Herping in western NC ... and an AMAZING find!

Please allow me to tell the story this way, so I might slightly exaggerate for effect.

So I went herping with a buddy today -I had some help at the store and it was the first really sunny day in the month of July. It was a great day for reptiles moving, I could that tell as soon as we started. All day long I found common stuff: an occasional fence lizard, 5 lined skink, garter, ugly corn or copperhead, all of which (expect the copperhead) bit me repeatedly. He went bite-free and caught a gorgeous timber rattler, an eastern king, even an eastern milk (which I've tried to find for a decade!), and finally... to add insult to injury; a tiny baby albino box turtle! Because of it's almost non-existent chances to survive in the wild, he's keeping it. I have photos, but took them in the largest resolution possible and need to seriously shrink them down before posting. I have no idea what this animal is worth, but I have never seen one. Great trip, even if the cool finds were Murphy's law with me. Here's some links to pics of the turtle until I can work with the sizes and such some...
http://tinypic.com/r/5nvdbr/3
http://tinypic.com/r/2uidxrr/3

Chip, that is so cool. I'd love to look that little box turtle over, up close. Neat.
What is picture number 4, under the turtle pic in the first linky?

Its so tiny and how cool I had no clue there were albino box turtles now that could be breeding project.

That's crazy. I hope it does well for him. I think he was right to take it. Super-high mortality anyway.

That's interesting! I wonder if it would have made it to adulthood?

VERY kewl! Congrats to you both!

vetusvates said:

Chip, that is so cool. I'd love to look that little box turtle over, up close. Neat.
What is picture number 4, under the turtle pic in the first linky?

Click to expand...

I was wondering myself! Close up it's a turn table. Pretty odd and funny.

I noticed that, for obvious reasons, but it's not a picture of mine. I just uploaded the turtle picture!

What a beautiful little turtle!

Nice find... Really nice find, although I am not much into turtles..

Very cool! Even if it is only a swimming rock.

wow! pretty neat!

Sweet find I would love to find one like that, only thing near close in coolness to that I ever found was an albino ground skink. Elrojo I just noticed your in Asheville, how is the area for herping? I am going to be moving there in about a month.

Herping isn't great in Asheville. Way too developed. You have to go out several miles to find rural areas, but there are a few things to be found. Nothing near like the coast or foothills, though.

That is an almost unbelieveable find. Now go play the lottery. I hope the little guy lives so that he or she can be reproduced. Amazing! Check the spot next year too, the females tend to return to the same area. Maybe you will luck out again.

Aw..so cute!! I *still* have not done any herping in our area; surely there must be some interesting critters out there. My husband bicycles and all he usually sees on the roads are dead black snakes.

Sweet find, I think anyone would love to find something like that someday. Congrats to your friend.