whether or not it had it. squirrels rarely carry rabies, and my immediate medical treatment (a soak in vodka and anti bacterial gel) should be good enough....but yeah. funny story.

those were nice collared lizard specimens, i used to have one as a pet.

[XtremeMarine]

Thanks. Love to know more about our local stuff. Appreciate it.

[XtremeMarine]

Originally Posted by stolenheron

my photo? that is a male eastern fence lizard, we have them in florida, but i've never seen one as far south as we are XM. the eastern fence lizard gets booted out in S. florida by other species like the curly tailled lizard.

i got bit by a squirrel i rescued with a broken leg last night. it scratched me with its tooth. its like less than a millimeter...but i'm waiting on animal control's rabies test results to see whether or not it had it. squirrels rarely carry rabies, and my immediate medical treatment (a soak in vodka and anti bacterial gel) should be good enough....but yeah. funny story.

those were nice collared lizard specimens, i used to have one as a pet.

Dude; Holy Shit!!

Squirrels are the NUMBER ONE carrier and transmitter of rabies in North America. Okay, I am basing that on 1992-1993 statistics; but they cannot be that outdated that they are now considered "rarely carry".

I worked for the New England HQ for the CDC, in Jamaica Plains, Boston as a summer hire for two years in a row, my first two years of college. One of the labs I was stationed in WAS the rabies lab. And while I was there I got bit by a squirrel I was feeding in the SLI arboretum. Man, Did I get a lecture from the department head while awaiting the test results. You need to recheck that info man.

My father is the head of all animal research done in laboratories for the entire state of Mass. You cannot do testing, research, or even bloodwork in that entire state on a non-domestic animal at a school, lab, gov't, or research facility without his approval. I will call him while on lunch, and recheck for you to see what the research says as far as 2006-2007. But still, be careful.

[Dragunov]

Originally Posted by stolenheron

i was hoping to catch myself a copperhead, considering they are much harder to find where I am in south florida, but it was a no go on the venomous snakes the past few days.

If you find a copperhead in So.Fla. consider yourself very fortunate and post pics! They're generally found only in the panhandle and usually not anywhere else in Fla. That's not to say you won't find them there (So. Fla.). I've heard of copperheads found in SW. Ohio (I've not found any there) so it's possible. if you find a juvenile, keep in mind they look very similar to cottonmouths. Look at the face, baby coppers have almost no markings, baby cottons have a few markings (dark stripe under the eye) and the patterns are just a little different (cottons are somewhat bolder). The biggest difference you'll find is if you get bit YIKES! Cottons will hurt alot more so be careful and DON'T! Happy herping!

P.S. Check saw palmetto areas for C. adamanteus and M. fulvius, I've seen them on pretty chilly days. Be careful, both carry a heck of a wallop!

[Funrover]

Very Cool!

[stolenheron]

xm, i'm fine lol i'll hear back from the lab on tomorrow or thursday. if i have it i get shots, if not i'm good. its not an urgent case like a raccoon or coyote bite.

as for the copperheads i know all about them. I know people have caught/seen them in south florida, but very on very rare occassions. I do know how to identify a baby copperhead from a baby cottonmouth. i've run into plenty of cottonmouths, and i've been chased by a handful of them. I'd much rather run into a rattler or a copperhead any day over a cottonmouth

oh yeah, all these pics were taken in alabama...where copperheads are common lol