Search found 63 matches

by Terry Vandeventer
November 27th, 2013, 7:13 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: herping for meadow vipers in hungary -V. ursinii rakosiensis
Replies: 7
Views: 3962

Re: herping for meadow vipers in hungary -V. ursinii rakosie

Forty years ago a friend in Europe sent me a pair of Danubian Meadow Vipers with the instructions to feed them "grass horses" and "mouse cubs." They thrived and ate almost anything offered, including raw meat. Great little snakes and now sadly, highly endangered.

Cheers,

TV
by Terry Vandeventer
November 5th, 2013, 6:52 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: a paper about how my views changed with animal planet
Replies: 40
Views: 8763

Re: a paper about how my views changed with animal planet

There are only two nature channels on TV. Nature and Nova.
by Terry Vandeventer
September 12th, 2013, 6:42 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: how many examples of dual patronyms are there?
Replies: 28
Views: 7916

Re: how many examples of dual patronyms are there?

Storeria dekayi wrightorum. David Humphreys Storer, James Ellsworth Dekay, and the Wrights (Albert and Anna Wright were a married duo). 
by Terry Vandeventer
May 19th, 2013, 6:27 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: EDB-like WDBs?
Replies: 25
Views: 7360

Re: EDB-like WDBs?

It's a 100% eastern diamondback. I'm thinking that the picture might be faked. The snake looks like it's dead to me. It's a little "tipped over" at mid-body and even at 400 magnification, the head is suspect. Just looks posed, IMO. Wouldn't be hard to get those guineas to gather around a l...
by Terry Vandeventer
May 18th, 2013, 6:49 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Odd Looking Northern Water Snake
Replies: 5
Views: 1432

Re: Odd Looking Northern Water Snake

Wait until it sheds...

TV
by Terry Vandeventer
May 15th, 2013, 7:41 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Biggest snake you have flipped under a rock?
Replies: 15
Views: 4545

Re: Biggest snake you have flipped under a rock?

Justin, I don't want to get too far off topic. All but one of the boas (12) were under or in piles of volcanic rock. One was simply crawling in rainforest. All of my photos are slides, but the biggest female is pictured on page 210 of Dick Ross's "Reproductive Husbandry of Boas and Pythons.&quo...
by Terry Vandeventer
May 14th, 2013, 1:18 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Biggest snake you have flipped under a rock?
Replies: 15
Views: 4545

Re: Biggest snake you have flipped under a rock?

A nine foot long Boa constrictor nebulosa on the Island of the Commonwealth of Dominica, 1990.

Cheers,

TV
by Terry Vandeventer
January 12th, 2013, 3:54 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: My EOY and Adios for a While!
Replies: 11
Views: 3466

Re: My EOY and Adios for a While!

Sorry. My mistake. I saw the two blacktails labeled as such then had to scroll over to see the cerberus and in doing so missed the label. Still, I've never seen an Arizona Black Rattlesnake that looked like that particular specimen. Had me going there. I've seen scores of both blacks and blacktails ...
by Terry Vandeventer
January 6th, 2013, 7:07 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: My EOY and Adios for a While!
Replies: 11
Views: 3466

Re: My EOY and Adios for a While!

Your second shot of the "Arizona Blacktail" looks suspect. Is it a hybrid?

TV
by Terry Vandeventer
January 4th, 2013, 8:43 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Agressive cottonmouths and copperheads
Replies: 24
Views: 4457

Re: Agressive cottonmouths and copperheads

Snakes are not aggressive. Snakes (with the exception of giant constrictors I mentioned above) do not attack people. I know that I'm droning along and maybe beating a dead horse with this, but even experienced herpetologist get this wrong. I don't want this post to be a flaming of Bruce Means, but o...
by Terry Vandeventer
January 3rd, 2013, 4:07 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Agressive cottonmouths and copperheads
Replies: 24
Views: 4457

Re: Agressive cottonmouths and copperheads

First consider the terms "aggressisve" and "defensive." The only snakes that can be considered truly aggressive are those extremely rare giant constrictors that, upon occasion, attack people with the intent of eating them. Venomous snakes are not aggressive. A pair of King Cobras...
by Terry Vandeventer
October 23rd, 2012, 10:27 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: RFI: how to start with S America
Replies: 11
Views: 2834

Re: RFI: how to start with S America

I would suggest checking with GreenTracks. I am bias because I guided for them over a period of twelve years, but you'll get the very best cooks, knowledgeable guides, and if you book a trip with the owner, Bill Lamar, you'll have one of the world's top neotropical herpetologists on board. You won't...
by Terry Vandeventer
September 9th, 2012, 8:37 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Grab-U-One - on balance is this good or bad?
Replies: 20
Views: 6409

Re: Grab-U-One - on balance is this good or bad?

