First Milksnake of the year and one of the prettiest I've ever seen in Middle Tennessee! This is a fairly difficult species to encounter around here, I usually find a handful or so per year so I was beyond excited to have encountered this one with a good friend of mine! An absolute stunner! #herps 🐍

Saw my first Timber Rattlesnakes of the year last week!!! This is a species I don't see often in Middle Tennessee, and this is only the second time I've seen them in-situ and not on the road which was super exciting to me! They are some of the most chill snakes out there, I love them! #herps

Just… I can’t even begin to express the amount of rage I have. In the past year it’s all awful news, not sure how much more of this I can take seeing.

Streamside Salamander rescue mission. Yesterday I checked on some larvae and they were stuck in a drying puddle under a bridge, and this morning it was way worse. Talked to state herpetologist and got the green light to move them upstream where I have seen other larvae and hopefully survive! #herps

It's that time of the year again, this beautiful Eastern Box Turtle was crossing the road yesterday after a drizzle. Please watch out for Turtles crossing roads now that it's getting warmer! Especially during and directly after rain! #herps 🐢

Some creatures from this weekend! #herps 🐍 🐢 1) Central Ratsnake 2) Eastern Box Turtle 3) Cave Salamander 4) Eastern Newt

Here's a few snake species from a productive morning a few days ago! Extremely happy to have found a Southeastern Crowned Snake, not a very common snake in Tennessee and also my first Kingsnake of the year! #herps 🐍 1) Southeastern Crowned Snake 2) Black Kingsnake 3) Wormsnake 4) Smooth Earthsnake

I spent this past weekend over in Massachusetts visiting some of my best friends for my birthday and the weather cooperated enough to be able to see some amphibian activity as well! So cool to see these critters so far north! 1-2. Spotted Salamander 3. Wood Frog 4. Four-toed Salamander #herps

Man, I was optimistic about finding a cool job this year but it really seems I’m going to struggle a lot more than I expected, may end up needing to get a part time in the meantime because my savings are draining fast :(

A cute Central Ratsnake found basking along a paved trail during a warm day a few days ago! #herps 🐍

A couple of Jefferson Salamanders found during a super overcast but fairly warm day last month in Kentucky! They are such a cool species of salamander, fairly uncommon this far south and so unique looking, I love them! #herps

A few amphibians I found on the road during a rainy night this week! Please watch out for these little guys while driving when it's raining!!! Especially in back roads! 1. Red Salamander 2. Cave Salamander 3. Spotted Salamander 4. Cope's Gray Treefrog #herps 🐸

This would fund the US Forest Service research branch for 36 years

A neat find from today, a small Common Snapping Turtle taking a quick breather while foraging in a pond! #herps 🐢

Now seems like a good time to remind you that spadefoot toads exist and that they bury themselves butt-first by using their “spades” to corkscrew downward into sand and loose soils. #herps

Here's a few Plain-bellied Watersnakes found in the past few days during some super productive herping sessions! I love these guys, I think they are my favorite Nerodia species! #herps 🐍

More Tennessee early spring shenanigans! Nice to see this much snake activity so early in the year! 1. Plain-bellied Watersnake 2. DeKay's Brownsnake 3. Gray (now Central) Ratsnake 4. Cottonmouth #herps 🐍

My lifer Mud Salamander from East Tennessee! This is a species I had wanted to see for so long, but every time I looked for it over the years I always failed. That changed Monday when me and a couple of friends were able to turn up this beautiful adult!!! An absolute stunner!!! #herps

Went up north to visit family this past week, so I didn't get to go out much but I managed to encounter this beautiful Spotted Salamander in Northern Virginia a few days ago! #herps

My beloved

It’s officially “snakes in the road” season in Cali, so y’all drive carefully plz. We prefer our gophersnakes unsquished. #herps

A chunky female Streamside Salamander found during amphibian surveys last week. This species has been affected by the January drought, pushing individuals into breeding on late February instead of the usual mid-January. Hoping the eggs and larvae have enough time to develop before creeks dry. #herps

Job searching sucks.

Good excuse to also put my 4 favorite Pokémon here!

A very pretty Cave Salamander found during amphibian surveys this week. Hadn’t seen one in a while, and generally I’d expect to see them in late March into April, so it’s nice to see one of them this early into the year! #herps

A few of the very many Tiger Salamanders found crossing the road during a humid (barely rainy) night last week! This is the first time I've seen Tigers move with barely any rain, but I guess the January drought was so bad that anything would trigger their movement. #herps

One of my favorite species to see in early spring are Eastern Ribbonsnakes! A fairly uncommon species in Tennessee due to their limited range within the state. Found this one last week while on a walk with my gf @valenthedragon.bsky.social !

