Search found 211 matches

by The Jake-Man
February 9th, 2015, 6:43 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: 2014 Pennsylvania, mostly rattlesnakes
Replies: 12
Views: 7777

Re: 2014 Pennsylvania, mostly rattlesnakes

Stunning post! A great representation of the beauty of Pennsylvania's vipers.
by The Jake-Man
January 31st, 2015, 9:16 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: 2015 Hopes and Dreams.
Replies: 13
Views: 4172

Re: 2015 Hopes and Dreams.

I've only ever found wehrle's sals in a handful of places in Potter and Cameron counties, and most of them were just pure luck. Relatively dry, forested slopes with lots of shale are the only natural habitat I've found them in. Apart from black-bellies, I've never found any of your other goals, so I...
by The Jake-Man
January 23rd, 2015, 4:52 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: How to visually SEX a rattlesnake...
Replies: 24
Views: 27081

Re: How to SEX a rattlesnake...

With timber rattlesnakes, gender can be determined through a subcaudal scale count. 21 or more subcaudals, and there's somewhere around a 95% chance that the snake is a male.
by The Jake-Man
December 18th, 2014, 10:55 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Northeast NAFHA accomplishments in 2014 - complete list
Replies: 18
Views: 7383

Re: Northeast NAFHA chapter accomplishments in 2014 - more i

I've done a decent amount of public herp-related activities, like co-leading a herping team during a bioblitz, collaborating with local conservancies and non-profits to survey restricted-access land, writing informative articles, and giving presentations. However, I don't know if these would necessa...
by The Jake-Man
December 15th, 2014, 8:10 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Herp Nation Magazine - FREE Article Download
Replies: 11
Views: 4415

Re: Herp Nation Magazine - FREE Article Download

First off, thank you for sharing this article. I really enjoyed reading it, enough to consider getting a subscription based solely off this article. Axeman asked a legitimate question, one that I can identify with myself, as a high school student who has been forced to summarize scientific papers, (...
by The Jake-Man
November 25th, 2014, 8:02 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: senior project about reptiles and amphibians
Replies: 10
Views: 4120

Re: senior project about reptiles and amphibians

Well would you look at that, great minds think alike...

Your name sounds familiar, but I wasn't friends with you on Facebook. Do you enter your finds in PARS? Butler co. is an area we could use more data from.
by The Jake-Man
November 25th, 2014, 6:30 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Fall in Sewanee
Replies: 8
Views: 3952

Re: Fall in Sewanee

Nice pics! That slimy from the cave is very interesting... unlike any slimy I've ever seen in person or in a picture. I'm interested to see what others think of it.
by The Jake-Man
November 24th, 2014, 4:36 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: South Africa Oct 2014, my 4th trip back
Replies: 16
Views: 9688

Re: South Africa Oct 2014, my 4th trip back

Getting paid to travel around the world judging skating competitions, and herping along the way... You've got a job that about 10,000 teenage guys, (including myself), would kill for. Nice pics man!
by The Jake-Man
November 24th, 2014, 1:45 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: senior project about reptiles and amphibians
Replies: 10
Views: 4120

Re: senior project about reptiles and amphibians

That thought may have crossed my mind a few times... Especially after I realized that I would have upwards of 800 hours volunteered for PARS if I could include search time on my records from before the current generation of the survey. With a little luck, next summer I'll be doing something herp, or...
by The Jake-Man
November 24th, 2014, 6:43 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: senior project about reptiles and amphibians
Replies: 10
Views: 4120

Re: senior project about reptiles and amphibians

If your program wasn't 4.5 hours away, I would try to make it, but unfortunately that's a bit out of my range. Glad to hear of someone else who's working with herps for their senior project, especially on the education end. For my senior project this year, I managed to get PARS surveying approved as...
by The Jake-Man
September 1st, 2014, 8:27 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Observation of "Basking" Behavior in Adult N. viridescens
Replies: 9
Views: 4255

Re: Observation of "Basking" Behavior in Adult N. viridescen

Thanks for the replies everyone! Parasite elimination had occurred to me, and pollution/poor water quality was suggested to me as well. Basic water quality tests came up normal, I just wanted to see what others thought. Seems like I could do a lot more investigating here. Another interesting aspect ...
by The Jake-Man
August 30th, 2014, 2:45 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Observation of "Basking" Behavior in Adult N. viridescens
Replies: 9
Views: 4255

Observation of "Basking" Behavior in Adult N. viridescens

Last November, while hiking around a large reservoir in South Central Pennsylvania, I came upon a very peculiar sight. Laid out on rocks across the NW shore of the reservoir were dozens of adult, fully metamorphosed Eastern Newts. All had their backs turned to the mid-afternoon sun, and allowed me t...
by The Jake-Man
August 18th, 2014, 1:23 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Questions from your President
Replies: 43
Views: 16104

