Guess the herp!

Well, I went herping last weekend with the kids at a semi-abandoned military base near Monterey (Ft. Ord). They have a lot of land designated as public space, but I didn't realize until later that the public was only supposed to bike/hike on the roads and not drive your car around. I guess that was what those barriers were that I drove around. :rolleyes:

Anyway, the herping was kind of a bust. At one point I thought I struck herp gold because I came across this field with a ton of corrugated tin roofing material all over the place, but we didn't find ONE reptile. :mad: The only one we did manage to find was this critter on the road as we were driving through. Being that I only found one, I thought I would make a guessing game out of this.

Can anyone guess the herp with the first picture?

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil.../0/2/Herp1.jpg

I don't know what it is but it's eye is following me around the room! :O

T-Rex?

-adam

gopher snake?

.....large ocular scales....rounded pupil.....brownish coloration...

....my first guess is a......coachwhip....

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Originally Posted by daniel1983

.....large ocular scales....rounded pupil.....brownish coloration...

....my first guess is a......coachwhip....

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OH DARN!!! can i change my guess? lol. i dont know. it could still be a gopher.

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

T-Rex?

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LOL.

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Originally Posted by mr~python

gopher snake?

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Winner Winner, F/T Rat Dinner!!

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil.../0/2/Herp2.jpg

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil.../0/2/Herp4.jpg

Pacific Gopher. Seems to be the most common snake around here. This guy was about 3.5 feet, and pretty friendly. I got him off the road and sent him on his way.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! cant beat a cali herper:P :cool: :banana:

thats funny that he was pretty friendly though. whenever i see gophers they usually wanna take my head off! excpet for the babies. they're usually really calm.

That was my second guess...LOL.....but I am at at disadvantage too.....I have never seen a gopher snake in person before ;) I need to schedule a trip out west :D

Good guess Marshall!

thanks Daniel. i want to go to louisiana to see some wild gators and timber rattle snakes

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Originally Posted by daniel1983

That was my second guess...LOL.....but I am at at disadvantage too.....I have never seen a gopher snake in person before ;) I need to schedule a trip out west :D

Good guess Marshall!

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That's okay, I've never seen a coachwhip. :) The three most common ones out here are the gopher, Cali king, and the common garternsake. I actually went out there looking for this little guy , the Monterey Ring-neck. Maybe next time...

That is a really nice looking ringneck. Be sure to snap a bunch of pictures when you find one. Is is a 'local only' ringneck?

Louisiana is bad for not having specific animals that are only found here. Most of LA reptiles are common other places too.....However, we are the 'crossroads' for a bunch of reptiles, so we have a very large variety of 'common' reptiles found in surrounding areas.

....and when you see a coachwhip.....grab ahold of it....and you will never forget the experience to follow :devilish:

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Originally Posted by daniel1983

....and when you see a coachwhip.....grab ahold of it....and you will never forget the experience to follow :devilish:

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LOL. I love a fiesty herp. :) The closest coachwhip in my area is about 60 miles east, and they have another species in Southern California.

That Ringneck is local to this area, but that picture seems to be an exceptional one. The other pics of the Monterey ringnecks seem to be a little more faded/orange.

I'd love to go to LA sometime and check out the reptiles. You may not have local ones, but you have a pretty nice selection of really cool ones.

Lawrence, have you ever been to Joshua Tree? im going there next weekend for a camping/herping trip and i want to catch some chuckwallas and desert iguanas. they have coachwhips down there too. ill definitely bring the digi-cam so everybody can see pics.

Nope, I've never been to Joshua Tree which is kind of strange for me because I've had countless trips to the S. Cal deserts. I usually go to Death Valley or Anza Borrego. I'm planning a trip to A.B. this Fall, but hopefully it won't be too cold for herping.

BTW, I saw a baby Chuckwalla this year near the Hoover Dam. First time I've ever seen one, and it was a pretty cool little bugger.

I can't wait to see the pics from your trip! This must be a great time to go, especially at night.

yeah, im looking forward to herping at night down there. i wanna see a desert rosy boa.

ive only been to Hoover Dam once when i was nine. too bad i wasnt into herps then as much as i am now or else id be all over the rocks finding chuckwallas, lol.

Oooh this seems like a cool game. Got any more?