Search found 116 matches

by KevinS
September 9th, 2014, 8:36 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: South Africa 2013, part 1
Replies: 13
Views: 7991

Dang, that's a heck of a trip and some really great pictures! I thought Afroedura were strictly rock crevice dwellers-wouldn't have expected them to turn up in a tent, but that's a cool find regardless. How do you distinguish Lygosoma sundevalli from L. afrum ? It just so happens I was trying to ide...
by KevinS
May 5th, 2014, 7:10 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: April 24-26 in Carter County, Kentucky
Replies: 8
Views: 3642

Re: April 24-26 in Carter County, Kentucky

Looks like you guys visited Cascade Cave. I conducted my thesis research on salamanders in that area several years ago and recognize a few of the landmarks. Most of the Plethodon in that locale are kentucki, but I did find the occasional glutinosus. Apparently several people claim to have seen Euryc...
by KevinS
December 3rd, 2013, 9:16 pm
Forum: Invertebrate Forum
Topic: ID This Brazilian Spider?
Replies: 0
Views: 2074

ID This Brazilian Spider?

The picture was taken in Lages, Brazil. My best guess is a Phoneutria species, but I'm not familiar with the arachnids of South America (or even many of our natives for that matter). I'm hoping some of you globetrotters will have some input or know someone who might. Any help would be much appreciat...
by KevinS
November 6th, 2013, 9:55 am
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: Lizard Test
Replies: 11
Views: 4947

Re: Lizard Test

He's a beauty!
by KevinS
October 24th, 2013, 8:56 pm
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: The coolest geckos you're not keeping...
Replies: 2
Views: 3184

Re: The coolest geckos you're not keeping...

Next up is a genus most have never heard of (I know I hadn't until relatively recently). Afroedura, the flat rock geckos of Africa, have got to be among the most underrated geckos to ever enter this country. I got all of mine from Jon Boone, who apparently is one of the only (maybe THE only?) person...
by KevinS
October 24th, 2013, 8:49 pm
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: The coolest geckos you're not keeping...
Replies: 2
Views: 3184

The coolest geckos you're not keeping...

I started this thread on another forum, but interest has been a bit sparse so I thought I'd share with some of you guys who might be interested as well. Over the last year or so, I've made some drastic changes to my reptile collection. At the moment I have about a dozen gecko species, most of which ...
by KevinS
September 8th, 2013, 10:40 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: End of Spring/Early Summer in West Virginia.
Replies: 10
Views: 2204

Re: End of Spring/Early Summer in West Virginia.

If you have any feel free to post them! Matt, I love Long Tails! Wish I had found more this year. That one actually had a partially regenerated tail so I didnt even get the full effect. Still glad I found it though! :thumb: Here's one we found while I was in the field taking samples at work. It was...
by KevinS
September 4th, 2013, 7:36 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: End of Spring/Early Summer in West Virginia.
Replies: 10
Views: 2204

Re: End of Spring/Early Summer in West Virginia.

Thanks! I miss being there already! Yes, it is. Wetzel County 500 yards from the Ohio River so pretty darn west West Virginia :lol: I figured-the closer you get to the river, the more they seem to look like that. That appearance seems to persist well into Kentucky based on what I've seen as well. J...
by KevinS
September 4th, 2013, 1:36 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: End of Spring/Early Summer in West Virginia.
Replies: 10
Views: 2204

Re: End of Spring/Early Summer in West Virginia.

Nice finds-was that second black rat from the western portion of the state?
by KevinS
August 6th, 2013, 7:59 pm
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: I like my geckos the way I like my steak...
Replies: 0
Views: 2210

I like my geckos the way I like my steak...

Rare! OK, I actually don't like my steak rare. I am excited about some new additions that are very uncommon in the hobby though. First up are some juvenile Aristelliger lar , the largest gecko species in the western hemisphere! They're also known to make a wide range of vocalizations, so they should...
by KevinS
June 19th, 2013, 6:13 am
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: Geckos and Skinks
Replies: 13
Views: 6869

Re: Geckos and Skinks

ive never been able to get my pink tongues to go for any live food (except for snails, as ive never fed them snails). Mine seem to like their dog food. Maybe ill try pinkies again now that they are larger... I only used thawed pinkies. Mine never went for anything live other than earthworms, slugs,...
by KevinS
June 18th, 2013, 6:59 am
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: Geckos and Skinks
Replies: 13
Views: 6869

Re: Geckos and Skinks

Gorgeous! So you have a tongue shot? Do you feed it snails, dogfood, or something else? I'm sure I can find a tongue shot somewhere in my old pics. If not, I'll take one since I just got a group of juveniles. I've fed snails, slugs, and earthworms, but made the bulk of their diet pinky mice and sup...
by KevinS
June 7th, 2013, 7:31 pm
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: Geckos and Skinks
Replies: 13
Views: 6869

Re: Geckos and Skinks

Thanks, I've been hatching tiger geckos lately as well as a few P. androyensis. I ended up getting a clutch of Homopholis fasciata eggs as well.

