CornSnakes.com Forums  
  Tired of those Google and InfoLinks ads? Register and log in!

Go Back   CornSnakes.com Forums > The CornSnake Forums > Natural History/Field Observation
Register FAQ Members List Calendar Mark Forums Read

Notices

Natural History/Field Observation Field observations of corn snakes, field collecting, or just general topics about the natural environment they are found in.

The best time to night drive?
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 06-03-2006, 03:28 PM   #1
JAGSnake
The best time to night drive?

I've done OK this past week.

4 Yellow Rat Snakes - 3 Dead Yellow Rats
5 Garter Snakes - 3 Dead Garter Snakes
3 Dead Corn Snakes

I have been trying to catch some Corns and am always a few minutes late. I've done pretty good in the past but I never researched the right time to Night Drive. I know going 45 to 30 minutes before sunset and 1 to 2 hours after sunset and is best when the temp is 80 and humid.

My question is, does the moon have anything to do with having good nights or not? I live in Jacksonville, wanted to compare note (so to speak) and find out when some of you have the best nights, what is the weather like and so on.

I'm not having bad luck as you can see and I know it is hit or miss but if I can perfect my night driving skills and know what nights, weather and all is best so I don't pass it up when that night arrives.

I also guess I am frustrated that I missed those 3 Corns and have not found any live ones but the good thing is that I found the right area to look.
 
Old 06-03-2006, 03:35 PM   #2
saraelf69
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! your an evil person
 
Old 06-03-2006, 05:44 PM   #3
JAGSnake
That's a hell of a thing to say to someone but I alson find myself in a quandary to the author's real meaning.
 
Old 06-03-2006, 05:47 PM   #4
mike17l
i dont live any where near corn territory, but do live in south texas, and hunt the roads whenever i get a chance. many people will say that the moon has alot to do with snake movements and i would tend to agree with them. around the new moon is long considered the best time to road cruise. many say that snakes move very little, if at all, during a full moon because the chance if being seen by a predator is increased. i have however seen data that would suggest that snakes are out during full moon. personally i belive that snakes move most every night, but prefer to be out around the new moon.
with the way gas prices are, i would (perverbially speaking) put all my eggs in one basket and only hunt on nights that seem to have the best chance of being producrive (ie. warm, humid, moonless nights)
of course take all this info with a grain of salt as i have only found one live snake this season at night (7-9 nights) and it was just a western diamondback rattlesnake.
 
Old 06-03-2006, 05:55 PM   #5
mike17l
Quote:
Originally Posted by JAGSnake
That's a hell of a thing to say to someone but I alson find myself in a quandary to the author's real meaning.
I am going to guess by the way it was said that the poster was trying to make light of field collecting. Many people do not believe that any animal from the wild should be kept. What these people do not realize is that we would have no new blood, morphs, species, ect with out WC animals. Ever animal anybody on this board owns is a direct desendant from WC animals. There animal maybe a striped ultra lava lavander F2000 or just a normal F1, but it is a decendant from WC, and many people have yet to realize this.

Note. if anybody has a striped ultra lava lavander let me know i would be interested in one, if the price is right ( i am willing to pay about fifty bucks)
 
Old 06-03-2006, 05:59 PM   #6
mbdorfer
Jag, Been a while since I went road cruisin', but as I recall, it was always best on a fairly humid evening after a good rain. One night in particular, I remember finding several ribbons, a scarlet king, few DOR garters, and a small eastern diamondback. You mentioned in your introduction post about not finding any getula . Try to find a place where there is some illegal trash dumping going on, I have found more Florida Kings digging through old pieces of carpet matting than I have in their natural habitat. I think the old trash attracts rodents

And welcome to the forums, BTW
 
Old 06-03-2006, 06:25 PM   #7
JAGSnake
I went to the N.W. side of Jacksonville yesterday where they are starting to build new houses. Back behind one of the properties was an old structure. I have a feeling it was and old shed that only had a tin roof on it some time ago. I spent an hour flipping this tin over and I found so many snakeskins under it along with mice but I did not see any snakes. There was a fresh Canebrake and Pygmy skin but I must have been a day or so late. I have searched so many trash piles in my life and still have not found a King Snake or an Indigo Snake but being on the endangered species list I don't plan on finding one around here with all the building Jacksonville is doing. I've caught or seen, dead or alive just about every snake in Florida except a King Snake and that is the 1 snake I really want to find.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>

When I lived in Poway, CA I would catch Kings all the time but for some reason Florida isn't as kind. <o></o>


About Night Driving

It was great when gas was around a dollar or so but now it's almost not worth going. Heck, for the amount of money I spend on gas for a few nights of driving could buy me a corn snake or king snake but the fun and excitement of driving down the road and seeing a snake you want crossing the road is priceless.
 