I know these guys personally. Pereglenes is also a friend of mine and I feel that he is asking for an honest opinion of us forumites on these guys' actions. Since I am intimately familiar with the situation, I think that I can shine some like on their activities. They are respected law enforcement o...
by Terry Vandeventer
August 12th, 2012, 7:48 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Snake Bite First Aid
Replies: 124
Views: 29941

Re: Snake Bite First Aid

GlyptemysNE,

Two excellent posts!

Cheers,

TV
by Terry Vandeventer
August 11th, 2012, 3:05 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Snake Bite First Aid
Replies: 124
Views: 29941

Re: Snake Bite First Aid

With the exception of Jason :) most ER docs simply cannot identify a venomous snake, even with a wall poster or field guide. It's just a fact. They are doctors, not herpetologists. The point is, killing the snake puts the victim at greater risk. About half of the United State's pitviper bites are dr...
by Terry Vandeventer
August 6th, 2012, 4:34 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Let's go cruising
Replies: 4
Views: 1353

Re: Let's go cruising

Daryl,

I'm up for it, but we'll have to wait for the dark of the moons. ;)

Cheers,

TV
by Terry Vandeventer
July 15th, 2012, 8:06 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Two Inadvertant Turtles
Replies: 10
Views: 2497

Re: Two Inadvertant Turtles

Neat turtles! But since you brought it up, do you ever find old "poisons" (poison bottles)?

Cheers,

TV
by Terry Vandeventer
July 12th, 2012, 1:26 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Middle of 2012
Replies: 9
Views: 2681

Re: Middle of 2012

Hi Todd,

What's up with that juvenile calligaster? Definately hypomelanistic looking.

Cheers,

TV
by Terry Vandeventer
June 10th, 2012, 4:11 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: 150 year old Bufo specimen - a puzzle
Replies: 12
Views: 2774

Re: 150 year old Bufo specimen - a puzzle

Frank, Wait 'till you get deeper into the MC collection. There are some very old Loveridge specimens from Africa and a gigantic Canebrake Rattlesnake. The rattler is faded white and looks like an Eastern Diamondback simply because of its size, but when you look on the inside of the coils you see the...
by Terry Vandeventer
May 12th, 2012, 7:29 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Just moved to Mississippi (here are some crappy photos)
Replies: 23
Views: 5431

Re: Just moved to Mississippi (here are some crappy photos)

Hi Natalie, I was very near Kemper County this afternoon (Meridian) when the storm system moved through. Pretty impressive. I was on business and had to come back to Jackson immediately afterwards, so no herping. That week of the super moon was really wierd. Any other time I wouldn't go out but over...
by Terry Vandeventer
May 5th, 2012, 12:52 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Unexpected Hognose
Replies: 27
Views: 4800

Re: Unexpected Hognose

Look at that pattern. It's an Agkistrodon pattern if I ever saw one. I've found a few marked like this over the years and the really red ones make you hesitate...

Cheers,

TV
by Terry Vandeventer
March 23rd, 2012, 3:47 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: lodingi
Replies: 23
Views: 3943

Re: lodingi

Hi Tamara,

I would say that the little pine is pretty typical. They vary in dark pigment from birth. The piebalds are very different. But any Black Pinesnake is a super find and I'm sure it made your day.

Cheers,

TV
by Terry Vandeventer
February 20th, 2012, 8:35 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: New Member in Biloxi Mississippi Area!
Replies: 14
Views: 3589

Re: New Member in Biloxi Mississippi Area!

It's an interesting situation on the coast. Rampant development removes suitable habitat, then hurricanes come through and return it! Ha ha. Look in vacant lots where houses used to be, but are now grown up and full of wooden boards, concrete slabs, and cardboard. Moisture is a must. Old carpet is g...
by Terry Vandeventer
February 17th, 2012, 7:17 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: New Member in Biloxi Mississippi Area!
Replies: 14
Views: 3589

Re: New Member in Biloxi Mississippi Area!

In fact, Pinewoods Snakes are very abundant in southern Mississippi, particularly on the immediate Gulf Coast. I have collected them as far north as Wayne County, but it's the coastal flatwoods where they are most common. http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh91/tvandeventer/RhadinaeaflavilataHillisP...
by Terry Vandeventer
February 17th, 2012, 7:02 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Farancia (or Regina) in captivity
Replies: 27
Views: 6719

Re: Farancia (or Regina) in captivity

Don't kill the messenger. :D A friend has kept Graham's Crawfish Snakes alive for years in a public exhibit. He dredges-up and keeps a stock tank full of live crawfish. Now, think back to your high school biology. He snips one eye off several of the crawfish. This stimulates a molt. As soon as he ha...
by Terry Vandeventer
February 2nd, 2012, 2:42 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: What species is this anaconda regurging?
Replies: 12
Views: 2123

Re: What species is this anaconda regurding?

