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Reptile & Amphibian
News Blog Keep up with news and features of interest to the reptile and amphibian community on the kingsnake.com blog. We cover breaking stories from the mainstream and scientific media, user-submitted photos and videos, and feature articles and photos by Jeff Barringer, Richard Bartlett, and other herpetologists and herpetoculturists.
Thursday, February 26 2015Should reptile shows be legal in the U.K.? Last weekend saw the annual British Royal Pigeon Racing Association show in Blackpool. The show attracts around 15,000 visitors, with over 100 trade stands and around 3,000 animals. It’s the biggest pigeon show in the calendar and, as far as we are aware, it went off without a hitch.But this is a reptile site, so why am I telling you this? Because at the same time as the pigeon show was happening, the UK reptile show scene is preparing for a landmark legal case to determine if reptile shows are legal. The Federation of British Herpetologists, representing the interests of reptile societies and hobbyists, is confident that the judicial review will be a good thing for the hobby regardless of the outcome. Should the review find in favour of the shows then this will be a major blow to the extremist animal rights organizations who wish to see the shows banned. Should the review go against the hobby, then government will be under enormous pressure to revise the loophole in the outdated legislation in British law which makes the legality of shows ambiguous. It is hoped that the shows will eventually be licensed as this will vindicate local authorities who are pressured into stopping the shows by animal rights campaigners. Reptile shows are a hugely beneficial network facilitating the sharing of expertise. Many respected animal welfare organizations recommend hobbyists buy their animals directly from a reputable breeder, and these shows provide the best opportunity to achieve that aim. These shows and relationships help to advance the hobby. More worryingly, should reptile shows be banned then the ruling would likely be rolled out to cover all vertebrate animals – dogs, cats, fish, rabbits and pigeons included. Then where would we be? Raise your glass lizard
Although actually of Eurasian distribution, this hefty glass lizard is often referred to as the European Glass Lizard.
 Commonly an unmarked light to dark brown overall, occasional examples are lighter with variable patterns of a darker brown. Hatchlings are gray with irregular darker banding. It may grow to 3 feet or slightly longer when an adult. Although never of great hobbyist interest, it seems that there has always been a few of these brown glass lizards with the strongly keeled scales available in the pet trade. Prices have always been reasonable. For example, I just checked the Kingsnake.com classified section for "Other Lizards" and there are 2 ads for these interesting lizards asking $75.00 each. Sadly (and perhaps strangely) there are very few O. apodus bred in captivity. Availability has always dependent on wild collected imports. This renders the availability of this taxon vulnerable to changing and ever more restrictive laws. I would hope that we won't allow the availability of this interesting lizard to go the way of the Basin emerald tree boa or the Colombian horned frog, only 2 of many one-time common species that are now very difficult to find in the pet trade. Continue reading "Raise your glass lizard" Wednesday, February 25 2015Vine snake: The hidden predator As the name itself describes, the vine snake, Ahaetulla nasuta, is a tree-reliant snake that camofluages itself as a vine in foliage. There are five species of vine snake found in India amongst which the green vine snake is most commonly found.The green vine snake has a thin and long body that is expanded when disturbed to show a black and white scale marking otherwise hidden under the scales. The head is elongated and pointed, which appears like a leaf shape having attractive golden yellow eyes with black horizontal pupils. The body colour is bright or dark green with a bluish tint in exceptional cases. The ventral side is separated by two white lines in the greenish dorsal under side. In an adult green vine snake, size varies from 150 to 200 cm. The green vine snake is viviparous by nature.  Vine snakes are found across the world including the South American and African continents. Most of the places it is called a whip snake.I never got a chance to rescue this species because my area is a "concrete jungle," full of buildings, but I've come across vine snakes while herping. One fine morning in the jungles of Goa, I was herping for some vine snakes and pit viper snakes through the green trees and cool breeze. Although it was a sunny morning, I could not find anything. Then I took a few steps back and realized I'd missed something due to the previous night's booze effect, and I saw a vine snake hiding himself in the green leaves. It was almost 7am and indeed a good start. Vine snakes are a perfect example of nature’s beauty. Many of my friends call it "a snake from a different planet" because of its appearance, which makes it look different from other snakes. For me, "Green is my favourite colour and vine snake is my favourite creature in green." Ahaetulla nasuta in threat posture by Sandilya Theuerkauf This file is licensed under the license. Green vine snake by Manuspanicker. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Tuesday, February 24 2015Blue, orange, and beautiful
Since I live in Gainesville, Florida, and since blue and orange is the official color scheme of the Gaters, the University of Florida football team, it is only reasonable to think that I'm writing about football. And if I gave a twit about the game, perhaps I would be.
