some pics from my trip to the rainforest in sarapiqui

[Gato Moteado]

i went to my sarapiqui property to look for reptiles with a herpetologist friend from the states. we didn't find what we were looking for (pit vipers of all types) but we did see some interesting stuff. i photographed some of it:

http://i55.photobucket.com.nyud.net:8090/albums/g138/GatoMoteado/pumilio01.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com.nyud.net:8090/albums/g138/GatoMoteado/pumilio03.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com.nyud.net:8090/albums/g138/GatoMoteado/ringneck01.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com.nyud.net:8090/albums/g138/GatoMoteado/sibon.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com.nyud.net:8090/albums/g138/GatoMoteado/smokyjungle.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com.nyud.net:8090/albums/g138/GatoMoteado/treefrog01.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com.nyud.net:8090/albums/g138/GatoMoteado/treefrog02.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com.nyud.net:8090/albums/g138/GatoMoteado/treesnake01.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com.nyud.net:8090/albums/g138/GatoMoteado/treesnake04.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com.nyud.net:8090/albums/g138/GatoMoteado/tropicalracer01.jpg

[NV Whino]

1. Truly amazing critters in CR

What is that highly decorated snake in the fourth picture. Looks like it should be in a Victorian drawing room.

[Gato Moteado]

5. that snake is a sibon....

....it's a snail eater. we found it on the road one night.

[Phentex]

2. WOW! Those are amazing!

Nice photos.

[Gato Moteado]

6. we really were hoping to see some eyelash vipers and jumping pitvipers.....

....most of the time i see stuff like that i don't have a camera with me.

[Madrone]

3. Wow.

I am so envious of your life. I think I could relocate there without any trouble. :) But I wouldn't be seeking out any snakes though. :scared:

[Gato Moteado]

7. well, i wouldn't be too afraid of the snakes......

....if you leave them alone, they won't hurt you. we're trained professionals in dealing with them and handling them ;)

[Madrone]

12. I know....

But they give me the heebie jeebies. It's purely reactionary and illogical, but ... ew. :scared:

I DO love the pictures you post though. Even when they're of snakes! ;)

[Gato Moteado]

16. ok....i ran up la carpintera this afternoon to get some photos....

...of the porcupine we saw earlier today. check this out:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x6098946

[seemunkee]

4. Great pictures as usual

Thanks for sharing

[Gato Moteado]

8. i'm back in the san jose area now and today i took a walk up in...

...la carpintera near my house. we saw a porcupine in a tree but didn't have the camera with me. i'm thinking about walking back up there to see if he's still there so i can get some daytime shots.

[cwydro]

9. Cool.

I love it when you post pics. I am very partial to frogs.

[Gato Moteado]

17. we have some great frogs down here

if you like frogs, you should visit costa rica.

[BarenakedLady]

10. Wow!

Those pictures are amazing. Thanks so much for sharing!

[Gato Moteado]

18. thanks!

glad you like them

[Blue-Jay]

11. I thought I was a herpetologist one time...

But it was just a cold sore.

Great pics, though!

[Gato Moteado]

19. no blue jays down here but we have brown jays and magpie jays!

nt

[schmuls]

13. Thanks for the great pictures from a reptile-loving woman!

[Gato Moteado]

20. reptiles.....we got 'em

saw some caimans this weekend. green basilisks too. lots of other lizards as well.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

14. My dear Gato Moteado!

These are just gorgeous!

The snakes do creep me out just a bit, though....:scared:

Glad to hear you're a trained handler.....

You have such beauty around you!

Thank you for sharing these......

:hi:

[Gato Moteado]

15. glad you liked the photos peggy!

:)

[Kajsa]

21. Beautiful photos,

as always!

:7 :hi:

[Gato Moteado]

24. ah, thanks

:)

[InternalDialogue]

22. Gato Moteado, two comments:

1. Great pictures! Amazing how colorful they are.

2. Have you considered starting a frog catalog? Your shots make me want to choose a model.

Seriously, those are gorgeous.

[Gato Moteado]

25. thanks! no, i hadn't thought about a frog catalogue but....

....we have such a diversity of frogs down here it would be easy to get enough photos. i just don't know what kind of a catalogue it would be...a sears catalogue for frogs? victoria's secret for amphibians?

[InternalDialogue]

26. Croakless panties?

Sorry. :spank:

[Gato Moteado]

35. toads in lingerie

not a pretty sight

[qnr]

23. Wonderful shots. A person would expect the frogs to be a pleasure to look at, but you've

made the snakes extremely inviting too.

