Field Herp Forum

Hi there everyone. Part three of my trip through Namaqualand is now live. We left Springbok as we head towards the West Coast towards the small town of Port Nolloth in search of the worlds smallest adder species. http://www.tyroneping.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/headr_part3.jpg You can view par...

The final insert of my Namibian trip is now live. http://www.tyroneping.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Namibian_header_3.jpg http://www.tyroneping.co.za/namibia-part-three/ You can find the other parts here: Part 1: http://www.tyroneping.co.za/namibia-2017-part-1/ Part 2: http://www.tyroneping.co....

It's been far too long since I have posted any field herping updates - sometimes life gets in the way. At the end of 2017 I embarked on a massive field herping trip with good friend Francois Theart here are two reports of our trip with teh third still to come. http://www.tyroneping.co.za/wp-content/...

Calfirecap wrote:Thank you Tyrone, that is an amazing post!

Thanks for taking the time out to read it - I realise its a long read and offsite but it was just too long to upload here.

Cheers again!

I interrupted my viewing of your works to comment last night but got interrupted myself, but I must tell you as I journeyed through I think I was smiling the whole time. Such a wonderful achievement and so full of facts, warmth and passion. The photos of all the species - irreplaceable. Thank you K...

Paul Freed wrote:Simply outstanding, well done Tyrone!
-Paul

Thank you paul!

Finally after tens of thousands of kilometres trekking across Southern Africa, more than 5 years, hours of research, countless emails, terrible weather (one snowed in weekend), endless battery charges and 100's of failed photographs. I've finally tracked down and photographed all of the formally des...

Bradypodion nemorale - Qudeni Dwarf Chameleon. It's been a while since I've added to the forum needless to say I've been tied up with other life commitments and such. But this post is a special one - I've finally completed my goal of the last few years and tracked down and photographed all the forma...

Over the last 9 days a friend (who's working on his Masters studies) and I ventured into some of Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa's lesser explored Nature Reserves and historical records looking for two specific species. Afroedura pondolia - Pondo Flat Gecko Leptotyphlops sylvicolus - Southern Forest Th...

nightdriver wrote:I saw the title and thought...OK more Oregon or NoCal salamanders..... But this was WAAAAY cooler. Those Cape Dwarf Chameleons are awesome.

Nightdriver

Post posting I thought may cause some confusion - but thanks for checking it out nonetheless!

On my previous trip to this area of the Western Cape in February was quite a different experience, in February the weather was hot, dry and relatively quiet on the reptile front with hours spent in the field offering very little rewards. This time around thankfully was a vastly different experience....

Jimi wrote:

Thanks for looking and hope you enjoyed the post.

Always, very much. Thanks for sharing!

Appreciate you checking it out Jimi - Cheers!

Over the last few weeks I've made a couple of trips around the country for only a day or two at a time. So here's a combined look at some of the animals I've seen/caught and photographed in South Africa. From the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and the Kwa-Zulu Natal Interior. A vast array of habitats al...

Thanks!

Making the best fo the Easter Holiday weekend I decided it was time to knock off yet another Bradypodion ( Dwarf Chameleon), the 1300km round trip's main focus would be the Kentani Dwarf Chameleon. Not the kind of Bradypodion you see for sale in the pet trade, when it comes to information online for...

dylan1422 wrote:Incredible photos! #photographygoals
Thanks for sharing!

Dylan

Cheers mate, appreciate the comment.

huck wrote:Sweet pictures! Awesome post!

Thanks Huck appreciate it.

The summer heat has slowly made it's way out and the autumn has crept it. Bringing an end to the herping season in Southern Africa. Here are a few pictures from my last trip for a while. All animals found in the North/North Eastern Part of Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. The list broken down: Afrotyph...

Thanks for another excellent post! I really enjoy seeing the animals from this region, and your photos are superb. I'm curious as to how the Goggia lineata and the Pachydactylus geitjie , and the two legless skinks, are living symbiotically. Thanks John, glad you enjoyed the post. Let me clarify I ...

mothman wrote:Thanks for sharing your excellent pictures. The Armadillo Lizard and Southern Karusa Lizard were particularly fascinating to look at. The lodge looks like a wonderfully unique place to stay to say the least.

Thanks, glad you enjoyed the post!

This past week I headed down into the Western Cape, South Africa. A province known for a wide array of habitats from high montane fynbos, Atlantic coastal dunes and arid Karoo landscapes. Route planner: http://www.tyroneping.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Airport.png Sitting back for a bit http://...

Bert Willaert wrote:Seems like a nice trip! Lovely species and good photos.

Cheers, Thanks Bert!

Badgerberling wrote:Great photos. Especially thankful for the habitat and landscape backgrounds. Great to see a country I'll probably never get to. Thanks.

Cheers thanks for the comment, glad you enjoyed the post.

Fantastic images, thanks for sharing.

