florida Field herping

Dinah brings up a great point, just yesterday we had a steer killed by lightning, dropped him dead on the spot and let me tell ya an 800 pound steer requires a big hole to go in The afternoon thunder storms are by far the thing I fear the most while out in FL backcountry, the number of close calls I've had with almost being struck is unbelieveable. You can bet your bottom dollar this time of year that a storm will roll up every afternoon as long as your 20 miles inland, just last year I was out on the water in a marsh 30 miles from the boat ramp, our airboat ran hot on us so we whipped up under an oak hammock and 20 minutes later while waiting on the motor to cool there was a storm on top of us, lightning crashing all over the place, it scared me enough to try my luck crossing open water with an airboat (nothing you want to do, even on a calm day). I can't even count the number of gators I've had my hands on, I've bumped it to numerous just in the water without warning and only been bit once, he was only about a foot long and I made a rookie mistake.

really great pics, you must have a great location(s) in which to look.

Nice herp hide! Is that in your yard? I need snakes in my yard.
Ringnecks are so hard to find here!
You live in a very rich area, I would be out all of the time.

Originally Posted by alan

Nice herp hide! Is that in your yard? I need snakes in my yard.
Ringnecks are so hard to find here!
You live in a very rich area, I would be out all of the time.

I can go outside and russel the leaves for ten minutes or so and come up with a Ringneck.

Really, I hardly ever find them. I wouldn't mind being able to walk out of the house and find snakes.
You've got it too easy. While I can go less than a mile and a decent hike for snakes I've never seen a snake in my neighborhood, 20 years here.

Alan, you can try making your yard more snake friendly by making some places for them to hide, etc. But maybe you live in a city with small lots and there just aren't any snakes around anywhere.

I've always had snakes in the yard, because we lived in the country with 20 acres, back in MI, and now we only have one acre in the desert in AZ, but we still get to see some snakes. Sometimes they're rattlers though...

I've seen yellow rats and black racers and one cornsnake in my yard, and dug up a crowned snake under my front landing once. I didn't grow up in Florida, so I don't know _all_ the snakes, and the first juvie black racer I found I thought was a cornsnake hatchling (never having seen either!) He taught me how to differentiate between the two with my eyes closed, though!

Originally Posted by ratsnakehaven

Alan, you can try making your yard more snake friendly by making some places for them to hide, etc. But maybe you live in a city with small lots and there just aren't any snakes around anywhere.

I've always had snakes in the yard, because we lived in the country with 20 acres, back in MI, and now we only have one acre in the desert in AZ, but we still get to see some snakes. Sometimes they're rattlers though...

My yard would actually be very herp-friendly with the exception of my dogs, there are hide areas with a wide range of temps. The reason that they're not here is because it's a tight little neighborhood that doesn't offer much for a snake. The nearest constant source of water is 3/4 mile away and across a few roads and parking lots. I live near the confluence of the Occoquan and Potomac rivers in VA, an area very rich in snakes. I take pictures of snakes almost every weekend, but not on my street. Believe me, I would know. Even if a neighbor saw one they would let me know.
I think garters or ribbon snakes could live right here in limited numbers, but there aren't enough lizards and rodents to support anything larger, it's a fairly clean neighborhood . I've often wondered why I can find garters less than a mile away almost any time I want in the summer and I've never seen one in my little neighborhood in 20 years. They just don't come here.

Here's a little piece of our front yard...

...Snakes can live in or under wood piles and compost piles and other things, such as boards, rocks, and other human debris. Mostly they live underground though, so what attracts them are things like water, food, cool places to hang out...

My yard is the polar opposite! This is where I recently released a yellow ratsnake that was terrorizing a suburban neighborhood. (He was probably happier there, but the home owners weren't!)