Herper from Mexico, heading to Australia soon! Super excited! :)

[beavisnail]

Hello guys,

Thank you so much for accepting me here. It is really awesome! I am a naturalist and a herper, originally from Hungary, but living in Playa del Carmen, Mexico for 12 years now. I have a trip in late May to mid June to Australia and I am looking for some help and tips, where to try to find herps and critters in general. I am interested in anything, snakes, lizards, frogs, tarantulas, scorions... All!

I know May and June are not the best months, due to colder weather. I will be in Sydney, then Byron Bay. Any tips there for May would be appreciated, although probably hard with the temp.

I am planning to fly up to Cairns for a few days, and try herping there, as day temperatures should be still good for finding stuff. So probably the most useful thing would be any tips around Cairns area. If there would be a nature guide there offering herping tours, I would be also in, I am happy to invest within my possibilities to see as much as possible.

Again, thank you for accepting me here!

Cheers,
Barna

 

[Sdaji]

Around Byron Bay at that time of year you won't see much. Around Sydney if you team up with a local who knows where to go and how to look you'll be able to see quite a few lizards, snakes and a few frogs including some pretty neat species. Cairns at that time of year won't be great, but it's a beautiful area so if you get out and do some hiking you'll at least see beautiful scenery, and you may be lucky enough to see some monitors, dragons or diurnal snakes. You'll definitely see at least a few skinks scurrying about, and no doubt you'll see a few species of geckoes, mostly Asian House Geckoes unfortunately, but you'll see others if you are keen.

You'll probably struggle to see tarantulas at that time of year. Scorpions can be found any time of year anywhere in Australia if you know how to look for them hard enough (this varies depending on the type of scorpion, time of year and location, it can involve making pitfall traps, actively searching for them in the relevant ways, or in some cases they can be encountered in good numbers active on the surface, though not in May-June in Australia).

 

[beavisnail]

Around Byron Bay at that time of year you won't see much. Around Sydney if you team up with a local who knows where to go and how to look you'll be able to see quite a few lizards, snakes and a few frogs including some pretty neat species. Cairns at that time of year won't be great, but it's a beautiful area so if you get out and do some hiking you'll at least see beautiful scenery, and you may be lucky enough to see some monitors, dragons or diurnal snakes. You'll definitely see at least a few skinks scurrying about, and no doubt you'll see a few species of geckoes, mostly Asian House Geckoes unfortunately, but you'll see others if you are keen.

You'll probably struggle to see tarantulas at that time of year. Scorpions can be found any time of year anywhere in Australia if you know how to look for them hard enough (this varies depending on the type of scorpion, time of year and location, it can involve making pitfall traps, actively searching for them in the relevant ways, or in some cases they can be encountered in good numbers active on the surface, though not in May-June in Australia).

Thank you very much for answering! Super useful information, really!

It is great to know that I might have a chance to find some herps in the Sydney area, as I thought it would be mostly a no-go... Not sure if anybody here could suggest me a local, who could be able to help. I would love to dedicate a full day for herping, possibly more (I can change flight and arrive a day or two earlier if needed). Of course if anybody knows about a dedicated herping guide around Sydney, I would be the happiest to hire him/her. I did mention it, but finding a Sydneyfunnel-web spider would be super cool too. So I would even be happy to go out and look for spiders, scorpions around Sydney tbh.

I really thought that around Cairns I could still get some cool herping in June as the temperatures are higher, but I guess I judget it wrong. On iNaturalist (I use it to scout what kind of species are found in which area and season) I did see quite some scur pythons, common tree snakes and carpet pythons. I would be happy to see any of those guys.

If anybody has any local contacts to recommend, to go out for herping and look for critters around Sydney, please share it, it would be a huge help!

Thanks again for the super useful reply.

 

[Sdaji]

If you don't know what you're doing in Sydney at that time of year you'll probably see nothing at all. If you do know where and how to look, you'll see plenty, including some of the iconic species and yep, also Sydney Funnel Webs if you specifically target them (and if you don't, your chances of seeing them are close to zero).

