Look What I Caught! (pics)

Hi everybody. About two weeks ago i went hiking at a local (small) mountain with my girlfriend. While she was lookin at the view i was lookin for herps. I found a vernal with jefferson salamander egg masses and an american toad on the hike up. I told my girlfriend that i wanted to find some reptiles particular a snake, i said to her idealy a black rat. No sooner did i say that that a garter snake shot by and i grabbed it. It was okay, put up an impressive display but nothin to stop the press about. We were almost done with the hike then right next to the edge of the path and my foot was an AWSOME black rat, in shed. He was hissy but really cool. Hope ya enjoy the pics.
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...4831Medium.jpg
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...4843Medium.jpg
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...4841Medium.jpg
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...4839Medium.jpg
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...4837Medium.jpg

Thanks for peekin!

~mike

Awesome find! What a beaut...he's not been going hungry, hehe!

Awesome.

It's almost identical to the one I caught in VA when I was like 13.

good stuff.

Very cool did he try to bite you?

Very nice find! He's gorgeous!:)

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Originally Posted by cassandra

Awesome find! What a beaut...he's not been going hungry, hehe!

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no not at all, very chunky!

~mike

nice! :)

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Originally Posted by N4S

Awesome.

It's almost identical to the one I caught in VA when I was like 13.

good stuff.

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Yea i caught a bigger one about a year ago that was gorgeous!

~mike

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Originally Posted by Emilio

Very cool did he try to bite you?

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He struck once when i first grabbed him, i expected him to since he was in shed. i did use a short stick to keep her head away at first then she/he relaxed and was a bit more handle able.

~mike

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Originally Posted by Blu Mongoose

Very nice find! He's gorgeous!:)

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yea amazing that a snake like that could be just sitting next to a well traveled path. Lots of people had been walking by him some with dogs.

~mike

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Originally Posted by python.princess

nice! :)

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y thank you!

~mike

Great catch Mike. A bigun for sure. It would be nice to see that one right after that shed.

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Originally Posted by muddoc

Great catch Mike. A bigun for sure. It would be nice to see that one right after that shed.

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Thanks, the one i got a year ago was a bit bigger than that i will see if i can scrounge up a pic and post it. Yea she would be crazy!!

~mike

Here's the pic of me last year with another black rat, a little bigger and a tad more aggressive. I was lookin for copperheads and found this guy at the den site (plus 2 copperheads).

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...2899Medium.jpg

~mike

Gorgeous. Besides copperheads, black rat snakes are my favorite snake in North America. Great shot. You guys actually have black rats over there, the ones we find here are black with a lot of red, orange, and pint inbetween the scales. I could post it here if you don't mind.

Also, where are you in Connecticut? We are going there this summer and I would love to find a place to go herping

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Originally Posted by Pork Chops N' Corn Bread

Gorgeous. Besides copperheads, black rat snakes are my favorite snake in North America. Great shot. You guys actually have black rats over there, the ones we find here are black with a lot of red, orange, and pint inbetween the scales. I could post it here if you don't mind.

Also, where are you in Connecticut? We are going there this summer and I would love to find a place to go herping

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Sure man post away!! I would love to see a black rat with those colors!!

I am in East Windsor up in northern CT. I haven't seen any other snakes here other than garters and browns. I have to travel a bit to find some good herp spots. Though there are two female snappers that nest in my neighbors mulch every year, and tonight was the night she was on the move. I love snappers. But black rats are awsome!!

~mike

nice find, i never seem to find anything like that when im in the woods.. wish i did. but i probably wont have my camera anyways.. very nice though..

Well heres the black rat I caught here last year. Just about every shot of black rats I see in the area, they have the colors.

http://pic15.picturetrail.com/VOL591.../175854200.jpg

http://pic15.picturetrail.com/VOL591.../175854241.jpg

http://pic15.picturetrail.com/VOL591.../175854277.jpg

by the way, we will be in Hartford from July 3rd to the 10th I think. Not sure how far that is from where you are

Sweet Mike...thanks for sharing :gj:


I have never seen an all black snake in the wild, must be so iridescent :eek:

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Originally Posted by Pork Chops N' Corn Bread

by the way, we will be in Hartford from July 3rd to the 10th I think. Not sure how far that is from where you are

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Hartford is 17 minutes from my house on Rt 91. I am like 5-10 min from the mass boarder. Exit 45 on 91. Let me know when you'l be in the area if you want to go herpin, alot of places are developed, but there are still some spots around.

~mike

P.S. That black rat is crazy awsome!

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Originally Posted by cueball

Sweet Mike...thanks for sharing :gj:


I have never seen an all black snake in the wild, must be so iridescent :eek:

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Yea they are fairly common where you find em. This was was VERY blue (it was crazy color with the black base color) because of the shed. But yea they do have a cool shine!

~mike

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Originally Posted by jar2476

i never seem to find anything like that when im in the woods.

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:8:

I wonder why...

just sayin'

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Originally Posted by wildlifewarrior

Hartford is 17 minutes from my house on Rt 91. I am like 5-10 min from the mass boarder. Exit 45 on 91. Let me know when you'l be in the area if you want to go herpin, alot of places are developed, but there are still some spots around.

~mike

P.S. That black rat is crazy awsome!

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That would be pretty cool to take a day and go herpin. I'd really like to find a copperhead up there. I have only found one in the wild and sadly it was a roadkill.

Awsome, thats a good sized one too! All the black rats ive found have been small.:)

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Originally Posted by Pork Chops N' Corn Bread

That would be pretty cool to take a day and go herpin. I'd really like to find a copperhead up there. I have only found one in the wild and sadly it was a roadkill.

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Yea the copperheads are scarce around here and are tough to find. I found one an hour and a half ish from my house at the same place where i found that black rat a year ago. here are some pics of them. one was in a crack and one was sunning

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...2908Medium.jpg
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...2907Medium.jpg

~mike

Awesome!!! I'm actually excited about coming up there now lol

There were tickets to Florida for cheaper and I really wanted to go there but I'll settle for Connecticut

Gorgeous! What a great hike. And what luck with the copperhead, too.

Arent copperheads venemous? The ones here are Copperhead Rattle Snakes or Copperhead Moccassins and they are very venemous but dont know much bout the northern snakes.

Yes, venemous. But more scared of us, I think.