Herping around Pittsburgh, PA

Jurdon

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jan 30, 2018
Messages
178
hey AB, it's been a while! As the weather's been getting warmer I've been heading to all my favorite parks to see my favorite species coming out for the spring. i've had a pretty good first couple of months, finding my lifer Scolopocryptops sexspinosus and other inverts, but as far as vertebrates are concerned, it's been fairly uneventful. I've only had a run-in with one measly water snake, who i failed to catch. so, i'm starting this thread for a few reasons:

- if you guys have any fun herping stories you wish to recount to make me feel better until my luck turns around, feel free to tell them
-if anyone familiar with the area (or with western pennsylvania as a whole) has suggestions for spots I should visit, i'm all ears! i know it's kinda forbidden to share like, specific spots, especially on a public forum bc people are terrible and an influx of them will ruin a good secret spot, but if you're feeling generous/trusting just shoot me a message! bonus points if it's a place known for less common species like queen snakes, milksnakes or racers.
 

RoachCoach

Arachnodemon
Joined
Sep 2, 2019
Messages
703
There are a few herpers that are on YouTube that actively grab rattlers from PA. Not sure you guys public land but most places where it is limited you have to stay on the paths. I think if you hit enough herp boards you will be able to network and find someone with private land that has a lot of rocky outcrops that you will for sure find tons of snakes at, or creeks for snappers and box turtles.
 

l4nsky

Aspiring Mad Genius
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Jan 3, 2019
Messages
1,074
Oh, I have a few stories. From the potential world record common snapping turtle I found (https://arachnoboards.com/threads/potential-world-record-common-snapping-turtle.315648/#post-2893203) to the time I caught a 5' blue racer and when I unbagged it in my front yard, it started charging me, raised up with a wide open mouth like a mamba and my neighbor started to scream bloody murder (she was over 100 feet away too). Or the time I found a snake that I had never heard of or seen in my region (DeKay's Snake, really reclusive species) and it puffed up to have a triangular head which definently had me thinking twice about pinning it. Or using my finger tips as bait to lure some ancient (almost melanistic) red eared sliders close to the boat dock so I could catch them. Or the fact that security has me on speed dial to capture snakes that are found in or around my place of employment because I'm "that guy" lol. Good times can definently be found out in the woods and fields.
 
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