Field herping/Amphibian hunting in Long Beach, CA

[jake96]

Cool. You will find out once they get used to captivity they will come out in the day time to look for food. Mine even beg for food .

 

[Markgilst]

It was doing that the same day I caught it.

 

[fishkeeper]

Fello Long Beach inhabitant/transient here! Their isn't much in the form of habitat here-and like you the only amphibian I've seen would be these Garden slender salamanders. I have not seen even bullfrogs here at the city parks(all those abandoned turtles prolly et em all??).

For cheaper housing I'd reccomend buying a sweaterbox of appropriate size. This makes viewing not as clear however. Be SURE that the critter cannot escape these guys can squeeze into just about any little crevice and rapidly dry up on the way to your bathroom at night.

So far in LB I have seen.

B. major
Elgaria multicarinata(CA Allie lizard...according to CA herps.com LA/LB is an intergrade area). This species appears to be the lizard best adapted to life in the inner city...probably due to lower temp requirements, reclusiveness, and preference for moister, gardenlike habitats and cover. They are the only lizards on CSULB campus.
Uta stanisburiana
and of course the omnipresent Sceloporus occidentalis

I've heard of Cal kings, gophers, and red racers but have never found any myself. Their are very few plots of open land left without fencing around them.

 

[Markgilst]

At this outdoor garden store called Armstrong's, there's this pond that holds Pacific tree frog tadpoles frequently, every spring.

 

[fishkeeper]

Interesting. I'll have to look into it. I've thought a few times to have heard their calls coming from certain vacant lots but never seen any. At my place in Fresno a good size aggregation breeds somewhere on someones property close to my house and many tadpoles are carried into a drainage ditch nearby...you can hear their chorus in the background Feb-Late March.

No bullfrogs or Western toads here in LB either. Frequently biking my way around town I hear the cries of mitred conures as they fly in flocks to various nut/fruit trees around the city. I must say it is quite odd, this urban jungle!

 

[fishkeeper]

Also in some parts of Sonoma County on rainy nights you can see people collecting them as "pets". If California really wanted to help there native fauna they should buckle down on laws. Just my thoughts on the matter

- Jake

I lol'ed...thats pretty incredible but very believable.

I think A. californiense would really benefit from a headstarting program of sorts. I new of a place where a vernal pool was buried by an expanding freeway. Sites like that, or even protected areas people could collect a few larvae(since the majority die anyway) and raise them to supply zoological institutions or possibly reintroduction to reclaimed habitat.

 

[Markgilst]

Bump. Man, California did that to a vernal pool?
Oh wow.