Went herping, Failed.

[smy_749]

Rented a car and drove 5 hours to Wadi Rum desert in hopes of finding V. griseus, U. aegyptia, S. doriae and some other rare stuff. Been dying to go on this trip for a few years now. Anyways, The locals got mad I refused the 100$ Jeep tour and sent me in the wrong direction. Walked for 10 km on red sand dunes and rocky terrain and got lost, saw an old bedouin man who sent me throw the mountain pass and got stuck on a cliff and had to call a rescue crew after dark. Also turns out I missed the reptiles by more than a month, they are all in brumation for the cold winter. Lots of urates/poop on every rock almost and hundreds of burrows, some snake tracks and gecko eggs. Only actual reptiles I saw were two lacerta species I think (haven't identified them yet, will post pictures). They were everywhere, and tracks all over. Dug out like 15 burrows and stuck my entire arm down probably 20 or 30 but they were around 5 feet long with more than one entrance for small lizards..crazy. Makes you understand what "burrow" truly means. The sand turns into cement the farther you get down (sandstone I guess) so its pretty cool. Will have to post pics of the two species I saw, the scenery, and the scorpion.

[mistersprinkles]

That's why I never drove more than an hour to go herping. And I didn't walk more than a mile or two. Still saw lots of cool stuff.

[sharthun]

Darn! At least you put in some effort and got to get out!

[MDT]

Sorry you failed...good to see you posting :)
I hope all is well dude.

[smy_749]

I would drive 10-15 hours to see V. griseus and Egyptian uromastyx in the wild. I don't regret that I didn't find anything, or that I wasted the money I did. Next time I will know what to do and what not to. Wadi rum is the closest I've ever felt to being in the outback, and the stars there were awesome, and I saw wild camels, so even with the limited number of reptiles I saw, and minus the getting lost, the trip was good. (not my pic, will post mine tomorrow or something)

http://www.friendstours.org/sites/default/files/1.1259087112.wadi-rum.jpg

[RandyRhoads]

Don't feel bad. Although i've never had to be rescued i've walked over 100 miles, and driven a couple hundred actively looking for reptiles in AZ for a couple years with almost no luck at all. That's not counting the 600 miles to get down there to start each time....

[smy_749]

Mine was only a 350 km drive. Just sucks that there were signs of reptiles everywhere. You couldn't take 3 steps without seeing some sort of tracks and burrows. Will post the pics later on, internet here is crap on this little flash drive. Next time I go back I'm going to rent my own jeep bring some flashlights and stay overnight in the proper season. Not leaving till I find something haha

[smy_749]

Not gonna post any pictures of the actual scenery for now, you can google it. Anyways, here are a few of the pics I did manage to get of wildlife. Enjoy.

From what I've come up with, I believe this first group of pictures to be Acanthodactylus schmidti. They were the only active species I saw throughout the day, and every desert plant had a burrow of one of these guys at its base. They hang out under the cover of the plant, and dart for the burrow upon being seen. Impossible to catch.

http://i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t614/Smy_749/IMG_2282_zps1c1a7ee4.jpg

All photographed animals are juvies or yearlings

http://i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t614/Smy_749/IMG_2285_zpsad304606.jpg

Sorry this one is a bit blurry, was very far away and needed to snap it quick.

http://i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t614/Smy_749/IMG_2283_zpsd144632c.jpg

[smy_749]

Second species I observed, and managed to actually catch is still unidentified. Maybe someone has a better idea? My guess is Lacerta kulzeri as of right now. Only one clear pic.

http://i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t614/Smy_749/IMG_2301_zpsb28fce8a.jpg

The rocks I found him scaling on with ease

http://i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t614/Smy_749/IMG_2304_zpsa0d9fd98.jpg

[smy_749]

Here are some A. schmidti tracks to give you an idea of how abundant they were. I also saw what looked to be uromastyx tracks, some species of snake, and possibly sandfish.

http://i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t614/Smy_749/IMG_2289_zpse6ec92dd.jpg

Here is a sample burrow I was talking about previously with A. schmidti. Looks very small, for a 6 - 8 inch lizard right?

http://i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t614/Smy_749/IMG_2258_zpsa1cd0fec.jpg

Here are a few pics of me digging out the burrows. I did reach the end of a few, minimum 2 feet in length and a foot in depth. The others had anywhere from 2 - 6 entrances and I was able to stick my entire arm and shoulder down after digging out a few feet already, so we are talking about 5-6 feet in depth and thats just going down one entrance. Sand is very hard like stone as you get down deeper, but can be broken off.

http://i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t614/Smy_749/IMG_2276_zps919cfb92.jpg

http://i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t614/Smy_749/IMG_2277_zps8df5bacc.jpg

[Mikoh4792]

I wouldn't call that a failed herping experience. That looks like an awesome trip.(But as you said minus the getting lost part)

[smy_749]

Here are a few random ones.

3 Large entrances, hard to get an idea of the size of the hole, I took the pictures atop a large sand dune so I would guess these were about 10 - 15 meters away when I snapped the pic. The entrances if I had to guess, were appropriately sized for adult egyptian uros or even V. griseus.

http://i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t614/Smy_749/IMG_2292_zpsc681054b.jpg

Two of the 7 wild camels I saw in the herd. Taken from pretty far away as well.

http://i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t614/Smy_749/IMG_2279_zpse7daebfd.jpg

Unidentified scorpion which took me forever to get a picture of. As soon as I pulled off the rock, he reared up, and tail straight in the air, ran for it, and occasionally would come towards me so I'd jump back a bit. Israeli deathstalker?

http://i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t614/Smy_749/IMG_2264_zps350da05b.jpg

and a picture of me with very squinty eyes at the beginning of the trek where there was still a jeep path to walk on.

http://i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t614/Smy_749/IMG_2270_zps9864435d.jpg

[smy_749]

I wouldn't call that a failed herping experience. That looks like an awesome trip.(But as you said minus the getting lost part)

Maybe not a fail completely, but failed with regards to coming during the wrong time of year and not finding anything on my list. This is the only place I will probably ever get to see wild varanids and uros together. Apparently spring is the best time of year, not summer.

[RandyRhoads]

Why are you there and for how long??

[smy_749]

My wife is from here, and Im still waiting on her visa. Came for 2 weeks to make my sons american passport. Leaving in 3 days

[Donnie]

My wife is from here, and Im still waiting on her visa. Came for 2 weeks to make my sons american passport. Leaving in 3 days

did you have your interview whilst you are over there this time or have you got to go back for it?

[smy_749]

I dont have an interview, only my wife does. They rescheduled it for the 5th of november instead of the 7th, so hopefully I can come back and get her at the end of November. Exciting stuff