Over the last few weeks, field herping.

Accounts and photos of non-captive reptiles in their natural habitat in South Africa. Try to record with your account details such as time of day/night, temperature, weather conditions, lunar cycle, sex, rough age of reptile, and so on.

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Over the last few weeks, field herping.

Postby Fooble » Fri Nov 14, 2014 10:16 am

Over the last few weeks/months there’s been a serious decline in the kind of posts I really loved viewing and reading on this forum.
Granted it’s been winter and things are heating up, but that’s really not an excuse, or is it?
In any case here are a collection of photographs from the last couple of weeks.

Some of these I travelled a few hundred km’s for to obtain a single photograph of a single specimen to simply then turn it back into it’s bush/ off the road/ under its rock/ out its favourite tree or back into the puddle which I temporarily plucked it from. Travelled with some nice people and met bunch of new friends along the way.

Amietia angolensis – Common River Frog
Amietophrynus gutturalis – Guttural Toad
Cacosternum boettgeri – Boetger’s Dainty Frog.
Hyperolius marmoratus marmoratus – Painted Reed Frog

Cordylus vittifer - Transvaal girdled lizard
Pachydactylus affnis – Transvaal Tick Toed Gecko
Pseudocordylus melanotus subviridis – Drakensberg Crag Lizard

Bitis gabonica – Gaboon Viper
Duberria lutrix – Common slug eater
Lycodonomorphus laevissimus – Dusky Bellied Water Snake.
Lycodonomorphus inornatus – Olive House Snake .
Philothamnus natalensis occidentalis – Western Natal Green Snake
Philothamnus hoplogaster – Common Green Snake
Philothamnus semivariegatus – Spotted Bush Snake
Psammophylax rhombeatus – Rhombic Skaapsteker

Bradypodion caeruleogula – uMlalazi dwarf chameleon
Bradypodion setaroi – Setaro’s Dwarf Chameleon
Bradypodion thamnobates – Natal Midlands Dwarf Chameleon
Chamaeleo dilepis – Flap Neck Chameleon

Amietophrynus gutturalis – Guttural Toad
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Amietia angolensis – Common River Frog
Below individuals were found in the same locality not that far from one another.
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Hyperolius marmoratus marmoratus – Painted Reed Frog
Juvenile
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Cacosternum boettgeri – Boetger’s Dainty Frog.
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Chamaeleo dilepis – Flap Neck Chameleon
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Bradypodion thamnobates – Natal Midlands Dwarf Chameleon
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Bradypodion setaroi – Setaro’s Dwarf Chameleon
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Bradypodion caeruleogula – uMlalazi dwarf chameleon
One of the lesser known Braydpodion from Northern Kwa Zulu Natal, this species occurs in two or three very isolated patches of forest. I've been looking for this species close on two years.
Forgive the photo but for size reference, and yes that’s what your face will
look like after searching for one chameleon for two days.
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Size reference.
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Pseudocordylus melanotus subviridis – Drakensberg Crag Lizard
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Cordylus vittifer - Transvaal girdled lizard
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Pachydactylus affnis – Transvaal Tick Toed Gecko
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Philothamnus natalensis occidentalis – Western Natal Green Snake

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Philothamnus hoplogaster – Common Green Snake.
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Philothamnus semivariegatus – Spotted Bush Snake
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Lycodonomorphus laevissimus – Dusky Bellied Water Snake
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Psammophylax rhombeatus – Rhombic Skaapsteker, Natal Midlands
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Lycodonomorphus inornatus – Olive Snake.
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Duberria lutrix – Common slug eater
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Philothamnus hoplogaster – Common Green Snake
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Psammophylax rhombeatus – Rhombic Skaapsteker Gauteng.
Female covering her eggs below come concrete.
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Rather unimpressed.
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The sad truth...
Bitis gabonica - Gaboon Viper
Well it was once, St Lucia.
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Re: Over the last few weeks, field herping.

