# Snake ID and field herping around TSV



## naivepom (Mar 10, 2009)

Hi guys,

Fairly new to north Queensland from the UK and loving the wildlife over here. Have been out herping a few times and mostly seen roadkill (see picture below - apologies about the quality). Is this snake a keelback? 


Also I often see fairly large (@ 1.5m) snakes crossing a favourite road of mine at night. No pictures yet as they cross fairly quickly but they are dark on top (black is my best guess though they could be very dark green) and a much lighter greenish belly. Are these green tree snakes or could they be any number of different species? From what I have read green tree snakes are diurnal but I guess it being summertime its probably too warm for them during the day?

Also, I'm struggling to find really good places to go to find snakes that isnt too far off the beaten track (I only have a bike for travel so cant go on dirt tracks etc). Can anyone recommend some good places to try? Magnetic Island is pretty good for death adders, carpets, brown and green tree snakes but I cant just pop over there on a quiet evening. Any advice much appreciated. Better still, if anyone is local and fancies going out herping sometime and teaching me a few things then that would be great.


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## SCam (Mar 10, 2009)

its a keelback


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## iceman (Mar 10, 2009)

i'll take you out one night if you want, as i live in townsville.


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## CountryTriton (Mar 10, 2009)

I'd recommend going to crystal creek just north of TSV. You can see heaps of reps and anphibs around there. Lower crystal creek has a camping area over night.

If your up for about 3 hour drive and want an awesome night out head up to wallaman falls or jourrama falls (spelling).

Closer to home is head out to the town common at dawn or dusk. You'll definately come across a monitor or two. Just be careful around there as there are salties, taipans and browns around.


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## steph (Mar 10, 2009)

just wondering does anybody know of a python club in brisbane were you can get together for a coffee and talk about reptiles????????????

jules


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## solar 17 (Mar 10, 2009)

*herp club*

pm Bredlslave [sandee]she can give you all the details of a very friendly herp club [meets on the northside near Bridgeman Downs]....cheers solar 17 [Baden]


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## caustichumor (Mar 10, 2009)

It depends on where you are riding from, but the road out to Pallarenda usually has a fair amount of reptile life around (and ground into it.) However at the end of the road there is a couple of good walking tracks which usually show some good diversity, I have seen BHP's, Coastals,brown tree snakes, green tree snakes, brown snakes, Black whip snakes, yellow face whip snakes and keelbacks in that area (and that is just the snakes) there is usually plenty of gould monitors, burton's legless lizards and plenty of skink and gecko varieties as well. Not to mention if you follow the coast you could even spot a saltwater croc.... The Town common is a great spot to look (turn off at the golf club intersection on the road to Pallarenda) I came within inches of stepping on the biggest brown snake I have ever seen in the wetlands there....


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## naivepom (Mar 11, 2009)

Thanks for all your replies - much appreciated. I have driven a few times round the Pallarenda area and not had too much success beyond lots of Curlew chicks (I was contemplating hanging around a large clutch to see if a snake came in for a look!). I also went to the Town Common the other day (where the pic of the keelback came from) and the gates were actually open in the middle of the night. I only got about 2 minutes down the track and turned back around as I started worrying someone would come and lock the gate and trap me there for the night. Does anyone know if the gate is often left open at night?

Iceman I'll happily take you up on that offer - name a day.


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## iceman (Mar 11, 2009)

will do man


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## naivepom (Mar 11, 2009)

Can anyone help with these IDs please - I'm guessing common tree snake but it kind of looked different to the others, possibly a water python?? 

Again apologies for both my ignorance and for the dreadful pictures - I'm no cameraman and I'm actually using my underwater camera for these which is great at 30m depth but apparently not so great at surface level (though I guess there is no excuse for almost missing the snake entirely in the shot!).


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## scorps (Mar 11, 2009)

naivepom said:


> Can anyone help with these IDs please - I'm guessing common tree snake but it kind of looked different to the others, possibly a water python??
> 
> Again apologies for both my ignorance and for the dreadful pictures - I'm no cameraman and I'm actually using my underwater camera for these which is great at 30m depth but apparently not so great at surface level (though I guess there is no excuse for almost missing the snake entirely in the shot!).