My first snakes of the year in Middle Tennessee! We are SOOOO back!! 1. Gray (now Central) Ratsnake 2. DeKay's Brownsnake 3. Northern Watersnake #herps 🐍

First reptile in Tennessee for 2026 was this cute Little Brown Skink (Scincella lateralis) a friend an I found on a trail today! #herps 🦎

Been doing a lot of Pokémon Nuzlockes in the past year and I have been been trying my hand at Run & Bun recently and it's super challenging but really fun. Unsure if I should post my Pokémon stuff here, but I stream at: www.twitch.tv/whitepaaws in case anyone wants to follow me on the journey.

Another really cool frog endemic to the Colombian pacific is the poison frog Oophaga solanensis! That orange coloration is so pretty, and it's definitely one of the most stunning frogs found in the region! #herps 🐸

Right before this cold front hit Tennessee, I decided to go check a spot I hadn't gone to in 3 years and managed to turn up a Streamside Salamander (Ambystoma barbouri)! One of my favorite species ever, and one that keeps me alive during winter. #herps

Power has officially gone out thanks to the ice storm, oof

Pristimantis labiosus Pristimantis is a very diverse genus of frogs and is often really difficult to ID them down to species. With this said, this one is of the biggest and the yellow stripes make this species fairly distinct. #herps 🐸

Froggy wizard casts a spell to make you happy! ✨🐸 He's trying his best to make the world a lil brighter. It's my first art piece in a lil while so I'm a bit rusty, but finally my life has stabilized enough that I'm able to create things again :3 💜 I can't wait. #art #frog #herps #cuteart

Here's a really cool snake species I hadn't seen since 2019! This is the Temporal Snail-eating Snake (Dipsas temporalis), a decently rare snail eater that's sometimes found on trees at night. #herps 🐍

Two of the most exciting finds were my first ever salamanders in Colombia! These arboreal creatures tend to be pretty hard to find in South America and are not very well studied so chances are I get the species wrong but this is what I think: 1) Bolitoglossa medemi 2) Bolitoglossa biseriata #herps

Time for my least favorite part of the year, apply for jobs. Wish me luck lol

Gliding Tree Frog (Agalychnis spurrelli)! One of the coolest and biggest frogs I was able to observe in the Colombian pacific! Those red eyes are so insanely cool. I was lucky to be graced by their presence since they spend so much time high up in the trees and are pretty hard to find. #herps 🐸

Leaving Colombia today, I'm glad that for the first time in years I actually got to spend a substantial amount of time with my family and friends. It was a good time. I also have a big backlog of critter pictures I'll be posting in the next week or two, so expect lots of critters in your timeline!

A beautiful juvenile Fer-de-lance (Bothrops asper) found coiled on the trail we were hiking at night. If we wanna talk about Colombian pacific classics, this is the top of the top. I never get tired of seeing them even though they are easily the most common snake. #herps 🐍

Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus). A Colombian pacific classic. Always love seeing so many Caimans whenever I go to the pacific. Generally I see them while canoeing but this one was the first one I see while creek walking, very cool! #herps 🐊

Rueda's Anole (Anolis maculigula)! Possibly my new favorite lizard I've seen in the wild. Endemic to Colombia, they are mainly found near waterfalls and are fairly aquatic, they can create bubbles from the top of their head and re-breathe these bubbles to last longer underwater, crazy! #herps 🦎

White-lipped Mud Turtle (kinosternon leucostomum) My first ever Colombian Kinosternon! This is the most excited I've been for any herp during my trip down here, I wanted to see one of them so bad. Found in the Colombian pacific, swimming in a pool of water next to a creek. #herps 🐢

First snake of the year was my lifer Degenhardt's Scorpion-eating Snake (Stenorrhina degenhardtii) found yesterday during my first hike of the year near Cali, Colombia! This is a decently rare species since they spend a lot of time underground, so I'm lucky to have crossed paths with one. #herps 🐍

Here’s my 4 favorite games I played this year! I don’t think I’ve ever posted gaming stuff here, but eh, just wanted to share lol.

Here's a Nakon Si Thammarat Caecilian (Ichthyophis supachaii), observed in a shallow rivulet near a forest trail in peninsular Thailand, 2023. Caecilians are amphibians, & generally live underground, although there are some completely aquatic species. #herps #caecilians #NaturePhotography 🌿

This little Leucostethus brachistriatus was the other poison frog species I was able to see this month. Another pretty cool lifer to add to my lifelist! #herps 🐸

The Banded Sand Snake was my 70th snake species and I got this amazing piece from @honeyllemon.bsky.social to celebrate this very big milestone! I’m ending 2025 with 75 species of snake in my lifelist and here’s hoping I find many more next year too!

Got to see Flamingos for the first time in the wild this week! This was a trip I've wanted to do for a few years and finally got the chance to go see them at one of the protected areas they exist at in northern Colombia! Such a gorgeous species! Caribbean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) #birds 🪶