La Ventana Stories

I write about species that I have found in the wild but, unfortunately, I am starting to run out. However, today, after some scrounging and a quick search through my pictures, I remembered the San Lucan Gecko.

San Lucan Geckos (Phyllodactylus unctus) are very similar to Asian House Geckos (Hemidactylus frenatus), which are the ones all over La Ventana and which I wrote about in a previous column. However, San Lucan Geckos have a much more distinct pattern and they are supposed to be here, unlike Asian House Geckos, which are considered an invasive species.

San Lucan Geckos are sometimes called Leaf-Toed Geckos, as their toes somewhat resemble leaves. I have found San Lucan Geckos north of El Sargento, as well as south of La Ventana, but I have never seen one in town. My theory is that the invasive house geckos outcompete them by eating the same food, liking the same habitats and laying eggs more frequently. The Asian House Geckos are also well-evolved for life in houses, along walls and around other man-made structures.

San Lucan Geckos, although now faced with invasive threats, are still prolific in many areas, and hope is definitely not lost. For example, I have observed San Lucan Geckos all over our friend’s house hiding under lights and eating moths. Although I saw house geckos too, there were probably three San Lucan Geckos to every house gecko. I don’t love online school, and usually try to avoid math in general, but those seem like pretty good stats to me. (No offense to my lovely teacher who I think reads my columns.)

Today I have decided to write about the Cape Garter Snake (Thamnophis validus celaeno). Although they don’t live in La Ventana, they inspire the most common question that I receive: “There was a black snake swimming; is it dangerous?” 

Around the beautiful town of Santiago (about a two-hour drive south from LV/ES), there are numerous waterways meandering through the arid countryside, including hot springs, waterfalls and swimming holes. These attractions bring people from all over the Cape Region, and this just happens to be the exact habitat of the Cape Garter Snake. Sometimes called the Cape Water Snake, these serpents spend most of their time in the water hunting fish.

Cape Garter Snakes are completely harmless little snakes that are quite common throughout many of the permanent streams in the Sierra de la Laguna Mountain Range. The last time I went to a river near Santiago, I found eight garters in a few hours! Though these snakes typically leave you alone, I have heard some stories of these little guys coming up to people to say hello. However, they aren’t too smart so maybe this is accidental. If you want to pick one up, you should be ready to get bitten about 100 times, but it really doesn’t hurt. When smaller ones bite, sometimes I don’t even notice.

If you are scared of snakes, don’t let your fear of these harmless creatures ruin your waterfall trip. If you’re not looking for them, you very well may not see any. Even if you do see some, they want nothing to do with humans; all they want is to eat fish and stay away from danger.

It was almost 11pm and Isla Cerralvo was truly starting to come alive. It seemed that, all of a sudden, praying mantises were everywhere and, around almost every bush, so were swervy sand snake tracks. My dad and I were getting tired, but we decided to push on. This time we would head up into the dense brush above our campsite. We followed a small arroyo until it ended, then headed into the labyrinth of bushes covering much of the dune complex. 

Isla Cerralvo’s interior dune system bears a remarkable resemblance to a maze. You start in open natural pathways, squeeze through a tight spot into another pathway, which then ends and you try to go back, but all the bushes look the same and now you have no idea how you got there. Eventually, you get desperate and bushwhack into a new clearing, which gets you even more hopelessly lost. That was exactly what was happening to me. 

After an hour-long trip deep into the island (though still only about a half mile from camp), I was stuck in a particularly confusing section. At this point, I was just trying to escape the maze when I came across a large snake, about 3-feet long, moving slowly in the middle of a clearing. I couldn’t believe my eyes! It was the 7th Isla Cerralvo Long-Nosed Snake in recorded history!!! I picked it up and it immediately pooped all over me. I wouldn’t have traded that moment for the world. 

I fumbled for my walkie-talkie and excitedly exploded into a shout-laugh-happy cry explanation of what happened, although I don’t think I needed the walkie-talkie. My dad hurled himself through several large spike bushes in an attempt to find me — and the snake — but he just got more stuck, and we spent the next 45 minutes trudging separately in confused circles back to camp.

I still couldn’t believe it. I spent a good hour with the long nose, shooting photos and videos, hanging out with the rarest snake of my life. 

If you want to watch my reptile-filled adventure as it happened, here’s a link to my Herping Isla Cerralvo extravaganza! 

After a few hours of sitting on the beach, sweating in the extreme heat and swimming periodically, night was starting to fall. I had already caught a coachwhip and missed a second. Morale was high, and I was excited to stay up all night if necessary to find my two main targets: the Savages Sand Snake and Isla Cerralvo Long-Nosed Snake.

Savages Sand Snakes are actually quite common on Cerralvo. They inhabit the dunes but can be tricky to find because they only come out at night and remain under the surface most of the time. The Isla Cerralvo Long-Nosed Snake, however, is one of the rarest snakes in BCS. It has only been found about six times in recorded history. This nocturnal snake would be worth a full night of searching, including frequent bushwhacking through large, angry spike bushes. 

As the sun went down, I made my first tremendous discovery. I had already stumbled into the barbed wire fence approximately five times, and was accumulating head bumps. It was about 10 o’clock and I sensed that the night creatures were starting to become active.

