Spotting back in action

[insectovor]

I was talking to a few friends this week and they have been doing some good spotlighting lately. Also some of the reports online have been good so I decided to go spotlighting in prime reptile country..The red centre....

We started driving at about seven and it did not take long before we saw some fat tailed geckoes, cute little guys and always good for some photos. The next reptile we saw was a dead bearded dragon, we moved it of the road to prevent birds from getting hit and proceeded with driving.
Moon snake!!!!! was the next call from a dear friend sitting next to me. Only small, but very beautifull the moonsnake only measured about 40 cm. The cameras were out and photos were taken and in a matter of minutes our eyes were peeled on the road again. Our next encounter was the majestic...Knob Tail gecko(Amyae)..I couldn't believe it bu it was true and not just 1 there were half a dozen on the road in a 100 meter stretch.
Each one was moved away or we simply drove around it...

We saw a turn off to a water hole and thought why not have a look....and we got lucky...Three frogs that live in the desert being..L.rubella, L.gilleni and L.spenceri....after about half an hour we decided to drive back...and we were lucky to see a spiny tailed gecko crossing the road (D.cilliaris)
Just before we got back in town a dead mulga snake was encounterd just hit by a car.....

All in all a good little trip with plenty of herps to be seen ...make sure you keep spotting them herps guys just to make sure they are still there

Insectovor....

 

[Guest]

wow, sounds like u had a great time. good work.

 

[Fuscus]

You saw a suta - I'm Jealous.
I got a new spotlight, it plugs into the ciggy lighter and is brighter than the high beams.
Anyhow, I took it out on Sunday and saw cats and rabbits. :evil:

 

[Jonny]

Do reptiles' eyes light up and reflect when spotlighting?

I've been spotlighting for foxes and rabbits but never reptiles

 

[Fuscus]

Leaf-tailed geckos do, but the one I have seen ducked its head so the shine stopped. This attracted my attention but I had to stare at the spot for 30 seconds until I actually saw the animal.

 

[womas4me]

Arnt moon snakes furina ornata ( orange naped snakes ). That what we call moon snakes here. maybe this name is used for more than one species though.

 

[insectovor]

Yeah a Suta is a diffrent snake, otherwise known as the curl snake, I have seen these as well but just at work

 

[AGAMIDAE]

You just want to keep rubbing my face in it ... :lol: ..dont you.... :lol: ...hay buddy cant wait to see you guys at the end of Novembers...... :lol:

 

[Fuscus]

Re: RE: Spotting back in action

Arnt moon snakes furina ornata ( orange naped snakes ). That what we call moon snakes here. maybe this name is used for more than one species though.

Whoops.

 

[womas4me]

Here is a nice suta for you Fuscus.

 

[Fuscus]

Suta fasciata?

 

[womas4me]

Thats my bet too. Doesn't exactly resemble the photo's in most of my books but i'm certain it isn't suta punctata. These are very common here but this guy is one of the better conditioned ones i have ever seen.

 

[Magpie]

If you want a real good spotty, make sure it's one that clips straight onto the battery terminals.
The ones that go into the ciggy lighter are good... but the really good ones are far far superior.

 

[Fuscus]

Its a good match to the animal in Swan and Wilson

 

[Jonny]

If you want a real good spotty, make sure it's one that clips straight onto the battery terminals.
The ones that go into the ciggy lighter are good... but the really good ones are far far superior.

I recommend lightforce spotlights. You can get them either with a alligator clips or ciggie lighter connection. Both work just as well as each other.

You can also get coloured filters so the animals dont get spooked. I got a red one and it works wonders on foxes :lol:

 

[Magpie]

I've got a blazzalight 7" spot. Works well out to about 750m. Mate has the 9" version and works well out to well over 1km, far farther than any of us can shoot :S

 

[jimmy_the_kid]

i got a 2 dollar torch from silly sollys

 

[westaussie]

Looks like fasciata to me, I spotted one eating a dragon last year.

 

[insectovor]

The lightforce 1000000 candle lights are great you can also get a backpack with battery for them if you do walks

 

[nuthn2do]

Those led headlamps are great for picking up the eyes of mammals and birds (even spiders), don't know about herps but I will check when the batteries are charged.