Well it poured all morning, AGAIN. I feel that simply describing this time of year as the wet season is a severe understatement. The skies cleared a little near dark and I took a respite from my academic obligations, grabbed my headlamp, and headed up to the greenhouse (where I had previously seen the python and several Eastern Small-eyed Snakes) for a quick search. The large male Small-eyed was again atop his perch on the mulch pile, yet the greenhouse did not produce a serpent this time. I wandered over to a rarely used shed, a “microhabitat” frequently utilized by many different snakes and lizards. Adjoining the shed was an enormous piece of tin, nearly 15 feet in length. Now while tin is usually a herper’s gold mine, I typically have done nearly all of my flipping during the day. Yet I couldn’t just pass it by. I flipped the tin and chaos ensued. A sizable snake with a very dark dorsum went shooting out into a tangle of tall weeds in front of me. Judging by its size and coloration it has to be either a Slaty-grey Snake (a harmless colubrid) or a Red-bellied Black Snake (a venomous elapid). I did not get a good look at the snake’s head and subsequently had no way of knowing. I sprinted into the mess of weeds both without a stick or tongs (I was studying and went for a quick walk, really not expecting to see anything hot). No movement. I can’t believe I missed my chance at my first Red-bellied Black, a rainforest elapid I’d been after for nearly a month. Frustrated, but not quite ready to admit defeat, I began kicking around in the grass. There’s a black body! I look anxiously for the head. Oh boy, it’s a Red-bellied Black alright. I reach for his tail and grab the 3+ ft snake which has now become so embedded and wrapped around the tangle of weeds that it’s impossible to separate the snake from the grass. I grab the nearest implement, a broken broom handle leaning against the shed, to aid me in my capture. Tail in left hand, broken broom handle in right, I go to work. Ten minutes later he’s finally free (and now able to freely strike at me, which he did repeatedly). Feeling both relieved and delighted, I pinned the elapid and grasped him firmly behind the head. This is when I realized that I do not have a sack. The one time I’m unprepared. With no other choice, I hiked back to my cabin with specimen in hand, sacked the serpent, grabbed my camera (along with my stick) and set out to take photos. Quite the capture with many unusual speed bumps, but a success nonetheless. I returned to the Centre to study, upon which I stumbled across another Eastern Small-eyed Snake curled up around a chair. A good ending to a great night.
