The Roads of AZ
Below is a list (In no order at all) of what I've see this year while driving the roads of Arizona. I will do the best I can to document when, where and the conditions around finding the snake and taking the picture. For some snake like the atrox I may see as many as 10 of them in one night so I will only use the best pictures. I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I do, if you would like to use them please just ask me first. Also, please respect my views on not taking any native reptiles from the wild, all I take is pictures.
W. diamondback (Crotalus a. atrox)
Found 4/16/2001 crossing a road north of Tucson at 7:15pm just after the sunset, it was a moonless night, about 68-72 out and dry. Here's another just to show how well they can hide!
Mojave rattlesnake (Crotalus s. scutulatus)
This snake was found 8/29/01 north of Tucson on a 75 degree night, it was found near 10pm with light cloud cover and a 60% full moon.
Banded sand (Chilomeniscus cinctus)
This snake was found north of Tucson on a hot night, it was found at dusk crossing the road.
Ground snake (Sonora semiannulata)
This snake was found by me in a petstore, as petstores are not able to sell native reptiles I informed the owner and he offered the snake to me for free. This photo was taken by me in a 60gal desert setup I had only this 16 inch snake in as I waited to find it a good home. It was later given to a teacher as a classroom pet. This is another reason native wildlife should be left alone.
Longnose snake (Rhinocheilus lecontel)
Found 5/12/2001 crossing a road north of Tucson at 7:45pm just after the sunset, it was a moonless night, about 68-72 out and we'd just had a light rain. Here's a photo of a black and white baby found 8/29/01.
Saddled Leafnose (Phyllorhynchus browni)
I found this little amazing snake on 6/10/2001 crossing a road at about 10:00pm. It was a dry night and the moon had yet to come out.
Banded Gecko (Coleonyx v. bogerti)
Found 5/02/2001 crossing a road north of Tucson at 7:30pm just after the sunset. Notice the new tail, about 60% of the banded geckos I see have lost their tail at some point.
Colorado River Toad (Bufo alverius)
Found 5/02/2001 crossing a road north of Tucson at 7:45pm. These guys are the most common animal you will see on the roads in the Sonoran Desert.
Desert Hairy Scorpion (Hadrurus sp.)
Found 5/06/2001 crossing a road north of Tucson at sunset. I must say they make great any interesting pets.
Black Widow (Latrodectus hesperus)
This girl was found 8/29/01 north of Tucson on a 75 degree night, it was found near 9pm with light cloud cover and a 60% full moon. Here's a picture of her
hiding spot.
Tucson Blonde Tarantula (A. chalcodes)
This male was found 8/29/01 north of Tucson crossing the road on a 75 degree night, it was found near 11pm with light cloud cover and a 60% full moon. Notice how skinny he is. This was a male out looking for a mate, they will stop eating and die (at about 6 years old) shortly after mating. Females on the other hand can live up to 30 years!
Desert King (L g. splendida)
This snake was found 8/29/01 north of Tucson on a 75 degree night, it was found near 1am with light cloud cover and a 60% full moon.
Gila Monster (Heloderma s. cinctum)
This amazing animal was found 8/29/01 north of Tucson on a 75 degree night, it was found near 11pm with light cloud cover and a 60% full moon.
Checkered Garter (T. marcianus)
This snake was found 8/29/01 north of Tucson on a 75 degree night, it was found near 1am with light cloud cover and a 60% full moon.
Our Dogs
Well, first off there's Hugo the American Bulldog born 3/2001. Let me first start by saying in my eyes the American Bulldog is the greatest breed of dog in the world! There are many dogs to pick from and many I have a great love and respect for. However, the American Bulldog is truely a friend, companion and a great working dog. They're not some watered down AKC breed and are solely judged on their working abilities. The thing that sets them so far apart from other dogs is their loyalty, you would be hard pressed to convince me there's another breed as loyal as an America Bulldog. They will truely die trying to help you and seem to put no value on their own life when you really need them. They're also freakishly uneffected by pain, I've been playing catch with Hugo when he jupmed up to get a piece of hose we play with and came down on his face biting a hole through his toung. You would think the games were over or at the very least you would get a yelp. All I got was a piece of bloody hose and a look as if I should stop worrying and throw it again. If you're considering getting a dog please look into the American Bulldog but do A LOT of research! This is not a bred for the timid or people with submissive personalities. You have to be very strong minded or they will wear you out and frustarate you to no end!
I've yet to figure out why but when the neighbor kids hit a ball into my yard they never jump the fence to get it?
Tarantula Story
This is a odd story of how I found my pet Tarantula. I've always liked and kept them but I've yet to find one in such an odd way.
I was laying on the floor reading the paper one night back in Sept of 1999, I had just finished reading so I folded up the paper. When I looked down at where the paper had been sitting I saw a little
spider. Having small children and with Arizona Brown spider being common I went to crush it with the pen I was holding. I was just about to do it when I took a little closer look, to my amazement it looked to be a Aphonopelma chalcodes. With a microscope I was able to identify it as such so I decided to keep it. it's not been a year and a half and here's a picture of the same
Tarantula now. Thank God I took that second look. Tarantulas are great pets that can live to be thirty years old, plus they need very little care.
My Fish Tanks
I just wanted to share some pictures from my fish tanks. I currently have five fish tanks from ten up to seventy gallons.
I have a
70 gallon saltwater reef tank. This tank is filled with 100 pounds of live rock, a
Zebra Moray eel a mated pair of Damsels, a Clown and a
Banded Coral shrimp. I run a 400 watt 12,000K metal halide as well as a skimmer and sand filter.
I also have a 55 gallon saltwater tank. This tank is just getting up and running so it's fairly basic right now. I have a
Puffer, a
Niger Trigger and a few other basics. I'll post more pictures as I go.
The last tank I'll post pictures of is my 30 gallon freashwater hex. I have some basics in this tank including a
Pleco and a somewhat odd little fish I've only heard referred to as a
Leopard fish. I use a Fluval 203 for filtration and that's about it.
I'll post pics of other tanks as I go.
Salamanders
Okay second from last but not least I though I'd put a couple of salamander pictures up. I'm only keeping two types at this time. The first being
Ambystoma t. tigrinum or a Tiger Salamander. The story on these is a little silly I guess. I was out running some errands with my little girl when she asked me if I could find her a pink worm. I told her I would try of course thinking she'd forget about the whole pink worm idea. Then, on the way home I saw a bait shop. I stopped planning on getting only a pink worm to give her. Well needless to say when I saw those little "waterdogs" swimming around waiting for a hook I had to do my part and save a few of them. Out of the 4 or 5 I bought I got two to morph into salamanders and the photo you see above is one of the year olds I currently have.
The second type I'm keeping is the
Ambystoma maculatum or Spotted Salamander. I bet you'll be happy to find out there's no story here, I just like them.
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