Net (2) Listen to the home owner

November 19, 2013, 12:58 am

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Listen to the home owner! People like this give me a warm fuzzy feeling inside

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Microhyla nepenthicola adult, tadpoles, habitat, and a bonus dragon snake.

November 20, 2013, 2:16 am

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These were taken by my partner while we were in Borneo a few weeks ago, figured a few people may be interested.
Microhyla nepenthicola is a highly specialized microhylid frog that has evolved to live out it's life in and around the pitchers of Nepenthes ampullaria. They lay eggs inside the ampullaria pitchers (which have actually evolved to catch leaf litter in this species, not small animals, but that's another story....), the tadpoles develop inside, and the adult males display and compete nearby for females that they mate inside the pitchers. The 'Dragon snake' or Rough backed litter snake (Xenodermus javanicus, google it for amazing photos, it's an incredible species) is a frog specialist that is usually (always?) found within 10 meters of water, on or under the leaf litter - and here it is waiting for its dinner. The dragonsnake itself is generally considered rare, and finding one curled up around an ampullaria colony (I'm a nepenthes nut) that contained the tadpoles of Asia's smallest frog made my night (possibly even week, but we did find some pretty cool stuff every other night.....).

Dragonsnake amongst pitchers:


M. nepenthicola male - we found two and heard but couldn't locate another within the same 20cm square patch of leaf litter.


Second male, beside a $2 coin for size reference.


1 of 3 tadpoles, about 2mm long, in this ampullaria pitcher.

Attached Thumbnails

       

Darling Downs Herpetological Society field Herping pics.

November 21, 2013, 10:21 pm

≫ Next: Wanted: pictures of V. acanthurus habitat

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Just a couple of pics from a recent Herp outing. Please share your own pics if you also went on the outing?

- - - Updated - - -

Can anybody id the reptile in the last pic? ;)

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Wanted: pictures of V. acanthurus habitat

November 28, 2013, 12:10 pm

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Dear Users,

i am a german reptile fan and about to keep a pair of Varanus acanthurus, but I need some inspiration in building my terrarium.
My biggest problem is the backwall for the moment, thats why I would like to get some pictures of rock walls maybe from the Pilbara or the Kimberleys or any other places where Varanus acanthurus lives.

I would be very happy if someone can send me some pictures to get a better impression. I've been to Australia last year, but I couldnt take pictures of these regions, because I lost my camera recharger :/ thats why I'm asking u guys for help!

Cheers,
Philipp

Herping at Phillip Island

November 29, 2013, 12:33 am

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Hi guys,
I'm going helping at Phillip Island this weekend and I was just wondering if there was anything I should look out for? I'm hoping to see a few Blotched Blue tongues and a lot of small skink species.

I will post some pics when I get back :D

Quick Drive

December 2, 2013, 1:13 am

≫ Next: A few recent finds....

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Haven't done much in the way of herping lately but I went for a quick drive Thursday night and came across a nice coastal and my first Black Headed Python :) Hopefully I'll have a few more pictures before the end of the wet season.

A few recent finds....

December 2, 2013, 2:48 am

≫ Next: Wine

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Inspired by Chanzey's post I thought I would share a few recent finds as well...

Ornate Dragon




Common Scaly Foot




Bardick





Burtons Legless Lizard



A very bad pic of a wheatbelt.

Wine

December 3, 2013, 12:42 am

≫ Next: 2-WEEK TOUR OF ASIA-Oct'13 (Oman, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia + Malaysia)

≪ Previous: A few recent finds....

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A box or wine for that special someone - An ex-girlfriend, a real estate agent or your Boss (if you have one - I don't ;) )

Attached Thumbnails

   

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2-WEEK TOUR OF ASIA-Oct'13 (Oman, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia + Malaysia)

December 3, 2013, 12:16 pm

≫ Next: Herp pics (warning - pic rich!)

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My apologies for anyone who has already seen this post from Field Herp Forum but I thought I would include it here too....

I have finally got time to sit down and do a write-up of a trip me, my girlfriend and friends and family members did in October. It was a combination of business, pleasure and everything in between as different people were going on the the trip for different reasons and the aim was to keep everyone happy. Needless to say I was the only member of the trip intent on herping so it was with some trepidation of how much compromise would be necessary that we all departed the UK for our first stop - 1 night in Oman.


