Does anyone else belong to a Herp Society (any state)? If so, how do you like it?

Any Minnesota hobbiests out there?

Any other MHS members?

The rest of the meeting was GREAT! I met some breeders, and got to see baby ball pythons, baby boas, and a baby corn. SO CUTE!!
I also got to see the animals up for adoption this month: 2 bearded dragons, a tegu, a chamelion, a red eared slider, a box turtle, a milk snake, a beautiful boa (I’m not at all biast, am I?) and there was even a Burmese Python, but I didn’t get to see him unless I was serious about adopting him. There was also an iguana, which they said there are many more of, and there are EVERY month iguanas waiting for adoption or foster homes.

I also won a really cool used book that brand new runs like $75.
It’s a HUGE hardcover atlas on reptiles & anphibians.

Did you get the big red atlas?

Pe
Yes, it is big & red. Lots of color pics too. I totally lucked out, because they drew my raffle ticket first, and fist drawn gets first pick of the items on the raffle table.

Forever Dance & Wild Willy:
Do you two ever click on "todays posts"?
That way you see all the current threads, no matter which forum they are in.
That is all I ever use. Even though I do not have anything other than a boa (reptile wise, anyway), I have read some really interesting things in some of the other forums.

I use the "Today’s Post" all the time too.

Pe
Yes, it is awsome! Like I said, it was a used book. Every month different members donate whatever they don’t want anymore for the raffle. I met the guy who donated it, and he got a newer version or something like that. There was everything from neat stuff to junk.

Several aquariams, probably nothing bigger than a 20 gallon (I’m just guessing here) to smaller rubbermaid containers with holes drilled in the top (I won that too), tortoise food (I know I spelled that wrong, but I’ve seen worse) to a pile of pamphelets. Between my Dad & I we were drawn at least 4 times!! Beginners luck! Actually toward the end, nobody was even going up to claim their prize, because unless you had a tortoise, what would you do with a whole case of tortoise food?? Finally a young boy spoke up and said he had a tortoise and he would take the food if nobody minded. Everybody clapped, it was pretty cool.

I am a member of the PNHS (Pacific Northwest Herp Soc.). The meeting tend to have one or two boring speakers but are pretty informative. There were a lot of little critters there for adoption and some for show and tell. I signed up to foster any large snakes til homes could be found. I just want to say some snakes out there are going to be very lucky to have you help them out! Good luck.

I have also researched some in my area, contacted the county I live in, and everything should be on the up & up legality wise. There are no laws preventing me from opening a rescue for boids.

I also spoke with the gal in charge of rodent sales (members can order frozen rodents and pick them up at the meeting) The prices are alot cheaper than where I have been going before this, so I ordered 1 dozen.

I DID IT!!!

I have my first official rescue from the MHS!!!!

I wasn’t even planning on starting this soon, but everything just fell into place! It belonged to the adoption chair herself, but she can no longer use it for "hands on" (that is when they go out with their animals & educate people...hands on) She said he started getting pretty nasty, and she has enough to deal with with the adoption and everything. She said it would be a good one for me to start with.

When I got home...well, I mean my parent’s house... (remember this is all over three hours from where I live) I first cleaned and sanitized the enclosure (which I won at the raffle). Then, as I went to get him out of the bag, I was pretty scared, since I am used to my sweet Koa who has never bitten anyone...I thought for sure he was goung to strike at me, but he didn’t. He has been a total sweetheart so far. (I am not going to let my guard down so soon, though) I bought my first snake hook, just in case ....

Now he all settled in at my house.

The snake has mites, which I have already bathed him for, and am getting under control. The snake also may have a slight RI, which I will monitor, raise temps, and see if that helps, if not....off to the vet.

I am SO EXCITED, so is my son!

We named him Noah...rhymes with boa, just like Koa.
He is a 12 year old boa constrictor constrictor.

I will post pics soon.

Oh yeah, the meeting was great too! We got to see live rattlers face to face! My nephiew came with too, now he wants to join also.

This is Noah, my first official rescue

And this is Noah & mt oldest son

The MHS in conjunction with the MN DNR is conducting a survey of the land at one of the State Parks. Coincidentally, the State Park They chose for this year’s survey is pretty close to where I live.

We will head out to set up camp tonight, and start herping in the morning. We will stay Sat night too, then head for home Sun morning. The MHS is providing the campground & firewood & neccesary permits & everything! It is going to be WAY FUN!

My son, my nephew & myself took part in the field survey. It was so fun. we caught & documented so many herps....mainly fox snakes, garter snakes, prairie skinks and leopard frogs.

We also gave a presentation at the visitor’s center at the park using the captured herps....so many little kids ( and adults too) got to see what wonderful creatures herps are. Everything we caught was later released...after documentation & a photo session, so this information can be used by the DNR.

This park also had a bunch of manholes where snakes and tiger salamanders found a way in, then cannot get out. The poor things die in there.

We (with permission & help from the rangers, went to each manhole in the park and saved every living creature in them. It was so rewarding!!! It all just fell into place, the way we all worked together as a team. We provided the snake hook, while another provided a net, while another held a flashlight, while another reached in the manhole, while another held his legs so he wouldn’t fall in, while another took the rescued animals, while another bagged them etc....you get the picture.....everybody worked together. We saved countless animals...many were just babies!!

Here’s just a sample of some pics:

This is a Fox Snake being held by one of our members. We found many of these in and around the wood shed.

Here is a Gravid Prairie Skink

This is a Tiger Salamander rescued from a manhole.

This is the bottom of one of the manhole’s, with many trapped snakes in it.....they would have died if not for the efforts of the MHS and the Park Rangers

Hooking a snake

MHS President desperately trying to reach the snakes at the bottom, while another member keeps him from falling in

Here is a young girl admiring a fox snake at the visitor’s center during the presentation

There are more pics I would have liked to share, but I exceeded my limit in the photo server!!

This is just a few of the baby fox snakes pulled from the manhole

Here they just about have one out of the hole

This is my nephew & son at the presentaion

It would have to be down the road a little though. I’ve got my hands full with my 5 young children right now. Also, I don’t feel I’m knowledgable enough yet to take on critters that might have problems.

I’ll keep a watch for your updates! I can’t wait to show my kids your pics tomorrow.

I know you come to this website regularly, so you are probably gaining all kinds of knowledge reading the forums, even if you don’t realize it. I bet you know more than you think!
It is also a big plus to have a good vet....If it wasn’t for Koa’s vet, I doubt she would be here today.

I was asked to be on the adoption committee (they need three people to make the decisions as to who gets what) they were short one, so I got to participate....it was definately a learning experience.

I won TWO more enclosures at the raffle. I think some people were getting mad, as many times as my numbers were called, but hey! They can buy as many tickets as I do, and they can win alot too, right??
(The tickets are 4 for $1.00, so they are cheap, and I usually buy $15.00 worth, so that’s alot of tickets.)

We got to get up close & personal with one of those GIANT milipedes. Wow! is all I can say about that.

I’m glad I went to the field survey, because it was a big difference at the meeting how many people I knew, and got to visit with.

The ones I want to take in are the ones no one really wants....for example not too many members want to adopt a sick snake. Or not too many want a huge retic or burm. I ended up with Noah, more as a learning tool. The adoption gal thought it would be a good one for me to start out with and get some practice handling difficult snakes (He was supposed to have a nasty temperment). Except Noah has been a perfect angel since we have had him. He was totally infested with mites at first, so that is probably why he was giving her a hard time. We took care of the mite problem (knock on wood) and increased is food intake (by instruction of his vet). He is doing great, and now he belongs to my son.