Search found 135 matches

by Tom
September 19th, 2016, 11:39 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Where to herp in India?
Replies: 9
Views: 5374

Re: Where to herp in India?

I had a great herpetological experience herping in the Western Ghats of southwest India. It's especially a hotbed for amphibians, but the reptile diversity is also fantastic. It would help to have a guide while you're there to assist with navigating and language issues. It's also advisable to plan ...
by Tom
April 24th, 2016, 4:03 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Traveling the east coast of Australia
Replies: 1
Views: 1439

Re: Traveling the east coast of Australia

My only real experience of herping Australia so - this may be stating the obvious - rent a car, and preferably one with a decent range. To be honest, cruising Australia is easy - there's an abundance of good roads in good habitat with little traffic. You won't always find what you want but you're al...
by Tom
January 21st, 2016, 1:53 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Post your 1 best photo from 2015!
Replies: 61
Views: 49345

Re: Post your 1 best photo from 2015!

Ummm.... can we get a full story on this one!
kkchome wrote: Image
by Tom
January 18th, 2016, 1:09 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Odds and ends: Philippines, Australia, Thailand, Morocco
Replies: 4
Views: 3163

Re: Odds and ends: Philippines, Australia, Thailand, Morocco

Some beautiful photos of beautiful creatures, but the platypus shot may have been the coolest of all! Great post and wonderful photography. Lots of great snake and lizard shots in there. I really like the platypus shot too. Thanks for sharing. Roki As you can probably see, my effort into photograph...
by Tom
January 17th, 2016, 12:05 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Odds and ends: Philippines, Australia, Thailand, Morocco
Replies: 4
Views: 3163

Odds and ends: Philippines, Australia, Thailand, Morocco

The past year I've been working hard and haven't had the time to do as many trips as I'd like. Nonetheless I did manage to spend a few days in Morocco and Thailand. I've also included some old photographs from 2014 (Philippines and Australia) that would otherwise never get uploaded. I'll skip the na...
by Tom
August 26th, 2015, 1:39 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Lizards Eating Insects and other Animals
Replies: 22
Views: 7913

Re: Lizards Eating Insects and other Animals

Thanks for the input and so far its clear that the lizards presented have targeted and dispatched substantially larger prey items than the canonized recommendation of captive feeding practices - ie; sizing between the span of eye to eye. This is another example so far of how herp photography of wil...
by Tom
March 20th, 2015, 11:01 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Black Mamba Catch and Release, KwaZulu-Natal
Replies: 22
Views: 5800

Re: Black Mamba Catch and Release, KwaZulu-Natal

I think this preference comes down to how we usually find snakes - I do a lot of walking, usually abroad (so packing these things would be tough, as would washing them between captures) and I find a wide variety of snakes sizes. Perhaps a middle ground could be to put moss into bags to make the anim...
by Tom
March 19th, 2015, 11:50 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Black Mamba Catch and Release, KwaZulu-Natal
Replies: 22
Views: 5800

Re: Black Mamba Catch and Release, KwaZulu-Natal

Thinking practically though, snakes come in such a range of sizes - the probability of the specially designed box with a hide inside being the correct size for the snake in question is slim - much of the time they'll either be rattling around inside, or won't be able to fit (as you know, snakes like...
by Tom
March 18th, 2015, 2:38 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Black Mamba Catch and Release, KwaZulu-Natal
Replies: 22
Views: 5800

Re: Black Mamba Catch and Release, KwaZulu-Natal

Great photos, one day I will find myself a black mamba! As for providing water, for short term (less than 24 hours) I'd actually disagree. In these situations (in my opinion), the benefit from some water/leaves would be outweighed by the additional stress of being taken out of a bag, put in the cage...
by Tom
December 2nd, 2014, 3:37 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Water Snake using tail as lure?
Replies: 10
Views: 5329

Re: Water Snake using tail as lure?

Doesn't look like caudal luring to me - anything attracted by that scale of movement is more likely to be predator than prey. However as you say in the video it looks like it's using its tail to scare fish into its mouth. Erpeton (tentacled snakes) are the only species I know to do this - and they a...
by Tom
September 21st, 2014, 2:10 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo 2014
Replies: 13
Views: 6795

Re: Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo 2014

Excellent, thanks Jeff. That was our guess too (the scale and pattern counts matched) but it was so different to the one I saw in the Congo that we wanted to check. It was also at an unusually low elevation. We also saw a dead scabra nearby, it'd be interesting to know how their niches differ. And R...
by Tom
September 21st, 2014, 1:19 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo 2014
Replies: 13
Views: 6795

Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo 2014

A few months ago a friend and I spent some time travelling around Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. We had rented a 4x4 and had a loose plan of where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see. Finding reptiles wasn’t a focus since there’s so much other spectacular wildlife and sce...
by Tom
July 15th, 2014, 9:48 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Road Cruising Regulations
Replies: 3
Views: 1792

Road Cruising Regulations

Hi guys, I'm from the UK but will soon be spending some time in Texas and plan to spend a night or two road-cruising (I've been fortunate enough to hae been given a couple of roads to try), but I'm struggling to decipher the regulations regarding this - being foreign the last thing I want to do is e...
by Tom
June 9th, 2014, 6:10 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: European snake ID needed, please!
Replies: 4
Views: 1594

Re: European snake ID needed, please!

