How many of you have the proverbial " HOT SPOT "

literately of finding herps year after year after year in a given area ? In can think of 3 that still consistently produces out here in Kansas. 2 have very few lift-able rocks ( how we hunt ) and can also contain multiple species under them.

i've been going to the same place for over 20 years with continued success year after year . i've spotted everything from scarlet kings to canebreak rattlers there . also turtles , frogs , toads and lizards of various species .

I've got a spot that I've known for the past four years now and as long as it's the right time of year I can find Garters, Rattlesnakes, Bullsnakes and there could possibly be Hognose too but they are incredibly hard to find.

I have a few spots that are real nice. One is a abandoned shack with a huge creek right next to it, so Banded water snakes, red-sided garters, ringnecks, brown snakes, black rats, yellow bellies, and skinks are abundant every time I go there. I have found worm snakes and a milk and a emoryi out there also. Another spot down the road is a breeding zone for massasaugas and collard lizards. Serious amounts of collards can be found on any given day. I have counted 72 in one morning out there. this area has also produced 2 horned toads this spring, a rare find this far east. And there is the flint hills.....it tells its own story. You can easily find whatever your looking for out there. Pick a good hill and go nuts. :eatpointe

with trash piles, artificial cover like metal tin roofing ( although I have laid many pieces around my property and have found multi-prairie kings and black rats under ) in Kansas. There is a hill out there in the Flint Hills that use to produce hundreds of collareds upon hunting in a very short time frame by us. It also produced lots of Great Plains Skinks with a good number of milks. It is not only one hill but hills and valleys off of the beaten track. BUT the last time visiting we were warned to stay out and had a gun aiming at us. While I stated that you can't legally shoot someone for trespassing and there was the fact of no not trespassing signs or notices, it was un-nerving to say the least and I have never been back to that spot ! LOL ! I have also found only several horned toads in the Flint Hills close to that semi-famous ghost town of Voland. And without going any farther west for years for horned lizards, this has been my ONLY finds of horned lizards in Kansas.
Have you been out looking for anything lately. I haven't because of my new hours of working and 7 to almost 8 days/nights of rain in which makes those Flint Hills back roads like CLAY pits. I still have standing water on my property and with people coming out to buy some of my advertised reptile stuff, has made my yard around my reptile/barn room a mess ! Note : either there are a lot more hot keepers in Kansas or want to be or having some just in case, I have sold several tongs/clamps and hooks and some of the lockable cages.

Originally Posted by sppeavy

I have a few spots that are real nice. One is a abandoned shack with a huge creek right next to it, so Banded water snakes, red-sided garters, ringnecks, brown snakes, black rats, yellow bellies, and skinks are abundant every time I go there. I have found worm snakes and a milk and a emoryi out there also. Another spot down the road is a breeding zone for massasaugas and collard lizards. Serious amounts of collards can be found on any given day. I have counted 72 in one morning out there. this area has also produced 2 horned toads this spring, a rare find this far east. And there is the flint hills.....it tells its own story. You can easily find whatever your looking for out there. Pick a good hill and go nuts. :eatpointe

I havent been out in awile, its still rainy and cool, but im going this weekend. I have herped around Voland, and havnt had much luck. My horned toads were both found North of I70. I heard of collardlizard hill, I think its what your talking about. I never have found it, but I still look. Wall lizards are out like crazy right now, and I did see a Green Lacerta. A rare find! Skinks are all over the place. I actually know the two ladies that live in the two houses in Volland, I used to treat their lawns for weeds and fertilizer every year. Tin is good for rats and ringnecks and garters, but no milks or emories or kings for me except a select few. I just met a guy that said he has snakes in his well every winter, and last year there was a albino garter in there. im not sure how true it is, but we"ll see if he comes through. Any clues on where to start this weekend? If not, Im off to the usual areas. Turtles are starting to move again, I have been rescuing them like crazy, at least 4 or 5 a day.

all the rain and cool spell. This 7 day rain around here has created that " suctioin " again around those rocks. AND it is still very, very muddy and clayee < word ? > on these roads. I would hit that scenic mill drive road or advertised as that who ever generals trail main road through the Flint Hills. I don't remember if it is paved going west from hyway 4 from Topeka but it is on the south fork when you leave Alma. I know you hit north of I70 but when you go south do you get off on 99 to Alma or 4 at west Topeka and then west ? Volland : do you know the history of what made that a ghost town back in the late 1800dreds and again in the early 1900dreds ? There is still some living proof for miles off of several roads. Many people has no clue as to the reason and the biggest event of the nature of why in the history of Kansas. YOU DO know collared Hill it seems. Tell these folks how far you can walk and walk and walk in that place and how you can top a hill and see your vehicle that you left miles away ! LOL !

Originally Posted by sppeavy

I havent been out in awile, its still rainy and cool, but im going this weekend. I have herped around Voland, and havnt had much luck. My horned toads were both found North of I70. I heard of collardlizard hill, I think its what your talking about. I never have found it, but I still look. Wall lizards are out like crazy right now, and I did see a Green Lacerta. A rare find! Skinks are all over the place. I actually know the two ladies that live in the two houses in Volland, I used to treat their lawns for weeds and fertilizer every year. Tin is good for rats and ringnecks and garters, but no milks or emories or kings for me except a select few. I just met a guy that said he has snakes in his well every winter, and last year there was a albino garter in there. im not sure how true it is, but we"ll see if he comes through. Any clues on where to start this weekend? If not, Im off to the usual areas. Turtles are starting to move again, I have been rescuing them like crazy, at least 4 or 5 a day.

I drive that road from time to time. I do get off at alma and head south. I have only heard people talk about collard lizard hill. Nobody wants to say where it is, I think some folks still go out there. I also drive K4 all the way to K99, then North to alma. Its a long road, but there is a few hills to stop at. I found a few abandoned houses today and flipped a huge prairie king under a car hood, and got the tail buzz from a black rat that was in a barn rafter. So, im hoping snakes will be out this weekend. Ill give the senic trail a try and see what happens. I got my camera ready this time. I flipped some rocks around here yesterday to see how moist they are, and I did find some skinks and ringnecks under them, so i figure its the luck of the draw out west.

This weekend was intresting. Roads were dry as a bone, and snakes were all over. I started in my usual spots to flip some tin and scope out the local banded water snakes. The tin produced the usual 50 or so ringnecks, 6 red-sided garters, 1 brown snake, and many coal and plains skinks. I was looking for water snakes and to my surprize, I found more than I bargained for. I counted around 30 just basking around the water fall area of Pillsbury Crossing. Next I headed for the flint hills. On the way, I got ditched by a Bullsnake crossing the road in front of me. I found a good hill, and got to flipping stones. 6 hours later, this is what I found. 4 more garters, 10 emoryi rats, 20 collards, 50 skinks, 6 milks, 3 speckled kings, lots of centipedes and scorpions, 18 Flat-headed snakes, and 6 narrow mouth toads. All in all, it was a good day. Later