Fieldherper.com » whiptail

Busy Body Tiger Whiptail

Bryan — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:20:30 +0000

This big Tiger Whiptail, Aspidoscelis tigris, was foraging for food in the mesquite roots while Kelly and I watched. I’ve always thought whiptails are a bit entertaining, as they always seem to be extremely busy doing whatever they’re doing, and just can’t be bothered to run away. Not now, not while there are bills to pay and bugs to catch.

Tiger Whiptail

Desert Grassland Whiptail

Bryan — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:44:59 +0000

I had to follow this little Desert Grassland Whiptail, Aspidoscelis uniparens, around for 15 minutes before it would hold still long enough to get a quick photo. Like a lot of whiptails I encounter, it didn’t much mind my presence, and felt just fine continuing to root around in the soft soil looking for small insects.

As the species name may suggest, uniparens, this species is entirely female; each baby being a perfect clone of the parent. This of course also renders them unable to change with their habitat or adapt to new challenges, ultimately leading to the demise of the species.

Desert Grassland Whiptail

Supertrail + Megahike + Ultrapost

Bryan — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 05:07:05 +0000

Here’s from a trip way back in May, where Kris and I struck out on snakes, but not for lack of effort. We hiked so hard I seriously had trouble walking the next day, and it takes quite a bit to do that to me.

We got up before the sun and headed South to take the long way in hopes of seeing some snakes warming themselves in the early sunlight. No such luck. That set the tone for what was a pretty herp-free trip. Here’s some pictures from the first day.

Bullfrog

Whiptail

Fur Bug

We camped at the base of the mountain and got up before sunup once again to see what we could find. We ended up hiking to the top of the mountain before noon, climbing a full mile up over 5.2 miles of trail. What to do when you get up there? Hurry your ass back down before dark!

First, however, you have to wake up and find the will to put on your boots.

The filthy underbelly of herping

Lots of nice scenery, which you can’t look at much without ending up part of it.

Supertrail

This is why you don’t want to get struck by lightning. Someone should have told this tree.

Lightning-gutted tree

No snakes, but we saw lots of lizards who didn’t seem to mind people very much.

Yarrow\'s Spiny Lizard

When snakes are hiding, expect to see plenty of tree pictures.