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Difficulty finding herps!

E

elliotulysses

New member
As a kid, I was able to effortlessly find at least a garter by the train tracks. Now, that I have more knowledge on where to look it is like they have all disappeared! Any advice to a guy interested in some observation?

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I know the feeling. I used to find black rat snakes, racers, queen snakes, ribbon snakes, garter snakes, and green snakes all the time as a kid. Now for the past few years I've been having horrible luck trying to find anything. I sometimes find garter snakes and water snakes. But that's usually all I find besides frogs, toads and salamanders.

I do however have better luck anywhere between 3-5am on warm nights. Also if it has rained a lot all day and then cleared up at night I'll manage to find something.
 
It depends on what I'm looking for, but around here, I flip logs, wood, debris. I usually find snakes under something. If you have property, put out sheets of tin -they love it!

I used to catch scores of greensnakes every summer (often in boxwoods) and seldom see one anymore. I don't know if they are less common, or if it was just a matter of me spending many hours every day outside!
 
Be persistent. I have a lot of days where nothing pops up at all, then one day I was wandering down a trail NOT looking for herps and BAM!

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I've only found 3 snakes under logs in my lifetime. A pair of adult foxsnakes and an eastern milksnake that was in blue. But I still flip them just in case :)
 
This year, we've seen snakes more randomly-the earth snakes that we had under every rock and leaf last year are much less common, and we haven't seen any ringnecks yet, but we had a ribbon just basking on a sidewalk, and everyone seems to be seeing (and snapping pictures of) rat snakes except us. We've had really erratic weather-it's hot a few days and then it gets cold again, so maybe now that it's really warming up and heading into summer it will be more reliable.
 
Agreed, cool sunny days are when they seem to bask.
 
I've only found one snake ever in Ohio, till today! Someone spotted a black rat 15 feet up on top of a dead tree "stump," sitting in the sun. I don't know how you'd ever be looking up there, much less get lucky enough to spot a snake!
 
Only thing I ever find under rocks and logs are salamanders and bugs. Mainly ants...

I used to have copperheads in my back field because we have piles of lumber where some old barns fell down. I go out looking through the piles and all I ever find are rabbits. Haven't found a copperhead in years.

I have some pieces of tin out in the field too. Some out in the open some next to the forest. Used to find black racers under tin, but haven't seen one of those either for many years.

About two years ago I manged to see a big fat black rat snake basking in my driveway one morning and the same year I found some baby ring necks on a rocky hillside. Of course no camera in hand.

I managed to find some fence lizards running around on the side of a mountain while driving down the road. If there weren't cars behind me I would have stopped. There was no room to pull over. First time I've seen fence lizards even though they are supposed to be common.
 
Thank all of you for the suggestions. Especially about tin, I hadn't thought of that, but in the area I'm exploring, there is a lot of tall grass and rotted wood and rocks, so it *should* be snake country. I have only found some american toads! I will still be persistant and go on walks in the summer. I like to go on nature trails, something me and my fiance's mom share. Unfortunately, that sort of thing bores my fiance to death! Until then we will take short walks to the old railroad tracks and see what we can spot :p
 
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