A Striated Salamander has no lungs. It breathes through its skin. It has also been called a mushroom tongued salamander and a Cukra climbing salamander. This salamander was found during the night in North Central Costa Rica. In a humid, cool, tropical forest near Arenal volcano. It must live in moist area’s to survive as it
A Fire-bellied snake found on the ground at 1,300 feet during the hike to Rio Celeste. We were sure this snake was a racer. The speed at which it crossed our path, the dull gray color from above and its general shape all pointed to a racer. But after a bit of research it seems
An Annulated Tree Boa found in the humid, tropical, lowland rain forest of Costa Rica. Annulated Boa’s are rarely seen by humans due to the fact that they live high in the treetops (arboreal) and are active mainly at night (nocturnal). They have a strong prehensile tail which allows them to support themselves on a nearby
A collection of our Rain Forest Hog Nosed Pit Viper images. These different snakes have all been collected here on our property. We started collecting them for photographing in 2011. Some general characteristics are: Rain forest hog nosed pit vipers don’t care to be bothered. We have come upon every one of these and their
A juvenile boa constrictor found on the ground in an area heavily visited by jungle mice. The jungle environment is a smorgasbord of food for boa constrictors. They kill by constriction which is really just giving an animal a big hug. Boas eat large mammals such as ocelots, deer, coati and small mammals such as bats,
Four Racer Snakes in Costa Rica from the Colubridae family, all found on the Caribbean slope. Racers are widely known to be eaters of frogs. They live where the frogs live, which is along riverbanks and creek beds. The racers are diurnal because so are frogs. All snakes in the Colubridae family have nine symmetrical
Glass Frogs have translucent skin so you can see their intestines and bones. To find a Glass Frog you must be out at night and searching along a stream with vegetation on the banks. Your best bet for finding one of these see through creatures is listening for the call, which is a high-pitched chirp. A male glass frog chooses a leaf that
Baudin’s Tree Frog This frog is also called the Mexican Tree Frog. It is not endangered and has been found in many different climates from Mexico to Costa Rica on both the Atlantic and Pacific slopes. This Mexican Tree Frog is one of the largest and most widely found frogs in Costa Rica. The male can be
The young or juvenile green iguana aka common iguana was found on our small farm in Matina Limon. The larger iguana is a resident of Selva Verde Lodge in Chilimate, CR. The Iguana iguana is a herbivore that lives in the trees. Adults are only seen on the ground when no path exists above or the females are laying
Barely noticeable in the leaf litter this frog of only 2 centimeters jumps from one hiding place to another. His stripes are thought to be designed to keep predators away but it doesn’t seem to make him any less cautious. After all he is just one cow hoof away from death by mud inhalation. The striped
The Turnip-tail Gecko (Thecadactylus rapicauda) is the largest gecko in Costa Rica. The Turnip-tail gecko is nocturnal and lives in trees as high as 100 feet. This gecko’s diet consists mainly of cockroaches. It derives its name from the obvious fact that the tail is fat towards the end and thinner next to it’s body,
This small and slender, non-venomous snake makes its home in the province of Limon, Costa Rica at approximately 150 feet or 50 meters above sea level. The Sock Headed Snake also known as the White Headed Snake was found under leaf litter in our agricultural area. This snake was very close to a small hole
A Cloudy Snail Eater and a Lichen-colored Snail Eater Snake found in Limon Costa Rica We found this average sized snail eater while taking down our bamboo passion fruit trellis. He was lodged in one of the corners about 7-8 feet off of the ground. That let us know that this is an adult snake
Photographing the Banded Calico Snake The Banded Calico Snake or Gargantilla falsa as it is known in Costa Rica was a very interesting snake to photograph. She didn’t strike at us or give us trouble but she was a lot to handle because the nature of the Banded Calico snake is to be terrestrial and
Images of a Red Eyed Tree Frog found in Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica. Tree frogs all have adhesive disks and webbing between their fingers and toes. They all have bulging eyes and can pretty much get as flat as they want. In fact, while photographing these frogs it was difficult to re-position them
