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-   -   Herping in Minnesota (https://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42780)

C. Reynolds 06-25-2004 12:31 PM

Herping in Minnesota
 
I will be spending 3 days over July 4th weekend in a little town outside Mankato, Minnesota. Can anyone give me any tips as to where I might have soome success herping, and what I may find?

elago 06-25-2004 01:34 PM

LOL,
 
My family is all from MN, and I used to go up there during summer vacations often. I've never found anything up there other than salamanders, frogs, turts, and red-sided garter snakes. That's not to say nothing else occurs there, only to say that I haven't ever seen anything but garters in the snake department there, but there's good amphibian hunting. I always went to White Earth Lake (Cedar Crest resort) in central MN and surrounding areas, but turned up little but LOTS of big healthy garters, but little else. -Eric Lago *MS Reptilian Hobbyists*
http://msreptilianhobbyists.fabpage.com

elago 06-25-2004 01:54 PM

As a side thought,
 
It IS the best fishing in the world :)!!! LOL! -Eric Lago

C. Reynolds 06-25-2004 02:32 PM

You bet it is!
 
I love to fish too, but have never actually herped in MN (while I have fished there before) The last time I was up there, it was still to cold for herps, and I hadn't been there before for almost 18 years.

All my mother's relatives live in MN (or darn near all) most in the Minneapolis area. I was just hopin in my limited time to be able to see SOMETHING herp related. :)

elago 06-25-2004 02:38 PM

Yeah,
 
you'll see loads of red sided garters, some cool salamanders, frogs, and turts, but if you're a snake guy like me, there's just not much interesting up there, the garters get monotonous after awhile... From what I understand there are other species there, but I've never seen any personally. -Eric Lago *MS Reptilian Hobbyists*

Mark and Aimee 06-30-2004 03:47 PM

Wow Eric, didn't realize you were familiar with the MN area too!

I was born and raised in Minnesota. But WAY North, as in, about 10 minutes from Canada.

Up there, we seldom say much more than salamanders, garter snakes, water dogs, and leopard frogs.

Around June, we had MAJOR leopard frog invasions. Like - the entire highway would be covered in frog slime for several weeks. I remember my last trip back to MN a few years ago - I actually had to wash frogs off my car. Nasty...

elago 06-30-2004 03:57 PM

lol!
 
Small world indeed, isn't it :)? Yeah, my mom is from the Ogema area (20 Miles north of Detroit Lakes). I used to go up there as a kid all the time, my folks are actually going up on Friday to go stay at Cedar Crest resort on White Earth lake... Nice place, lots of rana frogs like you'd mentioned, and garters EVERYWHERE... The best place to look for the flame sides is on old farms with hay-bales that are stacked up, and as you move the bales, snakes just pour out everywhere, it's almost unbeleivable, but they're all the same kind :). -Eric Lago *MS Reptilian Hobbyists*
http://msreptilianhobbyists.fabpage.com

elago 06-30-2004 04:01 PM

And,
 
If I'm not mistaken, aren't the leopard frogs Rana pippiens? I learned most of my frogs by scientific names, and I think that's the species that invades every year and they cover everything literally... Besides, it's been a few years since I've been up there, so I haven't really checked recently (of course with herpetology being a perpetually changing field as genetic research continues, a lot of names/ranges have changed ect. over the years since I possessed my first "Peterson" field guide, LOL! -Eric Lago *MS Reptilian Hobbyists*

Mark and Aimee 06-30-2004 04:40 PM

I'm not sure on the scientific name of the frogs... They look like the typical leopard frogs I see in all the pet stores in Colorado. I've never cared enough about frogs to bother looking into it any further ;-)

The mass migration of Leopard Frogs was mostly seen around Roseau, MN.

Around Grand Forks (on the MN/ND border), we'd fill up 5 gallon buckets with salamanders in just a few hours.

All the barns around our property were good places to find snakes, as well as the grain bins. Grain attracts mice and rats, mice and rats attract snakes.

There are bull snakes running around the area as well, but I have never seen one.

Colorado isn't too fabulous for finding snakes, either. Most often, you'll see Western Terrestrial Garters. Occasionally, you'll find some nice Plains garters. Bull Snakes are extremely common all over, and Western Hognose are found occasionally, if you're lucky. We also have a few prairie rattlesnakes turning up here and there.

TMSreptiles 06-26-2010 03:07 PM

I have never seen a snake or salamander (or anything other than like 1 or 2 toads or frogs a year) in my life and ive lived in MN my whole life. NOTHING. People tell me that they have snakes in their backyards but I look everywhere and find nothing. I'm not looking in the wrong places I just have hideous luck. Beyond belief hideousness. T-T
lol


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