Spiders!!! Hide yo children!!!

Spiders... everybody hates spiders!  What's not to hate?  They're erratic and dart in random directions, most have venom, a small handful are seriously venomous, and they're just all around creepy.  The fact of the matter is that so long as you're not harassing the spider it has no incentive to bite you.  Many are perfectly content to crawl across your arm or run away when you attempt to coerce them into your hand.  So if they're not aggressive and out to get us then why in the world are we still afraid of them?  Well, we're simply ignorant of a spider's intentions.  So if the spider doesn't want to envenomate us then their venom is not a concern so it doesn't matter if it crawls on us, therefore causing us no harm.  Yet, we're still afraid of them.  It's too bad that so many people are afraid of spiders because they are something we come across a lot.  They're in houses and all over the outdoors, living in most yards.  Whenever we fear something, we are giving it power over us.  Don't give a silly little spider over you.  It doesn't have the mental capacity to harbor mal-intent toward you.  Trust me they just exist to help balance a diverse ecosystem of amazing creatures.  And in my opinion spiders themselves are amazing creatures so until next time, find a way to appreciate nature!

Pygmy Rattlesnakes! :)

I love these little snakes!  I think it's fascinating that they're so small yet they can pack a punch so heavy that it will usually force a grown man into the hospital.  This happened to a friend of mine and while he made a full recovery it was still several thousand in hospital bills.  He got bit attempting to catch it... that's a big no no.  Anyway, the goal here was to show pygmy rattlesnakes in a positive way.  These snakes get killed in the thousands by cars and snake haters and most everyone despises them.  I wanted to show people that given respect this snake is willing to get a long peacefully with mankind.  I did this by getting up close and personal and showing what these guys do on a daily basis.  They hide, bask, and wait for prey to come by.  They do NOT try to get in your house and kill all your pets and children as some believe.  They're under appreciated little animals that have a beautiful pattern highlighted by vivid orange down the length and they have some sweet eyes that are half gold and half gray.  So until next time, try to find a new way to appreciate nature!

My First AnimalBytesTV Episode!

My first episode is on some common non-venomous snakes in Florida.  Basically the purpose of this episode was to show the nature of snakes.  I did get bit a few times in the show but that was purely because I deserved it.  Whenever another creature picks up a snake in nature it's because it wants to eat the snake so naturally the snake will do whatever it can to escape, including biting.  There were other snakes that I held that just tried to squirm away because they don't have much of a bite, like the rough green snake and ringneck.  If people can understand the nature of snakes I think it will make them much less fearful of them so venturing out into nature will be far less stressful.  There is a broad hatred of snakes in cultures all over the world and in such a modern world that I live in I think it's crazy that people are still so ignorant of the nature of snakes.  That nature is to survive so if they can they will slither away but if they're cornered they will defend themselves by hissing or biting.  This is why it is far safer to leave any snake alone if you don't want to get bit.

SHARKS!!!

Recently I went on a scalloping trip with some friends and wanted to film some sharks while we were there.  I knew there were sharks in the area so all I had to do was draw them in and it would be simple, right?  Not so much.  I got some fish and started chumming.  Pretty quickly a bunch of little fish swarmed around the chum bag.  I figured this was a good sign as it might draw in the predators I was hoping to find.  I waited a while and a few remoras showed up.  That was a good sign as they often hang out with larger sea creatures.  A little while longer and I thought I saw my first shark!  Nope, it was a cobia.  Too bad I was filming and not fishing.  I left the bag for a while and came back and still nothing was around.  My friend was on the boat fishing and I look up to see him fighting a fish.  So I swam over to see what he had on his line.  It was a shark!  I've been chumming for an hour and no sharks came by but he threw out one piece of chunk bait and the shark finds that.  I concluded that the sharks were just really shy and filmed the shark my friend had caught as he released it.  It wasn't what I had hoped for but I did get a really neat shot as the shark swam away over the grass flats.

Night Shining for Critters

Many outdoors men are aware that many animals have reflective eyes, like deer, gators, raccons, opossums, and felines.  However, most aren't aware that there are a plethora of invertebrates, snakes, and amphibians to be found.  Many of these creatures are rare or absent during the day so you get to see a whole new variety of animals at night.

One of my favorite creatures to shine is the rough green snake.  It likes to coil up and sleep in dense foliage anywhere above around five feet.  Personally, I've seen them sleep thirty feet up but I'm sure on a calm night they wouldn't have any problem with sleeping higher than that.  The reason shining them works so well is because they reflect light.  The reason they reflect light is because the dew falls on them and beads up on their scales.  It's like a thousand little round mirrors all over the body of the snake.  This doesn't happen on most plants because the surface of the leaf is different.  This same thing happens with green anoles and other arboreal lizards.  Pretty much all you do is shine your light in areas you think a snake might like to sleep and you cover as much suitable habitat as possible.

When shining expect to find thousands of spiders.  Yes, out in the country you will see them everywhere.  Most have several eyes so you can pretty much pick up an eye shine regardless of how they are positioned. I shined up some frogs and toads as well.  One thing I didn't expect was a roosting butterfly covered in dew.

All in all it's a fun thing to do and you'll always find something to take a closer look at.  So grab your light and head out into the nature to check out the nocturnal world!