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Weekend herping: Lifer and double-amputee wood turtle

TrpnBils

TrpnBils

22 is not enough snakes
I went out yesterday while I was visiting my parents and did some herping. I've been looking for Queen Snakes for several years with no luck (they're not common in my part of PA, but they're supposedly all over where my parents are from). We got five in two days and I've gotta say they're much better looking than I would've thought!

Another find was a ~7" wood turtle. I was a little shocked to see that it had no front legs...just barely visible stumps. It's been noted in a few field guides that this species tends to have extreme injuries more often than other species, but I've never seen anything like that before. Usually if I find a turtle that's got a missing limb, it's just missing a foot but can still walk on the stump. These front legs were gone. It was interesting to see it scoot itself along with its back legs though...

And of course there were the obligatory giant spiders while flipping rocks along the streams.
 

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Poor turtle! I love the pointy nose on the queen snake, is that for burrowing through leaf litter? (edit, it's for going under rocks! That's amazing!)
 
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Also got a couple of long-tailed salamanders in there
 

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diamondlil said:
Poor turtle! I love the pointy nose on the queen snake, is that for burrowing through leaf litter? (edit, it's for going under rocks! That's amazing!)
Click to expand...

It must be just from the angle of the photos or something, because they don't really have that pointy of a nose (not like a hognose or something). They only eat crayfish, so you usually find them in the water or under rocks within a few feet of the stream. Their head actually reminds me a little of a garter snake in shape.
 
Fantastic pics! That snake is something I have not seen before - very cool.
I feel so bad for that poor little turtle, but he looks like he has been doing ok considering his handicap.

Love the salamander too - there is just something about salamander pics - maybe their color against the rocks/moss - that always stand out to me.
 
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