Ashton Pond = BIG Turtles!

This past weekend we officially wrapped our summer filming for The Reptile Show test pilot. Yes we are sad that the cameras have stopped rolling...but at the same time a little relieved, considering we have shot close to 60 hours of footage.

Post production officially begins this week and our fantastical captain/editor Chris Kost will now take the wheel and drive our summer of cuts, scrapes, bruises, spiders, snakes, leeches, and monster snapping turtles to the next level.

This doesn't mean however that the adventures are over...no way...its only September and that means another 2 months of reptile activity still exist. So while the adventures will be without a full camera crew...there will still be some daring antics left to come.

A couple weeks back we shared with you the catch of a monster Snapping Turtle at Ashton Pond located in Blacklick Woods Metro Park. We took a second expedition there and our results were but two lbs short of our previous expedition.

A 45 lb Snapping Turtle, which was captured 2 weeks ago, is a real monster. A 43 lb Snapping Turtle...no less impressive. Mash-MudMan Mark Vins and Coyote Peterson set off to Ashton Pond at about 7:00 AM. Almost immediately Coyote located a carapace (top of the shell) floating on the surface of the pond and went after what was to be a very large turtle.

The catch was pretty difficult, all of which was shot on camera and will be used in the test pilot. It was one of those "Go Neck Deep - or - Go Home Soggy and Empty Handed" catches. Well as luck would have it...the beast was wrangled and fought back up onto the boardwalk for a high-class, celebrity like showering of flashes, ooohs and aaaahhhs from on looking photographers.

Here are some of the best pics....Enjoy!

This was just after Coyote hoisted the turtle up onto the observation deck...that sign says "No Petting or Feeding the Animals". This probably isn't an animal you would want to be feeding or petting...but jumping into deep water to capture it...why not! (Note...The Reptile Show and its cast and crew have been issued permits by the ODNR and The Franklin County and Columbus Metro Parks - DO NOT attempt to ever capture one of these animals without the proper skills and permits)

This Common Snapping Turtle recorded in with a 17 inch carapace, 19.5 in. width, 17 inch long tail, nearly 3ft nose to tail tip, 42 inches in circumference and a weight of 43 lbs. We estimate that this turtle was around 35-45 years old...a real monster!

Of every turtle captured this summer...this one in particular is number 37, we have never encountered a more field guide perfect specimen.

Claws were enormous, some almost 2 inches in length.

17 inch tail that was nearly as big around as Coyote's arm at the base.

Razor sharp jaws and a perfect beak...most of the time these turtles beaks are all chewed up and broken from biting and chewing through food. The turtles living in Ashton Pond eat mostly frogs and fish...nice soft tender delights.

This capture was one of the best looking turtles of summer and a great way to end our filming. Blacklick Woods Metro Park is the oldest metro park in Columbus...this means protected waters and at least 50 untouched years of growth for the turtles living in Ashton Pond. Its an incredible place to see some real prehistoric beasts and the observation deck gives you a rare look out onto the water...keep your eyes peeled, look for the bubble trails and moving lily pads and you might just sneak a peek at one of these incredible turtles.

I'm Coyote Peterson...and this...is The REPTILE Show!

The Expedition of a Life Time!

Every once in a while you travel deep into the heart of the unknown, put yourself up against Mother Nature, and pray that you make it back alive.


This past weekend was exactly that for The Reptile Enthusiast Gang. Coyote Peterson, Chammp Swaggerty and Zoom LeFluer set off to explore The Rookery, a 562 acre expanse of glacial lake bed marshes and swamp forest.


Probably one of the most difficult environments and the most beautiful we have ever filmed in. It was almost like traveling back in time 65 million years to the Cretaceous Period...only thing missing was the dinosaurs.

We set off on this adventure hoping to have a banner day...we were making a go at actually filming the true test pilot for the series. We have been practicing segments, animal captures, camera work, etc. all summer and we had finally reached a point where we felt that our games were at their peak.

Only factor left to make this trip incredible...Mother Nature. The temperatures were hovering in the low 80's, overcast sky and the threat of rain all day long. A wishy washy forecast if you are hoping to find Reptiles and Amphibians...who thrive on the sunlight for energy.

Needless to say...the environment was trying...but we took it head on, fought through sink mud, razor grass, leeches, enormous spiders, mosquitoes and a personal least favorite...giant water beetles! Look at the size of those pincers!

We will let Zoom's amazing photography tell the rest of this story and you will see just how lucky Mother Nature made us feel this past weekend.

There might be an old saying that goes "Good things come in pairs"...this past weekend they did! First catch of the day was a beautiful female Bullfrog and during the filming of the educational sequence post catch we nabbed a Bullfrog tadpole that was morphing into a Frog. It was pretty cool to have both on camera at once.

At the end of the sequence we tried a little fairytale science experiment. Legend says that if you kiss a frog it turns into a prince...assuming that rings true if you kiss a male frog...so what happens if you kiss a female frog...does she turn into a princess? Lets just say that Scarlett Johanson didn't rise up from the muck.