Re: Questions from your President

Those are some very good points Cbernz. When I started herping, I fell into the trap that is thinking the only way to help herps is to document them. Only recently, when I became heavily involved in my home state's atlas project have I realized that education and outreach are just as important as da...
by The Jake-Man
July 26th, 2014, 11:10 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: South Philly herpin'
Replies: 4
Views: 2306

Re: South Philly herpin'

I enjoy the narration. It's not like we all don't talk like that when we're with friends anyway. It's a nice departure from the sterile atmosphere of a forum filled with professionals and intellectuals who only partake in profanity where it isn't publicly viewable.
by The Jake-Man
July 17th, 2014, 11:50 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: eastern box turtle help :( anyone know what this could be?
Replies: 4
Views: 2802

Re: eastern box turtle help :( anyone know what this could

I've heard of this malady occurring at least once in box turtles in my area (SC PA). I do not know enough about box turtles to give you any information on what it may be, but I can tell you that I've learned that herps are very resilient. Early this summer I was hiking through the most herp-diverse ...
by The Jake-Man
July 14th, 2014, 1:40 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Questions from your President
Replies: 43
Views: 16104

Re: Questions from your President

I rarely post in the Northeast Chapter Forum any more for a few reasons. The first is that it has simply already served its purpose for me. When I first stumbled across the forum, I wanted to get to know the herpers that lived near me, and I did, in a way. I realized that there really aren't any for...
by The Jake-Man
May 31st, 2014, 7:36 pm
Forum: Fish Forum
Topic: Farm Ponds
Replies: 3
Views: 12370

Farm Ponds

I've started to notice that the fishing sub-forum goes through dead periods, and maybe this can help. Where I live in Southern Pennsylvania, the best fishing for sunfish and bass is without a doubt, on private property. Public waters get hit hard, and levels of trash, trampled riparian cover, and ge...
by The Jake-Man
May 31st, 2014, 6:56 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Florida herping, catching up after my FHF absence
Replies: 31
Views: 10041

Re: Florida herping, catching up after my FHF absence

This is one of the best posts I've seen here in a while. Great photos, and great commentary. I knew that South Florida was a melting pot of non-native herps, but I never realized the extant of the diversity of naturalized alien species. I too have noticed that I post less and less on here, favoring ...
by The Jake-Man
May 23rd, 2014, 5:01 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Philly in July
Replies: 5
Views: 1980

Re: Philly in July

Hi Zach, sorry that I can't answer all of your questions, but I live a couple counties West, so I'm not at all familiar with herping the Philadelphia area. Herping in SE Pennsylvania in july will be good, but not as good as it is right now. You will probably be able to flip a handful of snakes and o...
by The Jake-Man
May 23rd, 2014, 4:18 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Herper and a fan of Heavy Metal Music? Check it....
Replies: 39
Views: 10037

Re: Herper and a fan of Heavy Metal Music? Check it....

Cool, a bunch of indignant adolescents (or developmentally retarded white males), frying in angst and anger, screaming their lungs out ...geez, what's up with all the drama? :lol: :roll: I've got to say, that's one of the most ignorant comments I've seen in a while. I mean really, It's just music. ...
by The Jake-Man
May 1st, 2014, 2:46 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Frustration
Replies: 28
Views: 8817

Re: Frustration

One cool morning last June, I was mountain biking on a very remote road in Northern Pennsylvania. I rode right past what I thought was a stick, did a double take, and realized it was a yearling timber, slowly crossing the road. Even though I had been riding for 20 minutes and hadn't seen a car, I fi...
by The Jake-Man
April 19th, 2014, 8:33 am
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: Rattlesnake constantly rattles?
Replies: 19
Views: 8047

Re: Rattlesnake constantly rattles?

It won't hurt the snake to remove the rattles. However, that wouldn't fix the underlying issue, whatever it may be.
by The Jake-Man
March 25th, 2014, 3:47 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: First Post
Replies: 5
Views: 3183

Re: First Post

Man I just can't stand all these young NE herpers named Jake! Just kidding. Welcome to the forum! There are a lot of great people on this forum, and a surprising amount of younger members. As someone around your age, I can tell you that one of the best things to have when herping at your age is a fr...
by The Jake-Man
March 9th, 2014, 2:15 pm
Forum: Image Lab
Topic: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thread..
Replies: 212
Views: 835512

Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

PA Eastern Newt
Image

PA Wood Turtle
Image
by The Jake-Man
March 4th, 2014, 7:13 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: My Junior Paper Is To Include Rattlesnake Roundups
Replies: 23
Views: 8294

Re: My Junior Paper Is To Include Rattlesnake Roundups

You may want to include information on non-lethal round-ups in your paper. The ones we have here in Pennsylvania are not perfect, but they are without a doubt a step in the right direction. PM me if you'd like more information, as you probably won't find many articles in print or on the internet.
by The Jake-Man
February 27th, 2014, 8:11 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Countdown to Spotted Salamanders!
Replies: 65
Views: 18660

Re: Countdown to Spotted Salamanders!