Water python


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## Palex134 (Mar 12, 2009)

I'm a JCU student. I've haven't done too much herping back there, but I've seen a couple of species. There is lots of prime habitat back behind the uni. Shoot me a PM if you ever want someone to go herping with. Herping always comes before classes.


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## iceman (Mar 12, 2009)

thats a water python naivepom.

so far herpin' around townsville i've found, water-pythons, keelbacks, brown an common tree snake, slatey, carpet-python, eastern browns, taipan, adders, western browns, BHP's, spotteds, small-eyes, coral snake, scalely-foots, burton legless lizards, scrub-pythons, my all / curl snakes, heaps of different gecko's.


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## ivonavich (Mar 12, 2009)

Awesome amount of herps in Townsville!!! I lived in Mundingburra and had in house visits from Brown and Common tree snakes and Spotted pythons...


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## naivepom (Mar 12, 2009)

A water python you say - in my book thats better than a common tree snake! I've seen several of these guys the last few nights I've been out, some are pretty large.

Palex and Iceman - hopefully i'll see you guys soon...


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## iceman (Mar 12, 2009)

so is any night good for you then to go herpin' ?


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## naivepom (Mar 12, 2009)

Sure - I play soccer on Mondays but I'm usually done by 9pm


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## naivepom (Mar 13, 2009)

OK this one has to be a Keelback right? Any clues about the lizard?


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## naivepom (Mar 15, 2009)

Good herping trip tonight in Townsville despite a bad start of seeing two keelbacks and a water python all roadkill.

2 pythons - one no more than 40cm long (didnt get a photo unfortunately) and this one pictured, I have no idea what sort of python it is though so any help much appreciated.

1 Brown Tree snake 

2 Keelbacks

Also saw 2 echidnas and an owl. All in all not a bad night.


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## Bushfire (Mar 15, 2009)

The python is a Spotted python

PS The dragon is a Two lined dragon or close relative


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## whcasual79 (Mar 15, 2009)

iceman said:


> thats a water python naivepom.
> 
> so far herpin' around townsville i've found, water-pythons, keelbacks, brown an common tree snake, slatey, carpet-python, eastern browns, taipan, adders, western browns, BHP's, spotteds, small-eyes, coral snake, scalely-foots, burton legless lizards, scrub-pythons, my all / curl snakes, heaps of different gecko's.



mate im moving to townsville to go herping wif u lads... dats a top list of reps u seen


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## redbellybite (Mar 15, 2009)

hey naivepom,please dont presume that all 'what looks to be a keelback' is ...you live in an area where rough scales can be found ,and wouldnt want you making the mistake of thinking its harmless when in fact you got a hot one ...keelbacks are duller in colouration,roughies have a glossier look ,and keelbacks have a loreal scale as to where roughies dont ..


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## iceman (Mar 15, 2009)

whcasual79, i'll take you herpin' no worry at all, there is a few reptiles miss off my list that i have found around townsville.

looks an sounds like you had a good night naivepom, where you up Paluma?


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## naivepom (Mar 15, 2009)

redbellybite said:


> hey naivepom,please dont presume that all 'what looks to be a keelback' is ...you live in an area where rough scales can be found ,and wouldnt want you making the mistake of thinking its harmless when in fact you got a hot one ...keelbacks are duller in colouration,roughies have a glossier look ,and keelbacks have a loreal scale as to where roughies dont ..


 
Thats a very good point redbelly, I say I saw 2 keelbacks but I wouldnt be remotely surprised if they turned out to be something else (Iceman I need your ID skills!). They moved very quickly when I approached and dissappeared before I could get a photo of them - much less manage to see if they had a loreal scale!

Iceman - yep Paluma, Herveys Range Road and Town Common/Pallarenda


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## iceman (Mar 15, 2009)

well do i'll be going out in the next week or 2 so i'll give you a call .


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## iceman (Mar 16, 2009)

theres some old pic's of animals i've found, naivepom.


