# Arnhem Land snakes



## waruikazi (Mar 26, 2010)

This is some of the stuff i've found over the past few weeks and had a camera handy for.

Keelback











Another keelback that i pulled off the road, was one of the biggest i've seen but is apparently about the average size for out here.










A gwardar. It's in a maggot filled bin because it was rescued from inside a house and that's all there was to hold it in. Not the best pictures to show it but this snake was partially banded, the first one that i've seen like this in the wild.










And a black whip










Enjoy


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## beckyreptilegirl (Mar 26, 2010)

Awesome Pictures


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## Chris1 (Mar 26, 2010)

ewww, those maggots are gross!

great pix apart from that tho!


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## moosenoose (Mar 26, 2010)

That black whip is impressive!


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## Gekambi (Mar 26, 2010)

Great photo's. Make me think i should carry a camera around more often.


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## waruikazi (Mar 26, 2010)

moosenoose said:


> That black whip is impressive!



Isn't it just!

They are massive out here i found a few that would have been an easy metre and a half long and thick as too.


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## redbellybite (Mar 26, 2010)

great pics Gordo ....and at least ya know now ,that if you get tagged by a whip (which is absolutely stunning in that pic) you get to have POLY ........


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## jordo (Mar 28, 2010)

Thanks for sharing Gordo. Would love to go herping up there one day.


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## Snake Catcher Victoria (Mar 28, 2010)

Great looking country Gordo, did you get any more shots of the environment. 
It looks so green there.
The black whip is a ripper.


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## Jonno from ERD (Mar 28, 2010)

Hi Gordo,

Have you seen any Kingies yet? I'd love to see some photo's if you have. Also, are you anywhere near where Taipans have been found?


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## waruikazi (Mar 28, 2010)

ssssnakeman said:


> Great looking country Gordo, did you get any more shots of the environment.
> It looks so green there.
> The black whip is a ripper.



We live right on the edge of the floodplain and escarpment country. I'm not much of a pic taker and don't have much of the scrub/escarpment areas but a couple of the floodplain.

Crappy picture of the view from our back veranda.





Floodplain clse to the East Aligator river





This one just shows where the floodplain meets the escarpment along the oepelli road.





Arial shot, we live about 20km east from where this pic was taken.







Jonno from ERD said:


> Hi Gordo,
> 
> Have you seen any Kingies yet? I'd love to see some photo's if you have. Also, are you anywhere near where Taipans have been found?



Some mates managed to get across the East aligator river yesterday and drove into Jabiru. They know their snakes and claim they saw a mulga on the road I don't know if their ID skills are good enough to trust though but it may have been. With the ammount of toads we have here i don't hold out much hope of ever finding one though. 

Yes i am very close to where Saratoga photgraphed that tai that tagged him on the finger, he was outside the escarpment area but the scrub where he found that one and the scrub around here is identical so i'm keeping my eyes open.


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## waruikazi (Mar 28, 2010)

This whip was about 1.3m around about the average for all that i've seen. Found it the first day i was out here, poor thing was a bit crook and got taken by a hawk when i let it go lol.


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## webcol (Mar 28, 2010)

Awesome pictures, i wish i saw some more reptiles around


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## Jay84 (Mar 28, 2010)

Great pics Gordo....... im even more keen to come up now.! You will have lots to show me.

That Black Whip Snake is so glossy!


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## Rox.n.Lix (Mar 28, 2010)

hey gordo, is this near where you are??

forgot i had the pic of that little guy in the last photo. anyone know about him?


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## waruikazi (Mar 28, 2010)

Yep that's us. You can see my house in that middle pic lol.

I haven't a clue what that skink is but it is a good looking character.


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## $NaKe PiMp (Mar 28, 2010)

what a place you live in,what am i doing here in sydney when there is places like that,and some spectacular snakes. Look at the size of that whip what a great specimen


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## waruikazi (Mar 28, 2010)

$NaKe PiMp said:


> what a place you live in,what am i doing here in sydney when there is places like that,and some spectacular snakes. Look at the size of that whip what a great specimen



From the outside it looks awesome and idealic, in reality it's a pretty bloody ordinary place to live lol. There really isn't much to do here apart from work and hope that you'll bump into some interesting animals.


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## eipper (Mar 28, 2010)

the skink is _Morethia ruficauda_


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## moloch05 (Mar 29, 2010)

Great looking place, Gordo. What a treat it would be to live there for awhile!