Young River Otter.

TV
by Terry Vandeventer
January 23rd, 2012, 9:19 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Claxton Rattlesnake Roundup no longer killing snakes
Replies: 25
Views: 6928

Re: Claxton Rattlesnake Roundup no longer killing snakes

Back to Georgia supplying 50 adult Eastern Diamondbacks for the weekend event every year. Granted, that's better than a hundred, but you need to accept that those 50 will most likely die, too. Well meaning wardens and area managers will pick up snakes as they encounter them during their regular dail...
by Terry Vandeventer
January 10th, 2012, 5:21 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: How not to handle venomous snakes...
Replies: 19
Views: 3588

Re: How not to handle venomous snakes...

I watched the video of this fellow in the hospital and was amazed at the rather miner extent of the swelling. I was further alarmed that the plastic surgeon was insisting on a fasciotomy to relieve the swelling. Now, we don't have all of the information in front of us so we can't take into considera...
by Terry Vandeventer
January 9th, 2012, 8:34 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Peru herping advice
Replies: 2
Views: 1046

Re: Peru herping advice

I guided for Greentracks for about ten years. Hands down the best food of any of the Amazon tour companies, which is very important. Owner/guide Bill Lamar is one of the top , if not THE authority on herps of the area (co-author of Venomous Reptiles of the Western [/i ]Hemisphere ). Many of the othe...
by Terry Vandeventer
October 28th, 2011, 2:04 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Canebrake dens?
Replies: 130
Views: 28443

Re: Canebrake dens?

In Mississippi, Canebrake Rattlesnakes don't aggrigate for denning. I've never encountered more than two in a hibernation stump anywhere within their known range. And even though Crotalus horridus is *presently* considered monotypic, these are distinctly different animals. Any observant person famil...
by Terry Vandeventer
September 25th, 2011, 4:31 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: turtle ID help, please
Replies: 5
Views: 1641

Re: turtle ID help, please

Tamara, Your turtle in an intergrade Yellowbelly X Redear Slider. Further, it's losing its pattern as it approaches melanism. Southeastern Mississippi/Pascagoula River Basin sliders rarely turn the dark brownish-black like old male Redears over the rest of the state. Their pattern just becomes obscu...
by Terry Vandeventer
July 15th, 2011, 4:48 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: mississippi and alabama herping regs check
Replies: 20
Views: 4587

Re: mississippi and alabama herping regs check

I don't know where anyone got the idea that Mississippi Wildlife Fisheries & Parks doesn't care about nongame wildlife. We have some of the best nongame wildlife regs in the United States and as Tamara discovered, you will recieve a citation. However, I find it funny that an officer gave you a t...
by Terry Vandeventer
July 3rd, 2011, 11:40 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Looking for a paper
Replies: 3
Views: 1056

Re: Looking for a paper

Thank you, Eric!

I've been Googling for a week and couldn't get that info. I really appreciate it!

Cheers,

TV
by Terry Vandeventer
July 3rd, 2011, 7:52 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Looking for a paper
Replies: 3
Views: 1056

Looking for a paper

Good Morning, I am looking for a paper that someone out there might have. It's by Hugh L. Keegan and is titled, " Venomous Bites and Stings in Mississippi ." Hugh was an old friend of mine and I inherited his extensive herp library and memorabilia, but this important paper was not included...
by Terry Vandeventer
March 18th, 2011, 6:03 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Northern Mississippi area?
Replies: 3
Views: 1151

Re: Northern Mississippi area?

Dusty,

Send me a PM.

Terry Vandeventer
by Terry Vandeventer
March 16th, 2011, 4:54 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Top herping places in North America
Replies: 51
Views: 16441

Re: Top herping places in North America

West Texas

TV
by Terry Vandeventer
March 13th, 2011, 1:00 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Venomous... the true meaning
Replies: 13
Views: 3149

Re: Venomous... the true meaning

Thank you, VanAR!
by Terry Vandeventer
March 1st, 2011, 11:09 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: TX HB 1788 introduced
Replies: 142
Views: 26174

Re: TX HB 1788 introduced

Calling out from Mississippi, both my wife and I will purchase them.

