Internet scam artists come and go. On kingsnake.com, we'd prefer they go somewhere else. That's why we have lots of systems in place to protect our visitors and advertisers.

Because we have so many tools in our security kit, our fraud rate on-site is considerably lower than many comparable classified and auction sites. While we keep most of them secret for obvious reasons, there are a few we'd like to share with you in a series of posts, starting with this one.

One of our most important tools, and least discussed, is the kingsnake.com registered business program. Ever wondered what it is, why we implemented it, and whether it's worth participating in it?

Because kingsnake.com is the largest and best-known reptile and amphibian classified system in the world, it's a natural target for unscrupulous sellers wanting to take advantage of our reputation and the reputations of the biggest names in the herp industry. To prevent unauthorized sellers from "hijacking" an existing business name or hiding behind a false or non-existent business name, we created the registered business program.

First launched in February of 2007, the program requires anyone posting classified ads using a business name to verify their legal ownership of that business name and the identity of the business owner(s) with our security staff.

Although individuals are free to post without registering a business name, only businesses that can prove they are who they say they are allowed to post ads in the name of a business in our classifieds.

That way, no one but you can claim to be you, and no animals or products but yours will be advertised on our site under your business name. Additionally, it verifies that new business name across the country you have never heard of actually exists legally as a business, giving buyers recourse should their be a problem with their purchase.

The kingsnake.com registered business program is free and simple to sign up for. To read more about it, and how we protect our site members and visitors, or to register your business click here!

Mr. Stubbs, an an 11-year-old American alligator who had his tail bitten off by a bigger alligator, is swimming again, thanks to the Phoenix Herpetological Society and The Core Institute Center for Orthopedic Research and Education.

From ABC News:

“We put him in deep water and he would roll over and capsize like a boat,” said [Russ] Johnson, [president of the Phoenix Herpetological Society]. “When competition for food came, all the other alligators would win. He’d be the last to the chow line.”

This past year, doctors at The Core Institute Center for Orthopedic Research and Education came up with a groundbreaking prosthetic tail to better the quality of life for Mr. Stubbs.

“We’ve never made a prosthetic for an animal before,” Marc Jacofsky, the executive vice president for research and development for The Core Institute, told ABC News. “Our motto is ‘Keep life in motion.’ It just feels really good to apply that to an animal that’s in need.”

The Core Institute partnered with Midwestern University, which does research in the anatomy of an alligator, to ensure the prosthetic would match the density of a real tail. Even though the research and development was carefully calculated, Jacofsky said the team has had to make several adjustments after monitoring Mr. Stubbs’s reaction to a prototype.

“One of the early strapping systems to secure the tail pressed on his legs and he wasn’t able to walk properly,” said Jacofsky. “There are always unforeseen challenges that come up. We anticipate this whenever we are breaking new ground, and the key is to engineer around them.”

The prosthetic tail, donated by The Core Institute, was developed over a period of three months. The project cost around $6,000. Johnson said believes with the new tail, the alligator could live up to 80 years. Without help, it could have been 20.

Read the full story here!

The kingsnake.com banner pool ad program has made a big splash, and we don't want you to miss out!

Whether you're a small hobbyist with just a couple of animals to sell, or a breeder or business who found regular banner advertising too expensive in the past, the kingsnake.com banner pool program is designed for you.

How much does it cost to jump into the banner pool? As little as 7 cents a day!

For more information on how to add your banner to the pool, or to purchase your banner pool slot, please go to http://www.kingsnake.com/services/bannerpool.html. Space in the pool is limited and selling fast, so grab a towel and head to the banner pool today!

From Ken Foose of Exotic Pets in Las Vegas, Nev., an update on efforts to ban exotic pet ownership in the state:

After meeting with members of the HSUS and some Nevada senators on Friday, we now have a bit of new information to give. We have been told by a member of HSUS that the bill will be introduced next Wednesday, March 13. The HSUS has to rush, because they only have until March 18 to get the bill introduced, or they miss the deadline and it just goes away.

None of this information is etched in stone, so please bear that in mind. The first stop for this bill will be the Senate Natural Resources committee in Carson City. This committee is made up of 5 people, 3 Democrats and 2 Republicans. Both of the Republicans are going to vote against any regulations that will be proposed. Two of the Democrats are going to vote to ban exotics. That leaves us with one swing vote, a Democrat in Las Vegas by the name of Aaron Ford. If we can get Senator Ford, or even one of the other two Democrats to vote against this bill, it's over and we win. It's that simple. Senator Mark Manendo is a co-sponsor of the bill, so talking him out of supporting his own bill is moot. However, there is Tick Segerblom, also of Las Vegas, who might be turned. We should explore all avenues.

Here's how I think this is going to work. The bill will be introduced next Wednesday. It will then be scheduled to go before the committee. They will have a hearing and will vote up or down. If it is voted down, it's over, we win. If it's voted up, it will move on to the Nevada Assembly for another vote in their Natural Resources committee. If it passes, it will go to the floor of the Nevada Congress for a vote. If it passes it goes before the Governor to be signed. We need to stop this bill NOW, while it's only in the hands of 5 people, two of which are on our side. Here's a list of the committee members:

Aaron D. Ford - Chair <<<<<<<<<<< Swing vote!!
Mark A. Manendo - Vice Chair <<<<<<<< voting for the bill, as he is co sponsor of it
Tick Segerblom <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Democrat who says he's voting for bill. We need to reach out to him.
James A. Settelmeyer <<<<<<<<<<<<<< on our side, will vote against
Pete Goicoechea <<<<<<<<<<<<<< on our side, will vote against.

