Omaha Field Trip

I got a call from one of my friends who is a much more avid herper than I. He wanted to know if I would join him going over to Omaha to look for Plains Garter Snakes. There are some varieties in patterns over there that can only be found there. I really don't normally go looking just for Garter Snakes but I thought it was a neat opportunity. We actually went looking in a neighborhood development. That was another oddity for me. But Garter Snakes are highly adaptable species (kind of like the Cockroach). They can adapt to and capitalize upon almost any environment.

Before we went on our hunt we stopped by a friend of my friend who has a real love for Plains Garter Snakes. He has a basement set up that is pretty incredible, honestly. But most striking to me was his pet snapping turtle named, "Tank." Tank has free roam of their home and he is the most docile snapping turtle you will ever come across. He loves to have his neck scratched and his front paws rubbed. His owner even gives him kisses on his beak. I was astounded.

We ended up with 82 captured snakes and we saw a total of 91 snakes. It was really incredible. I was beat by the end of the day but it was a real blast. Here are all the pics...

This was one of the prizes that we came for. It is the black and white variation that you can only find in this area of the United States. We found two females with the same pattern.