herping advice thread

[infernalis]

Here is what prompted my thread...

A few days ago I went out and flipped over all my favorite hides looking for wild snakes to photograph.

I found a yearling garter snake, very nice one at that.

So when I left, I laid the hide back down and moved on.

A couple days later I looked again, and what I saw bummed me out.

The poor snake had gotten pinned under the hide and had been crushed to death, by me!

So the first pointer I would like to make is be very careful when returning the hide, scoot the snake out of the way, spook it off into the grass first, then return the hide.

Any other tips... post them here.

[Aaron_S]

Be sure to leave the rocks exactly as they were found. If you don't then you might close off the small crevice the animals use to hide under!

Also, if you don't live in Canada, I suggest not free handling wild snakes due to the chance of them being venomous.

[Lankyrob]

If you dont know - dont touch - the advice given to me by my dad when we used to walk lots when i was a kid.

[Coffee Black]

Pieces of plywood in the grass near a treeline make great herp hides and there is less crushability. I also found that your best chance to find snakes is when you have someone nearby who is absolutely terrified of them. They smell fear and like to come out and push buttons haha. However, that same trick backfires on me as i can't stand spiders and i usually end up with one dropping in for an aerial " Surprise! Muahahaha!" attack on me daily.

[infernalis]

Originally Posted by Coffee Black

Pieces of plywood in the grass near a treeline make great herp hides and there is less crushability..

Sadly it was a sheet of plywood, the ground is uneven under it, when I lifted up the snake was in a low spot, when I laid the plywood back down, the snake had moved to a spot where the clearance was zero and it pinned the poor thing down.

[katalyzt]

Oh that is sad But I'm sure you'll be much more careful now.

[Feebo]

Oh mate You must`ve been so gutted At least it`s a lesson learned and spread to others.....