This link will send you to the Nevada Legislative home page. From there you can find all kinds of info.
Nevada Legislature

This is Senator Ford's contact info
Aaron.Ford@sen.state.nv.us
P.O. Box 96003
Las Vegas, NV 89193-6003
702-772-5544
Secretary:
Lauren Brooks
Lauren.Brooks@sen.state.nv.us

This is Senator Segerblom's contact info
tsegerblom@sen.state.nv.us
700 South Third Street
Las Vegas, NV 89101-6703
775-684-1422
Secretary:
Adrian Viesca
Adrian.Viesca@sen.state.nv.us

Once the bill has been introduced for sure, I'll let everyone know. At that time, we need EVERYONE to write, call and email these Senators. There will also be a link on the bill itself, once it's published on the Nevada Legislature homepage, that will enable YOU to actually vote on the bill with the click of a button. Don't start writing now, as they will not have a clue what you are talking about until the bill has been introduced. But once it's introduced, we need to hammer away at this. I estimate that the time between introduction and the committee actually voting on the bill will be about 5 days or less. We'll have less then 5 days to get these people to see it our way. Time will be short, so it's important that we all work together, and quickly.

Once the hearing is scheduled, we're going to need everyone possible in northern Nevada to be at the hearing in Carson City. Here in Vegas, we can all attend the hearing from the state government building on Washington, across from Cashman Field. We will be able to testify via video from there. We need EVERYONE THERE. I'd like to pack the room with a couple hundred people, so they can see us, and let them know how we feel. We will outnumber the HSUS people 50 to 1. We can win, we can do this. Hundreds of letters, emails and phone calls to the Senators before the hearing will go a long way.

This image of a bearded dragon uploaded by kingsnake.com user svenson74, is our herp photo of the day!



Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here!

At the 2013 CITES convention in Bangkok, going on now, three U.S. and 44 Asian turtle species were given additional international protections.

From the BBC:

Proposals on a large number of Asian freshwater turtles and tortoises and other species popular with pet owners were accepted by the government negotiators meeting in the Thai capital.

Some of the amendments were proposed jointly by the United States and China, marking the first time these two countries have co-operated to protect reptiles.

Welfare campaigners have welcomed the move as a critical step to save these species.

Over half the world’s freshwater turtles are critically endangered . Along with tortoises, these species are much in demand by collectors and for food.

Read the full story here.

The bad news about the future of reptiles and amphibians just keeps coming. From ScienceDaily:

Climate change could see dozens of lizard species becoming extinct within the next 50 years, according to new research published today. The often one-directional evolutionary adaptation of certain lizard species' reproductive modes could see multiple extinctions as the global temperature increases.

Globally it has been observed that lizards with viviparous reproduction (retention of embryos within the mother's body) are being threatened by changing weather patterns. A new study suggests that the evolution of this mode of reproduction, which is thought to be a key successful adaptation, could, in fact, be the species' downfall under global warming.

Dr Daniel Pincheira-Donoso, from the School of Life Sciences at the University of Lincoln (UK), is the lead author of the paper detailing these amazing predictions, published today in the scientific journal Global Ecology and Biogeography.

The study abstract can be viewed here; subscribers can view the complete study, and non-subscribers can purchase access for US$35.

The Science Daily article is here.

Photo: University of Lincoln

In Florida, when the environment got out balance, the government decided to license hunters to slaughter snakes (and blows it, but that's another story).

In India, when environmental degradation resulted in the deaths of snakes, at least one man decided to restore the stripped tree cover that had once shielded them from the blazing sun. From The Metro:

[Jadav] Payeng, who was 16 when he began the endeavour, apparently decided to plant the trees in northern India’s Assam region after he found local wildlife had suffered because there was no cover.

Today the site has an amazing 1,360 acres of jungle.

"The snakes died in the heat, without any tree cover," he said.

"I sat down and wept over their lifeless forms. It was carnage. I alerted the forest department and asked them if they could grow trees there."

How's that for a life's work? Read the rest here.

Check out this video "Over the Rainbow" submitted by kingsnake.com user quolibet.
Submit your own reptile & amphibian videos at http://www.kingsnake.com/video/ and you could see them featured here or check out all the videos submitted by other users!

The American Pet Products Association (APPA) released its 2013-2014 National Pet Owners Survey, and found pet ownership in the United States is at an all-time high, with reptile ownership on the rise.

From KHOU.com:

While the number of households owning a pet has increased in all categories from the last survey, the proportion of ownership by species has remained fairly stable. Dogs and cats are still the most popular species, owned by 46.7 percent and 37.3 percent of U.S. households, respectively. After a decline in 2010, freshwater fish returned to ownership levels previously reported from 2000 to 2008 (12 percent). The same can be said for bird ownership, which dipped in 2008 and 2010 to five percent, but is now back up to 5.7 percent. Horse ownership rebounded in 2012, returning to 2.3 percent after a slight drop in 2010. Small animal and reptile ownership levels have increased to 5.7 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively. Saltwater fish ownership saw an increase as well, at 1.5 percent of the total (online) U.S. population. More households than ever before own small animals, reptiles or saltwater fish.

Read more here.

Researchers have discovered fossils in Panama of species that may be the missing link between North and South American crocodilians. From LiveScience.com:

The skulls belong to two new species of ancient crocodilians (a group that today contains alligators, crocodiles, caimans and gharials) that lived about 20 million years ago during the Miocene epoch. These new findings, detailed in the March issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, suggest these alligator brethren slinked between the continents using ancient seaways much earlier than once thought.

"The tropics hold some of the greatest diversity on the planet. Yet there's still so little that we know about them," study co-author Jonathan Bloch, a paleontologist at the Florida Museum of Natural History, told LiveScience. The fossil record in Central America is limited, because rocks there tend to be covered by forest, Bloch said, so the Panama excavation provides "a new window back into the past that's very difficult to get at in the tropics."

Read the story here.