My dad and I headed to the northern side of the dune complex. We trudged through the sand for a good hour before deciding to go back to camp to take a break. As I was waiting for him to get to the edge of the dune, I saw sand snake tracks everywhere. I noticed a particularly fresh-looking track and followed it to the end where it stopped randomly. Confused, I ran my fingers through the sand at the end of the track. To my surprise, a bolt of orange scales slithered back into the sand, and I managed to catch my first Savages Sand Snake!

These fascinating creatures slither just under the surface of sandy dunes, leaving a squiggle pattern on the sand. They eat ants, termites and even scorpions. Savages Sand Snakes are very closely related to Variable Sand Snakes, which are found around La Ventana and are quite small, secretive and totally harmless.

It was now past 11pm and the evening was already a success. Could I possibly cross paths with an elusive Isla Cerralvo Long-Nosed Snake, one of the rarest snakes in all of Mexico? Stay tuned for next week’s finale of the Cerralvo expedition story!

About one week ago, my dad and I headed out to Isla Cerralvo for our first campout on the island. Little did we know, we would have a crazy, reptile-filled, extremely hot and all-around amazing trip. This is the story of our history-making yet somewhat torturous trip.

It was early morning on October 19, and I had slept poorly due to my intense excitement. I woke up around 6 o’clock, we finished packing, and then I had to suffer through my math Zoom before we could depart. After a half-hour boat ride, we arrived at the dune complex on the southwestern tip of Isla Cerralvo. We unloaded our stuff (about a half boatload) and started scouting for a good campsite. As I was “scouting” the dunes, I noticed a few snake tracks, and then I was trying to catch lizards and, before I knew it, a long time had passed. 

When I returned to our landing spot, my dad showed me his desired campsite. It was on the beach at the base of an arroyo with steepish edges, and an old barbed wire fence was hanging about five-and-a-half feet off the ground, exactly one inch above my eye level. My dad said the fence was perfect for hanging up shade tarps, and I absentmindedly agreed with him, being anxious to get back into the field. Ultimately, that decision would be my downfall.

Isla Cerralvo is home to five endemic reptile species. The Isla Cerralvo Sator (Sceloporus grandaevus) and the Isla Cerralvo Whiptail (Sceloporus grandaevus) are the lizards, but the snakes are what brought us to the island. The Isla Cerralvo Rattlesnake (Crotalus enyo cerralvensis) and the Savages Sand Snake (Chilomeniscus savagei) were both secondary targets but, what we really wanted to find, was the extremely rare Isla Cerralvo Long-Nosed Snake (Rhinocheilus etheridgei).

Stay tuned for the next installment of this story!

The Coast Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma coronatum) is an incredible, dinosaur-like lizard with a seemingly superior aura. These little(ish) lizards are sometimes called horny toads, as they do somewhat resemble toads when they flatten themselves out, which is one of their defense mechanisms. They are not too common in La Ventana, in my experience, as they need open, sandy land to thrive. However, they do live here and, recently, I met my first representative of the species.

It was a normal, HOT!!! October day, and there was talk of a horned lizard in the neighbors’ garden. Naturally, I was intrigued, as I had never seen a horned lizard. After a few minutes of walking and searching for this amazing creature, I turned up nothing and decided to give in to the serene bliss of an air-conditioned camper. A few hours later, my dad came roaring down our small driveway on the 4-wheeler with a couple of builders from next door smiling on the back. To my surprise and joy, they presented me with Felipé, my very first horned lizard.

He was beautiful! His horns resembled a crown, and he seemed to know it. His half-closed eyes conveyed a calm and content yet somehow commanding expression. As I picked him up, I was worried that he would shoot blood out of his eyes at me, as this is another of their defense mechanisms. However, he seemed much more interested in the paparazzi now taking pictures of him. Felipé would sit unmoving for a moment, strike a new pose and show off his crown. He was, by far, one of the most photogenic reptiles that I have ever photographed. His only care seemed to be showing of his good side. 

After marveling at him for a while, we let him go. I hope to see His Majesty in the future, posing in our yard.

Adult Couch’s Spade Foot Toads (Scaphiopus couchii) are funny, tubby and shockingly circular frogs with big appetites. These nocturnal toads can be observed on wet nights primarily in the summer, but I have witnessed individuals in the spring and fall as well. Hopping to and fro, eating all kinds of insects and spiders, in our yard I have even witnessed a toad gorging himself on the many insects attracted to one of our lights.

After the summer rains, when the tadpoles have already metamorphosed into their adult form close to the pool in which the eggs were laid, there are small, adorable toads EVERYWHERE!  As they age, they start adding mass and growing their bellies to the point where their bellies stick out past their legs. Once they are of larger carriage, the toads head underground for most of the winter, as the dry season will usually be well underway.

Interestingly, these toads have a unique shovel on their back feet that helps them dig, hence the name: spade foot toad. If picked up, they will proceed to jump out of your hands constantly and pee all over you, making them not one of the most pleasant creatures to hold, but they are harmless. 

As the wet season progressed this summer, I was very worried that my cat, Zorro, would capture and eat the toads during the wet nights in which toads were abundant, so I watched him one night. After a while, he approached a small toad that I had not seen. Confidently, he swaggered up and proceeded to study it intently. After a few seconds, he sat down and placed his paw directly on top of the toad, which just sat there for a minute before hopping away, and Zorro soon walked away as well. I have, therefore, happily concluded that toads are considered boring to cats.