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Field Herping in Florida...

CaptBogart

CaptBogart

False Prophet
When is the best time to herp in Central west coast Florida? I guess it would be February/March after brumation but our weather is weird as it's already into the 70's/80's, or is just a week of warm weather not enough to get them out and about?
 
If you want to road cruise at dusk, you usually do better in the later spring when the nights are warmer, although we sometimes get warm nights in the middle of winter. Start cruising on a warm night, just before dusk until about an hour after dark for best results.

But if you want to look under boards, in old buildings (often in the keel under the place where the roof halves join), or up in palms at the edge of agricultural areas, then it is often easier to find them in winter and early spring when they may be "holed up" (esp. when "in the blue") than to see them out crawling around. If you go out on a sunny winter morning when it is just starting to warm up after a chilly night, you may find them on top of their boards or other hiding places catching some rays. That is also a great time to find Fl. kings sunning themselves on the canal banks in the sugarcane fields around Lake "O".

It all just depends on the temps, amount of sunshine, and time of day.
 
I went field herping all last night, im in Dade. You know what i found? <br><br><b>Mosquitos.</b><br><br> A lil early in the year I think. I'm gonna try the keys on friday or saturday, but I think we'd have more luck around march-may.
 
Wanted to share some of my experience..
when out looking for snakes i bring an L shaped metal pole which i use to lift up debris on the ground..you don't wanna try and flip over a piece of plywood with your bare hands which happens to be sheltering a nursing scorpion with 50 babies on her back, or you inadvertently flip off a diamondback rattler. The L thing comes in handy for lifting stuff up, picking up snakes, or pinning snakes so u can grab em behind their heads. Great places to peek under: Discarded rugs/carpet/clothing is my fav. cover to search for. Someone mentioned on another thread about scattering pieces of tin around on the ground, I wasn't sure if they meant aluminum or tin, us americans use the 2 words interchangably. Although i suppose a tin would work better..yeah leave them around near some real choice snakey places, they may seek the tins out for a source of warmth. Wooden boards, illegal dumping grounds, abandoned buildings. As far as daytime herping goes, good luck to you..most snakes seem to just hide during the day, you will definitely have more luck seeing them around dusk. Someone else suggested baiting them with a 2L bottle with a mouse inside and the neck flipped in to make a lil trap..i doubt its effectiveness but its worth a try i suppose. A wood box with a trap door using a light spring would work better...until you find yourself trying to release a poisonous snake from a confined space! Don't forget to watch where you walk, and wear some boots that provide decent ankle/lower leg protection..accidents do happen, take your time and be cautious when out in the wilderness..bring a cell phone, some water, maybe a first aid kit.
 
thankyou all for the tips... I definitely wasnt goign to be flipping anything over with my bare hands, but I think I'll go out and get an L shape sometime in the near future (when I have the cash). I'll defintiely bookmark this for now until maybe march and get a bunch of people to join me on my expedition..
 
I'm no expert on field herping, especially in Florida, but I was there last April over spring break with a class of about 20 other people. We found or saw at least a dozen snakes as well as countless other things (though we never captured that armadillo :rolleyes: but almost!). Granted several of them were banded water snakes, a couple of black racers, an everglades rat, one corn, and some others that got away! We also did get to see one cottonmouth from a few feet away, which was probably for the best.

I guess the moral of the story is that mid-April is definitely a good time to be out and about.

FWIW, most of what we found was in the Cape Canaveral National Seashore vicinity, but we certainly saw plenty of other things in other parts of the state.
 
wow great find, I've been looking for a decent hook thingy for years now..up until now I've been making my own..using galvanized pipe, 90° elbows, broom handles, whatever works. I'll be ordering one soon. :D
 
If you have a place you can put them out automobile hoods work great. Set them out and rodents make a home under them, where there are rodents there are snakes. We use them here with an isolated group of great plains garters for collection and study. You can even bait the under side with a little dog food. Mice love it.

When you go to the salvage yard ask for old hoods that can't be repaired, we get them for $3 each, bend up a corner so you have an easy handle or attach an eye bolt which you can insert your new hook into. Just make sure to put them back in the same palce so you don't disturb the mice colonies or the snakes. They leave but we have observed animals return in as little as 5 minutes after we vacate.

All kinds of snakes will use them so use caution when flipping. Also keep an eye out on approach they occasionally sun on top.

Good Luck
 
A little tip on flipping boards, tin, logs etc. If you find what you are looking for underneath it is because conditions are right for it to be underneath, so please replace everything you flip or move right back the way you found it :*)
 
I'd also like to point out that when flipping over anything on the ground, lift up from the side facing away from you. This way you greatly reduce your chances of something being able to lash out at you when exposed.
 
I have a lot of tips but I have been far too busy to type them out (55 hour work weeks) but here are a few. You can email me for more specific info..

Road Cruising: Time of year matters only for one thing, what species you will find.
NOTE: This is a broad list and from first hand experience, habitat, temperature humidity, barometric pressure, precipitation all affect actual finds.
Spring: Corns, Yellow Rats, Kingsnakes, Eastern Diamond Backs, Cotton Mouths, Pygmy rattlers, Rough Green snakes, Racers, Waters, Ribbons, Ring necks, Brown snakes, Garters, Frogs, Toads

Summer: Corns, Yellow Rats, Kingsnakes, Eastern Diamond Backs, Cotton Mouths, Pygmy rattlers, Rough Green snakes, Racers, Waters, Ribbons, Ring necks, Brown snakes, Garters, Frogs, Toads, Indigo Snakes (June, July, August are best)

Fall: Corns, Yellow Rats, Kingsnakes, Cotton Mouths, Rough Green snakes, Racers, Waters, Ribbons, Ring necks, Brown snakes, Garters, Frogs, Toads

Winter:Corns, racers, Waters, Ribbons, Ring necks, Garters, Frogs, Toads

Best conditions I have found are when it has rained within the last week preferably 1-3 days before hand. The daytime high was 75F or greater, High Barometric pressure (No near by lows/hurricanes), Habitat also plays a major role.

Field Herping:
Strong hooks are a must! The information above is helpful for conditions. Watch your hands/toes! Check under anything that can be flipped boards, tin, fallen trees, cut grass, garbage, cut compact foliage, rocks, etc. Another couple good things to check are hollow trees, by water, trees ate chest/waist height. Things that have been laying around for a while especially in piles are best. Never under estimate where you might find a snake hiding, inside of things such as hollow stumps, buildings, boxes, tires/tubes, carpeting.

Again if you want more specific feel free to email.
 
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I got a call from a friend at work last night. His wife was out to water her plant and burrowed in the pot was a corn. It is now sitting in a pillowcase on my desk for me to take home this afternoon. I all so found one on the side of a house a little while back. It was in the joints on the brick weaving its way up the side of the house. Some one all so told me that behind the shutters on a house is another good place to look.
 
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