Snakes of China - Shanghai

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Snakes of China - Shanghai

Postby Bastien Comment » Tue Nov 06, 2012 12:24 pm

Hi everyone!

Hope you're not too depressed with the weather these days, on my side I'm about to enter hibernation very soon ;)

Sorry for those who hoped to see pictures of wild snakes from China but to be able to put some, I will need some help:

My brother has the chance to move to China for 9 months and obviously, it will be a good opportunity for me to go to visit him there. So of course, I'm already wondering what kind of snakes I can find there. Does any of you has informations about snakes in China? Or a good book to recommend? Has one of you ever had the chance to go herping there?

Thanks in advance for any information. Cheers!
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Re: Snakes of China - Shanghai

Postby Jeroen Speybroeck » Tue Nov 06, 2012 12:27 pm

You should definitely check out the series of Kevin Messenger on FHF, and maybe try to get in touch with him.

Here's a link to his last, 46th(!!!) post,
http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/vie ... =2&t=13833

Enjoy!
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Re: Snakes of China - Shanghai

Postby Bastien Comment » Tue Nov 06, 2012 12:42 pm

Thanks Jeroen, I'll indeed contact him, he'll probably be of good advice ;)
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Re: Snakes of China - Shanghai

Postby Mario Schweiger » Tue Nov 06, 2012 2:03 pm

Bastien Comment wrote: Or a good book to recommend?


I´m selling my: Er-Mi Zhao & Kraig Adler (1993): Herpetology of China. SSAR, 520 pp. ISBN: 0-916984-28-1
It is nearly like new and for the cheap price of 149.-- €

How much money others want for the book, you may look here: http://www.eurobuch.com or http://www.bookfinder.com ;)

Mario
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Re: Snakes of China - Shanghai

Postby Jeroen Speybroeck » Tue Nov 06, 2012 4:23 pm

Mario Schweiger wrote:
Bastien Comment wrote: Or a good book to recommend?


I´m selling my: Er-Mi Zhao & Kraig Adler (1993): Herpetology of China. SSAR, 520 pp. ISBN: 0-916984-28-1
It is nearly like new and for the cheap price of 149.-- €

How much money others want for the book, you may look here: http://www.eurobuch.com or http://www.bookfinder.com ;)

Mario


If the illustrations are any good, I want it !
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Re: Snakes of China - Shanghai

Postby Mario Schweiger » Tue Nov 06, 2012 4:33 pm

ok, here are two example plates (geckos, and for sure, vipers)

plate22.jpg


plate43.jpg


plate22a.jpg
extract of the gecko plate
plate22a.jpg (53.68 KiB) Viewed 7023 times
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Re: Snakes of China - Shanghai

Postby Jeroen Speybroeck » Tue Nov 06, 2012 4:41 pm

OK, maybe we can have an auction, Bastien? ;)
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Re: Snakes of China - Shanghai

Postby Tim Leerschool » Tue Nov 06, 2012 5:22 pm

I would be interested in this book too! ;)

I've visited Beijing in December and local bookstores sell small fieldguides of birds, reptiles and amphibians, butterflies etc. (mostly in Chinese, if you can't read chinese, latin names are also noted and some are completely in English) but these are hardly complete. Not trying to talk you out of buying the book from Mario but it might be more useful to buy a small book with the most common species when your time is restricted. Apart from that the books, and almost everything else, is incredibly more cheap than in Europe or America ;)

During my stay I focussed on the birds. WIth temperatures during the day sometimes around -25 degrees there was absolutely no chance of finding herps (at least, living ones). My girlfriend studied in Beijing and had taken trips around China. The great wall was an excellent spot although it is a long trip from Shanghai to the Great Wall for the scally critters ;) Apart from that I can't give you any further tips.

Hope you enjoy your stay and wish you good luck herping!

Kind regards,

Tim
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Re: Snakes of China - Shanghai

Postby Bastien Comment » Tue Nov 06, 2012 8:44 pm

Thanks all for your feedbacks!

Jeroen: hey, it's my topic! Start your own if you want to bid on what's kindly proposed to me by Mario :lol:

Mario: well yes indeed that's the kind of things which interests me. Do you know whether there's a more recent version of this book? Otherwise I would be interested if we can avoid an eBay battle with the other members :D

Tim: my trip is not yet planned at all but as my brother stays there for 9 months, I'm sure I'll go there to visit him and would love to take the opportunity to go field herping. Do you know which season is the best for snakes? And do you have any knowledge of the Shanghai area?

Cheers!
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Re: Snakes of China - Shanghai

Postby Tim Leerschool » Tue Nov 06, 2012 9:58 pm

Hey Bastien,

regarding the best season, I believe the same priciple as we have here in Europe applies to Asia. The spring and late summer are best for herping. Snakes need longer to warm themselves etc. so observation are easier. Spring is even better because the vegetation isn't that lush. They will be easier to be spotted.

I have no knowledge of good herping sites around Shanghai. I will check with some people if they have any suggestions but doubt if they have knowledge of herping sites around Shanghai... China is a big place. I would suggest, as Jeroen did, contact Kevin Messenger. As far as I know, he would be your best option.

Good luck!

Tim
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