Oman - a really interesting country that I would love to go back to with more than 18hours to spare. Our taxi driver was a real character and soon warmed to his task of pointing out every mosque, palace, souk, hilltop or otherwise to us on our way to the hotel. We made all the appropriate noises an appreciative tourist should make and he got so enthused by this that he tried to take us to his house for tea and played a game called 'Run down the pedestrians' in the back alleys. Further description of this game is in the link on the photo...



???????? by Kristian Bell, on Flickr


After checking in and having a few beers it was time for bed, though not before I had found and photographed at least one reptile. After sitting in air-conditioned luxury and sipping cold beer for a few hours the 40-degree windless night time heat was hard to deal with, and within minutes I was dripping with sweat. There were geckos absolutely everywhere but it turns out my camera had taken the transition from air-conditioning to stifling heat even worse than I had, and constantly fogged up within microseconds of me wiping the lens clear. As such I only managed one useable shot...(ID is tentative as this is my first time herping in this area).



Southern tuberculated gecko (Bunopus tuberculatus) by Kristian Bell, on Flickr


The next day it was off to our first proper destination, Koh Samui in Thailand, where we were to meet up with my 2 brothers, who both live in the country - having fallen for the charms of the local women/boys/ladyboys. The idea was to spend one day shopping for knock off designer t-shirts (my idea of hell but believe it or not this was one of the prime motivations of one of my fellow travelers on the trip), one day visiting my brothers house on Koh Tao and one day to relax. I have spent a bit of time herping on Koh Tao and Koh Samui is more populated and polluted so I wasn't too bothered about going crazy with herping here. Nevertheless I hired a scooter for the day and my girlfriend and I hit the only patches of decent forest I could find in the interior. Within minutes, and right within the densest patch of forest the road passed through, we had come across a snake crossing the road.


These guys are common both on roads and ground into roads so I am posting an old pic taken on Koh Tao a few years ago.

Oriental Whipsnake (Ahaetulla prasina) by Kristian Bell, on Flickr


Despite this early success the rest of the day was extremely slow going and I was dismayed at the lack of decent habitat even well into the interior of the island. By nightfall we hadnt improved on our total, though did manage to find a few amphibians in a small stream.


Not sure of the ID on these guys
Unknown frogs in amplexus by Kristian Bell, on Flickr



Asian Painted Frog (Kaloula pulchra) by Kristian Bell, on Flickr



Asian Common Toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus) by Kristian Bell, on Flickr


As dark descended we road cruised the best looking patch of forest but despite loads of bats flitting across the road we saw no reptiles. Before packing up for the night we returned to walk the small stretch of stream where we had found the frog and toad and came across one snake (a lifer for me) photographed as it sat on a low-lying shrub on the edge of a footpath.



Common Mock Viper (Psammodynastes pulverulentus) by Kristian Bell, on Flickr


The rest of our time on Koh Samui passed quickly and it was off to our next destination, a tiny island approximately 1500km off the coast of Western Australia - Christmas Island. Christmas Island is a pretty remarkable place, famous for its mass migration of red crabs. It has also become a massive 'sorting office' for asylum seekers and we had a quick look at several of the detainee camps that are dotted around the island - separated into families, children and single men (where most of the trouble predictably happens). Some of the accommodation they live in includes demountable cabins previously used for struggling aboriginal settlements on the mainland, but long since deemed uninhabitable due to rot/asbestos and the like. Any Aussie readers will appreciate how shocking these cabins must be to be deemed unsuitable by the government for use as aboriginal housing. The massive influx of asylum seekers has created a crazy local economy where even the most menial jobs attract 6-figure annual salaries and every single room in every guesthouse, hotel and lodging is permanently rented out, at day rates, to government workers who have nowhere else to stay. Christmas Island also has a massive range of birds and most show almsot no fear of humans. At night a bunch of frigates and boobies roosted on the cliff-top fencing just outside our hotel room and didnt budge even when I disturbed them by standing right beside them. Our hotel used to be a thriving 5-star casino resort but a change in government legislation in the 90s put an end to it. The resort rapidly deteriorated but the hotel component was saved from dereliction a few years ago. However, all the gaming rooms remain abandoned, and it was extremely creepy walking through dark rooms filled with rows of pokie machines, roulette and craps tables.



Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster plotus) by Kristian Bell, on Flickr



Christmas Island by Kristian Bell, on Flickr



Christmas Island Thrush (Turdus poliocephalus erythropleurus) by Kristian Bell, on Flickr



Yellow Tropicbird/Golden Bosun Chick (Phaethon lepturus fulvus) by Kristian Bell, on Flickr


These guys get to monstrous sizes (if you dont believe me CHECK OUT THIS BRUTE: http://www.hoax-slayer.com/images/coconut-crab-2.jpg )

Robber Crab (Birgus latro) by Kristian Bell, on Flickr



Forgotten Casino by Kristian Bell, on Flickr


After one night in Christmas Island we set off the next morning for our main destination of Sydney, to spend time with my sister and her family. I lived in Sydney for 8 months while working as a research assistant at the university of Sydney so it was nice to go back and visit a few old patches as well as try out a couple of new areas. Unfortunately one favourite patch in Sydney where I had seen massive amounts of wildlife had been destroyed to make way for some treatment plant of some sort, which was really sad for me as I had some great memories of the place - cant beat progress though eh! My first mini expedition was to the Blue Mountains. I saw a stack of critters including a blotched bluetongue, Cunninghams skinks, brushtail possum, water dragons and a southern leaftail gecko, though didnt manage my main target of Highlands Copperhead. As I have seen many of each of these species previously, I only took photos of a few...



Mountain Heath Dragon (Rankinia diemensis) by Kristian Bell, on Flickr


Video link to footage of above lizard: Mountain Heath Dragon (Rankinia diemensis) | Flickr - Photo Sharing!



Yellow-Bellied Water Skink (Eulamprus heatwolei) by Kristian Bell, on Flickr



Valley of the Waters by Kristian Bell, on Flickr



Diamond Python (Morelia spilota) by Kristian Bell, on Flickr


Alot of time in Sydney was spent with my sister and her kids, but as I had to share a hotel room with my brother (who is a big snorer) I (a very light sleeper) had plenty of time to take shots of Coogee Bay, where we were staying. Click on the picture below for a slightly funnier story about how the photograph came about.



Coogee Dawn by Kristian Bell, on Flickr


My final excursion while in Sydney was to Newcastle and the areas to the north. I was keen to take a half decent photograph of a red-bellied black snake as this was the first Aussie snake I ever saw (about 12 years ago) and despite seeing quite a few since I have never got any better pictures than a tail disappearing into undergrowth or a blurred headshot. Jordan Mulder, Stephen Mahoney and Daniel Stace were my very able guides for the day and we very quickly found about a dozen red-bellies and a dozen marsh snakes.



Red-bellied Black Snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus) by Kristian Bell, on Flickr



Red-bellied Black Snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus) by Kristian Bell, on Flickr


After a successful afternoon we headed north of Newcastle to do a spot of nightcruising. It was extremely windy and stormy and at one point we needed to pull a freshly fallen tree off the road in order to exit the park but before we got hit by torrential rain and called it a night we managed to find one snake - a new species for me - and one very cool marsupial.



Rough-scaled Snake (Tropidechis carinatus) by Kristian Bell, on Flickr



Feathertail Glider (Acrobates pygmaeus) by Kristian Bell, on Flickr


Our next destination was a 1 night stop in Bali. Some of the guys we were travelling with used to visit Bali every year for many years but hadnt been for a decade or so. They were keen to re-visit to see if the island was still as good as they remembered it - unfortunately it wasnt. The place was a bit of a mess, with rubbish everywhere, a chaotic airport and congested roads. After being on the go non-stop for over a week I decided there was no point trying to hire a scooter for an afternoon so I gave myself the night off from herping.



Bali by Kristian Bell, on Flickr


One other reason for taking the night off was that I was keen to be as rested as possible for our last destination, and the one I was by far looking forward to the most - the island of Langkawi in Malaysia. We stayed at an amazing hotel for 3 nights, though I learned fairly quickly that the hotel was only a few years old and had been delicately put on top of what used to be some lovely rainforest and mangrove habitat. This seemed to be a common story across much of Langkawi, with new developments and forest clearing occurring everywhere. Despite this, the island still has plenty of decent tracts of forest left, and compared to Bali seemed like paradise, with monkeys, birds and water monitors absolutely everywhere we turned to look. My girlfriend (now my fiance by this point in the trip!) and I quickly sorted a hire car and were soon speeding around the island, taking in the sights. The first rains of the season came with a whimper on our first night there, but by the second night we were absolutely deluged. Despite torrential rain (and I have never had much success herping in rain other than occasional Nerodia-filled nights in Florida) we saw a decent number of snakes, including 7 Pope's pit vipers, a green cat snake and Malayan Krait. During the day we took a boat tour in the mangroves and our eagle-eyed guide spotted 3 mangrove pit vipers. My [strike]girlfriend[/strike] sorry fiance, also spotted a cerburus sp. which i hooked out the water and placed on the boat. Having handled a few filesnakes in Australia I was expecting a loose sack of a snake with pretty limited ability to move about on land. Unfortunately I was wrong, and within a split second the snake jumped several times and bounded out the boat, disappearing into the murky water.


