Help! What am I doing wrong?

WingedWolf · 07-14-03, 02:32 PM

A friend and I went herping yesterday evening, and found....a leopard frog. After hours of searching, that is ALL we found. It was by a beaver dam across a small stream.

We searched the area, but found no traces of reptiles.
We moved on to search in some drier, low-lying areas under a stand of aspen trees. We checked fallen trees and branches and bark....nothing. No shed skins, no signs of reptile inhabitation. Just ants.

Driving around through Medicine Bow National Forest in Vedauwoo recreation area, we saw no DOR reptiles....but plenty of rodents and small birds. Saw a few deer, too. Not a trace of herp anywhere.

There is plenty of cover--rodent burrows, complex rock formations, sagebrush. Plenty of food. Where are the snakes???

snakehunter · 07-15-03, 10:28 AM

check the temps if it is above 80 theyll be hiding, go around 68-70, theyll be basking. try road herpin at dusk.

BWSmith · 07-15-03, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Where are the snakes???

My first guess would be wherever you didn't look

There are alot of factors that determine whether snakes will be out or not, temps is just one of them. Try road cruising. Herping a forest is tough, I like my Tin Spots

SCReptiles · 07-15-03, 10:58 AM

You want to hit the roads right when the sun goes down. The roads will hold heat longer then the surrounding fields and they snakes will come out to gather that heat. That is unless the air temp is too high. Last weekend Joe and I ran Horry County, SC. We were out at 200 am and the air was like 85. Needless to say, NOTHING was on the roads.

Mike177 · 07-16-03, 02:04 PM

You have to figure out what u want to find, what u know u can find, and how to find it. if you are looking for pit vipers ur cances are probly better and night but if you are looking for colubrids like watersnakes or something try going close after a rain fall and early morning not realy early
but when is just starts warming up. some times i have gone 2 times in 1 day and got no snakes and i have also gone for 30 min and captured 3. it realy depends on your luck!

snkmn · 07-20-03, 12:41 AM

ihave gone herping many times and found just an alligator lizard or a blue-belly lizard or not even that .like mike177 said you may caych nothing or you may catch a ton of stuff