Reasons I love AZ

snappleWhiteTea

Arachnoangel
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I love Arizona also, sonoran desert is the greatest!

supererior (lol @ spelling) is a neat lil old town btw
 

digiwalker

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he is moving to fort worth texas.... reason being.... he got a job as the lead reptile caretaker at the dallas/fort worth zoo!! man... he is going to be working with some COOOOOOL species!!! like bothriechis aurifer, cryptelytrops kanburiensis, andrias japonica, chryptobranchus, etc. luck luck dog!!

-josh
Tried living in TX before. It pretty much sucked. Even the a-holes are bigger in TX. No offense.

P.S. I am just remembering that most of the aforementioned bigger ones were mostly New York/Jersey people who moved to TX...So maybe I just was unlucky in that I never met any actual Texans.
 

AzJohn

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he is moving to fort worth texas.... reason being.... he got a job as the lead reptile caretaker at the dallas/fort worth zoo!! man... he is going to be working with some COOOOOOL species!!! like bothriechis aurifer, cryptelytrops kanburiensis, andrias japonica, chryptobranchus, etc. luck luck dog!!

-josh

I keep dreaming about a summer job like that. I once told a student of mine that I'd quit teaching to be an animal trainer at Seaworld.

john
 

BrettG

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i dont get why so many people love arizona.... everything there is ugly... the snakes, the scorps, the T's, everything... its all brown and dead looking. i've seen more species of tarantula there than most people. ive seen just about every species of snake and lizard the place has. ive seem trapdoor spider species that are undescribed and probably have never been seen before. i have found rare plants that very few people have seen.... its just all ugly. i'll never go back.[/QUOTE............nm...........
 

BrettG

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Yes, It's native to Arizona. The ones I've seen are very small. That one could fit on a dime. I genus name is Paraohyrynus mexicanus.
Head to NE Mesa for LARGE ones. I had tons when I lived in Las Sendas(power/thomas roads)
 

josh_r

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i dont get why so many people love arizona.... everything there is ugly... the snakes, the scorps, the T's, everything... its all brown and dead looking. i've seen more species of tarantula there than most people. ive seen just about every species of snake and lizard the place has. ive seem trapdoor spider species that are undescribed and probably have never been seen before. i have found rare plants that very few people have seen.... its just all ugly. i'll never go back.[/QUOTE............nm...........
LOL! dont take that serious man. i was joking. i love arizona. i just got back from there today actually.
 

Sunset

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ive found L. pyromelana (az mountain kingsnake) and they are ugly. there are so many better looking snakes.
Good for you, I think there a very nice looking snake. if you have nothing good to say don't say nothing at all. im sure everyone else would agree with that.
 

Kathy

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How is it I have been on this board all summer and NEVER saw this thread before! Oh my gosh! AZJohn - your pictures are amazing! Absolutely beautiful, they belong in Arizona Highways magazine. I love Arizona too, no place else I would rather live. I don't like seeing Phoenix turning into a mini LA but that is progress I guess. But to me it is the perfect place to live. North to the mountains, west to the ocean, awesome wildlife and snakes and bugs and you name it. I'm glad to see so many others love Arizona too! I really enjoyed reading through this thread and looking at the incredible photos.
 

Terribilis87

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I was looking through this thread it is awesome! i get to do a lot of herping here in florida, but AZ would be great bc such different habitats. When i graduate from usf in december i would love to take a trip out there just for that. Can some of the guys in this post (i.e. josh r) recommend or maybe email me some info on good places to go out there?
 

josh_r

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Good for you, I think there a very nice looking snake. if you have nothing good to say don't say nothing at all. im sure everyone else would agree with that.
oh my god people!!! read the rest of the posts!!!! I WAS KIDDING ABOUT EVERYTHING!!!!! pyros are stunning animals i love them! arizona is an amazing state to herp! i wouldnt go back if i actually hated it!!! get over it!! i was kidding!
 

josh_r

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what did ya see Josh
john, i didnt find much. i hate to say... the desert is dying man. the lack of rain is starting to take a toll. its so bad that creosote is consistently dying over much of the state. they need rains bad to make everything bounce back. i didnt see very many tarantulas and what i did see were pretty dehydrated and skinny. not a good sign. there were VERY few wandering males which is odd. just about every snake i saw were dehydrated with flacid skin. the monsoons hit really late this year and havent been too great it seems. the second half of my week there, the rains did start hitting pretty hard i must say. i found myself running from rain storms in an effort to find stuff. i hope it continues to rain like that the rest of the year. the desert REALLY needs it.

i did find some tarantulas, some scorps, a few amblypygids, a gila monster, many rattlesnakes, some colubrids, and a giant centipede eating a snake. i took pictures :) ill post them as soon as i get the pics uploaded.

-josh
 

josh_r

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I was looking through this thread it is awesome! i get to do a lot of herping here in florida, but AZ would be great bc such different habitats. When i graduate from usf in december i would love to take a trip out there just for that. Can some of the guys in this post (i.e. josh r) recommend or maybe email me some info on good places to go out there?
i can give you some pointers, but i wont share exact localities. i will tell you all the info you will need to find the species desired (habitat preference, time of year, temps, habits, etc) but no exact localities. you will have to do the searching yourself. feel free to PM me.

-josh
 

AzJohn

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oh my god people!!! read the rest of the posts!!!! I WAS KIDDING ABOUT EVERYTHING!!!!! pyros are stunning animals i love them! arizona is an amazing state to herp! i wouldnt go back if i actually hated it!!! get over it!! i was kidding!
Yah, what's wrong with you Josh. ;) Did you get down south yet, and did you get any pictures. I haven't done any exploring in that part of the state. I went out black lighting last week and found hundreds of P. utahensis (at least I think that's what they are). I'm still looking for H spadix.


John
 

josh_r

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Yah, what's wrong with you Josh. ;) Did you get down south yet, and did you get any pictures. I haven't done any exploring in that part of the state. I went out black lighting last week and found hundreds of P. utahensis (at least I think that's what they are). I'm still looking for H spadix.


John
hey john, lol, ill try to straighten out my act. thank you sir may i have another {D

yeah i made it down south and it was an alright trip. i didnt find everything i wanted to find, but i found some cool stuff. i will definitely post pics as soon as i get them uploaded. hopefully within a few days ill have the pics up.

ill PM you some areas for spadix.

-josh
 

AzJohn

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A tarantula and my first rattlesnake pictures.
 
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AzJohn

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hey john, lol, ill try to straighten out my act. thank you sir may i have another {D

yeah i made it down south and it was an alright trip. i didnt find everything i wanted to find, but i found some cool stuff. i will definitely post pics as soon as i get them uploaded. hopefully within a few days ill have the pics up.

ill PM you some areas for spadix.

-josh

Thanks Josh
 

AzJohn

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It's that time of year.
 
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