These guys were fairly shy
Dusky Leaf Monkey (Trachypithecus obscurus) by Kristian Bell, on Flickr


This species was newly described in about 2008
Bent-toed Gecko (Cyrtodactylus macrotuberculatus) by Kristian Bell, on Flickr



Popes Pit Viper (Trimeresurus popeorum) by Kristian Bell, on Flickr


These guys were everywhere across the island and on several occasions we saw what I presume was a parent monkey sat at the side of the road beside a roadkill juvenile monkey
Long-tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis) mother and baby by Kristian Bell, on Flickr


I was blown away by how attractive these snakes were. For some reason photos of these guys dont do the iridescence and colour of them justice
Mangrove Pit Viper (Trimeresurus purpureomaculatus) by Kristian Bell, on Flickr


Despite possibly being the most venomous snake in Asia this guy was just about the most innocuous snake i've encountered.

Juvenile Malayan Krait (Bungarus candidus) by Kristian Bell, on Flickr


....unlike this guy

Green Cat Snake (Boiga cyanea) by Kristian Bell, on Flickr



Black Sand Beach Jetty by Kristian Bell, on Flickr


And that just about wraps up an action-packed 2 weeks and my last herping until sometime in 2014, when I am planning a herping honeymoon in Costa Rica (though I have yet to tell this to my long-suffering partner).


Many thanks to Tom Charlton, Tom Williams, David Nixon, Rupert Lewis, Jordan Mulder, Stephen Mahoney, Daniel Stace and anyone else I may have forgotten that took me out or gave me invaluable advice about where to look for certain critters. The trip was a great success, in no small part due to your willingness to share your knowledge. I owe you all.

Herp pics (warning - pic rich!)

December 7, 2013, 3:58 pm

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So this thread is composed of a bunch of reptile pics I've taken since back in October, through to now over a couple different trips.

First off was a short night up around Newcastle with a couple of friends.

This Rough-scale was one of the few snakes out on the road.

Tropidechis carinatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Tropidechis carinatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Tropidechis carinatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Tropidechis carinatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Tropidechis carinatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Tropidechis carinatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Tropidechis carinatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

We also photographed a Red-belly in the day, but I got few decent shots.

Pseudechis porphyriacus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

I also took a few pictures of flowers

Actinotus helianthi by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Viola hederacea by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

We found a very small, yet attractive and uncommon frog.

Crinia tinnula by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

And a really cute Feather-tailed Glider.

Acrobates pygmaeus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

I then took a couple pictures at home

Rocket Frogs

Litoria latopalmata by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr


Litoria latopalmata by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Water Dragon

Intellegama lesueurii by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Before a short trip to the Barringtons yielded some nice skinks

Montane Garden Skink

Lampropholis caligula by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Lampropholis caligula by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Lampropholis caligula by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Lampropholis caligula by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Weasel Skink

Saproscincus mustelinus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

And a nice Southern Angle Headed Dragon

Hypsilurus spinipes by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Hypsilurus spinipes by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Hypsilurus spinipes by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

I took some more photos at home, this time of a Yellow-faced Whip Snake

Demansia psammophis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Demansia psammophis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Before I joined up with a bunch of other herpers on the AHS field trip to Smith's Lakes, where we saw and I took photos of numerous animals.

Golden Crowned Snake

Cacophis squamulosus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Cacophis squamulosus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Cacophis squamulosus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Eastern Small Eyed Snake

Cryptophis nigrescens by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Rough Scaled Snake

Tropidechis carinatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Tropidechis carinatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Tropidechis carinatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

A Revealed Tree Frog

Litoria revelata by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Litoria revelata by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

And Tyler's Tree Frog

Litoria tyleri by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr


Red Backed Toadlets

Pseudophryne coriacea by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Pseudophryne coriacea by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

A Common Scaly Foot

Pygopus lepidopodus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Pygopus lepidopodus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Moritz' Leaf-tailed Gecko

Saltuarius moritzi by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Saltuarius moritzi by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Some Lycosid spider.

