# timber rattlers... i never knew this...



## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

i found these two wild shots of a timber rattlesnake and it was photographed just as it was found... about 4 meters above the ground...

the thing is, i never knew that timbers would climb seriously and especially bigger ones.... that opens up all kinds of possibilities... you mean i have to keep an eye out for them even in trees and atop bushes?

what about copperheads? how much climbing do they do?... all the timbers i've seen were a little too hefty to be good climbers... but i guess looks can be deceiving!... now i wonder just how many i have walked right past?

click the photos to enlarge... yeah, these caught my eye..


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## Serious D (Apr 12, 2008)

Thats mad lol


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## Burmese Man (Jan 10, 2007)

ok thats news to me lol never seen a timber up a tree like that


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

Wow! Great pictures - how high up was that? And what location? I always thought they were a fairly heavy bodied snake! Hehe im sure you'll be a little more cautious on a daily stroll in the woods now... crazy!


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## Al Hyde (Jan 6, 2008)

That's interesting. I have pictures of v.berus up in birch trees somewhere on disc. It's been suggested that they may climb to gain more sunshine in Spring and Autumn


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## Al Hyde (Jan 6, 2008)

It'd be interesting to find out what time of year these pics were taken.


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

Al Hyde said:


> It'd be interesting to find out what time of year these pics were taken.


 the guy took them in the spring not far from me... same habitat.

it just never entered my mind that a grown timber would climb... although in spring the birds are all nesting and black rat snakes are always climbing then... maybe a baby timber might climb a small bush but for a 3'-4' timber going up a trunk somehow... 

... i'll keep my eyes open and camera ready!... i have to tune my eyeballs in on the timber pattern when i scope-out the trees and bushes...


hunt for the aboreal rattlesnake!:lol2:

i know just the spot!


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## crazysnakedude (Jul 1, 2005)

wish we had snakes like that in the uk. i dont think i would ever get anything dun


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

crazysnakedude said:


> wish we had snakes like that in the uk. i don't think i would ever get anything dun


 well, here where i am, you have to apply yourself to find stuff. either you get lucky or you find the perfect habitat at the perfect time of year and the perfect time of day... many species move around in a predictable manner. it's often harder to find snakes out here in a proper forest than at the outskirts of a town where rodents are more plentiful and habitat is fragmented... which tends to squeeze individuals together...

... you do find sweet-spots though where the odds are very good for finding a certain snake... you have to have the eyes and stealth to sneak up on many snakes... those timbers and copperheads are invisible nearly. you can be looking right at one and not see it... and they rarely are going to move and give themselves away. in addition here, the terrain is very rugged and trying to move fast will just wear you out...


here are some pics of wild stuff that shows this area and it's residents at home... click to enlarge pics.




find the snake...



here he is!



typical situation





watch where you sit!!


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## crazysnakedude (Jul 1, 2005)

so cool....................i saw a pigeon in my garden the other day


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

timber!!!




on the move!



what the creeks are like here.





now, just walk twenty miles
in a straight line!


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

crazysnakedude said:


> so cool....................i saw a pigeon in my garden the other day


 
alright now,... you're bumming me out!:lol2:

hey, there are places anywhere someone lives... they may have to travel a piece but it's there... i make sure to look at everyone's herp shots...

... believe me, if you lived here, having some herps in the woods would be no big deal after a while... ther are bizzillions of better places to herp than here in shawnee... sometimes i'm tempted to spend a 100 bucks and just jump on a bus for a few days in florida herping and then just turn around and go home... just for a hoot!....

... i think next week i'll go up into the woods here and check things out...

it looks so barren right now.


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## STReptiles (Feb 6, 2009)

keep your eyes on the trees :lol2: arboreal rattles about!


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

sam1989 said:


> keep your eyes on the trees :lol2: arboreal rattles about!


 
COME TO THINK OF IT... that could be a hazard!... but the odds are so remote that a rattler could nail you from a branch by surprise... they are difficult enough to find just looking for them... what really and truly bums me out is when i find dead ones on the road.... i've found a couple... one was so fresh that if i'd left my camp a bit earlier, i may have see it before it got hit and slung off the side of the road... that's what happens usually, small snakes and lizards get squashed outright and bigger things like rattlers and ratsnakes get slung off to the side...

at night on a certain road in the forest where i camp, it's very likely to find timbers... but that's a lot of walking and something could slide out of the weeds just as you have passed... red-bellied snakes are easy to find like this in the evening but timbers are just pure luck.


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## STReptiles (Feb 6, 2009)

well im in the u.k and the only thing im likely to see is a toad crossing the road lol, i have seen an adder or two before though.


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

sam1989 said:


> well im in the u.k and the only thing im likely to see is a toad crossing the road lol, i have seen an adder or two before though.


see, toads for instance... i just have one species here... the american toad and it's sub-species the fowler's toad... same critter basically...

 

the one thing that we have here that i could really brag about is salamanders... we have quite a few species... most are common.. a few are rarer... i'll be doing some salamander collecting this spring... and with this new-fangled digital camera, i can take very good pics and even some short videos... i want to take lots of pics and post them here for people to enjoy... maybe a virtual herping trip... test my creativity...:lol2:

does anyone on the forum here keep either timbers or northern copperheads?... i'd like ideas on some field projects or things i could do this year... maybe keep a log-book and take readings when i find stuff?

... some actual notes on the conditions where these guys or other things are at... what temps and things they seem to prefer...

.. i could do that, but whether anyone could use the information is another matter... well, pics anyway.

anyone want to see more pics?


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## STReptiles (Feb 6, 2009)

yehh great, i think that could be usefull.


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## miss_rawr (Mar 18, 2009)

i didn't know that either!


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

so does anyone have any ideas how i could be helpful to folks here on the forum this season?... unfortunately most u.k. keepers have only a couple species commonly that come from these parts... garters, blackratsnakes... a few people have copperheads... not many timbers i bet... they aren't the prettiest species... ours look decent as does our copperheads right here... they are a very nice colored copperhead from this locale.


... that's about it for common species... the rough greens are all but impossible to find... they're here but again, impossible to see...


i'm doing some chores here today and taking some breaks and checking the forum so if there are any questions, comments or suggestions let me know...:2thumb:

oh here's a few pics of the sights here....


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## STReptiles (Feb 6, 2009)

you could do some care sheets on the species that are kept as pets, try finding out what they feed on in the wild etc get good temp reading etc etc


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

some random shots of the region... erm, bump!:lol2:


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

it's getting late there i think... the forum is slowing down... it's 6:30pm here (18:30gmt)....

i'll be here for a while yet... it's way early here... the sun is shining brite!


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