Herping (Switzerland)

[boeh]

Hi there

Some of you talked about herping pictures. Here are some pictures from a very small area close to my home. I was out there to have a look at some local snakes (Natrix natrix helvetica & Coronella austriaca). The Natrix is also a snake out of the Natricinae complex (watersnakes) like Thamnophis. But instead of the most Thamnophis, they're swimming very often and hunt fish quite good.

Here are some pics. The snakes you see are Natrix natrix helvetice (didn't found any Coronella). The lizards are Zootoca vivipara and the toad is a Bombina variegata.

[boeh]

[boeh]

[Cazador]

Cyrill,
Cool pictures. I noticed all of the uric acid near the lizards. It looks like they've been using those rocks for a long time.
Rick

[abcat1993]

Nice. I would be so tempted to just reach out and grab that snake, maybe try the lizard.

[Gijs & Sabine]

Very nice pics, Cyrill !! My aunt lives in Lausen so the next time we visit her we'll search the area a bit better.

Here in Holland we have a small group of reptile lovers and every year we go out on a field trip to find different reptiles who live in that area.

Best wishes,
Sabine

[Thamnophis]

Very beautiful!!!
Shall place some pics of my Natrix-finds in the Czech Republic...

[Snaky]

It looks like a very nice herping spot!

[boeh]

@Cazador
Excuse my ignorance. What are you meaning with "uric acid"? I know both as single words, but not connected to each other. Do you mean the withe / grey things on the rocks?

@abcat1993
Yes, it's hard to hold back. All of those animals are protected, like all reptiles / amphibians in switzerland (probably whole europe?).

@Gijs & Sabine
Thanks a lot. Lausen is quite close to my home (Laufen). The pictures were taken in "Liesberg". I look forward to pictures of your field trips.

If I find the time I'm going to search some Vipera berus and Vipera aspis in this year. Then I probably have seen all snakes that lives in switzerland. We don't have that much here.

@Snaky
Yes, you're right. There are a lot of lizards and frogs, so the snakes have a true paradise. The area is protected by our laws. Sadly it's just a small place.

Best wishes,
Cyrill

[Cazador]

Hi Cyrill,
Pardon me. Reptiles don't make urine from their kidneys (like mammals do) and don't secrete ammonia (like amphibians and fish do). Instead, they make white crystals called "uric acid" as a waste product from their kidneys (like birds do). It's a way to help them preserve/conserve water. The uric acid is often mixed with moist, or even wet, feces (poop) in their cloaca, which often makes the waste product moist.

Basically, when your snakes are active and they poop, there is a white part and a brownish part. The white part is uric acid, and the brown part is feces (poop). When your snakes are brumating, they don't poop. They only release the white uric acid. It's the white part on the rocks.