Photographing Snakes, how to light the scene, when to shoot and how to stay safe. First a warning, without snake handling experience it is not advisable to handle snakes, especially the venomous ones. Remember to ALWAYS STAY OUT OF STRIKING DISTANCE! Never touch the snake, they are not intelligent creatures. Their behavior is instinct driven, consequently your hand
The Bransford’s Litter Frog (Craugastor bransfordii) with the green eyes was found in September 2012 and the copper eyed one in August 2014 here in San Miguel de Matina, Costa Rica. Our area is wet, humid and has a low elevation which is a natural habitat of both of these frogs. Bransford’s Litter Frog This frog gets
Three Neotropical Bird Eating Snakes, patterns colors & characteristics This Bird Eating Snake (Psuestes poecilonotus) was found on a farm that raises turkeys and chickens. The environment was perfect for the Bird Eating Snake but not so good for the humans, or the chicks for that matter. The first images show a puffing type of display that gives this
False Coral Snake Coral Falsa Culebra (Erythrolamprus mimus) This False Coral Snake was crossing Barry’s path as he went to check on a leak in our water source. He was with a Costa Rican that wanted to immediately kill the snake thinking that it was a “real” Coral, which has an extremely deadly poison. Barry told
Red Coffee Snake or Redbacked Coffee Snake The red coffee snake is found as far North as Mexico and South as Costa Rica. It lives under leaf litter and eats slugs, snails and other mollusks. It’s main predators are coral snakes. It can be found in agricultural areas, humid lowland forests and dry savannas, primary
Spotted Wood Snake from the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica This 10″ Spotted Wood Snake was found close to our avocado tree underneath the scattered leaves. This is their normal habitat. They eat insects from the ground. Their defense mechanism is to flatten themselves to the ground when in danger. You can see in the first
7 Super Shots We received an e-mail from Erin at Delapuravida.com nominating us to participate in a blog/photography game started by Hostelbookers. I have only met Erin thorugh her blog and email but I know that I would very much enjoy meeting her face to face. She also lives in Costa Rica and blogs about her experiences here. I like
Smilisca Tree Frog (Smilisca phaeota) found in Limon Costa Rica This Masked Smilisca Tree Frog was an excellent model. When we moved her from the bamboo to the lipstick palm she just clung on and waited for us to get the shot. We found her in a puddle surrounding our construction site. She had probably just laid
Fer de Lance (Bothrops asper) an adult and a juvenile found in San Miguel de Matina, Costa Rica. Barry shot this Fer de Lance using two separate backgrounds. A similar colored tree branch to show the amazing, natural camoflauge of this snake and a large bunch of poisonous, tropical berries as a contrast to display
Common Blunt Headed Snake (Imantodes cenchoa) We originally thought this was a Cat-Eyed Tree Snake because of its large, protruding eyes but after a bit more research we believe this to be a Common Blunt-Headed Snake. He was lying in the bananas waiting for a gecko to pass but instead he found Barry’s lens. He
Satiny Parrot Snake (Leptophis depressirostris) from Limon, Costa Rica eating a tree frog and on bamboo. This Satiny Parrot Snake had just captured this frog as we came upon it. We had to be sure he knew we were not any danger and that he could finish eating. He was having a bit of difficulty
Wood Turtle This is a wood turtle we found in the small creek after a big rain. The creeks and rivers here rise so fast that I can only imagine the thrill ride this guy took to get in that spot. I don’t know if they make a game of it or not but it
This Tropical Night Lizard was found at approximately 10 & 83 under some leaf litter at an elevation of 50 meters, during the day. This Tropical Night Lizard is generally found under leaf litter or decaying logs as much of its diet is comprised of termites. It occurs in the lowlands of Mexico through to
Black and Green Poison Dart Frog (Dendrobates auratus) in a croton. This Dendrobates auratus poison dart frog is much bigger than the previous ones we have seen. We frequently have the little red and blue ones (Oophaga pumilio) on the bases of our trees and every so often we get to see a cute little black and green
These two Jesus Christ Lizard or Green Basilisks (Basiliscus plumifrons) were photographed near water ways in Limon Costa Rica. This Green Basilisk is also known as the Jesus Christ lizard because it can run 15 feet on top of water as a survival technique. The plumes are full of color including turquoise, see the younger basilisk below. Both