Image
by KevinS
April 17th, 2013, 8:13 am
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: Herbivorous lizard diet and gout
Replies: 7
Views: 4456

Herbivorous lizard diet and gout

I was hoping to get a dialog started concerning the diet of uromastyx and chuckwallas in captivity. While conventional wisdom is that these are almost strictly herbivorous lizards (and my limited knowledge of the publications on their gut contents seems to confirm this), they go nuts for live insect...
by KevinS
April 11th, 2013, 9:18 am
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: Geckos and Skinks
Replies: 13
Views: 6869

Re: Geckos and Skinks

I love the androyensis. I miss keeping those. The babies are a pain to feed. It was amazing how hungry androyensis were. Those little guys would attack and manage to eat adult crickets! If I kept them in large groups they tended to huddle up together under cover which is pretty adorable. How do you...
by KevinS
April 3rd, 2013, 3:42 pm
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: Geckos and Skinks
Replies: 13
Views: 6869

Re: Geckos and Skinks

While I'm going through the photo album, here are a few that I owned in the past. Goniurosaurus orientalis http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i174/Rhacodactyl/IMG_2244_zpsb85f1b55.jpg Thecadactylus rapicauda http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i174/Rhacodactyl/IMG_2290_zps03d20d08.jpg Pachydactylus ran...
by KevinS
April 3rd, 2013, 3:38 pm
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: Geckos and Skinks
Replies: 13
Views: 6869

Re: Geckos and Skinks

I like the androyensis i have only seen them in a couple pictures but your pic captures what you describe - the carriage and countenance. Those things, like body structure and habits attract me even more than color and markings, of any animal. They're loads of fun. They express themselves with thei...
by KevinS
April 2nd, 2013, 7:32 pm
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: Geckos and Skinks
Replies: 13
Views: 6869

Geckos and Skinks

I thought I'd share a few pics of some of my current collection. I recently transitioned from snakes to lizards only and have been picking up a few of the less popular species in the hobby that I find interesting. Pachydactylus tigrinus were the first to get me hooked on dwarf geckos. Here are 2 sub...
by KevinS
April 1st, 2013, 8:38 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Geckos and Skinks
Replies: 1
Views: 752

Geckos and Skinks

EDIT: Sorry guys, thought I was in the herpetoculture forum when I posted this. Please delete this one since I re-posted where it should have gone.
by KevinS
August 29th, 2012, 9:33 am
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: Craigslist herping...
Replies: 9
Views: 2882

Re: Craigslist herping...

Yeah, that's an emoryi. I can maybe see someone confusing it for a corn, but it's nowhere close to a ghost.
by KevinS
August 16th, 2012, 4:03 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Snake Bite First Aid
Replies: 124
Views: 29902

Re: Snake Bite First Aid

Thanks for all the contributions-I never imagined such a lively discussion would sprout from this post. In case anyone is curious, no venomous snakes were encountered on the trip but I did get to relocate a few Nerodia and a nice subadult black rat. Ringnecks were abundant and I saw a small garter a...
by KevinS
August 2nd, 2012, 6:23 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Roadkill Experiment Video
Replies: 30
Views: 5159

Re: Roadkill Experiment Video

JakeScott wrote:I hear significantly more country people here in North Florida mention, in detail, just how they will kill a snake.
This reminded me of a quote I heard recently about Florida. It was something along the lines of "The farther north you go, the more southern it gets."
by KevinS
July 31st, 2012, 7:05 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Snake Bite First Aid
Replies: 124
Views: 29902

Snake Bite First Aid

I'll be going to camp next week as a counselor and we're headed to a new site this year that is known to have timber rattlers (and probably northern copperheads). I'm excited about the prospect of seeing some, but everyone will be looking to me for information on staying safe and avoiding bites. On ...
by KevinS
July 31st, 2012, 7:49 am
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: I've got new ackies...
Replies: 5
Views: 1459

Re: I've got new ackies...