Regards,
David


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## ShaunMorelia (Mar 29, 2010)

Yeha its a firetail skink. can't remember the scientific or sub-species name tho.


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## redbellybite (Mar 29, 2010)

Gordo am loving that pic ...when in doubt GRAB A MOP!! bahhhhhhh ha ha classic  
your so lucky to have that chance of being where you are ..get out and take more herp pics will ya


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## sarah_m (Mar 29, 2010)

Are there any pics of you WITH your shirt on?


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## waruikazi (Mar 29, 2010)

sarah_m said:


> Are there any pics of you WITH your shirt on?



Do you have any idea how hot it is here? lol

And i can tell that you ladies (and Jay) prefer it this way!


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## guzzo (Mar 29, 2010)

Great Photos,

I did a stint out that way a couple of years ago and was always pulling snakes off the road before cowboys run them over for fun.


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## redbellybite (Mar 29, 2010)

i dont mind shirts off Gordo ...bit of eye candy for us old bags now


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## saratoga (Mar 29, 2010)

Lucky you Gordo, living in Gunbulanya!

Theres some fantastic country around there, though you'll probably have to wait for the dry to do much exploring.

You might even come across an Oenpelli Python...if not there's heaps of other interesting stuff to see.

You have a great opportunity to get to know the locals as well....you will learn a lot from them if they take you out bush or hunting.....they have a wealth of knowledge but from an entirely different perspective.

Don't underestimate those crocs.....you are pretty much surrounded by them in a good wet season.


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## waruikazi (Mar 29, 2010)

saratoga said:


> Lucky you Gordo, living in Gunbulanya!
> 
> Theres some fantastic country around there, though you'll probably have to wait for the dry to do much exploring.
> 
> ...



Trust me i know all about the crocs! There's not too many people that are as wary of crocs as i am. We get this sort of thing happening out here Cops shoot dead attacking croc | Northern Territory News | Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia | ntnews.com.au lol.

I dunno about those oenpellis hey, i don't think there are enough wallabies around our area to sustain a large snake. They'd probably be a bit further out where the hunting pressure isn't quite so high. You'll have to let me know where you found that tai and see if i can't photograph some.


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## saratoga (Mar 30, 2010)

waruikazi said:


> Trust me i know all about the crocs! .



I thought I did too when i first moved there!......and its not the crocs you see that you have to worry about!

The more you learn about crocs the more respect you have for them as a predator!


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## waruikazi (Mar 30, 2010)

saratoga said:


> I thought I did too when i first moved there!......and its not the crocs you see that you have to worry about!
> 
> The more you learn about crocs the more respect you have for them as a predator!



I've been living in the NT since i was 11, i've got a very healthy respect for crocodiles. I know it's the one you don't see that eats you.


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## froggyboy86 (Mar 30, 2010)

Some nice snakes there. The only elapids I saw around the escarpment areas were keelbacks and slatey greys! I'd love to be back up there right now getting more pics of some things I missed. 

I agree about the crocs, I was always paranoid I was going to get taken by one when looking for frogs around the billabongs at night!


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## waruikazi (Mar 30, 2010)

froggyboy86 said:


> Some nice snakes there. *The only elapids I saw around the escarpment areas were keelbacks and slatey greys!* I'd love to be back up there right now getting more pics of some things I missed.
> 
> I agree about the crocs, I was always paranoid I was going to get taken by one when looking for frogs around the billabongs at night!



Ummm, they are colubrids not elapids. But i'm sure you're just testing us right? lol.


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## froggyboy86 (Mar 30, 2010)

waruikazi said:


> Ummm, they are colubrids not elapids. But i'm sure you're just testing us right? lol.


 
Haha colubrids, elapids all the same to me. I just keep away from them all.


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## redbellybite (Mar 30, 2010)

froggyboy86 said:


> Haha colubrids, elapids all the same to me. I just keep away from them all.


 all the same :shock:..................


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## waruikazi (Mar 30, 2010)

froggyboy86 said:


> Haha colubrids, elapids all the same to me. I just keep away from them all.



Probably for the best  :lol:


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## Acrochordus (Mar 30, 2010)

Nice stuff, if i were you i would be out herping 24/7!!!
Thanks Tim.


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## Bushman (Apr 7, 2010)

Great part of the country up there! 
That Black Whip Snake is a beauty. Are the white spots only visible when it's agitated?


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