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Field herping at Vero Beach FL???

CRIKEY!

CRIKEY!

New member
Hi,
My family and I are going to Vero Beach this summer for vacation and I’ve never been there before. So I was wondering if anyone knows where I could go snaking. I don’t want to bring any home, just want to take photos. Any tips?
Thanks! :D
 
Not sure how far that is from Cape Canaveral National Seashore but I have talked to people who have found wild cornsnakes there amongst others!
 
It all depends on the temps. I've field collected for decades, and one thing about corns is, outside of road hunting at night, they seems scarce when it's in the 90's! Your best bet would be to overturn logs, peel bark for hatchlings, and basically look under things! If you can find any old neglected property with no longer standing buildings, that's prime snake real estate. Tin is worth its weight in gold if an old barn or such has long since gone down. The main thing to remember is that if it is hot, hunt at night or just before sunrise if you are looking for moving corns. If it's under 85, roads and sunny spots can be productive. You mentioned that it will be summer, what month? Spring is the best time to catch them out and about in daylight, but you will find mostly males. Habitat is everything, even though you might see an odd corn in a neighborhood, it's the rural areas that are thick with them. Nothing beats getting permission from a landowner with some undeveloped acreage, but that's a hard "door-knock" to pull off to a stranger while on vacation.
 
The last time I was there, I found a few anoles, a ringneck, and a few skinks. Nothing too interesting, but I didn't have my camera along, anyways.
 
Last time I was in FL visiting the parents a white cotton found me. Road herping at dusk is always productive and like elrojo said look under things for sure your bound to find a few snakies.
 
elrojo said:
It all depends on the temps. I've field collected for decades, and one thing about corns is, outside of road hunting at night, they seems scarce when it's in the 90's! Your best bet would be to overturn logs, peel bark for hatchlings, and basically look under things! If you can find any old neglected property with no longer standing buildings, that's prime snake real estate. Tin is worth its weight in gold if an old barn or such has long since gone down. The main thing to remember is that if it is hot, hunt at night or just before sunrise if you are looking for moving corns. If it's under 85, roads and sunny spots can be productive. You mentioned that it will be summer, what month? Spring is the best time to catch them out and about in daylight, but you will find mostly males. Habitat is everything, even though you might see an odd corn in a neighborhood, it's the rural areas that are thick with them. Nothing beats getting permission from a landowner with some undeveloped acreage, but that's a hard "door-knock" to pull off to a stranger while on vacation.
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I'll be going August 26rd. Sounds like it will be too hot for corn catchin'. What time of night should I try?
 
Early morning. If the moon is less than 1/4, drive around earlier and check roads. Everyone disagrees on moon phases, but I am the one who is right.;)
 
I agree with Robbie *if* it cools down considerably after sunset. Just think like a snake -if it's hot as heck, and you take shade, you'd go out to warm if temps drop. If it's a muggy 85 degree night, you'll stay holed up at dusk. Rain can be a friend (esp. when lots of frogs on the road), or make snakes invisible. There's no clear-cut answer, but you will see something of a pattern to it. Probably the best advice of all is go riding around/looking where the human population is least dense.
 
Ok...I'll do it. I can't wait till August though. Meanwhile, I'll practice catching garters in my backyard this Spring. :crazy01:
 
RobbiesCornField said:
It's August 22nd and 23rd.
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That blows...fly into Orlando on the 26th. :awcrap: I'm taking the family to vero for 5 days then we are going the Animal Kingdom Lodge in Disney World for another week. It's going to be awesome! Hey, I wonder if there are some good herping locations in and around Kissimmee/Orlando?
 
CRIKEY! said:
That blows...fly into Orlando on the 26th. :awcrap: I'm taking the family to vero for 5 days then we are going the Animal Kingdom Lodge in Disney World for another week. It's going to be awesome! Hey, I wonder if there are some good herping locations in and around Kissimmee/Orlando?
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Check out Gator Land while you're there! It's pretty much right around the Orlando general area... ish. LOL.

www.gatorland.com
 
I went in 2003ish. It wasn't what it was when I last went back in my teens, not by a mile. But it's still a land of gators and you can't go wrong with that!






I may still have pictures, digging through folders now....
 
I wish I had mine, my parents have the Gatorland pictures. I love the one with me and a huge Galapagos tortoise.
 
Best road cruising window....

is March and April for Florida. If you're looking for Corns in particular in August half hour before and after dusk. If it is raining, or overcast get out and find some of those abandoned dwellings. On a rainy day you can find just about anything really.
Katie is right about the Canaveral National Seashore and there are some hiking trails on the outlying areas of the actual park. Tosohatchee State Park is on the banks of the St. Johns and extends 275,000 acres. Home of the biggest wild gator I've ever seen.
Maybe we can plan a trip to the Serpentarium in August.

Check out this thread (Merritt Island is one of those outlying areas I spoke about)and the rest of the site, South East Chapter, some good Florida threads.

http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=14831
 
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