I'll definitely work on getting the male to slim down. The female should be dropping a clutch soon, so I don't think I have to worry as much about her.
by KevinS
July 29th, 2012, 7:12 pm
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: I've got new ackies...
Replies: 5
Views: 1459

I've got new ackies...

Today I picked up a pair of yellow ackies that produced the hatchlings I got earlier this year. I'm thrilled to have them and had to share some pics of the male since I think he's especially attractive. http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i174/Rhacodactyl/ackies/IMG_0482.jpg http://i72.photobucket.com...
by KevinS
July 4th, 2012, 1:22 pm
Forum: Reading Room
Topic: Herp Tracking Book Progress Report
Replies: 78
Views: 163309

Re: Herp Tracking Book Progress Report

Looking forward to the book-can't wait to get a copy. I was admiring some frog tracks a few weeks ago... http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i174/Rhacodactyl/IMGP1480.jpg ...and I noticed these other tracks that I couldn't identify leaving winding trails. Any ideas? http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i...
by KevinS
June 7th, 2012, 6:58 pm
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: making or buying a snake hook
Replies: 17
Views: 9221

Re: making or buying a snake hook

I've had a homemade hook for years, and in college I tried a Midwest model. My latest is a JKR Gear hook and I'm....hooked. If I ever wear this thing out, I'll go back to them for another one-I could not possibly be any happier with it.
by KevinS
June 7th, 2012, 4:03 pm
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: Red or Yellow V. acanthurus?
Replies: 26
Views: 12635

Re: Red or Yellow V. acanthurus?

Frank Retes would tell you that "they are what they are" and that "it should be about the monitors, not you." :roll: :lol: Whatever that means... I'm not a monitor guy, so I couldn't say. However, they're nice looking animals and that's one hell of a good deal. -Cole Don't forge...
by KevinS
June 7th, 2012, 1:19 pm
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: Red or Yellow V. acanthurus?
Replies: 26
Views: 12635

Re: Red or Yellow V. acanthurus?

I'm on a phone at the moment, but they sure look like reds from what I see. Either way, that's a ridonculously good deal-congrats.
by KevinS
May 13th, 2012, 9:01 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Sceloporus buffet
Replies: 2
Views: 884

Sceloporus buffet

I've been sitting on these pics for a while and finally got around to uploading them today. A few weeks ago a bunch of winged termites started a mass exodus from the mulch in my mom's flower garden. I didn't have my camera at her house, so I had to use her old point and shoot to take these. I was su...
by KevinS
April 18th, 2012, 1:24 pm
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: Big Black Rats
Replies: 8
Views: 2984

Re: Big Black Rats

I'm glad mine is even-tempered. He's big and strong enough that he'd probably outdo every other snake bite I've had to date. I recently had an ackie pull a mysterious vanishing act like what you mentioned. They're pricey little lizards to just disappear without a trace-hopefully I don't have any mor...
by KevinS
April 15th, 2012, 3:21 pm
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: Big Black Rats
Replies: 8
Views: 2984

Big Black Rats

I got a nice big pair of Montgomery County, NC locality black rats recently. The female is about 5'8" and the male is 6'8" (and weighs just under 5 lbs!). The floor tiles in these pics are 1 ft square. Here's the girl: http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i174/Rhacodactyl/Rat%20Snakes/IMG_953...
by KevinS
April 4th, 2012, 3:29 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Plethodon glutinosus complex question
Replies: 4
Views: 1005

Re: Plethodon glutinosus complex question

They aren't easy to distinguish, but it is possible. The two are sympatric in many areas and there's no single characteristic that works 100% of the time, so it's best to consider a range of morphological features. Male P. kentucki have much larger mental glands than P. glutinosus as well as lighter...
by KevinS
March 12th, 2012, 3:28 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Salamanders & Friends | Christian County, MO | 3-11-2012
Replies: 8
Views: 1520

Re: Salamanders & Friends | Christian County, MO | 3-11-2012

It's an unusually patterned individual of one of those species, but I don't think it's necessarily a hybrid. If I remember correctly, I've seen people post pics of Desmognathus and Plethodon with similar aberrancies.
by KevinS
February 29th, 2012, 8:10 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: The "Post your RAREST of the rare finds," post...
Replies: 64
Views: 17553

Re: The "Post your RAREST of the rare finds," post...

