This week I am teaching a Field Herpetology course! (pic-heavy)

[SallyMander]

(The study of reptiles and amphibians... what did you think it was??!?)

We have target critters we'd like to find each day to show the students. We'll be in a wide variety of habitats, from lakes, ponds and streams to fields and forests. I am *so* excited to spend some time outside!!!

Here are some pics of the animals we hope to see...

Monday (my b-day!)



Tuesday


Wednesday



Thursday


Friday
?


Hopefully by the end of the week I'll have some pics I took myself with my new camera! :bounce:

Have a great week everyone! :hi:



Edit to fix a pic.

[no name no slogan]

1. I didn't know could get herpes from a field

I thought that was only from the tractor seat

[SallyMander]

2. Oh good, we got the requisite herpes joke out of the way early

;)

[lost-in-nj]

4. Hi NNNS!!

How are you???

You've been hiding!!!


Everything ok???
practicing ???

:hug: :hi:


lost

[no name no slogan]

8. HEY!

Been working too much lately, and looking for a townhouse, so I haven't been around lately. Otherwise, I'm getting by.

How's things with you my friend? :hug:

:hi:

[Elidor]

3. You have a cool job!

It's unfortunate that your class coincides with this heat wave, but I bet you'll have loads of fun anyway. Dang, where can I get a job playing in the mud? (Actually, I play in the mud in my spare time, usually underground. I wish I could go caving this weekend.)

[SallyMander]

6. I'm a grad student in biology

So it's not a "real" job yet! :D

Where do you go caving? I think that sounds neat, but I might be too claustrophobic to try it...

[Elidor]

9. Tennessee, land of 10,000 caves

Only Kentucky has more caves, iirc. I haven't even been yet this year. Between my friends and I, one or another of us has been ill or injured all year. But I can just imagine that cold air blowing over me as I approach a cave entrance. And as you mentioned before, salamanders can live underground.



Desmognathus ocoee
(Photo by Jay Greene, a caver friend of mine who has a nice website about local caves at http://www.cumberlandadventures.com/ )

[SallyMander]

13. Cute!!!

I will have to check out that site. Very neat photo! I have a friend who studies cave spiders. She often brings me photos of sallies that she turns up in there. :D :hi:

[lost-in-nj]

5. all I can say is

eeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

slimy critters....

I gotta hand it to you, you seem to love your job!!!!!

:)


:hi:


lost

[SallyMander]

7. They aren't all slimy!

Some are dry and scaly! :D

:hi:

[khashka]

12. But nice and cool

I used to keep snakes - anaconda, boa, false water cobra. Not slimy at all. Feeding them was icky though, I had to get my roommate to do it - ugly story, we had to repaint the walls. I've had frogs as pets too. Colder and wetter but not slimy. The slime thang seems to be more about people's phobias than reality.

Have fun!

Khash.

[SallyMander]

14. I used to have a ball python

Luckily it ate pre-killed mice... so i just bought 'em frozen. I couldn't do it if i had to feed anything live!

I totally agree about the slimy thing. People are odd about it - but when they actually see/feel a frog or salamander, they usually just think it's neat!

:hi:


Edit to add - i used to do public presentations at the Boston Museum of Science live animal center. It always impressed people to learn that snake and lizard scales are made out of the same thing as their hair and fingernails (keratin). When people asked if they were slimy, i would say "are your fingernails slimy?" :D

[democracyindanger]

10. A friend's partner is a herpetologist in Georgia

I thought my job was kinda jet-setting, but he's always traveling to South America for research and Europe for conferences. I think I got in the wrong field.

[SallyMander]

15. Wow!

I'm definitely more of a local gal... I study salamanders here in Ohio, and i went to a conference in... St Louis! Woohoo! ;)

Although actually i'm going to one in Montreal this summer though! Still not flying though, just carpooling with a friend. :D

[DarkTirade]

11. How do I sign up?

:)

[SallyMander]

16. You should totally come next year!

We have students from a whole bunch of different universities, so there's gotta be a way! :D

[DarkTirade]

17. I'm pretty sure my little community college here doesn't have a herpetology program...

:(

[SallyMander]

22. Maybe you could get elective credit...

No?

:D

[sasquatch]

18. The Pentacostals called and said they wanted their snakes back no later than Wednesday or else

:D

[SallyMander]

19. LOL!

Nah, they want the *big* rattlesnakes -- we're not going to see any of those. :D

[lizziegrace]

20. Is that last one a blue racer?

I had one in my yard and it was as silver as the chrome on a car. I understand they can be aggressive...

[SallyMander]

21. Yes! 10 points for you! :-)

Yeah, i think they are quick and would rather take off if they can... of course we are going to be harassing them, so we're asking for it. ;)

How's it going today sweetie? :hug:

[YDogg]

23. my fave reptile & amphibian book

http://www.amazon.com/Their-Blood-Runs-Cold-Adventures/dp/081730133X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212892207&sr=8-1

I knew the author's uncle and I met Eugene Odum (who rote the forward) in about 1978.

[SallyMander]

24. I haven't read that!

But i've sure heard of Whit Gibbons. Maybe i'll pick that up! :hi:


On edit - where did you meet Odum?

[YDogg]

26. I believe it was during a high school biology class field trip ...

... to UGA's biology dept. I went to HS in Athens. May have been 1977 rather than 1978. Our teacher had impressed upon us that he was well-known, but it wasn't until I told the 'rents where we were going that I started to get the idea that he was *that* well-known. I took a decent picture of him during our tour.

[Maestro]

25. That is so cool!

Hope all goes well.

BTW, could you identify these lizards for me? I found them on a hike the other day here in N. Texas.