West Coast National Park herping

[TH]

It’s certainly been a while since I have posted anything on this forum – life has been a little hectic of late and I have not had too much time to get out into the field, but hopefully, all of that will change in the near future…

However, I managed to spare a few hours a couple of weeks ago to go herping in the West Coast National Park and thought I would just share a few photos from the trip. Apart from the species in the photos, we also found:

Angulate Tortoise (not a big surprise for the area where there are hundreds of them!)
Cape Skink
Striped Dwarf Leaf-toed Gecko

Here are some pics:

Large-scaled Girdled Lizard


Cape Legless Skink


Karoo Sand Snake


Cape Sand Snake


Cross-marked Grass Snake


Spotted Skaapsteker


Herald Snake

[Wolf777]

Nice that herald looks really cool with the all black head and no red lip.

[Fooble]

That's A nice looking herald they are so variable across the board.

Nice photo's and finds!

[Ales]

Nice pictures.

True about the tortoises.
In the park there is this one long wooden walkway that leads to a bird hide,if you peek through the planks you can see lots of tortoises resting/sleeping underneath.
I even found a shell underneath which i took and is now hanging in my patio area all polished up

[nvlooi]

Brilliant pics, can't believe I missed the post.

I've never found one of those Large-scales Girled lizards.
Also the Skaapstekers from the coast are the most amazing specimens.
Great find on the Cape whip snake...
The Karoo sand snake is oddly marked, but then again I've never seen one from that area.

[westley]

Wow, that C. macropholis is a great find.

Definitely a good day's hering there.

Also very nice to get three defferent Psammophis species in one area.

[TH]

Thanks for all the comments and kind words - much appreciated!

This particular area that I went to in the park is pretty much guaranteed for Large-scaled Girdled Lizard - Cordylus macropholis. I have been herping in this area for a good number of years now and have never missed finding this species here on any of my visits. It is probably the most reliable area in the entire country for this species. I have found it at a few other spots on the west coast, but never with the same regularity as this site.

Although not a reptile, the other thing I was quite excited to find at this spot was a Southern African Pygmy Mouse. They are not that uncommon in general and I have seen them at a number of places, but this was the first time that I was actually able to photograph this species. So forgive me for including a mammal photo on a reptile forum, but just thought some of you might enjoy seeing one of the pics of this little beast...

[westley]

I spent a few days up north on the West Coast after I heard of a record there.

I really wanted to photograph the species, but the trip was in vain.

Please update this topic every time you go herping there. You can never post too many pics.

[Microlepidotus]

Some great finds there, well done on the Cape Whip snake, awesome little guys!

Happy Herping man......

[armata]

Cape whip snakes Like to bask on the boardwalk at Abrahams Kraal, and you are right about the tortoises hiding underneath.
Good work getting all three species of psammophis. No mole snakes? Some monsters there, especially along the side of the track that leads to the coastal bird hide.
Still hoping to find Bitis armata, but the accommodation is a problem, need a number of days and not single visits.

[Microlepidotus]

Spotted skaapsteker is a real beaut !

Love the 'black headed' heralds, just a awesome version of them.

Going near there some other time, will post what I found.

[Durban Keeper]

Wow that skaapie & redlip are really pretty. Nice finds all round though!

[TH]

@armata – No, we didn’t have any Mole Snakes this time. Surprising, as they are certainly not uncommon in the park, but we just didn’t bump into any. As to Bitis armata, I have yet to see this species anywhere, despite having spent considerable time looking for it in supposedly all the right places. Perhaps I am not looking in the right places or, alternatively, I am just not very good at finding small adders in general… Oh well, I will just have to keep trying!

Just quickly went through what I can actually remember finding in the West Coast National Park over the years and came up with 26 species. I may have forgotten a couple off the list (old age catching up on me!), but for those who are interested, I have definitely found the following in the park:

Parrot-beaked Tortoise - Homopus areolatus
Angulate Tortoise - Chersina angulata
Puffadder - Bitis arietans
Cape Cobra - Naja nivea
Spotted Harlequin Snake - Homoroselaps lacteus
Spotted Skaapsteker - Psammophylax rhombeatus
Karoo Sand Snake - Psammophis notostictus
Cape Sand Snake - Psammophis leightoni
Cross-marked Grass Snake - Psammophis crucifer
Common Egg-eater - Dasypeltis scabra
Boomslang - Dispholidus typus
Herald Snake - Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia
Mole Snake - Pseudaspis cana
Karoo Girdled Lizard - Cordylus polyzonus
Large-scaled Girdled Lizard - Cordylus macropholis
Gronovi's Dwarf Burrowing Skink - Scelotes gronovii
Silvery Dwarf Burrowing Skink - Scelotes bipes
Variegated Skink - Trachylepis variegate
Cape Skink - Trachylepis capensis
Cuvier's Blind Legless Skink - Typhlosaurus caecus
Cape Legless Skink - Acontias meleagris
Knox's Desert Lizard - Meroles knoxii
Western Dwarf Chameleon - Bradypodion occidentale
Marbled Leaf-toed Gecko - Afrogecko porphyreus
Striped Dwarf Leaf-toed Gecko - Goggia lineate
Ocellated Thick-toed Gecko - Pachydactylus geitje

[BushSnake]

Sound like a great trip. Don't apologise about the mouse... it is after all snake food . But seriously, everything fits together somehow so I love the trip reports with a bit more than just reptiles!

Is the P.leightoni you posted alive, or was it a DOR? I'm just use to the raised head pose from sand snakes which is why I'm asking.

Some of us are planning a Cape trip in January, so we might ask for some assistance to go to these cool spots!

[nvlooi]

I believe there are some Pachydactylus species there as well, but becuase no 'night viewing' is allowed you'll probably never will see them.