Postby rolandslf » Fri Nov 14, 2014 10:35 am

Some very nice finds indeed Tyrone.
Thanks for posting.
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Re: Over the last few weeks, field herping.

Postby GCol » Fri Nov 14, 2014 10:39 am

Amazing photography man, you get around a lot lol. Awesome shots of the chameleons. You must shout next time to come through this part of the world.

Real pity about that Gaboon.
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Re: Over the last few weeks, field herping.

Postby Westley Price » Fri Nov 14, 2014 10:40 am

Awesome finds and photography man.

Pity the Gaboon was a DOR, but at least it shows they are still in the vicinity and close to where people are moving, so there is something positive to take from the find.

Fooble wrote:Over the last few weeks/months there’s been a serious decline in the kind of posts I really loved viewing and reading on this forum.


If you dont posts the posts you like, no one else is gonna ;)
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Re: Over the last few weeks, field herping.

Postby Fooble » Fri Nov 14, 2014 10:42 am

Westley Price wrote:Awesome finds and photography man.

Pity the Gaboon was a DOR, but at least it shows they are still in the vicinity and close to where people are moving, so there is something positive to take from the find.

Fooble wrote:Over the last few weeks/months there’s been a serious decline in the kind of posts I really loved viewing and reading on this forum.


If you dont posts the posts you like, no one else is gonna ;)


Too true man! Your recent posts have got me motivated again ;)

I was gutted about that Gaboon but it's better than no signs i guess?
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Re: Over the last few weeks, field herping.

Postby SteveZi » Fri Nov 14, 2014 10:47 am

Great post, great photos!
Is everything green in natal? Love those green snakes.
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Re: Over the last few weeks, field herping.

Postby Matt Robinson » Fri Nov 14, 2014 12:06 pm

Great photographs.

Well done on the dwarf chameleon find!
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Re: Over the last few weeks, field herping.

Postby levi_20 » Fri Nov 14, 2014 12:21 pm

Potent as always, thanks! Really enjoyed the front on shots!
Wonky finger though
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Re: Over the last few weeks, field herping.

Postby Mitton » Fri Nov 14, 2014 2:16 pm

Very nice man, great finds and even better photography!
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Re: Over the last few weeks, field herping.

Postby Ruan Stander » Fri Nov 14, 2014 10:58 pm

Incredible post, breath-taking finds, and fantastic photography.
Thank you.
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Re: Over the last few weeks, field herping.

Postby reptile » Sat Nov 15, 2014 9:52 am

Incredible! Stunned at the finds and photography. Pity bout the gaboon. Thanks for putting in the effort with all the pics.
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Re: Over the last few weeks, field herping.

Postby jka » Sun Nov 16, 2014 10:31 am

That boettgeri is nogal cool man! Those green snakes are just too cool I like the variety of the common snakes in this post.

The best are those skew finger shots :smt023
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Snake Species ??

Postby Louise » Fri Jan 09, 2015 1:39 pm

Hi Everyone,
Whilst on holiday in Glenmore, Natal this December, we saw this young snake climbing a wall. I'm not sure of the species, but my guess would be a western green snake.
This snake had just eaten a young ghecko (see midrif). Amid much speculation by all the onlookers, this was branded a green mamba, a boomslang and a common house snake amongst other odd guesses. Please can you confirm this species for me.

Regards
Louise
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Re: Over the last few weeks, field herping.

Postby reptile » Fri Jan 09, 2015 5:29 pm

Natal Green Snake. Harmless.
85% of all snakes are harmless!!!!
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Re: Snake Species ??

Postby Fooble » Fri Jan 09, 2015 8:42 pm

Louise wrote:Hi Everyone,
Whilst on holiday in Glenmore, Natal this December, we saw this young snake climbing a wall. I'm not sure of the species, but my guess would be a western green snake.
This snake had just eaten a young ghecko (see midrif). Amid much speculation by all the onlookers, this was branded a green mamba, a boomslang and a common house snake amongst other odd guesses. Please can you confirm this species for me.

Regards
Louise


Snake is a Western Natal Green Snake.
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