[Gato Moteado]

27. unless you see one of these.....

http://i55.photobucket.com.nyud.net:8090/albums/g138/GatoMoteado/terciopelo_1630.jpg

[qnr]

28. Depends upon your interpretation of "see" -- I love seeing your photograph, though

I'm not sure I'd like being the one seeing the snake lice to take the photo.

Edit: spelling typo corrected.

[Gato Moteado]

31. that one is the most feared snake in central america......

....they call it terciopelo....in the states it's known as fer-de-lance, though you will only see one in a zoo there. i came a step and a half away from stepping on that one. it was camoflaged and half hidden under a large, dried out palm frond. i saw it just in time.

[qnr]

33. Thanks, it looked somewhat familiar, now I recognize it. Glad you're ok n/t

[YankeyMCC]

29. Nice, thx nt

[Gato Moteado]

32. i'll keep postin' 'em as i shoot 'em.

thanks for checking them out

[Ellen Forradalom]

30. Gato! Que pasa mi amigo!

Que ranas hermosas! Eres muy hábil fotógrafo.

Estoy estudiando la idioma espanol porque ahore vivo en California! Todo va bien, me gustan el trajabo, el tiempo, mis nuevos amigos.

[Gato Moteado]

34. hola chica!

wow....i'm glad to hear everything is going great and that you're studying spanish! you'll fit right in when you visit costa rica.

i had a feeling california was going to be just what you needed.

[InvisibleTouch]

36. How beautiful!

I did the snake- and frog-hunt in Panama some years ago. Mostly frogs, only a few rare and much-appreciated snakes. We did some road-hunting and night collecting as well. Enjoy - it sounds wonderful!

(Dendrobates pumilio is my favorite poison-arrow frog, just btw. :) I kept a few, ages ago, but haven't had the proper facilities for them lately.)

[Gato Moteado]

37. the pumilio in the photographs was orange...

....and one of the guys on the trip caught it at the cabins we were staying at. but i saw at least 100 of them on my finca about a 45 minute drive from the cabinas where we stayed. some of the ones on my finca are orange but the vast majority are bright red and some lack the blue on the legs so they're completely red.

what did you feed your pumilio? ants? that's their preferred food. did you breed them?

[InvisibleTouch]

38. Pinhead crickets and wingless fruit flies.

Didn't breed them, didn't have them long enough - I sadly lost them to a furnace accident, when the heater went haywire while I was gone, and overheated the apartment. The Mantellas that I had at the same time made it - the Dendrobates didn't. :(

Some day I'll try them again, but only when I have more time and space.

[Gato Moteado]

39. did you see the pics i posted of the phyllobates vittatus a few weeks back?

it was a male with 7 tadpoles on its back. caught it on my golfito finca.

[InvisibleTouch]

41. No, missed it. :(

Sounds very neat, though! I'm more of a snake person than a frog person, ultimately (lots more experience with snakes than with frogs), but I'll be keeping watch for your photos in the future. :)

[Gato Moteado]

42. here you go

here's a pic of the P.vittatus:

http://i55.photobucket.com.nyud.net:8090/albums/g138/GatoMoteado/Phyllobatesvittatus03.jpg

here's a little video of it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mthj-sgcCjk

here's a more red color morph of D.pumilio from my sarapiqui property:

http://i16.photobucket.com.nyud.net:8090/albums/b13/vegematic/dendrobates1.jpg

and here's one with very little blue on the legs (i have seen them with relatively no blue at all even):

http://i16.photobucket.com.nyud.net:8090/albums/b13/vegematic/ranitaroja2.jpg

here are some shots of D.auratus from my fincas in quepos and golfito:

http://i16.photobucket.com.nyud.net:8090/albums/b13/vegematic/ranitaverdinegra.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com.nyud.net:8090/albums/b13/vegematic/mikefrog.jpg

as for snakes, yeah, that's where most of my interest lies as well. i had an impressive collection of colubrids when i lived in the states. milksnakes were my favorites and i was breeding 10 or 12 subspecies. but, i've been really interested in pit vipers since living here. some of them are incredibly beautiful. here are some shots of a Bothreichis lateralis that i saw several months back in the temperate rainforest near my house. it lacked the yellow markings on the back and even the yellow stripe along each side was not there. it was pretty much a pure green color morph:

http://i55.photobucket.com.nyud.net:8090/albums/g138/GatoMoteado/palmviper01b.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com.nyud.net:8090/albums/g138/GatoMoteado/palmviper05.jpg

[QMPMom]

40. What beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing. n/t

[Gato Moteado]

43. thanks for viewing!

nt