In the Field with Dad
Field herping is one of if the most important aspects of my life as a herpetoculturist. It’s a time when I can get away from everything and everyone (I love our audience dearly, but I must balance this with being a card-carrying misanthropist). My dad, used to take me hiking when I was a kid behind my home in California. We had fields there, which at the time seemed to me like an African grassland that you’d see on television with Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom starring Marlin Perkins, Stan Brock, and Jim Fowler. My dad, knew everything there was to know about any animal on the planet. Hell, as far as I was concerned my dad was Marlin Perkins!
Fast forward about 30 years. I’m in Canada about to open a reptile store with my fiancée, running 6 websites, writing daily about reptiles, answering questions and doing my best to help the industry of herpetoculture as a whole. This doesn’t leave a lot of time to spend outdoors and ‘let the bugs eat me’ as dad was fond of saying. This past week has been rougher than most as I’ve been left to my own devices while Rebecca (my fiancée) is visiting family.
Without digressing too far, even though I’m housebroken there is some serious separation anxiety. I’ve succeeded in cleaning the entire house top to bottom…twice now. As I was out getting food for the animals a trail sign caught my eye.
“Dobson Trail 60km”
I knew the name but couldn’t recall why it was important to me. Then I realized my location, I was nearby a colleagues home. I immediately pulled over and messaged Matt Coull who originally brought up the trail to me weeks ago. Quick conversation, pick Matt up, grab snake hooks, and we are on our way to Dobson Trail. Before leaving, Matt and I have both doused ourselves with enough bug spray to keep SC Johnson in business for another year at least. Now, we are ready.
Dobson Trail
We hit the trail and are immediately treated to the buzzing sound of mosquitoes. Within about two minutes I’ve successfully impaired what seems like dozens of mosquitoes from their nefarious feeding practice. As a caveat, I’m thoroughly convinced Canadian mosquitoes have a serious penchant for Yankee blood. Matt and I discuss the days events as we wander slowly through the forest flipping logs and searching for any wildlife.
We stop momentarily during our journey and discuss the idea of heading back. The mosquitoes are either growing in number or size, one of the two, because they are getting particularly bad now. I hear something rustling in the leaf-litter. I look down and spy a scaly body moving through the litter then stop. I call quietly to Matt that I’ve found something reptilian and motion him to come around one direction while I proceed in the other so as to make sure we don’t lose whatever it is. I still haven’t seen the head yet. As Matt comes around I move slowly closer and then I see it.
Thamnophis sirtalis pallidulus
A Maritime Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis pallidulus) measuring what we estimate about just about 50 cm. I pick the snake up gently and it doesn’t ‘musk’ but there is an instant odor as I pick the snake up to look at it closer. A quick examination and I know it’s a Garter snake but having no experience with them in the wild I cannot readily identify it. Matt has the snake now and I am trying to get a couple of quick pictures so I move the camera phone in closer.
The snake rears back as strikes with force at the phone as Matt and I laugh like children with a new toy. Not wanting to stress the snake out more than we already have by handling it I snap a couple of shots and Matt then releases it. The snake obviously none to concerned by this encounter moves into the sun and begins basking. Matt snaps another photo and then we decide it’s definitively high time we move on to better pursuits which don’t involve feasting insects.
Reptile Behavior
Many of the field guides I have used keying out the species have said that many (Thamnophis sp.) tend to be defensive when handled in the wild. The snake Matt and I found was no different. Here’s the catch…
The snake musked and struck, but only at me. He either liked Matt better or Matt is the
‘Canadian Snake Whisperer’.
Canadian Snake Whisperer
I am going with the second option myself and here’s why. If I’d not seen it myself I would never have believed it. The snake, after I handed it over to Matt, wound itself into Matt’s hands and become completely docile in nature. Unless of course I came too close with the camera phone that is. Moving forward I will now be calling Matt Coull the Canadian Snake Whisperer.
Tools of the Trade
The herpetoculture industry is inundated with new products every year. We here at the Reptile Apartment Group rarely express our views on products. We’re never one to jump on the bandwagon of the latest and greatest product. Numerous people over the years have given us their products to ‘test’ and or review. You’ll notice if you’re a regular reader we haven’t posted any herpetocultural product reviews.
I gave Matt one of the snake hooks a colleague of ours in Ontario had given me to test almost a year ago at the Canadian Reptile Breeders Expo 2012. I was invited to speak on Uromastyx species there and met some incredible people and made some new colleagues. One of which was Sean Yates of Northern County who gave me a few of the hooks to try out. With that said, I’ve not been able to get into field as much as I would like.
Today, as I was prepping I saw the hooks and figured what better place to test them than in the field. I can honestly say now, I’ve never carried a lighter hook in my life. While in the field today I was hooking logs and other debris and the hook was not only stable (not turning) with minimal grip on the handle but I found it very comfortable to carry. I barely realized I had a hook in my hand the entire time Matt and I were in the field. If you want to grab your own snake hook like the one seen here just drop a line to Sean Yates of Northern County and tell him Reptile Apartment Group sent you.
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