Herping around the Perth hills

[Elapidae1]

A mate and I went herping in the hills during the week. The overnight temps were around 3 degrees, however by late morning the granite was warm enough to bring out Ornate Crevice Dragons, these guys are lightning fast and it wasn't unusual to see 3 or 4 skitting away as we approached

Ctenophurus ornatus

From a keeping point of view gecko's don't hold much interest for me, however I love to see them in their habitat and find their behaviors very interesting. Barking gecko's were the first we came across. They are agro little beggars with heaps of personality.

Nephrurus milii

The next two were the only examples of this species we found, they were within a couple of metres of each other. It was also an opportunity for my mate to point out how many microhabitats suitable for different species can occur within a very small area.

Diplodactylus pulcher

We only found very small specimens of the next species and they really tested my minimal photography skills, and the limits of my lenses.

Diplodactylus polyophthalmus

Here are some shots of the habitat in which these species were found.

Hope you guys enjoy these photos.

Steve.

 

[byron_moses]

great pics mate thanks for sharing

 

[Western python]

great photos .the closeups are excellent

 

[orientalis]

Well done Steve!
Great pictures and thanks for your effort to share...Cheers

 

[Elapidae1]

No worries guys, the pleasures mine. Thanks for the comments.

 

[thals]

Great shots Steve! Common as they are, milli in their natural habitat with their little agro displays are always a joy for me to witness, cute little buggers with feist! Cheers for charing 8)

 

[Snowman]

Did you find most things under rocks or were you lifting timber as well?

 

[longirostris]

Great shots steve. I love the Ornate dragon. I had a pair of these about 25 years ago whilst I was living in Melbourne. I have not seen any in captivity since. It would be lovely to see these come back into the hobby, but I am sure it will not be too soon if CALM have their way. Shame really because they were great little dragons to keep and did quite well in captivity. Especially when you consider how much we did not know back then about their husbandry requirements, they were really quite hardy animals. I would love to see one in the wild.

 

[Elapidae1]

We are not allowed to lift rocks and timber in Perth only rubbish, and as much as I enjoyed this trip it was very disappointing to see the destruction in some areas that so called herpers and others looking for scorpions etc caused. I used to read posts where people were reluctant to reveal spots and methods and thought they were protecting a preferred area, the same as fishermen always have a secret spot, however I now realize that it is an effort to protect the habitat and the animals found there. The people who destroy these places have absolutely no regard whatsoever for the animals they proclaim to love so much. If people have the need to look under something then do so gently and return it to it's original position, aim to leave an area exactly how you found it.

The Ornate dragon was probably my favourite find of the trip Longirostris they were plentiful though very fast

 

[Snowman]

The habbitat pics made it look like it was void of rubbish. I don't know what's more disturbing. That there's that much rubbish out there or that people have to wreck the environment in search of things. Interesting that your not allowed to lift rocks and logs in WA. I didn't know that and have carefully lifted things and replaced them back on occasion. It seems less distructive then raking that's for sure. Unless you just a vandal overturning things and leaving them that is....

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Great shots Steve. I wonder how much of the destruction of exfoliating granite has occurred since CALM (now DEC) has allowed a seemingly endless legal take of N. milii and Stimson's Pythons? Actually I know... it escalated markedly when there was dollar value placed on the critters found under rocks. Some of those licensed as 'Takers' had never even kept a reptile in their lives, and couldn't care less about the long-term impact of their activities on the environment. But they got their 'loot', and CALM got their chunky royalty, even if the GPS coordinates were fudged to make collection 'legal".

Anyway, enough of that... great photos of beautiful animals. When you come across a granite that has Ornates living on it, I reckon you can smell them, a sort of sweetish odour which is quite obvious most of the time. I've always wondered if it's a territorial scent - as a kid in John Forrest National Park I could always tell which outcrops harboured these dragons by the smell...

Jamie.

 

[Elapidae1]

Every time I go herping now I'm going to be trying to sniff the suckers out, LOL, not that it would be necessary because they were literally everywhere. I wonder if the destruction is still caused by people illegally taking, or if it's caused by photograph hunters.

Do you have a theory on how they leave their scent? urate, scent gland, skin secretion, etc?

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Not sure Steve, I wouldn't have thought the olfactory senses on Ornates would be highly developed, they are certainly able to scan their environment visually though, and chase off any male interlopers.

To be fair (and I rarely am when it comes to DEC lol!) I think the pressure on those granite habitats comes from curious, but ignorant, illegal collectors, licensed collectors taking allowed species illegally, slab collecting for gardens, and just general kid vandalism. I have to say from my own experience, when much younger, I often couldn't resist the temptation to see what was underneath slabs of rock-on-rock.

Jamie.

 

[Elapidae1]

I don't necessarily have anything against looking under rocks etc, it's the manner in which the activity is conducted that gets me. When large portions of sheet rock are deliberately smashed and large rocks are flipped and just rolled away destroying everything in it's path, it's just as easy if not easier to put the item back in it's original place.

Steve