Old 06-03-2006, 06:26 PM   #8
cowboyman13
I haven't really tried road cruising. Sounds like Mike, and Mike give some good advice. Maybe David (Crazycorn) will chime in. I know he does allot of road cruising and has allot of luck finding corns.
 
Old 06-03-2006, 06:45 PM   #9
JAGSnake
Quote:
Originally Posted by mike17l
I am going to guess by the way it was said that the poster was trying to make light of field collecting. Many people do not believe that any animal from the wild should be kept. What these people do not realize is that we would have no new blood, morphs, species, ect with out WC animals. Ever animal anybody on this board owns is a direct desendant from WC animals. There animal maybe a striped ultra lava lavander F2000 or just a normal F1, but it is a decendant from WC, and many people have yet to realize this.

Note. if anybody has a striped ultra lava lavander let me know i would be interested in one, if the price is right ( i am willing to pay about fifty bucks)
I also would like to comment on what you just said.

The Corn snake I found was in my neighborhood. If any of my neighbors would have found it in their yard, it would be a dead Corn snake. I am pretty friendly with the people on my street and ALL of them do not have the same understanding (ignorant) when it comes to snakes. The good thing is they know I like snakes and 3 of my neighbors will come and get me if they have 1 in their yard. I drive around semi-rural areas and as I have said, just about half the snakes I see our road kill. If I was there at the right time they would still be a happy LIVE snake today.

If I went into the middle of the forest and collected these snakes I can see why some would be upset but saving snakes from being ran over is another thing. I know once that subdivision is built those snakes that left their skins under the tin are as good as dead the minute they wonder into someones yard. If I went into the middle of the National Forrest and collected snakes I can understand why some would have a problem with it. I know some might say, " instead of keeping it why don't you just move it off the road". I do, all the snakes I have found except for this 1 Corn Snake I have helped off the road but I think the odds of that snake not crossing that road again is very low. I can't save every snake but if I choose to keep Corn Snakes that I find crossing the road, I think (IMO) he is better off in my care.

The Corn Snake I have now will never die from being ran over or by the shovel an ignorant man uses and will probably live twice as long in my care than he would have left in the wild given his situation when I found him.
 
Old 06-03-2006, 07:36 PM   #10
Cflaguy
Great topic...

Cruisin is one of my favs. In Oviedo Fl. we would go an hour before nightfall, till an hour or so after. Unless it had rained. You could go all night in that case. In this part of Oviedo it was swamp. Yellow and Scarlett King heaven. Ribbons, Garters and water snakes all over as well.
If you feel so inclined, we would go out about two hours before sunrise as well from the end of May through August.
Today, I live near the Withlacoothchee State Park in Lakeland. Two good, not to busy roads go right through. Yellows, Corns, Banded Waters and Eastern Diamondbacks on a regular basis.
 

Join now to reply to this thread or open new ones for your questions & comments! Cornsnakes.com is the largest online community dedicated to cornsnakes . Registration is open to everyone and FREE. Click Here to Register!

Google
 
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Long time no...see? KatieL General Chit-Chat Forum 7 02-19-2006 04:23 PM
what time to feed frankie_b Miscellaneous Corn Snake Discussions 3 02-01-2006 07:58 AM
Total length of time MegF. Breeding/Egg Production & Care 3 01-20-2006 04:30 PM
I have learned a lot.....some VERY VALUABLE advice for the first time owner fsqwert Husbandry and Basic Care 5 11-13-2003 05:58 PM
I love this time of night... NCSUjle Behavior 1 07-21-2003 01:33 PM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 01:40 PM.





Fauna Top Sites
 

Powered by vBulletin® Version
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Page generated in 0.03707099 seconds with 10 queries
Copyright Rich Zuchowski/SerpenCo