The picture's not ideal but it looks like a Natrix natrix to me, since there's a white and black ring around the neck.
by Tom
March 31st, 2014, 3:58 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Bimini - A shark lover's paradise
Replies: 21
Views: 8994

Re: Bimini - A shark lover's paradise

Fantastic photos - hammerheads, tigers ans bulls are the next sharks I want to see. Amazing post, good herp content but the underwater photography eclipses it! Really amazing stuff, so many cool sharks and outstanding underwater images. It makes me really excited as Im getting Padi certified in a fe...
by Tom
February 6th, 2014, 1:24 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Questions and Advice on Komodo National Park
Replies: 6
Views: 2528

Re: Questions and Advice on Komodo National Park

This is copied from an old post, but my advice would stay the same: "Booking tours out of country can be expensive. My plan would be to fly to Labuan Bajo (you can get a ferries/buses but it takes a long time - just beware that the flights are also often unreliable and won't fly in bad weather)...
by Tom
October 26th, 2013, 3:14 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Yunnan herping 2013
Replies: 15
Views: 5109

Re: Yunnan herping 2013

Incredible - I'd love to hear the stories behind the Azemiops and the rhino ratsnake...!
by Tom
September 17th, 2013, 1:52 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Komodo Island
Replies: 5
Views: 2178

Re: Komodo Island

Booking tours out of country can be expensive. My plan would be to fly to Labuan Bajo (you can get a ferries/buses but it takes a long time - just beware that the flights are also often unreliable and won't fly in bad weather) - it only takes an hour. Then get a taxi and walk around the port asking ...
by Tom
August 27th, 2013, 12:12 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Hognose? questionable photo
Replies: 33
Views: 10732

Re: Hognose? questionable photo

The head looks like a hognose to me, I wouldn't take too much notice of the body shape.
by Tom
August 5th, 2013, 6:07 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Final West Malaysia Adventure - July 2013
Replies: 14
Views: 10494

Re: Final West Malaysia Adventure - July 2013

So Rupert's said it all really, but since me and Nick spent a couple of days before and after on islands (mainly to relax and sit on the beach), that yielded a couple of things when we could motivate ourselves to leave the bars and some of the awesome restaurants. First stop was Pulau Pangkor, which...
by Tom
June 20th, 2013, 4:10 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: How many snakes of the year?
Replies: 23
Views: 5433

Re: How many snakes of the year?

Last year, 100+ of 15+ genera. This year (so far): 0 :cry:
by Tom
April 17th, 2013, 1:47 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Bornean Earless Lizard (Lanthanotus borneensis)
Replies: 41
Views: 25653

Re: Bornean Earless Lizard (Lanthanotus borneensis)

Thought I'd update this with a picture that popped up on my newsfeed, taken at I-Zoo in Japan. They seem to have managed to bring one (or more?) into captivity... https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/525384_613198775375206_1633802818_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hph...
by Tom
March 15th, 2013, 8:25 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Bog Turtles mentioned in Nature
Replies: 16
Views: 5300

Re: Bog Turtles mentioned in Nature

As far as I can tell (and I haven't read the paper, so what do I know), they've calculated this MVP by looking at the spread of breeding success, and extrapolated the probability of non-extinction over the next 100 years. It's a mathematical certainty that smaller populations experience more demogra...
by Tom
March 10th, 2013, 2:52 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Excursion to Edinburgh (any advice on Scottish herping?)
Replies: 10
Views: 2761

Re: Excursion to Edinburgh (any advice on Scottish herping?)

If you're going via a London airport and have a spare couple of hours I can (almost, weather dependent) guarantee showing you some adders.
by Tom
February 22nd, 2013, 9:25 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Borneo Dispatches #65: IMS (Insane Mimicry Spider) ID PLEASE
Replies: 17
Views: 7780

Re: Borneo Dispatches #65: IMS (Insane Mimicry Spider) ID PL

Spectacular Hans. :beer: This is a find from my trip to Borneo in 2009. Found in Sabah, a little way from Kota Kinabalu. It appears to be a species of Arachnura or Poltys (that was the genus last time I looked), but I've never been able to pin the species down, nor seen a photo of anything truly sim...
by Tom
December 16th, 2012, 1:11 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Part II: When I herp; I feel His pleasure.
Replies: 56
Views: 29667

Re: Part II: When I herp; I feel His pleasure.