Here's a unique (piebald?) Desmognathus monticola I came across a year or two ago. http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4117/4829419356_17cba62294_z.jpg http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4098/4829418058_5e51d49674_z.jpg This is a typical individual from the same stream, for comparison. http://farm5.staticflick...
by KevinS
December 30th, 2011, 8:49 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Mostly Kentucky Highlights from 2011
Replies: 24
Views: 8022

Re: Mostly Kentucky Highlights from 2011

Very nice! I recognize some of these from your flickr account, but apparently I had overlooked some really nice ones too if these were all on there. Congrats on the midland mud-I don't know anyone who finds adults in the region with any consistency (except maybe Carl Brune).
by KevinS
December 10th, 2011, 9:50 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Mud Salamander help!
Replies: 7
Views: 2400

Re: Mud Salamander help!

Here in WV we have P. m. diastictus and it's also very hard to find. I've seen 3 adults here over the years and every one of them was essentially just luck. Two of them were found very close to one another (years apart) and I've since found tons of larvae in that same area. This area was literally i...
by KevinS
November 24th, 2011, 8:03 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Snakes in Late November!!??!?!
Replies: 10
Views: 2361

Re: Snakes in Late November!!??!?!

That larva is definitely not E. cirrigera. You called it right, it's a P. ruber.
by KevinS
October 29th, 2011, 1:28 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Morphology ??
Replies: 27
Views: 3144

Re: Morphology ??

http://www.marshall.edu/etd/masters/man ... 007-ma.pdf

Pages 9 and 22 may be helpful since the figures contain information on rat snakes scalation. Unfortunately I don't have a ready source for the same type of info on Thamnophis.
by KevinS
October 2nd, 2011, 1:45 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: My Summer Research, the WV Experience 2009 (repost)
Replies: 12
Views: 4835

Re: My Summer Research, the WV Experience 2009 (repost)

Nice to see this one re-posted, it's just the kick in the pants I needed. I've done so little herping this year it's embarassing, but tomorrow I'm heading to the mountains to check some caves I haven't visited since my thesis work. I wish we could've worked out a lucifuga trip while you and Nate wer...
by KevinS
September 22nd, 2011, 5:53 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Beautiful Boxies
Replies: 33
Views: 4160

Re: Beautiful Boxies

Crappy old pic, but this guy is my favorite individual-just looked evil with that black shell and glowing eyes I thought.
Image
by KevinS
September 18th, 2011, 2:41 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Corn Snake it Frederick Co, MD?? Snake ID help!!
Replies: 27
Views: 6023

Re: Corn Snake it Frederick Co, MD?? Snake ID help!!

Hey Kevin, Were you checking that snake for prostate cancer? Haha, you caught me. I was actually about to take samples for fecal coliform over the hillside, but the landowner yelled "snake" so I ran back up to the road to see what it was. I tossed my camera to a co-worker for the pic but ...
by KevinS
September 17th, 2011, 1:12 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Corn Snake it Frederick Co, MD?? Snake ID help!!
Replies: 27
Views: 6023

Re: Corn Snake it Frederick Co, MD?? Snake ID help!!

Yeah, definitely a black rat. In Kentucky I've seen a lot of adults with tons of pattern. Here's a WV specimen I came across at work a few months ago-you can see he still had a conspicuous pattern as an adult. http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i174/Rhacodactyl/243046_750858087633_42206716_37076316_7...
by KevinS
July 27th, 2011, 3:38 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Ole Yeller
Replies: 14
Views: 2676

Re: Ole Yeller

Definitely a wehrlei (notice how webbed the toes are)
by KevinS
July 22nd, 2011, 10:09 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Funniest signs seen while herping
Replies: 82
Views: 14333

Re: Funniest signs seen while herping

This was taken at a state park in Kentucky. http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i174/Rhacodactyl/n42206716_32179397_246.jpg I don't know if it technically counts as a sign, but this was an unexpected surprise at a rural gas station. http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/27690_615851831253_422...
by KevinS
July 9th, 2011, 10:02 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: A Long Awaited Juvenile Find
Replies: 2
Views: 1337

Re: A Long Awaited Juvenile Find

Sweet find! I don't see that many copperheads in the first place, so I'd be stoked to find a youngster like that.
by KevinS
July 7th, 2011, 3:21 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: West Virginia Herping and nature photography
Replies: 12
Views: 3384

Re: West Virginia Herping and nature photography

Excellent stuff! That black headed timber shot in particular is awesome-what part of WV did you visit?
by KevinS
June 21st, 2011, 6:34 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Death Comes To The Chicken House
Replies: 27
Views: 8348

Re: Death Comes To The Chicken House

Your daughter is adorable! I love shots of kids who are excited about herps. I'm also very impressed that she's been able to tackle those snakes without getting tagged-wish I could pull that off.