Cricket frogs

I decided Friday and Saturday night I was going to go to Denton Creek and see what kind of animals I could find in the flood waters.  Friday night I went very unprepared, I was just scouting the place out.  I took a old spot light that only shines for about 4 minutes even at a full charge.  I pulled off and parked on the north side of the north bridge on 377.  I went down to the flood waters and started to hear and see frogs everywhere.  I spent about 15 minutes checking the place out before the light was gone and I left.

I wanted to go more prepared Saturday as I wanted to bring a few frogs back to photograph and hopefully find a snake or two.  I bought a good 400 lumen half spot light from Walmart that has an 8 hour battery life.  I also had some wader boots at home and a minnow net.  I was prepared this time.

I went out about 9:45 to the same spot.  I started wading through the water catch a frog here and there.  I ended up catching 4 cricket frogs, another unided frog that got away and a Texas Brown Snake.

I had only been there about 15 minutes.  I started to wonder why I hadn't seen any larger snakes.  I was quite confident this is the prime location  for water snakes.  About that time I spot a very large Cottommouth about 4 foot long climbing through the weeds a few feet from me.

These are some pictures I took of the Cricket Frogs.

Texas Ratsnake climbing a tree.

I caught this Texas Ratsnake around Fredericksburg Tx.  It was a little over 5 feet long.  Texas Ratsnakes are excellent climbers and will climb almost anything.  This was decided to climb a tree after I released it.

Smooth Earth Snake photographs

These are some photographs of a Smooth Earth Snake I have taken.  I shot them with my Canon 5D Mark II.  My lens is a Canon MP-E 65mm 2.8 1x-5x macro lens.  You can take extreme macro photographs with this lens.  Smooth Earth Snakes are a common snake in Texas gardens.  I usually find a dozen or more every year.

 These small snakes only get about 8 inches.  They eat small insects and larva.  There are two types of Earth Snakes.  There are Smooth and Rough Earth Snakes.  Smooth Earth Snakes have smooth scales.  Rough Earth Snakes have keeled scales that make them feel rough.  These snakes are harmless and do not bite.
Smooth Earth Snakes are reptiles which mean they are cold blooded.  Like other reptiles these snake have to have the sun to heat there bodies.  They can sometimes be found in the open in grass soaking up the sun.  If they sense danger they will quickly retreat into the leaves.

These photographs of a Smooth Earth Snake were taken on some old white carpet in my garage.  I had found three of these in the yard that day.

Texas Blind Snake photographs

I have only found two Texas Blind Snakes.  I found both under a log near Austin Texas.  These Texas Blind Snake photographs were shot on a Canon 5D Mark II camera and a Sigma 180mm macro lens.  Ever year in June my family takes a trip to Fredericksburg Texas for a family reunion.  While there we have access to a camp ground on Redstone Ranch next to LBJ's ranch.  I always find a lot of animals while I'm there.  Last year I flipped over a log trying to find something new to photograph.  There were three Texas Blind Snakes under the log.  I was able to catch 2 of the 3 before the last one got away.  I then lost one of the remaining two snakes.

The one that I was able to keep I photographed.  These reptiles are pretty cool.  These are some cool facts about Texas Blind Snakes.  They only get a few inches long averaging about 7 inches with the largest specimen reaching 10 inches.

Many Blind Snakes are mistaken for earthworms.  They has a similar appearance but upon closer inspection they can easily be identified.

The one that I was able to keep I photographed.  These reptiles are pretty cool.  These are some cool facts about Texas Blind Snakes.  They only get a few inches long averaging about 7 inches with the largest specimen reaching 10 inches.

Texas Blind Snakes are blind and have two black eye spots underneath scales on there heads.  These tiny reptiles do not bite.  Even if they did, the mouth is so small they could not bite a human.  These snakes eat small larva ants and termites so they are consider beneficial.

Rough Green Snake photographs

These are some photographs of a Rough Green Snake(Opheodrys aestivus).  Rough Green Snakes are found in the southern United States mainly between Central Texas and Florida.  Rough Green Snakes are arboreal which means they like to climb.  You can find these reptiles climbing low vegetation.  They are diurnal meaning they tend to hunt during the day and sleep at night.  The Rough Green Snake eats small insects and occasionally frogs.  These animals are not aggressive and will rarely bite.  The Rough Green Snake reaches about 45 inches and it very thin.  These snakes are quick and will retreat if confronted.

The difference between a Rough Green Snake and a Smooth Green Snake is mainly that a Rough Green Snake has keeled scales.  The Rough Green Snake also gets about 3.5 feet long where the Smooth Green Snake will only get about 2.5.

Here is a photograph of the keeled scales of a Rough Green Snake.

Notice that the scales are not smooth all the way from top to bottom.  In the middle of the scales there are a dividing line that is rough to the touch.  This is called a keel and is where the reptile gets it's name from.

Both snakes are green on top and yellow on the bottom.  This gives excellent camouflage in vegetation.  These animals are excellent climbers.  This video of a Rough Green Snake shows how well they can climb.

Texas Rat Snake photographs

I was cleaning the yard a few weeks ago when this young Texas Rat Snake came out of the garden.  He was very calm at the time.  These reptiles can be very calm or very aggressive.  I kept him for a few days while I photographed him.  He was very aggressive when I photographed him.  I got bit a few times.  I wanted some photographs of a Texas Rat Snake on a white background so I put him on some poster board and shot these.

I took a video of a very large Texas Rat Snake a few years ago.  This Texas Rat Snake was around 5 foot long.  I took this video of it climbing a tree.  These reptiles are excellent climbers.

Juvenile Diamondback Water Snake photographs

These of some photographs of a Juvenile Diamondback Water Snake I caught in Double Oak Texas.  These are one of several common Water Snakes found in the area.  Diamondback Water Snakes are harmless and will attempt to flee if they come in contact with humans.

This is a juvenile Diamondback Water Snake.  Juvenile Diamondback Water Snakes eat minnows and other small fish.  These reptiles are not venomous.  Diamondback Water Snake reach a length of about 5 feet.  These are often found around lakes, ponds and rivers.  They will travel over long distances to find new hunting grounds.  Diamondback Water Snakes are common in Texas.

Prairie Kingsnake photographs

I caught this Prairie Kingsnake in Troy Texas in April.  Prairie Kingsnakes are generally very docile snakes.  This snake did not bite and was not aggressive.  These reptiles are found in most of the southern states.  Prairie Kingsnakes eat mice and rats and will eat other snakes if they find them.  This is how they get the name Kingsnake.  Like all Kingsnakes they will eat other snakes even venomous ones.  They have an immunity to the venom which makes Rattlesnakes and others vulnerable.

These photographs of a Prairie Kingsnake were taken on a Canon Rebel T3I.

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