There is nothing unscientific about Awe Nor is there anything anti-religious about science, as Tom, Tamara and others have pointed out. ;) With the caveat that I hope your post doesn't trigger a whole bunch of religious proselytizing here (said proselytizing certainly having happened here at variou...
by Tom
December 15th, 2012, 2:49 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Part II: When I herp; I feel His pleasure.
Replies: 56
Views: 29667

Re: Part II: When I herp; I feel His pleasure.

Fantastic pictures and finds, I managed to get an EDB during a short visit to Florida last June, but missed out on the hognose and coachwhip. I get the same frisson/feeling of awe when looking at a creature/ecosystem, but without any belief in a higher power. People are hard-pressed not to enjoy the...
by Tom
December 3rd, 2012, 4:04 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: 'My Life as a Turkey'
Replies: 20
Views: 4779

Re: 'My Life as a Turkey'

If I remember correctly, a member of this forum provided the snakes/snake-handling for the film. It was excellently done.
by Tom
November 15th, 2012, 3:19 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Some recent pictures- Khao Yai National Park
Replies: 5
Views: 1742

Re: Some recent pictures- Khao Yai National Park

Magnificent :thumb:

Good to see both you and the siamensis are doing well!
by Tom
November 13th, 2012, 5:05 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Yay: I rediscovered a snake thought lost for over a century
Replies: 32
Views: 8538

Re: Yay: I rediscovered a snake thought lost for over a cent

Congratulations, always good to rediscover something! Wait until you have to read Biostatistical Analysis (Zar 1999) though - it's thrilling :lol:
by Tom
November 9th, 2012, 5:55 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Snake Tongs - Satan's Side Arm or God's Gift to Herpers?
Replies: 23
Views: 10991

Re: Snake Tongs - Satan's Side Arm or God's Gift to Herpers?

The more tools you have at your disposal, the better - providing you know how to use them. I've used everything from padded tweezers to padded tongs, pinning sticks and hooks for different situations. Personally, I'm not a fan of the pilstrom type tongs as they're very harsh, nor of people using the...
by Tom
November 8th, 2012, 12:23 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Borneo Dispatches #58: The things you roadcruise in Borneo
Replies: 20
Views: 6465

Re: Borneo Dispatches #58: The things you roadcruise in Born

Magnificent. :thumb:

And I agree - primates are far more terrifying than any krait or cobra.
by Tom
October 1st, 2012, 1:26 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Indonesia and Komodo Dragons
Replies: 6
Views: 3970

Re: Indonesia and Komodo Dragons

Awesome report - took me back to when I was there, and your story telling was hilarious :lol: Shame you missed out on the pythons at the cave, a friend was there about 3 weeks ago and they managed to find ten pythons (though no monsters) and two green pitvipers, but I think there's a lot of luck inv...
by Tom
September 22nd, 2012, 2:28 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Snakes! Why did it have to be Snakes?
Replies: 8
Views: 2690

Re: Snakes! Why did it have to be Snakes?

It's 100% King Cobra, though to be fair they (at least last time I visited) kept black mambas in the adjacent enclosure. I think it's a Malaysian specimen.
Other than that, nice article.
by Tom
September 4th, 2012, 7:19 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Questions For Komodo Island Veterans!
Replies: 11
Views: 4232

Re: Questions For Komodo Island Veterans!

Thanks so much Tom!!! I checked out that youtube video. :| Wow.. That guy need to chill. :thumb: Ill bet NatGeo is so proud. (At least of the viral hits they got) Should I hire a boat and captain online or just nab someone straight off the docks when I get there? (I like to be adventurous but i als...
by Tom
September 4th, 2012, 6:03 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Madagascar 2012: Lemurs and Langahas
Replies: 23
Views: 8943

Re: Madagascar 2012: Lemurs and Langahas

Unbelievable animals, excellent photography. Your post makes Borneo look like Cleveland ... What's with the funky snake noses? What are they for? I don't think anyone really knows, though it seems the only obvious function would be to break up the snake's outline, especially considering how cryptic...
by Tom
September 4th, 2012, 5:16 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Questions For Komodo Island Veterans!
Replies: 11
Views: 4232

Re: Questions For Komodo Island Veterans!