 But the blue and orange I'm thinking of is found from Charlotte and Brevard counties southward to the tip of the peninsula. They are the breeding colors of the males of a fast moving, very agile, introduced lizard. Known as the red headed agama, Agama agama africana, the dominant males of this African pet trade lizard actually have a bright orange head that contrasts sharply with the deep blue body coloration. Non-breeding males may be only slightly more colorful than the olive-gray females. It was more than 2 decades ago that the South African subspecies of this lizard, Agama a. agama, (identified by an all blue-green tail) was first found to be feral in Florida. It is not known whether cold weather extirpated this taxon from Florida or whether it interbred with and was out-competed by the West African form (identified by a tricolored blue-orange-black tail) that is now present in the state. The red headed agama may be seen on bridge abutments, old buildings, and ornamental exposed rocks in gardens and fences. It is quick to notice any movement that it considers threatening and quickly retreats to safety. Pretty? Yes! Does it belong here? No. But this form has been present for about 20 years now and continues to expand its range. It may just become a permanent lacertilian fixture in the state. Continue reading "Blue, orange, and beautiful" Monday, February 23 2015Checkered keelback: The serpentine mermaid The checkered keelback, Xenochrophis piscator, is one of the most commonly found water snakes in the Indian subcontinent. I call it "the serpentine mermaid" due to its aquatic habitat and a beautiful checkered pattern on its body personifying a mermaid. The word "keelback" describes rough scales in every keelback snake.This snake appears to have a thick, round, and cylindrical body growing more slender toward the tail, with size varying from 140n to 175 cm in length. Checkered keelbacks have large eyes with round pupils, and a checkered pattern of glossy keeled scales can be seen on the upper body with rows of black, yellow, or moss-green checks alternating with white ones. Colours on the fore body can be seen in reddish, greenish, yellowish, brownish, and bluish shades, with white underside and two black streaks behind the eye. These snakes are very aggressive and eager to bite when disturbed unexpectedly. A checkered keelback bite can be really painful because of its sharp pointed fangs, which help it to get a good grip on slippery fish and amphibians. I always prefer using a snake stick while handling a checkered keelback because I had a bad experience in the past being bitten by one, which was enormously painful with a deep scar. These snakes prefer living in marshy water bodies like gutters, drainages, rivers, ponds, and lakes while staying on land at night. If threatened, it flattens its neck and strikes with mouth wide open. It is an oviparous snake laying 20-40 eggs in crevices near water. It was recorded that a female checkered keelback 150 cm long laid 110 eggs at the Pune Snake Park in Pune, Maharashta. It's always fun handling a checkered keelback because of its active behavior, but the experience is scary, too!  kingsnake.com launches new Classified Vendor Directory kingsnake.com has launched a new cassified ad directory of those who have an active profile in our vendor profile system, which launched last year. Listing in the directory is free with the purchase of a classified advertising account, and the listing stays active while the classified account is active. If the classified account expires or becomes inactive the vendor profile, and its listing in the directory, will "hibernate" until the classified account becomes active again. The classified directory has an overview and detailed view of vendor listings, as well as vendors, classified ads, and events listed by state or province. To be listed, current vendors need to update their profiles. You can check out the new Classified Vendor Directory here! If you have a classified account but have not set up your vendor profile yet, you can set up or edit your profile by logging in at http://market.kingsnake.com/account/. If you already have a classified ad vendor profile, there is one minor update you'll want to make: adding a descriptive sentence about your business for the directory. After 18 years kingsnake.com is still the largest and most popular reptile and amphibian classified site on the web. A kingsnake.com classified account enables you to post dozens of ads per day, seen by thousands of reptile and amphibian people worldwide, all for just pennies a day. If you don't have a classified account, need to renew, or want to be listed in the Classified Vendor Directory, you can purchase a classified account for as little as $20 by going to http://www.kingsnake.com/shared/services/classified.php. Thursday, February 19 2015Smoky jungle frog in the darkness
One of the most characteristic sounds of the neotropical rain forests is a rather mournful whooping call that is often heard at dusk on rainy or very humid nights, but which may sometimes be heard well after the tropical darkness has fallen. Although many have heard this call, used in motion pictures and other sound tracks, far fewer realize that it is the breeding call of a frog--a big frog, a bullfrog sized frog.