Jeremy Wright wrote:I don't know what it is but those photos where you are holding something in the middle of a road do something for me! Awesome finds and superb photography.

Cheers thanks Jeremy, something a little different always goes down a treat in my opinion.

NACairns wrote:Great post as per usual, the frog diversity is great to see. I really feel we missed out when it came to naming our amphibians in North America.
Thanks for sharing,
Nick

Cheers Nick Thanks for the comment. Taxonomy and common names around the world sure are interesting.

Evgeny Kotelevsky wrote:Cool photos!

Does that lizard bite painfully?

Thanks! Not at all they're small so it's more of a pinch.

Jeroen Speybroeck wrote:Nice! Also liked that you included the egg shell remains.

Cheers thanks Jeroen.

achillesbeast wrote:Great stuff, Tyrone. Really like those snake eater and Philothamnus photos.

Cheers thanks for the comment and taking the time to check out the thread.

The summer herping really officially kicks off in December down here in South Africa. The finds were broken into three concise trips as detailed in the routes below: Trip 1: http://www.tyroneping.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/trip-2.png Trip 2: http://www.tyroneping.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/...

Incredible images, thanks for sharing.

Spectacular just like everyone else you just went to on my dream trip, I've been hoping to see a Palmatogecko since I was a little kid. Are they hard to turn up? Thanks for sharing, Nick Thanks Nick, they're not tough to find once you know what to look for in the sand. Although they can be seen on ...

Oh Man, that first Peringuey's pic in the sand is sick! There are plenty of other great images too (duh) but the other that totally grabbed me was the eye-licking dune gecko - awesome! From beach-hiking for Bitis to straining eyes upwards into social weaver nests for Naja to chameleons in seemingly...

Wow you can see some convergent evolution going on there between the North American genus Uma and the African Namib Genus Meroles . the Namib looks like my kind of place. Thanks for sharing your wonderful finds! :thumb: The Namib is really a go to place in the world for any field herper for sure!

sjohn wrote:Very nice

Thanks!

Keeper wrote:Thanks for sharing! Amazing photos!

Cheers, thanks mate!

Calfirecap wrote:What a dream trip. Those namaquensis have been on my must see list for decades! Great images as well, thanks for posting.

Thanks for the comment, lucked on on a few great species I was hoping to see but that just means another trip is needed I guess!

Thanks for the great memories, Tyrone, your images are superb! I have been fortunate to visit Namibia three times in the past and each visit there was absolutely amazing. As 'Fieldnotes', pointed out, the wildlife documentaries of yesteryear were the inspiration of my visits there especially, the 1...

Martti Niskanen wrote:Excellent post. I think Namibia should be on anyone's list, whether a herper or not.

Couldn't agree more!

Great post, loved the map too. I have watched wildlife movies from way back, when David Attenborough was the voice of the best wildlife documentaries around. There was one film about the Namib Desert and the Web-footed Gecko—Outstanding especially when seeing such amazing creatures for the first ti...

After a decent amount of planning in the beginning of the year it was finally time to head to Namibia. Leaving my home city of Durban (South Africa), I travelled to Johannesburg and then connected to Windhoek, Namibia for the next 9 days. Trip outline: http://www.tyroneping.co.za/wp-content/uploads/...

Great post! The first three gecko images what lighting are you making use of? It's fantastic.

numpty wrote:Well done that rhombic night adder!

Another excellent post from South Africa.

Cheers!

That Homoroselaps dorsalis is a stunning snake. What more can you tell us about your Leptopelis xenodactylus, looks like a stocky frog in an area with few trees is it a burrower? Enjoy your spring, winter is here in Canada. Thanks for sharing this great series. Best, Nick Cheers Nick, So Leptopelis...

Cool stuff - especially considering they're just "here and there" finds! The adder eating the toad series is especially nice...what a difference from the first to last photo. I also really liked the female leaf folding frog with eggs, the spiraled slug eater, and the harlequin snake. Thanks for pos...

With the arrival of Autumn and departing Winter chills comes the rain down here in the Southern Hemisphere (thankfully), so the herp activity has really started to increase as Spring is well underway which means a lot of snake activity. With the Spring rains come all the frog species, which brings o...

Greta finds and images.

I really appreciate when users like yourself create posts like this, it takes more effort and seldom is given a much appreciation as they deserve.

Cheers ,Tyrone.

Now after a hectic last few weeks I found myself relaxing on a Saturday night at home which isn't all that exciting. So i grabbed my keys and heading out just before dark and drove some 80kms to a spot where I'd always thought the Bradypodion should be. Now thamnobatesare special chameleons for me, ...

Killer photographs, your style with soft light is stellar!

I always look forward to your posts but this was my favorite. I love the high saturation portrait style shots of all these amazing species that I`ll likely never see in person. The story is great too, and made all the better that you found your target species (though it still would have been a grea...