Words cannot describe how cool the second grade class at Conservatory Lab Charter School is. In a project celebrating snakes, they stole a little inspiration from Lady Gaga. To quote the kids:

Don't be afraid, Give snakes a chance!

From press reports that come out of Texas and groups like the Sweetwater Jaycees, one would think that the ground is literally crawling with rattlesnakes, and the entire state is under attack from these deadly beauties.

Yeah, not so much. It took us three days to come across our very own rattlesnake, which happened to be the only thing I wanted to see. Despite the fact that I wasn't overly picky, the last one on my list to see was the Western Diamonback, with a Black Tailed Rattlesnake being my top desire. But ya know, after three days and not a single rattle for our crew I was NOT picky.

Driving down 2886 to the cuts by the radio tower at 65 miles an hour, we were passing a lot of gravel driveways leading to ranchs and farms. I was scanning the right side to see if we could catch sight of a snake off-road. First we had to stop for a white, black and red blur, except it turned out to be a big gulp cup. Drive a little further, I see a "stick" on the right. But wait, that stick looked striped. Sticks really aren't usually striped like that, are they? "Jeff, I think I saw what might be a stick, but it might not. Let's go back" After all, we did stop for the cup.

All the care I had practiced getting out of the truck went out the window. I turned into a squealing, happy little girl. Running with camera in hand and screaming behind me for someone to grab a hook, I was deliriously happy. I found something that rattled. While most were searching for the elusive grayband, I was searching for my sweet rattles. And I found it. It would have been fine with me had one of our crew found it, but the excitement at finding it myself was amazing.

The boys were kind; they congratulated me on a great catch. I had earned my stripes as a herper. I didn't care about finding anything else this trip, because I had found the one thing I wanted. Everything else was gravy. I did have the presence of mind to video the find. After the bump, me in my full snake dork mode, very happy. Yes, I am giggling and squealing. I guess I finally figured out what this field herping business is about.

Friday night we headed east on I-90 with plans to herp the cuts and head to Langtry. That was until we came across a young girl who had run out of gas.

We started the night fairly early, which allowed for us to actually see a ton of lizards. We had Andy, a biologist from Texas Parks and Wildlife; Rom, a paramedic from Arizona; and a reporter and photographer from San Antonio joining us on our runs.

Jeff may have caught the first snake of our trip, but I spotted the first four lizards. Several side blotched lizards and Desert spiny lizards were out all evening. The snakes, however, were not. Or at least for our crew. I had a lot of concern going into this about my ability to spot things on the cuts, but after the lizards, I lost all doubts.

As we were headed towards Langtry on a very sharp and blind curve another herper flagged us down. A girl was trying to make the drive west and had hoped to make Sanderson before she ran out of gas and didn't quite make it. We didn't have gas, but we had a group of MacGyvers who attempted to create a siphon hose out of two camel backs. Unfortunately, we were a bit short. We escorted her as far as she could make it west towards Sanderson, left her at a rock cut with another herper who promised to keep and eye on her, and then ran to town to grab a few gallons to get her the rest of the way.

The oddest thing happened while we were talking. The girl turned out to be a turtle keeper who had never met herpers. She also had never met a woman who liked reptiles! But here she was stranded and we got to share a bit of our world with her. Right after she pulled off and got on her way, we herped the cut. Karma shined down on us, rewarding us with a Suboc that was found on the top of the cut directly above where she was parked! It turned out to be the only live snake of the evening.

We had planned on trekking 285 to the 2400 to look for something that rattles for me, but an accident prevent that route. We went west and worked a few cuts before heading up the highway. About this time Andy and I each grabbed a seat of our own and crashed. Walking the last cut, we both hit that exhaustion wall. It was 3 AM, after all!

Jeff and Ron kept searching and Jeff found his Sanderson grayband. Well, kinda. The organizers of Snake Days placed three plastic snakes on the cuts. Each one has a prize associated with it when we turn them in. As sad as it is for Jeff to not have found a live grayband, I think it is amazingly ironic that the man who started the Alterna Page and kingsnake.com is the man who found the grayband. Almost as if it was fate!

We were the last to roll in at 5 AM. Everyone else was asleep and we stumbled into our rooms leaving a trail of field gear from the door to the bed. We were up at 10 AM in the morning to make the talks and plan for the night.