Cheers,

TV
by Terry Vandeventer
February 21st, 2011, 4:29 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Any scientific data to back up these claims?
Replies: 26
Views: 3377

Re: Any scientific data to back up these claims?

When humans are involved, I think that individual rattlesnakes who sound-off are almost always killed. The vast majority never rattle or strike out, and are never seen. They rarely strike at passerbys as the old cowboy movies would lead you to believe, or as people often report. The idea of the more...
by Terry Vandeventer
February 20th, 2011, 6:26 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Texas House Bill 251
Replies: 33
Views: 5784

Re: Texas House Bill 251

The fight against this law has been one of the biggest letter-writing, emailing campaigns ever waged by the private herp community, rivaled only by the potential ban on constricting snakes by the federal government. Money spent on lawyers. Fund raisers. Generous donations. Countless meetings with le...
by Terry Vandeventer
February 20th, 2011, 4:35 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Texas House Bill 251
Replies: 33
Views: 5784

Re: Texas House Bill 251

An email I just recieved from Joe Forks, one of the highly devoted herp enthusiests who are heading up the fight for us in Texas. People please keep the negative, insulting remarks to yourselves and off the public forums. It only hurts us. Be civil. Act like adults. "We have met with Parks &...
by Terry Vandeventer
February 17th, 2011, 2:20 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping
Replies: 215
Views: 39977

Re: The worst thing thats happend to you while herping

Not everyone react the same when witnessing or engaging in violent acts. Not every soldier comes home with post traumatic stress syndrome. The majority don't. Many do their jobs well and suffer little if any afterwards. Some heros get PTS, others don't. They are still incredibly brave. They are just...
by Terry Vandeventer
February 15th, 2011, 7:08 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: New species distribution models for Python molurus
Replies: 23
Views: 4701

Re: New species distribution models for Python molurus

Of all the publicity and coverage on pythons in Florida over the years, I have never heard of Indian Pythons being found there. More info please.

TV
by Terry Vandeventer
January 26th, 2011, 11:47 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Indigenous Pranksters?? (120 foot snake)
Replies: 10
Views: 2962

Re: Indigenous Pranksters?? (160 foot snake)

I know from time to time I come across as a bit irritating here on the forums, but I just can't tolerate some of the crap out there that is drawn into the field of herpetology. Because people will watch this stuff and believe it, sponsors pour their money into these tv shows. Again, these shows are ...
by Terry Vandeventer
January 1st, 2011, 4:29 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Puff caught and killed near Caledon. South Africa
Replies: 4
Views: 1384

Re: Puff caught and killed near Caledon. South Africa

I guess the practice of killing snakes and holding them toward the camera is not limited to the southern U.S. I'd say that puff is about nine feet long and weighs 119 pounds.

Cheers,

TV
by Terry Vandeventer
December 23rd, 2010, 1:34 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Wild caught albinos???
Replies: 264
Views: 115059

Re: Wild caught albinos???

Leucistic snakes have been recorded in many species. To name a few; Southern Pine, Eastern Diamondback, Burmese Python, Ball Python, Eastern Hognose, Amazon Treeboa, Texas Ratsnake, etc. I personally introduced the leucistic Western Cottonmouth into the trade. I'm pretty much out of the breeding bus...
by Terry Vandeventer
December 22nd, 2010, 3:25 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Ga. Venomous
Replies: 5
Views: 1719

Re: Ga. Venomous

Amen. Totally agree.

Cheers,

TV
by Terry Vandeventer
December 22nd, 2010, 3:00 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Wild caught albinos???
Replies: 264
Views: 115059

Re: Wild caught albinos???

The bug eyed condition is characteristic of leucism in snakes and usually occurs in the F2 generation. Wild-caught leucistics never (presumably) show this trait because they represent a single, one time, spontaneous mutation. I'm guessing that that snake was the result of captive breeding or was cap...
by Terry Vandeventer
December 22nd, 2010, 1:18 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Question about snakes' stamina
Replies: 10
Views: 2850

Re: Question about snakes' stamina

Don't know how the circulatory system of terrestrial snakes affects stamina when the chips are down. I would guess that all of the things mentioned certainly come into play. For a different angle, consider coachwhips. I've found that if you can keep a coachwhip in sight and on the run for, say 20 se...
by Terry Vandeventer
December 19th, 2010, 5:41 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Don't try this in the field
Replies: 21
Views: 3914

Re: Don't try this in the field

George Van Horn has handled more venomous snakes that the combined posters at this forum have ever seen in their entire lives. He's a good and sincere person who knows his stuff. He was trained by Bill Haast. Anyone who extracts snake venom for a living, Van Horn, Haast, Ross Allen, Jim Harrison, ar...