Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Around the Campfire => Topic started by: NTD on May 26, 2010, 11:57:51 pm
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Been doing a lot of road herping lately. It's a 2 birds with one arrow situation. I get to go out and see snakes and collect skins and it puts my daughter right to sleep on her fussy nights. We have been focusing on sidewinder territory as both Frank and I are trying to get a young pair to work with. We found 3 yearlings in 10 days and about 12 adults, including 2 gravid females. I was able to get my young pair of sidewinders right away, Frank's still waiting on a female ;D
An in situ adult sidewinder
(http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l144/NDanforth83/009-6.jpg)
The male I kept. Yes that's a quarter next to him
(http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l144/NDanforth83/029-2.jpg)
(http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l144/NDanforth83/033-3.jpg)
The new babies' cage
(http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l144/NDanforth83/036-4.jpg)
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While out Frank brought us to go see one of the biggest saguaro's in AZ...Impressive eh?
(http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l144/NDanforth83/061-3.jpg)
And Mackenzie is doing great, She still has some issues but we understand that we will have a lifetime of health problems. SO we're gonna enjoy all the good stuff ;D She has started on real food. Scares the crap outta me that she is already eating. Going too quick!!
(http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l144/NDanforth83/049-4.jpg)
(http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l144/NDanforth83/054-2.jpg)
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You have a beautiful daughter, Nate.
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God bless you guys, and especially Mackenzie! What an absolute sweet heart! She is just adorable!
Wayne
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She's a pretty, sweet looking little girl, Nate. Cool snakes, too.
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what an adorable little girl!!! your collecting snakes?
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She is sure growing fast....and treasure every moment...because they will only come around once!
Nice Herps there Nate...we don't see Sidewinders here in the Panhandle...just Diamondbacks and Coontails....thats about it...besides the Adders...King.... Whips...Racers...and Bullsnakes
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Thanks Guys!!! It's been a relief to have her doing so well.
Aero, I've always maintained a large collection of captive bred exotic reptiles. I've had an albino western diamondback now for a year and half. Always been fascinated with sidewinders so decided to find a pair of babies to raise up and eventually breed. I've read a few accounts now of maternal care in crotalids and I'd like to work with sidewinders and see the potential for that behavior with this species. My friend Frank and his field partner Hugh McCrystal have documented this behavior in C. lepidus and C. willardi, both in captivity and in the wild.
I don't usually collect wild herps but here in AZ the only legal way for me to keep sidwinders is gifted from someone else or field collected by myself. These animals were found on the road and very likely would have been squished at some point, not guranteed but likely.
Mike,
When you talk about coontails are you talking about prairie rattlers or mojaves? I know a lot of species are described as coontails, just curious what you see specifically.
We have 13 species of rattlesnake here. On the roads you usually are only going to find Western Diamonbacks and Mojaves. You can occasionally find Blacktails and Tigers and Sidewinders, but they have very specific habitat and you have to kind of look for them on specific roads. Longnoses and Gophers are also VERY common.
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I guess I am talking about Prairie rattlers...this one swallowed a Bunny....... :P
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Oh no.... prairies are little, at least compared to those guys. Them there are western diamondbacks (C. atrox). I want to see what your calling DB's ;D ;) The neat thing about rattlesnakes is that individual species are so variable in color/pattern even within a population not to mention locality differences. Mojaves and Diamondbacks can be tough to differentiate, especially in my area where it has been suspected they are hybridizing. We find a lot of mojaves that look DBish and BD's that look mojaveish. If you notice my DB's that i sent you look nothing like a lot of the guys in Texas and Midwest have but they're still DB's.
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My Bad......... :-[....meant Prairie Rattler....Coontails are the Local Diamondbacks...here is one of a Prairie Rattler on the Road in September of 2007
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Ah there we go ;D That's a great pic. Very dark animal. Thanks for the pics Mike!