Thanks, fellas. I'm glad you liked the photos. Wish I could get some better shots of these guys.
Westley, before I moved here, I took great pride in my ninjabilities.
Some of the places I find herps here, though, have put me to the ultimate test. Here's a photo of the swamp where these photos were shot, taken on an earlier trip.
Sinkhole swamp by
crotalus_cerberus83, on Flickr
This used to be a road, before a sinkhole opened up and formed a nice little swamp -one of the few good ones nearby that's on public land. I'm quickly learning that the problem with herping in swamps is that there's almost no way to move quietly. Off to the left of where this photo was taken is a tangled mass of fallen trees. To the right, it's knee-deep water choked with reeds. Once I can afford a lightweight canoe, I think my swamp photos will improve.
I agree with the race car comparison. They're fast and they do, indeed, appear to have a flamed paint job. I'm going to continue to try for some shots taken at a lower angle, as these photos do a poor job of illustrating their prettiest markings. Their plastron is bright yellow, and they have some incredible red and black markings where the carapace curves under their sides.
" a squat, scaly worm with, 'don't touch,' on one end and, 'that's why,' on the other."
-Thomas Palmer