A lot of people don't understand the relevance of season and think more about weather. The exact same weather in different seasons can be the difference between reptiles being abundant and being absent or close to it. Think about it like this: if you're in early breeding season, you'll be out chasing mates, and since you only get one chance per year, you'll do your best even if the weather isn't perfect. It's worth risking your life and putting in the effort to fulfill your only relevant duty in life. If it's early in the season you'll be urgently wanting to find food - you have just gone through winter, you need to replenish your body reserves, you need to prepare your body for reproduction etc, and again, it's worth risking your life to do this. At these times reptiles are highly active. After the breeding season is over, most individuals have replenished their body reserves so there is little need to hunt/forage. It's highly risky. If food is stupid enough to stumble right into you, sure, you'll eat it, but in a world where plenty of things are wanting to eat you as much as you want to eat something else, you aren't likely to bother risking your life when it's not the season to care about it - it's a better bet to wait out the winter and forage in spring when food is more abundant and the calories will be more relevant, especially when it's currently late in the season and you're already stocked up anyway.

So, the exact same weather in late summer to mid winter which would cause a flurry of activity in spring to early summer, even if it's absolutely ideal for reptiles to be foraging, won't make them do it, because it's not their season to be doing it. You might find a reptile out at any time of year in almost any weather for whatever strange reason. I've occasionally seen reptiles active at night in winter in Melbourne even at cold temperatures below 10 degrees Celcius. Some species are just unusual (geckoes of some species are often slightly active even in the off seasons and can be very cold tolerant) and I've even seen Tiger Snakes and Small-eyed Snakes active at night in winter in Melbourne in cold temperatures, which puzzles me but I guess it's like seeing a human going for a run at 3AM - it's not really normal but a few individuals will do it for some weird reason and you just might cross paths with one doing it, though if you want to see humans running, going to the park in nice weather in mid morning on a Saturday is a much better bet.

Anyway, I hope that explains the seasonality. The reason you can find reptiles very easily in winter (the non active season) in some cases is that reptiles generally don't all die in winter, so they are somewhere, and if that happens to be in a place you can access if you know where to look, they're very easy to find (if you know how to find them). If they're deep underground or high up in hollow trees etc, you're not going to see them unless you are incredibly keen. In southern Australia, some reptiles are easiest to find in winter.

Some of the small skinks, small dragons, geckoes etc will be active all year in Cairns, but pythons and tree snakes etc are probably going to be difficult to encounter in June. You may get lucky with Dendrelaphis but I'd be impressed if you found a python. If I was there six months later/earlier I'd guarantee I could find some pythons, but pythons in June, I wouldn't even bother looking. Having said that, if you know exactly where to look, you may be able to find them. They obviously do still exist so it's not impossible and I won't guarantee you won't find them, but it's going to be so much less likely/more difficult.

 

[beavisnail]

If you don't know what you're doing in Sydney at that time of year you'll probably see nothing at all. If you do know where and how to look, you'll see plenty, including some of the iconic species and yep, also Sydney Funnel Webs if you specifically target them (and if you don't, your chances of seeing them are close to zero).

A lot of people don't understand the relevance of season and think more about weather. The exact same weather in different seasons can be the difference between reptiles being abundant and being absent or close to it. Think about it like this: if you're in early breeding season, you'll be out chasing mates, and since you only get one chance per year, you'll do your best even if the weather isn't perfect. It's worth risking your life and putting in the effort to fulfill your only relevant duty in life. If it's early in the season you'll be urgently wanting to find food - you have just gone through winter, you need to replenish your body reserves, you need to prepare your body for reproduction etc, and again, it's worth risking your life to do this. At these times reptiles are highly active. After the breeding season is over, most individuals have replenished their body reserves so there is little need to hunt/forage. It's highly risky. If food is stupid enough to stumble right into you, sure, you'll eat it, but in a world where plenty of things are wanting to eat you as much as you want to eat something else, you aren't likely to bother risking your life when it's not the season to care about it - it's a better bet to wait out the winter and forage in spring when food is more abundant and the calories will be more relevant, especially when it's currently late in the season and you're already stocked up anyway.

So, the exact same weather in late summer to mid winter which would cause a flurry of activity in spring to early summer, even if it's absolutely ideal for reptiles to be foraging, won't make them do it, because it's not their season to be doing it. You might find a reptile out at any time of year in almost any weather for whatever strange reason. I've occasionally seen reptiles active at night in winter in Melbourne even at cold temperatures below 10 degrees Celcius. Some species are just unusual (geckoes of some species are often slightly active even in the off seasons and can be very cold tolerant) and I've even seen Tiger Snakes and Small-eyed Snakes active at night in winter in Melbourne in cold temperatures, which puzzles me but I guess it's like seeing a human going for a run at 3AM - it's not really normal but a few individuals will do it for some weird reason and you just might cross paths with one doing it, though if you want to see humans running, going to the park in nice weather in mid morning on a Saturday is a much better bet.

