Herpin in the Mojave desert

cj65

cj65

Joined
Aug 30, 2008
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I hope this is the best place for this thread. My buddy (the guy in the glasses) is a great guide. He said last weekend was perfect for the Mojave desert. He swears me to secrecy, so I cannot tell you exactly, but as I learn, you can find these guys off I-14 north of Rosamond in Mojave, not too far from California City. I am the ugly one with the baggy eyes. We herped from 5 PM til midnight. We found alive- 2 Glossy snakes, 2 Rosy Boas, one gopher snake (high desert species), and one gravid King snake brown and yellow, she was beatiful. We let her go as we did most of what you see here. I will probably let the Rosy and the one Glossy go in a month or two. The kids were wanting to take them home, and my buddy keeps telling me they live in captivity longer than in the wild. All of these guys were found on the road at night. We also found, one dead gopher, and one dead long nose snake. I enjoy the rush of this sport, but really enjoy walking them off the road and letting them go, hoping they do not get hit. It really is a matter of being at the right place at the right time. My boys think I am cool for going herping with them, I also scoped out some quail and chukar spots too! Hope you enjoy these beautiful species as I did.

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2.5 hrs. and no snakes yet. Really have to wait til dark for these guys. My Surefire was quite the torch. Yukon by GMC has been a great vehicle for us, bought it used.

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First Glossy snake of the evening, probably around 10 PM.
The belly is creamy white and the markings on the back are wonderful. This is the first of this species I have ever seen.
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Here is the high desert gopher snake, which is very different on the markings than our local species.
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This was the highlight of my night. This king snake was almost 5' long. I am 6'4.5" tall, so hope that gives some scale to the size of this one. She was probably preggers, aka gravid. We were very gentle, and walked her way off the road.
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My buddy really wanted a female rosy boa, and we got her as we released the king. It was almost a thank you from God. He raises and breeds some species and repopulates alot of areas. You can see what a nutbag my friend is, he gets real high off this sport! :D
I felt like a kid, and was just as excited as we rolled up onto a snake. Below is a Rosy and the kingsnake.
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Nice...they outlawed herping on the roadways in Texas in 2007. We've been fighting them ever since. I've decided that if I'm in the need for some herping, I'm coming out to AZ or CA.
 
In CA, a fishing license is required. I just about always have a current fishing license. I hear AZ has some great diversity. I like the fact that we saw so many various species.
 
cj65 said:
In CA, a fishing license is required. I just about always have a current fishing license. I hear AZ has some great diversity. I like the fact that we saw so many various species.
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AZ has some very cool spps. I went out there a few years ago and had a blast. I've been to CA as well (and bought a fishing license). I hunted white water road and some mountain passes; lots of fun. Here's some stuff from my last AZ trip:
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and a cool scorpion :)
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and the last thing I thought I'd see in the middle of the desert, a dragonfly:
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I may head out to AZ and CA in a couple of weeks if I'm lucky. I need to get the herping bug outta my system for the year :)
Jason
 
I heard White water and tram road are a blast also in the low desert. My dad has a place in Indian Wells. I need to go herping there too! I learned my lesson, I am not taking anything home. I will let nature feed themselves. It does a much better job. The glossy is not eating, and I may have to make another trek up and let it go. The rosy is proving to be a good pet, I may keep that one, but only one. My buddy wants a 50/50 king snake, they are pretty cool looking. I was hoping to see the high desert markings on the king, but we got brown and golden tan like in Ventura Co. My buddy was not aware they were up there. I like the dark brown and light yellow ones in the high desert. Maybe next time we will see one of those.

You are a great photographer! If you make it out to So Cal, send me a PM, and if my busy schedule allows, I may join you. Great AZ herpin photos.

I took a pic of a centipede, sort of like your scorpion pic. Herpin minds think alike.

It is a sickness, when I get the urge, and the conditions are right, I almost have to go. I tell my wife to come, knowing she probably does not want to go, but that I need to go. She thinks I am a bit nuts, maybe I am. It is alot of fun.

I found a coastal horned lizard in Simi Valley not 2 miles from my home. I did not let the kids touch it. I did not want to harass him at all. I think they are a tad rare, and wonderful to see.
 
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