Some people like to pack light while others like to lug around a full rucksack and prepare for it all. Apart from the obvious, a snake hook (or something of the sort), what are some can’t-forget items you take with you when field herping? This community can be very creative, so I’m interested to hear what tools, tips, and tricks you consider necessities for your herping adventures.
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I haven’t had a chance to do much herping, but I always bring my camera and a few lenses to get pictures of whatever I find.
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Here’s what I take out every time:
- Temp Gun
- Snake hook
- Camera w/ a lot of zoom or Binoculars (some lizards are too fast to get close enough to photograph with a phone)
- Collapsable dog water bowl and extra water if herping in a dry area so you can offer the herps a drink in exchange for the opportunity to interact them.
- Selfie Stick if you want to get a close up of any venomous animals.
There’s a lot of other stuff you can bring but those are all I need in any habitat I herp in.
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Most of my herping is done via road cruising. (Thanks to a bad back).
I bring a camera, snake hook, monopod with a gimbal with a retired smart phone mounted in it. It makes getting up close easy.
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All of these are wonderful inclusions, and this below is especially a great addition to my usual list.
Another staple for me, and I’m sure many others, is something to take notes with. I prefer a standard pen and notepad instead of electronics for this for whatever reason, but I like recording temps, numbers of species, etc.
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I visited the Appalachian mountains in eastern Kentucky on a herping trip recently and brought a notepad, a temp gun, some full arm kevlar gloves in case I came across anything venomous, a flashlight, a real nice digital camera with a zoom lense, and of course, my herping snake hook. The thing that sucked though was I never found a single snake. I’m honestly kinda thinking that the reason I found no snakes was because there was a big flood in the area I was right after I left and the snakes somehow sensed a flood coming so they retreated to the peaks of the mountains.
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Ah sorry to hear you struck out this go around, but it sounds like you’re kitted out nicely to get going again, even if not in the Appalachian Mountains.
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Yeah, it was pretty disappointing, especially because I have family in eastern Kentucky and they had told me that you can’t walk a single step there without seeing a snake. I stayed with my in-laws while I was there who said they had several copperheads living in their backyard so I came prepared to catch some vipers but all I found in their backyard was a couple skinks and tree frogs.
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For me, im very simple, i bring myself and my hands. I live in CT so the chances of encountering a venomous animal is extremely low (we only have copper heads and timber rattlers, both of which are rare in our state and easy to ID). However, i really like @ballornothing s idea about the water bowl to offer water, though my state has alot of lakes, rivers, ponds, and marshes; so its not really an issue for herps to find water here.
When i “go herping” its usually just walking about my property or state forests and seeing what i happen accross. I rarely get bit even without a snake hook, and on the rare times i do (cant remember the last time) i dont handle hots (not that ive found any), so its not really an issue.
Alot of my “herping” ends up as me commuting, ive found several turtles (snapping and otherwise) that needed assistance crossing the road, as well many snakes that tried to attack the undercarriage of passing cars that get the bejeezus knocked out of them. The snakes i take in for a month or two to offer water and let them heal (I do not offer food as the ones that survive are generally adults, and the jaws need some time to heal) they dont all make it, but my success rate for them recovering is over 50% so ill take it.
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First aid kit including tourniquet and understand how to properly use it.
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Inadvertent herping. Goes to show that there are more herps around than most people outside of the hobby like to think about.
Don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget how to use one personally after all the painful “practice” performed by me and on me in the classroom setting.
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I used to work at a summer camp in New Milford, right on Candlewood. Lots of black rat snakes, more than our share of copperheads. Today, that camp is some uber-high end estates. Wouldn’t surprise me if they killed off all the noodles…
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Yeah, not sure but wouldnt surprise me at all. Even indirectly, dozing nests and destroying habitats. Im on the east side of the state, from what i hear they hang oit on the west side primarily though my buddy did see a copperhead in my side once and snapped a pic.
I wish i was rich so i could buy this property to keep it from getting developed… 520 Bailey Hill Rd, Killingly, CT 06241 | MLS #L10060067 | Zillow