Moments later we landed a good sized Northern Water Snake...filmed the sequence and shot some great pictures. These snakes are typically very aggressive...however this one was very calm and relaxed.

As we traveled deeper into The Rookery we found ourselves in a crazy sink mud bog. This was a great place for all sorts of creatures including the Green Frog...

And the Pickerel Frog.

After filming a really difficult tree climbing sequence...

Which we use to scout the lay of the land for turtles moving through the marsh...we found ourselves in a pocket of deep muck and plant life...we were pretty much surfing on floating plant matter when the moment we had been waiting for arrived.

Coyote was nearly chest deep in mud and plants when a 30lb Snapping Turtle bumped into his leg and began to dive deep into the mud. Immediately the cameras were rolling and the battle had begun.

Finally getting into shallower water and mud we breached the beast and got a good look at him.

Then the incredible happened...while trying to fight the turtle backward to get him out of the muck and landed on a large log...we ran into a second Snapping Turtle...this one was quite a bit smaller at 10 lbs...but now we had 40lbs worth of turtle fighting us...in incredibly thick mud and no good place to land the beasts. What you aren't seeing in still photos is that all 3 of us had to actually work as a team to move the equipment, cameras, and turtles nearly 30 yards to get to a fallen tree where Coyote could get them under control and we could begin the educational and scientific side of the segment. As you can see from this picture...Coyote totally had control of these two...yeah right!

A general rule of thumb is as such...every turtle has a certain weight, take that weight and multiply it by at least one for fight and one for difficulty of environment.

In this scenario we would be looking at two turtles equaling 40 lbs of weight...plus 40 lbs in fight...plus 40 lbs for the environment...and actually this was probably the toughest environment because of water depth, plant life and thick mud.

All in all...we were probably facing close to 150 lbs worth of struggle to make this scene happen...one of the most incredible encounters we have ever filmed. Here's to hoping it turns out amazing in post production!

With one week left to go in this summers shooting schedule we don't know if you could have asked for anything better then what happened this past weekend. In total 14 different species of Reptiles, Amphibians, Insects and Arachnids were encountered, captured, photographed and released. A banner outing, and one that will go down in the memory book of a lifetime.

If you would like to see all of the best pictures from Zoom's perspective of the adventure check out the pics on Facebook, there are some real gems!

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/The-Reptile-Show/142295362604?ref=ts

A huge thanks to the Geauga Parks district for their help and support in this past weekends adventure, their advice, guidance, and permission for the locations we trekked into. You guys and gals are the best and we can't wait to show you what we shot.

Big ups to Chammp and Zoom for their 10 hour fight following Coyote into the thick of it all...if you think the things that Coyote does look impossible...think about doing it with camera and sound gear strapped, wrapped and gaff taped to your body. These guys are the real heart of The Reptile Show and the team that makes all this incredible adventure possible!

I'm Coyote Peterson...and this...is The Reptile Show!

The Turtle Count Continues!

Last night marked the third installment of The "No Soup for You!" Snapping Turtle Count.

It also marked the first Snapping Turtle captured at the count...the previous two weeks have been so incredibly hot and humid that the turtles have been hunkered down in the muck.

Yesterday...we arrived to find the absolute best possible scenario...a Snapping Turtle traversing his way across the muddy marsh top. And when we say muddy...we mean...MUDDY!

He wasn't a monster...but was the absolute perfect size for comfortable presentation. Trying to present to a group of people with a 40 lb plus turtle is actually really difficult, not to mention dangerous.

This specimen was the perfect size for kids to come up and pet, get a good look at and admire. All while Coyote could easily keep the reptile under control. At 18 lbs, 12in carapace and about 10 years of age...he was easy to keep an eye and stable hand on.

We have been having great turnouts the past few weeks as the count has pressed forward, last night was our biggest crowd yet so we were thrilled to have found and captured a turtle right from the start.

All sorts of great questions were asked about these reptiles habitats, behaviorisms, and of course some folklore. We presented for a good hour, shared pictures of the 45lb beast captured on Sunday and then headed back into the marsh to look for more monsters.

We shot some great sequences about the environment...

Challenged some really deep mud...

Tangled with crazy marsh plants that tried to swallow Coyote whole...

And had a great time doing it all!

While we didn't find any more Snapping Turtles we did capture a good looking Northern Water Snake...

Who decided to bite Coyote when he was being released...

and a cute little Northern Two Lined Salamander.

It was a great third installment to our four part series and if things continue to progress as they have...next week should be incredible! Claws Crossed!

Big thanks to our fantastic cinematographer Chammp Swaggerty for braving the elements, the Marsh-Mud-Man Mark Vins for his stellar photographs and field note extraordinare C- Money for jotting down all the field marks on this evenings captures.

Also a huge thanks to The Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks, specifically the folks at Blendon Woods Metro Park for letting us host this event and all of their help in promoting and planning it, you guys and gals are the best!

If you would like to see a complete set of last week and last nights pictures visit the Facebook page...maybe you even made a picture! So take a look explorers!

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/The-Reptile-Show/142295362604?ref=ts

I'm Coyote Peterson...and this...is The REPTILE Show!