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## naivepom (Mar 16, 2009)

Very nice iceman, likewise heres a few of mine taken mostly last year....I'm actually off out in a few mins for a quick herping mission to a new potential spot - i'll post any results.


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## Rainbow-Serpent (Mar 16, 2009)

naivepom said:


> Good herping trip tonight in Townsville despite a bad start of seeing two keelbacks and a water python all roadkill.
> 
> 2 pythons - one no more than 40cm long (didnt get a photo unfortunately) and this one pictured, I have no idea what sort of python it is though so any help much appreciated.
> 
> ...


 
The python is a Spotted Python


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## iceman (Mar 16, 2009)

where did you find the death adder an that carpet??


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## naivepom (Mar 16, 2009)

Carpet, BTS and one of the death adders were on a night walk on Maggie - towards the end of last year certain creek beds were apparently riddled with them! The carpet was very placid and remains the only wild snake I have picked up.

After faffing about this afternoon I only had time to go to my usual spot for an hour - I saw 4 snakes, one of which was a water python and the other 3 were quick brown things that I'm just going to assume were keelbacks. All of them dissappeared too quickly to get a photo of, damnit.


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## naivepom (Mar 19, 2009)

Ok saw 5 snakes inside 20 minutes on a drive this evening. Unfortunately they all saw me coming and were at the side of the road so I couldnt have a relaxed look at any of them though they all looked like Keelbacks to me (are they one of the faster snakes? compared to the pythons they just vanish as soon as you get close). Saw another keelback that had just been hit by a car, its tail was still moving and wrapped around my finger but its head was in really bad shape - I moved it to the side of the road but not much else I could do for it.:cry:

On my way home took a brief detour walk and stumbled across this young BTS. It was so placid unlike all the other brown tree snakes I've seen that have all been very snappy. I even handled it a little and it never looked like striking...though i never let the head get anywhere near me - I understand they can cause a quite painfull bite?


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## Niall (Mar 19, 2009)

Woah naivepom great shots!

The second shot of the BTS is a great shot.
Me and my family uselly go up to Cairns every year for a 2 week holiday,
My mum loves townsville, but i have never really liked it as i am uselly in the daintree catching srubbies and taking piks of freashies and all other reptiles, my best was a rainforest dragon, frilled neck lizards and best of all a 2m saltie 3 meters in front of me (scared the **** out of me!).


Niall


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## naivepom (Mar 20, 2009)

Thanks Niall, my photography is getting there but still someway to go before I can do a DantheMan and put up crystal clear, in focus, beautifully setup pictures and call them crap!

Finally managed to get a few pics of the water pythons that seem to be all over the place whenever we have a wet(ish) evening. Oh and saw the little baby hatchling spotted python again tonight, no photos though as he only had his head sticking out from under a rock and dissappeared pretty quick.


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## naivepom (Mar 22, 2009)

Hey, can anyone help me out with an ID for this roadkill?


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## slacker (Mar 22, 2009)

Head's clearly a bit munted, but it looks like a marsh snake to me (Hemiaspis signata).


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## naivepom (Mar 22, 2009)

Cheers Slacker, I appreciate it. Would never have guessed that as my book shows the marsh as really dark but it does say in the description it can be brown so I'll go with that.


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## naivepom (Mar 23, 2009)

Had a very decent hour and a bit of herping last night - saw 10 keelbacks, 1 spotted python and 1 decent sized carpet python so pretty pleased with it. Would of surely seen more had a crazy ex of mine not almost run me off the road in a fit of rage! haha

The carpet python was a really good size but was possibly blind in one eye. I also saw an unidentified snake which was kind of similar to a keelback but slightly different body shape and a very pale face (taipan??).


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## Kitah (Mar 23, 2009)

Naivepom would you by anychance be willing to PM me some of the spots you've visited? Haven't been able to find very much at all in tville.. maybe I just look in teh wrong places at the wrong times? I love photography and would love to find some wild animals to challenge me  If not thats ok 

Great finds, am so jealous! would love to see a water python, I've never seen one in teh flesh before!