Anyway, I hope that explains the seasonality. The reason you can find reptiles very easily in winter (the non active season) in some cases is that reptiles generally don't all die in winter, so they are somewhere, and if that happens to be in a place you can access if you know where to look, they're very easy to find (if you know how to find them). If they're deep underground or high up in hollow trees etc, you're not going to see them unless you are incredibly keen. In southern Australia, some reptiles are easiest to find in winter.

Some of the small skinks, small dragons, geckoes etc will be active all year in Cairns, but pythons and tree snakes etc are probably going to be difficult to encounter in June. You may get lucky with Dendrelaphis but I'd be impressed if you found a python. If I was there six months later/earlier I'd guarantee I could find some pythons, but pythons in June, I wouldn't even bother looking. Having said that, if you know exactly where to look, you may be able to find them. They obviously do still exist so it's not impossible and I won't guarantee you won't find them, but it's going to be so much less likely/more difficult.

Dear @Sdaji , thank you for your detailed answer, again I really appreciate it and totally makes sense.

I was really thinking about going up to Cairns because of the warmer weather, so it is huge help for me to know, that this would not mean a very high probability of reptile encounters. This could totally alter my travel plans in a very good way.

On the other hand, I am super excited about the possibilities in the Sydney area, I really thought that it would be very unlikely to find reptiles late May. Now comes the million-dollar question: do you know anybody in and around Sydney for potentially helping/guiding? Or how, where should I look? I am totally, 100% interested in investing time, money, and hard work to find some cool herps in Australia. The timing of the trip was not chosen for herping of course, but knowing there is still a chance, I would really try everything possible.

Thank you in advance! I so appreciate the time you take for the answers, and being open to help, explain. Living in Mexico means I am not really sure when I get to Australia again, if at all, so would love to make this trip count!

 

[Sdaji]

There have been many people poaching wild reptiles around Sydney over the last 20-30 years, so partly out of concern for the animals and partly out of concern for getting in legal trouble, most people will be reluctant to trust someone they don't know, especially a foreigner. You're unlikely to get any specific information posted online, but if you can manage to gain the trust of a local herper in the Sydney area who knows what they're doing, and they're willing to take you out and show you the spots (you're extremely unlikely to find them on your own - the well known ones everyone goes to are pretty much devoid of popular/significant reptiles and people don't want their remaining good spots to go the same way) you'll do well. Maybe contacting one of the local NSW herp groups could work, I'm not really sure who I can recommend.

The only python in the Sydney area is the Diamond Carpet, but it's a pretty iconic and beautiful python to see. You're also likely to see Brown Tree Snakes (Boiga), Broad-headed Snakes, you may get lucky and see Dendrelaphis, you'll see some geckoes, Copper-tailed Skinks, you should see scorpions while looking for these reptiles, and if you specifically target them you'll find your Sydney Funnel Web Spiders.

You'll definitely see some reptiles in the Cairns area at any time of years, it's just more difficult. If you know how to look at the right time of year you'll easily find two or three python species and you might find another one or two with a bit of luck, the monitors become easier to find, Frilled Dragons (Chlamydosaurus kingii) are easy to find if you know how to look, but I'd probably be unable to find one in May-June. Your best bet for snakes around Cairns at that time of year would be things like Australian Keelbacks and some of the small elapids. At the right time of year (a few months earlier, early in the year) you can literally see dozens of tarantulas running around at night while you're out, but I'd struggle to find one at this time of year without putting in a heap of effort to find and dig them up (which is ethically and legally questionable).

I don't know what country I'll be in for May-June next year, but feel free to get in touch with me closer to the time and if I'm around we can see what we can work out - [email protected] or send me a message here and we can go from there.