Lead photo John Lassiter just before we hit the road, the orange vest is required when working the roads.

A bad night snake hunting is better than a good day at work, right?

Well, Jeff and I can combine snake hunting and work and rationalize heading to Sanderson, Tex., to join the Snake Day celebration. I got off the plane right around noon and hopped into the "Herpin' Death Truck," and we began the long trek from Austin to Sanderson. Jeff gave me some tips and explained a bit of the natural history and how to search the cuts. I am an amateur and I readily admit that, but I think Jeff was quite pleased that I didn't think each tire strip on the highway was a snake.

We rolled into Sanderson around 8:30 pm with some very impressive storms surrounding us. We managed to completely miss all of it on the drive so we unloaded our gear, put on the new fashion trend hitting the herp world (orange reflective vests with 144 square inches of reflective tape) and hit the road.

Despite our best efforts, we turned up a ton of inverts, but only one snake. A night snake popped out about 5 minutes before the rain hit Sanderson. We also found a few of Wayne Howell's "surprise snakes," but since they were planted animals, they really do not count. I think the rain skunked us all. Jeff and I headed back to the Desert Air at 2:00 am and collapsed.

We are preparing to head to the convention center shortly for registration and then I suspect we will take a nap so we are raring to go tonight. Here's to finding something that buzzes!

Are you in Sanderson with us? We have a photo gallery set up for the event! Please post all of your finds here.

The endangered San Salvador Iguana (Cyclura rileyi rileyi) has a second chance at survival, thanks to efforts of Tom Crutchfield, William Hayes, and funding provided by Seacology and CIBC FirstCaribbean.

From the official press release announcing the new facility, San Salvador Living Jewels:

“We are really excited to have this facility,” says Tom Rothfus, Director of the Gerace Research Centre. “Now we have something people can get behind, and see that there is an endangered animal we're protecting right here—and the greater significance of protecting their communities and environments.”

Public education comprises a major goal of the Iguana Conservation Centre. Guests at the Centre will be able to see the highly photogenic iguanas in the beautiful open air pen. Attractive signage describes the plight of these iguanas and some of their more fascinating habits. Prior to the creation of this facility, few visitors to San Salvador even knew the iguanas existed. Presently, the lizards are largely confined to a few offshore cays and to small islets in the inland lake that are difficult to access. Although a few iguanas persist on the main island, they are very rarely encountered.

[...]

Another goal of the new iguana facility—perhaps the most important—is to bring formal protection to San Salvador Island’s unique but highly threatened habitats. In addition to the iguanas, the island hosts some of the largest and most diverse seabird colonies in the archipelago. Other endemic animals found nowhere else cling to a tenacious existence on what many believe was the first land in the New World that Columbus set foot on. Beautiful reefs surround the island, which comprise a major tourist attraction but are susceptible to overuse.

According to Michael Goffe, President of San Salvador’s Living Jewels, “we hope to work closely with the Bahamas National Trust to reinvigorate our efforts to establish a new national park on this island. Many of the island’s residents want the benefits that come from habitat protection.”

Saving one species opens minds to the need of conservation. Thank you to Tom Crutchfield for keeping us in the loop. After the bump, a video from Conch Salad TV, and a few more photos.

The Ohio Dangerous and Wild Animal bill (SB310) was officially signed into law on June 5, affecting owners of snakes exceeding 12 feet, venomous species, and crocodilians.

The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) worked with legislators to obtain amendments favorable to reptile keepers, including:

having boa constrictors removed completely from list of restricted snakes

ensuring that any species of constricting snake listed as a "restricted" snake may be owned without a permit if the snake is less than 12 feet in length

exempting constricting snakes from liability insurance/surety bond mandate

allowing employees and volunteers of permitted facilities to not be considered “members of the public”

permitting public contact with constricting snakes for educational purposes for school-aged students

prohibiting the Director of Department of Natural Resources to add new animals to the restricted list by going through the legislative process

reducing signage requirements to only require owners of restricted snakes to post signs on the cage of the snake or any vehicle transporting the snake.

To read the full press release from PIJAC, click here.

From Governor Kasich's Facebook page:

Good to have the support of Jack Hanna as I signed the Dangerous Wild Animals bill into law this afternoon. It's an important bill that helps improve the safety of both humans and animals alike, and it's thanks to bipartisan efforts that this day was possible.

You can read the full law here.