Coiled and posed, a western massasauga on the defensive.
Although the various massasaugas, be they eastern, western, or desert, that I have encountered have moved away at reasonable speed, none, until my recent meeting with western massasaugas, Sistrurus catenatus tergeminus, in Kansas, had I thought of as “speedy.” But those Kansas examples have definitely altered my (and Jake’s) impression of this taxon. The reactions of these snakes, even when approached slowly and carefully, was a headlong dart from the coiled basking position in the grassy center of the road to the safety of the edging rocks. Seemingly with the alacrity usually associated with a basking racer, the crotalines were, if not out of mind, at least out of sight. But we finally managed to find one that, more relaxed than the others, allowed us the hoped for photo ops.

This prairie rattler was one of 3 found on our final day
Central Kansas. Our targets were twofold—a western hognose, Heterodon n. nasicus, and a prairie rattler, Crotalus v. viridis.The afternoon sun shone from a cloudless sky with a palpable force. Despite being basically white in color the roadway we were on was uncomfortably hot. If herps were to be seen at all it would be fleetingly and probably at roadedge. A few minutes before sunset Jake spied the first, a juvenile speckled king snake, Lampropeltis getula holbrooki, that had just emerged from the roadside grasses. This sighting was followed by several western slender glass lizards, Ophisaurus a. attenuata.

One hour passed, then 2. No hoggies, and except for one DOR, no rattlers. And except at the end when we found a very defensive bullsnake, Pituophis catenifer sayi, the next evening was even slower—a couple of pheasants, a lot of slender glass lizards, and incessant lightning accompanying distant storms.

But the third night was the charm. The baking hot day hadn’t seemed much different to me, but the snakes—at least the prairie rattlers, Crotalus v. viridis, found it more favorable. We found the first, a 28 incher, crossing a gravel roadway about a half an hour before sunset. We each took a dozen or more photos and put the snake off of the road. Then came a dozen glass lizards. And then another prairie rattler, this one slightly longer and of a darker color than the first. More pix. It was now nearly dark and for the next hour we saw only crossing glass lizards. Then another rattler. This one, larger still and very dark in color, was photographed in the car’s headlights with the assist of the camera’s flashes, and left as found.

When we left for the southland the next day, we left happy.

Female Indian star tortoise nesting
Indian star tortoises, Geochelone elegans. The adults, as hatchlings themselves bred at the Knoxville Zoo, were forwarded to Jim Harding by Bern Tryon about 20 years ago. Jim kept them for about 14 years and then deciding the (by then) adults needed some southern sunshine, he brought them to me. These tortoises have proven much more resilient to ambient atmospheric conditions than we initially thought them capable of. They are most active crepuscularly, feeding most ravenously at dusk or even after dark. The females usually begin nesting in the late afternoon, often not completing the task until well after dark. They are usually very active during summer rains, often sitting in the newly formed puddles (that may be 4 or 5 inches deep) from the beginning of the storms until the puddles have fully soaked in. In other words, in their actions and hardiness, these tortoises have been a surprise to me and to Jim. And if Bern were still with us I feel he, too, would have had to modify his beliefs on the captive care required by these beautiful star tortoises.

Fast forward:One female has nested successfully for the last 3 years. In 2017 she nested on 3 occasions at 30 day intervals. Total eggs numbered 14. In Jan of 2015 the first clutch (5 eggs) have hatched and, again at 30 day intervals, we hope that the remaining eggs will also hatch. I’ll keep you updated.