Spider by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

I then had a few days photographing around where I live, doing a couple nights up the mountains for frogs.

Great-barred Frog

Mixophyes fasciolatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Giant-barred Frog

Mixophyes iteratus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Mixophyes iteratus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Mixophyes iteratus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Black-soled Frog

Frog Skin by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Frog Eye by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

And another Small-eyed Snake

Cryptophis nigrescens by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Cryptophis nigrescens by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Cryptophis nigrescens by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Cryptophis nigrescens by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

A short trip North allowed me a couple pictures of some cool frogs.

Sphagnum Frog

Philoria sphagnicola by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Philoria sphagnicola by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Philoria sphagnicola by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Pugh's Mountain Frog

Philoria pughi by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

After all this herping around the NSW coast, I was very ready for some desert air. Luckily I managed to get on a trip with Sydney Uni out to the Simpson Desert in western Qld. I'd visited the area once before and knew it to be pretty spectacular, this was not at all dulled on this trip.

Of course my primary aim, as always was geckos. I particularly wanted pictures of the Smooth Knob-tails.

While we did see a number of these I was often too busy to get pictures and didn't really get the ones I wanted.

Nephrurus levis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Nephrurus levis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Nephrurus levis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Nephrurus levis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Nephrurus levis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

I also took some photo of the Sand-plain Gecko

Lucasium stenodactylum by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Lucasium stenodactylum by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Lucasium stenodactylum by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Lucasium stenodactylum by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Lucasium stenodactylum by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Lucasium stenodactylum by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

And some of the features of a Fat-tailed Gecko

Diplodactylus conspicillatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Diplodactylus conspicillatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Diplodactylus conspicillatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Dragons Lizards were extremely abundant in the day, with several species being seen around.

My favourites are the rather speccy Thorny Devils. We only saw one somewhat dull individual this trip, but it was a nice animal none-the-less.

Moloch horridus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Moloch horridus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Central Netteds were aplenty with many juveniles of the species seen running into burrows around the place, or basking on low wood and shrubs.

Ctenophorus nuchalis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Ctenophorus nuchalis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Ctenophorus nuchalis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

I had seen Millitary Dragons before, and found them very nice, but this was the first time seeing the males in their spectacular breeding colours.

Ctenophorus isolepis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Ctenophorus isolepis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

A pair of Long-nosed Dragons hung around the camp area often seen sitting up in the trees, jumping from branch to branch.

Amphibolurus longirostris by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Some of the dune tops yielded these Cane-grass Dragons, this individual is the first one I've seen actually sitting on Cane Grass, though I'm sure it's not actually uncommon.

Diporiphora winneckei by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

The hot conditions were also pretty good for skinks which were seen often foraging in the morning and afternoon or taking shelter at the edge of spinifex during the day. We saw plenty of species, though I photographed only a few.

Red-tailed Fine-snout Ctenotus have long slender tails and toes. They're quite pretty skinks.

Ctenotus leae by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Ctenotus dux were one of the more common species.

Ctenotus dux by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Ctenotus dux by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

As were Ctenotus ariadne.

Ctenotus ariadne by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

There were also plenty of Sand-sliders, namely Lerista labialis.

Lerista labialis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

As well as a single individual of Lerista aericeps.

Lerista aericeps by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

We saw a few snakes, including a large Mulga which I didn't photograph and some nice burrowing species.

Most people dislike Blind Snakes, I kinda like them, though I agree they are a pain to photograph.

Ramphotyphlops endoterus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Ramphotyphlops endoterus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

On the other hand this Narrow Banded Shovel-nosed Snake was exciting for the whole team, as they rarely turn up in the area, and are extremely attractive.

Brachyurophis fasciolatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Brachyurophis fasciolatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Brachyurophis fasciolatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Brachyurophis fasciolatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Brachyurophis fasciolatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Along with these, another Snake-like animal was picked up. This time, a Legless Lizard.

Delma nasuta by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Last but certainly not least were the Goannas we were lucky enough to track down.

Gould's Monitors were certainly the easiest of these to find, walking through our camp, digging around the ground in it and letting me get pretty close for some pics.

Varanus gouldii by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Varanus gouldii by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Varanus gouldii by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

We also saw a number of Pygmy Mulga Monitors, a delightful small, quite beautiful species.

