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

LOL, yeah. Steve Irwins awesome. you're actually not supposed to 'harass' any of the animals in the park either. by harass i mean get close enough to the animal to where it reacts, thats what the ranger told us. i didnt know any of this and me and my dad were out there lookin for herps like nothin, LOL. so after that we just left the park and went herping on the side of the road (which was better anyways, haha).

http://www.weirdlist.com/board/images/smiles/pics.gif

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Originally Posted by mr~python

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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Is that a national park rule, a California state rule or just a J Tree rule?

And btw, you were about 45 minutes from me when you were in J Tree! /wave

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Originally Posted by elevatethis

http://www.weirdlist.com/board/images/smiles/pics.gif

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LOL, i know. ill have them later today.

cassandra, i dont know if it was a j. tree rule or what.

GOT EM!!!!
the big guy:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d1...reetrip007.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d1...reetrip011.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d1...eetrip0102.jpg

the collared lizard:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d1...eetrip0132.jpg

we went through yosemite on our way back, here's a pic of that:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d1...reetrip023.jpg

That guy is a beast!!! Great pics Marshall.

Those are hard to compete with......I'll have to get out in the swamp to take some pics this weekend :D

yeah, and he wasnt an easy beast to catch either! if my dad wasnt there i couldnt have got 'em. he was under like 2, 100 lb. boulders.

awesome, find a nice big gator for me!

Thats awesome man! I swear those lizards look so much like a Uromastyx...gotta be closely related somehow. I wish I had herping like that around here. The only reptiles I get see live in sterilite tubs in my room.....:(

i think you're right. i might have to do a little research on them.


me and my dad drove 10 hours just to see these lizards. now thats when you KNOW you're a herper. lol