herping in the Mojave desert

hey guys! i got back from the desert yesterday. it was awesome, i even caught a huge chuckwalla! he was 13 1/2in. long. i saw it first and i called my dad over. it had shot under a rock and you could only see its tail. my dad took a look at his tail and went, "holy s%*t! thats its tail!!?" lol, he was BIG lizard.

we saw 3 total and we also saw a collared lizard. we didnt stay long though. i have a chuckwalla 'spot' off the side of the road in the Mojave just south of Barstow now, lol. it's where we saw 2 of them. the other one was in the park.

i do have pics but we dont have the cord to put them on the comp., its at my dads work. i will have pics monday though!

Sounds like a great trip! Can't wait to see the pics, especially of that big fella!

DId you saw a mojave BP lol :D

aaw, i wish. lol. i actually didnt see a single snake. i was hoping to see a sidewinder but we didnt stay long so i not supprised we didnt see any snakes.

Do you ever see any leopard lizards out that way, Marshall? I have heard they they are one of the coolest lizards to watch in action.

Glad to hear your trip went well......where are the pics? LOL

i did see one when we stopped of the side of the highway, there's a lot of side-blotched lizards and great basin fence lizards out there too. im kinda bummed i didnt get to see any desert igs though:(

pics are coming, lol. Daniel, if you're ever out in Cali for any reason i would really encourage you to go lookin for chucks. they are the coolest lizards ive ever seen.

Marshall, sounds like you and your family had a great time.
I can't wait to see photos, ecspecially of the big guy!
Rusty

well it was just my dad and I but we had a blast. my mom and my sisters thought it would be too hot so they stayed home:P

i forgot to mention where we went, lol. thats a pretty significant thing to forget! anyways, it was Joshua Tree National Park. it was beautiful down there but any of you that plan on going herping there be careful. a snake hook is considered a 'trap' and its a hundred dollar fine. i didnt know this but luckily the ranger let me off with a warning.

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Originally Posted by mr~python

.... a snake hook is considered a 'trap' and its a hundred dollar fine. i didnt know this but luckily the ranger let me off with a warning.

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Wow, that's interesting. I would never have connected the two together...hooks and traps. I guess that's where you pull a "Steve Irwin" and just make your own "hook" out of whatever branches are handy. LOL