Varanus gilleni by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Varanus gilleni by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Varanus gilleni by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Varanus gilleni by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr
Varanus gilleni by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Varanus gilleni by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

However my favourite find of the trip was this Short-tailed Monitor. This is the smallest species of Goanna in the world. On top of this it's quite attractive, displaying some nice red colour to match the sand of its surrounding.

Varanus brevicauda by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Varanus brevicauda by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Varanus brevicauda by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Varanus brevicauda by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Varanus brevicauda by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Varanus brevicauda by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Varanus brevicauda by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Unfortunately even the best trips come to an end. We soon found ourself driving out of the Desert, bid fairlwell by a pretty sunset over the Southern Cross in the town of Windorah.

Sunset on the Southern Cross by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Hope you guys enjoy the thread!

Gekonidae

December 8, 2013, 4:38 pm

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Diplodactylus conspicillatus



Strophurus ciliaris aberrans



Lucasium damaeum



Lucasium stenodactylum



Saltuarius cornutus



Carphodactylus laevis




and a Pygopodidae

Pygopus nigriceps

frogs and geckos field trip

December 9, 2013, 11:21 pm

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hi guys, i wanted to go on a feild trip to veiw tree frogs and geckos in there natural habitat, would like to see the sort of spots there hiding etc for tank inspiration and just appreciate them in there natural invironment.
and where good in sydney on the northern beaches? or the sort of areas i should look?
Mitch

Adventurous Carpet

December 10, 2013, 2:49 pm

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This guy was found at work today huddled up in the corner with what looks like a full belly. There's a snake catcher coming out now to move it to the grassed area.





I say adventurous, because this is the view from the level below where this guy is:



He looks very healthy from what I could see.

King Cobras (pic heavy)

December 10, 2013, 6:35 pm

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I was lucky enough to do a king cobra trip with Bali reptile rescue and Longqi on here. We did a 2 day trip and relocated 3 nests, 85 eggs, and 2 female kings in west bali.

The first king was an impressive 3.5m female who was a little flightier then usual apparently.





Her nest was in a pretty tricky spot in a clump of bamboo. Recovered 35 eggs from her.



We then went to a second nest, however, couldnt find the female so just recovered her nest.



It wasnt all reptiles though, we also got to feed these adorable rehab juvenile hornbills.



That night we went herping through some nice paddies getting a banded krait, retic, a couple of bronze backs, rat snake, banded wolf snake, assorted toads, one mystery litoria, bali chameleon and a tokay. (i apologise for the average photos).


Tokay


retic


retic


Banded krait

The next day we went back into king country and found the third females nest. A very small number of eggs at only 16. We found out why when we found her in a rock pile as she was only 2m long. She was still impressive at that size though putting on a nice defensive display.


Her nest


Her habitat











After bagging her (and taking some pics) he headed back to the depo where a few of the rehab, and resident, reptiles were waiting.



All up it was a fantastic trip and i would strongly recommend anyone heading to bali to check them out!

Few pics from last night around Townsville

January 11, 2014, 6:06 pm

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First night out for the year, after a bit of rain the past couple of days. 4 Carpets, 1 Hatchling ven that was either a Coastal Taipan or Brown (off the road and into the grass before we could get a decent look), a Gecko that we found while looking for the ven off the side of the road (lol) and a BTS.

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Friendly visitor

January 15, 2014, 7:10 am

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A friendly coastal peeking into my rat tubs.
Three times he went crawling back into the roof after seeing me, and every time after ten minutes he'd be back.

He's now in across the roads crops, with a nice rat treat, for being a friendly visitor.
(Sorry the last pic is on an angle, and the middle picture is Instagram edited).

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Watagans d/n herp

January 19, 2014, 3:05 am

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advice on firs time herping south straddy

January 20, 2014, 2:12 pm

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Hey I had a quick read through the helping for noobs thread but has anyone got any tips for specifically southstradbroke island. Heading over for the weekend and always wanted to go out for a look and will this time. Would love see monitors and pythons! Thanks everyone.

I would like to see Pythons

January 20, 2014, 2:27 pm

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Hi Guys I'm going for 4 days to Lamington national park border Nsw / Queensland. I'm a photographer and I would like to found it some pythons around national park. Somebody to knows where its good area for Pythons? Regards :)

Not sure what type of snake this is?

January 22, 2014, 2:00 pm

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Found 50 ks from chinchilla qld anyone know what it is?

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