The 10 day forecast for the area I'll go to for spotteds this year is absolutely dismal. Just 2 of the next 10 days will have a high above freezing...
by The Jake-Man
February 26th, 2014, 3:26 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping
Replies: 215
Views: 39947

Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

I dropped a large rock on my right middle finger this fall while trying to grab a particularly large slimy salamander. Though not badly broken, the fracture was still enough to bug me for months. Also, I sprained my left shoulder during the very first high school wrestling practice I went to this pa...
by The Jake-Man
February 18th, 2014, 3:55 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: My Year In Pennsylvania
Replies: 4
Views: 3165

Re: My Year In Pennsylvania

Thanks Berkely! I too would be interested to hear what others think of those newts.
by The Jake-Man
February 18th, 2014, 3:49 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: My Year In Pennsylvania (Same as main forum)
Replies: 6
Views: 3778

Re: My Year In Pennsylvania (Same as main forum)

Thanks guys! Trust me, my views on rattlesnake round-ups have changed too. They are far from perfect, but they're unique in the range and number of people they educate.
by The Jake-Man
February 17th, 2014, 3:10 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: My Year In Pennsylvania (Same as main forum)
Replies: 6
Views: 3778

My Year In Pennsylvania (Same as main forum)

2013 was by far the best year I’ve ever had herping. This year was the first time I had really targeted any herp species other than timber rattlesnakes. I also discovered my passion for photography, which, combined with an abundance of live subjects, helped me get some shots I’m happy with. As the y...
by The Jake-Man
February 17th, 2014, 3:08 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: My Year In Pennsylvania
Replies: 4
Views: 3165

My Year In Pennsylvania

2013 was by far the best year I’ve ever had herping. This year was the first time I had really targeted any herp species other than timber rattlesnakes. I also discovered my passion for photography, which, combined with an abundance of live subjects, helped me get some shots I’m happy with. As the y...
by The Jake-Man
February 12th, 2014, 7:04 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Siren in Delaware?
Replies: 9
Views: 3322

Re: Siren in Delaware?

Have you looked into electrofishing? That would be a sure-fire way to confirm what you saw.
by The Jake-Man
January 13th, 2014, 12:34 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Herping Goals for 2014
Replies: 23
Views: 7079

Re: Herping Goals for 2014

1. Find an adult ambystomid- I found a maddening amount of maculatum eggs last spring. It seemed like every time I went on a hike I found a new vernal pool. It's about time I put some time into finding an adult. 2. Find a home county timber- I know they're here, but I can only seem to find them when...
by The Jake-Man
December 21st, 2013, 6:19 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Interesting Long-Tailed Salamander Behavior: (Same as NE)
Replies: 1
Views: 771

Interesting Long-Tailed Salamander Behavior: (Same as NE)

I've been looking back on my photos from this year while putting together my year end post, and ran into this set that I had forgotten about. On a cool, humid evening this past August, a friend and I were walking the edge of a lake in SE Pennsylvania looking for newts, water snakes, and rat snakes, ...
by The Jake-Man
December 21st, 2013, 6:18 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Interesting Long-Tailed Salamander Behavior
Replies: 3
Views: 1264

Interesting Long-Tailed Salamander Behavior

I've been looking back on my photos from this year while putting together my year end post, and ran into this set that I had forgotten about. On a cool, humid evening this past August, a friend and I were walking the edge of a lake in SE Pennsylvania looking for newts, water snakes, and rat snakes, ...
by The Jake-Man
December 19th, 2013, 6:02 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: You thought the milksnake changes were bad?
Replies: 32
Views: 8817

Re: You thought the milksnake changes were bad?

Though I don't pretend to know much about mtDNA sequencing, but I have always thought that animals with very small dispersal distances, like salamanders, that can be completely geographically isolated from reproducing with other populations would experience some kind of radiative speciation over tim...
by The Jake-Man
December 7th, 2013, 6:25 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: End of the Year 2013, Let's Keep it Going... #3 - TURTLES
Replies: 27
Views: 8361

Re: End of the Year 2013, Let's Keep it Going... #3 - TURTLE

If you are local Unfortunately, I live four hours away, although I spend a good amount of time there at our cabin each summer, so it's possible that I could be there next summer at that time. This is in PA I assume? I'm sure you already do, but keep that site secret! You got it- Potter county. The ...
by The Jake-Man
December 6th, 2013, 12:29 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: End of the Year 2013, Let's Keep it Going... #3 - TURTLES
Replies: 27
Views: 8361