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## JasonL (Mar 23, 2009)

haha xshadowx, are you still having problems finding herps? crikey!, living in Townsville and having trouble finding snakes...you should think about giving it all away and taking up chess .. If you want water pythons, just start doing laps of the cane fields that are close to a water course during rainy weather....


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## Kitah (Mar 23, 2009)

laps of the cane fields hey? 

Part of the problem is that I have very little time to go looking. been meaning to go out to the town common again but don't get a chance! 30hrs of contact time at the uni a week and then another 30 or so typing notes etc... eh.. lol


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## tan (Mar 23, 2009)

Shadow, there are heaps of reps out at the uni way, plus paluma, alligator creek, etc etc etc....list goes on...just need to pick your days. I even went for a walk along riverside with the reptile club last month in the pouring rain and still managed to find a bts. 
Last week got a call to a 2.1 m taipan that killed a dog in kelso.. unexpected find but not impossible.
Keep looking! And good luck...


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## Jonno from ERD (Mar 23, 2009)

Got a photo of it Tan? Would love to see...


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## naivepom (Mar 23, 2009)

Jonno from ERD said:


> Got a photo of it Tan? Would love to see...


 

I second that, would love to see the taipan - and also kept up to date with any snake removals you do in Townsville purely out of interest (its nice to know what is in our backyards ).

Shadow - its much like all the advice the other guys have given me in this thread - Paluma, Town Common, Herveys Range Road, Pallarenda, JCU (though personally I have never had much luck there), and the road out to AIMS. I only ever go at night and mostly see water pythons when it has been raining. 

The other thing I would say is at the moment I am going out herping A LOT (uni stuff hasnt properly kicked in for me....yet). Where I saw the carpet python I have probably visited 15 times in the recent past and never seen anything and then one night I get lucky!


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## tan (Mar 23, 2009)

Jonno from ERD said:


> Got a photo of it Tan? Would love to see...


 
These photos weren't taken by me, they were taken at the vet where the dog was on life support and later euthanised after ID of the snake. Unfortunately the snake was found dead next to the collapsed dog when the owners returned home from work.
Sad end for both animals.


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## naivepom (Mar 24, 2009)

Wow thats a really impressive Taipan - what a shame about both animals.

Had a bit of a slow night herping last night, saw an injured water python that was tongue flicking but looked to be in a bad way (are there any wildlife carers in Townsville - he may of had a chance with some proper help?) and also saw a very aggressive little spotted python and a very placid keelback.

Also saw some freak hanging out of his car herping - it was great meeting you last night Palex!


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## tan (Mar 24, 2009)

Pm Sent


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## redbellybite (Mar 24, 2009)

Tan lucky you ....that is a big elapid .sad ending for both dog and snake well sad ending for the owners of the dog to ..how you travelling Tan ? hope all is going good with you


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## Palex134 (Mar 24, 2009)

naivepom said:


> Also saw some freak hanging out of his car herping - it was great meeting you last night Palex!



Haha,
Good to meet you too man,
After we ran into you, we cruised a brown tree snake at the other spot. Other then that, a quiet night as well. Never did see the water python. I'll charge up the credit on my phone soon as well. 




After cruising 4 nights in a row, I think it's time to take a break until the weekend and start studying some neglected Biochem.


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## naivepom (Mar 27, 2009)

Nice one Palex, you will have to show me how to hold a brown tree snake properly. 

Here's a few spotteds I've seen in the last week....


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## cracksinthepitch (Mar 27, 2009)

This is a great thread. Wish i was in Townsville i would love to see some of those snakes. It seems your wild spotteds are alot calmer than my captive psychopath female:shock:


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## tan (Mar 27, 2009)

Most of the BTSs around here have a beautiful nature, I usually just handle them like any python - be gentle and support them well and they are generally happy to just comply. Nice spotty too... I don't think I've come across an angry spotty yet.


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## ryanharvey1993 (Mar 27, 2009)

captive spotted pythons and captive brown tree snakes are crazy, suprised they are not like that in the wild. nice pics.