The closest major airport to the Komodo National Park is Ngurah Rai Airport in Denpasar, Bali. From there, you'll have to reach the fishing village of Labuan Bajo on Flores, a few islands to the east. To get to Flores, you can take multiple ferries/overland buses across to Lombok and then Sumbawa an...
by Tom
August 28th, 2012, 1:57 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Madagascar 2012: Lemurs and Langahas
Replies: 23
Views: 8943

Re: Madagascar 2012: Lemurs and Langahas

Great post and very very nice pics. Thanks for sharing. Just one notice : the small species of Uroplatus is not U.ebenaui but U.finiavana and "U.henkeli" is undescribed species more known as "Diego henkeli" in hobby. They are little bit smaller then regular U.henkeli from Nosy B...
by Tom
August 26th, 2012, 9:30 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Madagascar 2012: Lemurs and Langahas
Replies: 23
Views: 8943

Madagascar 2012: Lemurs and Langahas

This summer I spent two months in Madagascar both generally herping and conducting some fieldwork. Apologies for the lack of story-telling, this is the second time I've created this post :lol: After reaching the cold and rainy capital of Antananarivo (Tana), we spent a day in the city making plans b...
by Tom
May 15th, 2012, 2:28 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Agamidae from Nepal - please help with ID
Replies: 4
Views: 1478

Re: Agamidae from Nepal - please help with ID

Appears to be a species of Japalura, though which one I can't tell you. There's been a few new species discovered in this genus lately, so you never know :thumb:
by Tom
May 14th, 2012, 3:13 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Suggestions for Komodo Island?
Replies: 9
Views: 2875

Re: Suggestions for Komodo Island?

This might partly illustrate the hellishness of the cave, it's my co-adventurer emerging partly victorious (considering we failed to capture a very large python). The water may go almost shoulder height in places: http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5454/7195094740_7ed5eabae5_z.jpg As an 'experience', it ...
by Tom
May 10th, 2012, 6:39 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Suggestions for Komodo Island?
Replies: 9
Views: 2875

Re: Suggestions for Komodo Island?

It's awesome, you won't regret it. Goo diving too - manta rays, sharks and sea snakes. If you're feeling adventurous, try to get to the Istana Ular on Flores - it's a cave frequented by small reticulated pythons, and some really huge ones. Plus there's sputatrix and tree vipers around the area too.
by Tom
May 5th, 2012, 6:49 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: What do you know about wild Python breitensteini?
Replies: 29
Views: 5433

Re: What do you know about wild Python breitensteini?

I have a testosterone deficiency (seriously), which not only means that I sport exactly four chest hairs, but also that I don't play by the usual chest-thumping rules. Competitions bore me, and so does standard macho behavior. I'm lucky that way...I lead a safe life! And, more importantly, I wanted...
by Tom
May 5th, 2012, 4:08 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: What do you know about wild Python breitensteini?
Replies: 29
Views: 5433

Re: What do you know about wild Python breitensteini?

Gloves are cheating :lol:
by Tom
May 4th, 2012, 8:46 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: What do you know about wild Python breitensteini?
Replies: 29
Views: 5433

Re: What do you know about wild Python breitensteini?

I know they can be a bitch to handle :thumb:
by Tom
May 3rd, 2012, 2:34 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Another ID please. Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo.
Replies: 3
Views: 907

Re: Another ID please. Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo.

Have you got any clearer photos? My first instinct is Dryophiops rubescens, but it could easily be wrong. :)
by Tom
May 1st, 2012, 3:24 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: ID please. Small snake in Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo.
Replies: 4
Views: 1865

Re: ID please. Small snake in Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo.

Mock viper - Psammodynastes pulverentus :thumb:
by Tom
April 20th, 2012, 6:20 am
Forum: Fish Forum
Topic: 20 foot Great white in the Sea of Cortez?!
Replies: 5
Views: 4277

Re: 20 foot Great white in the Sea of Cortez?!

There are some absolutely gargantuan whites late in the year around Guadelupe - we saw a number in the 16-18 foot range on our 3 days there - so since the cortez sharks are part of the same population I wouldn't be at all surprised if there were some record breaking sharks around. http://farm4.stat...
by Tom
April 19th, 2012, 1:10 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Mixed delights
Replies: 8
Views: 2536

Re: Mixed delights

Awesome - it's amazing how close it's possible to get to some adders (and grass snakes, to a lesser extent). The other day I saw a distinctive one-eyed male that I saw 3 years ago, but failed to see the last two - I had assumed he must have died or moved on.
by Tom
April 19th, 2012, 9:07 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: ID help, Maasai Mara, Kenya
Replies: 4
Views: 1209

Re: ID help, Maasai Mara, Kenya

The snake is 100% harmless Philothamnus, and the red and blue lizard is a male Agama agama