Re: End of the Year 2013, Let's Keep it Going... #3 - TURTLE

I had no idea that those woods were nesting. The way they were behaving I kind of figured that it was a male following a female, but I know next to nothing about turtle behavior. I found them at about 6 p.m.. If that was in mid-June, what time would they hatch out?
by The Jake-Man
December 3rd, 2013, 4:47 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: End of the Year 2013... #8 - VENOMOUS SNAKES
Replies: 16
Views: 4375

Re: End of the Year 2013... #8 - VENOMOUS SNAKES

Alas, timbers were the only venomous snakes I found this year. A first for me was flipping this pair of juveniles that were curled up under a rock I propped up to attract garters and red bellies. Needless to say I was pretty startled! I shooed them out from under it with my hook and replaced the roc...
by The Jake-Man
November 24th, 2013, 1:39 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: End of the Year 2013, Let's Keep it Going... #3 - TURTLES
Replies: 27
Views: 8361

Re: End of the Year 2013, Let's Keep it Going... #3 - TURTLE

The only turtle that I actually tried to photograph was this wood turtle-


Image


hanging out with another wood turtle at the edge of a creek. Regrettably, I only had my iPhone to take pictures.



Image
by The Jake-Man
November 14th, 2013, 2:41 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: End of the Year 2013... #1 - FAVORITE FIND
Replies: 32
Views: 11872

Re: End of the Year 2013... #1 - FAVORITE FIND

This is my lifer wehrle's salamander, flipped during a downpour under one of the flagstone steps up to the porch of our cabin in Northern Pennsylvania. Before this year I had almost no experience finding salamanders, and I chalked this one up as a species I probably wouldn't find unless I spent a lo...
by The Jake-Man
November 12th, 2013, 2:18 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Masters at A&M?
Replies: 23
Views: 3917

Re: Masters at A&M?

That article makes him sound like a villain from a Richard Preston novel.
by The Jake-Man
November 7th, 2013, 2:48 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: New to herping
Replies: 8
Views: 1794

Re: New to herping

Welcome to the forum, those are some great shots!

That first toad almost looks like a fowler's from the top, did you happen to get any photos from a ventral view?
by The Jake-Man
November 7th, 2013, 3:59 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: i need rattles
Replies: 10
Views: 1597

Re: i need rattles

Rattlesnakes brought to nonlethal round-ups in Pennsylvania are marked on the head and rattles with a series of fluorescent colored nail enamel dots on the head and the base of the rattle to differentiate them and to make sure that each hunter returns his snake to the spot it was captured. Over the ...
by The Jake-Man
November 5th, 2013, 2:12 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Queen Snakes and Artificial Cover
Replies: 8
Views: 1834

Re: Queen Snakes and Artificial Cover

Thank you for posting that link! I have since decided against the population size study, for the reasons that Jimi mentioned; I will instead be studying what ac setups work, and why/why not compared to natural cover. The snake that I found was out basking on top of part of a massive system of rock g...
by The Jake-Man
November 2nd, 2013, 8:25 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: GPS Suggestions?
Replies: 2
Views: 1129

GPS Suggestions?

Hi everybody, I just wanted to ask what suggestions you all had as far as what I should get for a handheld GPS. I'm looking for something under $200, that can be used to set waypoints so I can find herping spots in areas without cell reception, and maybe something that shows topography/terrain. Afte...
by The Jake-Man
October 24th, 2013, 4:28 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Rattlesnake protective gear, thoughts and opinions?
Replies: 64
Views: 48036

Re: Rattlesnake protective gear, thoughts and opinions?

While visiting timber dens and basking areas in Pennsylvania, I always wear my wind river gaiters. They are hot, and not very comfortable, but they saved my bacon last year when I unwittingly stepped on a rattlesnake in an area of tall, dense ferns. I have no idea why said rattlesnake was in tall, d...
by The Jake-Man
October 17th, 2013, 3:50 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: timber video
Replies: 9
Views: 2938

Re: timber video

I kept expecting to see one of them to eat concrete off a five stair through a fisheye. I guess I've watched too many skating videos too. :lol:

Great video, I can't imagine how time consuming it must be to sift through hours of footage to fit all the best parts into an 18 minute vid.
by The Jake-Man
October 10th, 2013, 8:23 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: some more salamander hunting after school
Replies: 9
Views: 2110

Re: some more salamander hunting after school

That's awesome that you have that stream so close to school, but it's even more amazing that it's still pure enough to hold this type of diversity.
by The Jake-Man
October 8th, 2013, 9:33 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: My overly ambitous target species list for 2014
Replies: 17
Views: 3199

Re: My overly ambitous target species list for 2014

I get hung up on the photo thing too. For example, I found 4 black rat snakes this year, but I wasn't able to photograph any of them with my good camera, and for some reason that just bugs me. The only things I really want to find next year would be a copperhead, and an adult spotted salamander. I f...