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## naivepom (Mar 27, 2009)

Haha most of the BTS's I have seen have been super aggressive, lunging out without me even laying a finger on them or even getting close (I have some funny video footage of one lunging repeatedly at thin air with no-one in front of it at all) but I have come across a few docile ones. One wild spotty I saw the other day was really aggressive, though at about 50cm was not quite as frightening as he thought he was! The rest have been extremely placid.


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## Palex134 (Mar 27, 2009)

Nice spotteds man,
Still haven't seen one yet. The brown tree we saw was more docile then the carpet, but nothing like those water pythons.


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## naivepom (Apr 9, 2009)

Heres my slightly less impressive take on the whip snake and blind snake xshadowx and myself came across a little while ago plus a few others from last nights _herping _trip....


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## naivepom (Jun 9, 2009)

Well I'm bored and trying to avoid uni exam revision so thought I would post a few pics of stuff I've seen recently - not many snakes around so have added a few other things for the hell of it....


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## froggyboy86 (Jun 9, 2009)

Nice photos, I've been guilty of taking the odd "daggy" frog photo :lol: Is that crocodile in Townsville, I had no idea you could get freshies there...

Aaron


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## gpoleweski (Jun 9, 2009)

That is incredible naive! I'm moving up to townsville with you guys....Go diving some time too!


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## sarah_m (Jul 28, 2009)

Those last lot of pics are really nice! I am so jealous, it will be at least 12 months before i get back up that way. Thanks for sharing, and keep em coming.


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## naivepom (Aug 11, 2009)

We've had a bit of warmer weather over the last few weeks and has turned up a few handsome devils....


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## Poggle (Aug 11, 2009)

not long left tsv and used to go out herp hunting... loved it... there are some great specimans up there.. love the burtons too


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## naivepom (Sep 22, 2009)

Just thought I'd share some pics of some of the herps i've seen over the last month including:

1 x brown
3 x taipans (a 1st for me)
100s x keelbacks, common trees and whip snakes
1 x black-striped snake (another 1st)
1 x BHP (another first)


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## naivepom (Sep 22, 2009)

A few more.....the whip snakes mating was a first also


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## Palex134 (Sep 23, 2009)

Great shots Kris. Congrats on the Taipan and the BHP...Did you encounter those around the area? Also, any idea on the skink species? Looks like a Glaphyromorphus sp? Looks like a very productive month of herping.


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## Jonno from ERD (Sep 23, 2009)

G'day mate,

Any photo's of the Taipans?


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## naivepom (Sep 23, 2009)

Pete - The BHP was just outside Charters Towers, all the rest were in my local area and yep I think the skink is Glaphyromorphus punctulatus.

Jonno - sady not, the 1st time I was totally unprepared as I was never expecting to see one, the second time it was so big and swift I was kind of frozen to the spot until it dissappeared into grass! The 3rd time I had no excuse but never got a pic - but now I know where a good place to look for them is I am keeping my fingers crossed I should get a photo soon.


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## iceman (Sep 23, 2009)

some great finds there naivepom an some sweet pic's too.

i went out herpin' last last an got 5 death adder an a 7ft scrub python.


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## naivepom (Sep 23, 2009)

Cheers Iceman - sounds like you've had some decent luck herping recently as well - 5 death adders in 1 night is a pretty good haul by anyone's standards!


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## Kitah (Sep 23, 2009)

Nice pictures! Jealous with the BHP, and love the GTS pics, gorgeous animals. Looking forward to lecture recess and will see if I can find anything (I can see lots of catching up for uni happening...)


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## Kersten (Sep 23, 2009)

naivepom said:


> 5 death adders in 1 night is a pretty good haul by anyone's standards!


 It's enough to make you sick with jealousy :lol: There are supposed to be a population of adders in the Gladstone area but we've never come across one and it's not for lack of trying. 5 in one night is just greedy.


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## iceman (Sep 23, 2009)

Kersten, by the sounds of things looks like i'll have to come down there an show yous how its done lol .......


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## Kris (Sep 23, 2009)

Ok Princess, name the day.

I get the usual b-s stories, "a mate caught a spotted python and handled it, and when I checked it out it was an adder" all the time. In 10yrs holding a dmp and 18 odd years being interested/keeping I still haven't located one here.


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