 

[beavisnail]

There have been many people poaching wild reptiles around Sydney over the last 20-30 years, so partly out of concern for the animals and partly out of concern for getting in legal trouble, most people will be reluctant to trust someone they don't know, especially a foreigner. You're unlikely to get any specific information posted online, but if you can manage to gain the trust of a local herper in the Sydney area who knows what they're doing, and they're willing to take you out and show you the spots (you're extremely unlikely to find them on your own - the well known ones everyone goes to are pretty much devoid of popular/significant reptiles and people don't want their remaining good spots to go the same way) you'll do well. Maybe contacting one of the local NSW herp groups could work, I'm not really sure who I can recommend.

The only python in the Sydney area is the Diamond Carpet, but it's a pretty iconic and beautiful python to see. You're also likely to see Brown Tree Snakes (Boiga), Broad-headed Snakes, you may get lucky and see Dendrelaphis, you'll see some geckoes, Copper-tailed Skinks, you should see scorpions while looking for these reptiles, and if you specifically target them you'll find your Sydney Funnel Web Spiders.

You'll definitely see some reptiles in the Cairns area at any time of years, it's just more difficult. If you know how to look at the right time of year you'll easily find two or three python species and you might find another one or two with a bit of luck, the monitors become easier to find, Frilled Dragons (Chlamydosaurus kingii) are easy to find if you know how to look, but I'd probably be unable to find one in May-June. Your best bet for snakes around Cairns at that time of year would be things like Australian Keelbacks and some of the small elapids. At the right time of year (a few months earlier, early in the year) you can literally see dozens of tarantulas running around at night while you're out, but I'd struggle to find one at this time of year without putting in a heap of effort to find and dig them up (which is ethically and legally questionable).

I don't know what country I'll be in for May-June next year, but feel free to get in touch with me closer to the time and if I'm around we can see what we can work out - [email protected] or send me a message here and we can go from there.

Thank you again! Very useful info, and this just makes me more want to find the right person to go out herping in the Sydney area. With only one of those above-mentioned species of snakes I would be extremely happy.

I understand the concerns sadly regarding sharing the best herping locations and tips, etc. It is beyond me how people can collect wild animals. My whole life and work (www.encounters.com.mx, www.beforeitisallgone.com) is around seeing animals in their natural habitat, I do this as a hobby and passion, and also through my company I organize wildlife trips around the world. Seeing one polar bear from 500 meters makes a whole Arctic trip worth... Finding animals in their natural habitat, and being able to observe them is the best thing in the world in my opinion.

I really had no idea about how big of a problem this is, until started planning a herping trip to Arizona with a friend this May (we were targeting the spring season there). We were trying to get tips for herping there, and we hit a wall, then we learned that so many people go to Arizona to catch wild snakes and lizards without any permits... Before that I never even thought that this could be an issue.

I will reach out probably in an email with some specific questions, and closer to the date of the trip too, maybe we could work something out. I will look around in the forum here, maybe I can find somebody willing to show us around in the Sydney area.

Thank you again for all the help.

 

[Sdaji]

You'll most likely find people happy to go for a walk through some of the popular national parks with you, I can happily tell you those popular spots. Lovely scenery, you'll probably see few reptiles (small skinks etc).

I can perfectly understand why people collect wild reptiles and in some cases I even have no problem with it. I don't especially care if someone really loves a particular species, catches a pair for themselves with the intention of breeding them or whatever and they do it in an area where the species is abundant, deliberately take juveniles, etc.

Unfortunately there are people who will go out and take everything they see, specifically for the sake of selling them. I definitely don't feel okay about that. In some areas with some species it really doesn't matter since they are abundant but difficult to find or catch, so the potential to harm the population is extremely low (this is usually the case), but in some cases it's possible to do a lot of local damage to specific populations and the dynamics of the Sydney sandstone habitats make this the case for a lot of their local species. I doubt there's any risk at all of harm to any of the local species, but populations at specific locations can be vulnerable.

I once made the mistake of taking a close friend to a fantastic spot of mine in Melbourne on condition she swore she'd never tell anyone else about the spot. A couple of weeks after I took her she took a group of people from her university, and a few weeks after that the spot went from a place you could see dozens of snakes within a few hours to a place where it was difficult to find one. I'm pretty sure she sincerely believed she wouldn't take anyone there when she promised not to, but after seeing the place the idea of being so impressive and popular to her university friends by showing them all a heap of wild snakes in Melbourne was too tempting. That was 20 years ago and since then I've been extremely selective about who I take and where I take them.