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Welcome to Chris Hartmann's Website
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Last week, i came home to find that Monty my old savannah monitor had passed away. He was a rescue that had a heat light fall and both break and burn his back severely. He seemed to make a good recovery for a while however, a year or so later, he began to have problems with a bad case of scoliosis. He could hardly move and stopped eating on his own. I had to force feed him with the hope of him recovering but he never did, his conditioned worsened and he was found dead in his tank last week. I used Monty as an advocate for responsible pet ownership. his story touched every single person that came into contact with him. I hope that his life was able to save others from his same fate. He is missed greatly.
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~Chris~
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okay so i have this idea. I will start posting little blurbs full of fun facts and information about a different animal every month. Let me know what you think and if there is an animal you might like to learn about... send me an email: snakeguy101@gmail.com
Romeo- Southern Pine snake ( Pituophis melanoleucus mugitus)
Pine snakes to support the claim that they are not imperiled. These snakes are very reclusive and like to spend a majority of their time in the gopher tortoise burrows in order to escape the heat of the south's scorching sun. for the most part these animals are nocturnal and terrestrial however they seem to be quite apt at climbing when the need to. Pine snakes are also notorious for bluffing. They will hiss very loudly scaring off just about anything but if that does not work, they will shake their tail where they have a modified scale very rapidly, the effect is very much like a rattlesnakes' rattle. they can grow to be seven feet in length and are one of the largest snakes in N.America second only to the indigo snake. These snakes will prey on small mammals like most other snakes but they have also been recorded to eat birds, fish and are said to eat other snakes on occasion. In my opinion, they are one of the most fascinating snakes out there and more research is desperately needed.
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The Indigo snake permits finally came in but because they took so long, the snake we had reserved has been sold from under us so I am on the hunt for another Drymarchon. This time we are gonna look within driving distance so that the snake will not have to be shipped (although i personally think that 4 hours in a plane is less stressful than 6 hours in a car but... bosses orders). some changes are happening at the museum, some new people are being hired as others leave. My good friend Leewood was hired on to join the education department so I welcome her to the museum staff.
I went herping not long ago to fill some free time and caught a scarlet snake, a mud snake, a racer, a rough green, and a ribbon snake in just an hour or so of cruising my secret road.
School will be starting soon (Monday) so i have been preparing for that. I will be taking 4 science classes and will be finishing my applications for college.
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| Tonca's (the alligator ankle snapping turtle) Birthday |
two large cakes.....$150
balloons............$10
pizza...............$83
2lbs of fish........$5
keeping your fingers and toes through an alligator snapping turtles birthday....priceless
this year he weighed in at 125lbs. we took him out, got some measurements and I drew some blood. but this time, I kept myself out of his mouth.[8-)]
I am waiting on some pictures to turn up in my email, I will post them soon along with a better story, for now, i am exhausted due o the excessive crowd that gathered for the event.
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I made my way up to Repticon in South Carolina this past weekend and met with some old friends and some new ones as well. I had never been to a venomous show before so it was really neat to learn about some species I had never even heard of and see some very interesting morphs. I purchased a few snake bags and a matamata turtle (Chelus fimbriatus) for $290. After pulling some strings with another vendor that was a friend of a friend of a friend, I was able to handle and probe an albino monocle cobra that seemed pretty wirey. I was also allowed to work with a large (5.5'), aggressive EDB. All in all it was a great time and I am fixing to do it all again this coming weekend at the Repticon in Jax that i am working for JHS; no hots though.
keep posted for pictures of the matamata, i was not able to take any at the show unfortunately but will get some from the FL show.
~Chris~
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On Friday, I was in the middle of my exam for AP Environmental Science (APES) when a teacher knocks on the door, I get up (being that I was nearest the door at the time) and answer the door, a teacher that I did not recognize walked up to our teacher that the front of the room. they whisper some things and I return to my test... at least partially because I was straining to hear what they were discussing. All of a sudden, my teacher points at me and says, "He'll take them, he is the local snake guy." Startled I look up and he asks if I want to take home some king snakes. I was excused from my essay and was told not to worry about it. It was revealed to my by the new teacher that she was retiring and could no longer keep her classes set of California King Snakes. I said that I could take them and later donate them to the museum. I ride with her to a different school her I load up not only 2 snakes but also, two tanks that are in excellent condition worth nearly $300 combined! The snakes are now at the museum in the tanks that I received with them but only temporarily, the snakes will soon be moved into a new tank that will match the rest of the room and I will bring the other tanks back so that I could fill them with whatever I can.
~Chris~
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Okay so let's get y'all updated on what has been going on....
The trip with Jax Herp was a lot of fun but did not have much of a turn out, There was one cottonmouth and one water snake but that is about it for legitimate captures. There was a gator that was spotted very close to the camp, it was estimated at about four feet. I went in to try to catch it however, I could not get close enough so I enlisted the help of a jet ski to get to where it was, when I dove in after it, it had vanished and I was stranded in murky water knowing there was a gator somewhere near, talk about eerie!
All in all, it was a fun trip that was more focused around having fun than herping (not necessarily a bad thing). I am planning on doing some more hunting later this week (perhaps in Guana again) but there are no promises as the end of school brings many things to do that are keeping me plenty busy (thus the sporadic posts). The active weather that has been causing so much trouble near here should stir up some of the reptiles so I am eager to check it out. I will keep you as updated as I can.
Enjoy the warmth,
~Chris~
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I am about to leave town again, tomorrow after school to go and look for snakes with the Jacksonville Herpetological society. this is prime time to get some snakes so hopefully it will be a good turn out. I have been very busy lately as I am in three plays that perform next week, so please forgive the sporadic updates, they will become more regular as summer approaches.
Be safe, have fun
~Chris~
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Sorry for the delayed update everyone. It seems like i have barely been able to schedule sleep into my last few weeks. Anyways, I did go to General Coffee state park last weekend and caught one hognose and an eastern king. both good finds but not nearly what I was aiming for. The rain that swept through the area prevented us from herping too much but we were able to make the best of it by attending a birds of prey show that was indoors at the park. i took a few videos but have not yet figured out how to post them, i am working on that now. Hope that everyone is enjoying the warming weather and is getting the best out of it by getting outside.
All best,
~Chris~
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Hello,
I am up in Michigan currently visiting family on my spring break. Although it is much to cold to go herping here, I am not without herps. I visited the Detroit zoo the other day and looked around the reptile room and got a bit of a behind the scenes tour in the amphibian house.
I got some new equipment that I hope to incorporate into the site so stay tuned for possible webisodes and a few changes.
~Chris~
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Finally, the weather is warm enough for the snakes to move. i will go on some trips this coming week to look for some herps. I will be in General Coffee State Park and Guana State Park walking trails and flipping anything that looks promising. the last few times that I have been to Guana there were three pygmy rattlesnakes and as for General Coffee, there were 14 snakes of various types and sizes including cottonmouths, timbers, and pygmies. I am beginning to pack for my first trip (Guana) as I will be going there tomorrow with some friends to hike and catch some snakes. The General Coffee trip will be during my spring break. Y'all need to get out there as well nd feel the warm air, it is wonderful!
Be safe
~Chris~
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