 It is the call of the smoky jungle frog, Leptodactylus pentadactylus, a common, primarily terrestrial, rainforest denizen, and it is one that we usually easily see on our tours. In fact, when climatic conditions are ideal we can at times see the red eyeshine of 10 or more on the forest trail just behind the compound on Madre Selva Biological Preserve. The alert frogs often sit next to their burrows on the open trail, but they are wary and if not approached very carefully they will jump into the burrow long before you are close to them. They also breed in burrows with eggs laid in foam nests that may or may not be in contact with water. I should mention that the glandular secretions of this and related species are quite virulent. It is best not to handle these frogs if you have open cuts/scratches on your hands and need I say this? After handling one NEVER RUB YOUR EYES before washing your hands! Continue reading "Smoky jungle frog in the darkness" Wednesday, February 18 2015Lizard politics cost USFW agent his job Internal USFWS/DOI politics over the status of the dunes sagebrush lizard have cost a field agent his career and shed light on policy decisions at the DOI that bring into question the agency's compliance with the Endangered Species Act.The Houston Chronicle reports the decision as to whether or not the dunes sagebrush lizard would be listed, causing all sorts of problems for landowners and the oil industry, was pre-ordained by politics rather than determined by science, which is required by the Act. "There was no way we were going to list a lizard in the middle of oil country during an election year." This quote, said to have been uttered at a meeting by then-USFWS Albuquerque-based regional director Benjamin Tuggle according to court testimony by whistleblower and former USFWS agent Gary Mowad, is the "smoking gun" allegedly showing the listing decision was predetermined, a key tenet and violation of the Endangered Species Act. Mowad had told internal investigators the federally-approved plan to conserve habitat for the reptile through voluntary pacts between the state and landowners was not legal, verifiable, or enforceable under the Endangered Species Act, before being banished to an inactive role in the agency. Mowad sued and settled with the agency, an almost unprecedented conclusion to a USFWS whistleblower suit. However, that settlement leaves up in the air the question of the lizard's status, and to a greater extent, the USFWS decision to bow to politics rather than follow the law, a decision sure to haunt them in current and future lawsuits. If the agency charged with enforcing the laws won't follow the laws themselves, they make a mockery of having the laws in the first place, and surrender any moral or ethical high ground they may have occupied. Read the complete article here. Tuesday, February 17 2015Mistaken for a Kanburian bamboo viper
Terra cotta on olive green. The name on the tank was Trimeresurus kanburiensis, Kanburian bamboo viper. Unlike the all green bamboo vipers that looked much the same and only seldom had any collecting data, there was no mistaking this one for any taxon that I had seen before.
 It was in the 1970s and Patti and I were keeping and breeding a fair number of palm and bamboo vipers of both New and Old World origin. I wondered, as I looked at the little snake then before me, whether I would ever be able to pair it up. I decided nothing ventured nothing gained so when we left the dealer's that afternoon, the Kanburian pit viper accompanied us. It turned out that this snake lived for many years, but I was unable to pair it. In fact, it was not until 1990s that I saw another of these terra cotta on olive beauties. Rather than T. kanburiensis these snakes (there were about a half dozen of them) were offered as T. venustus (brown-spotted pit viper). Since both gender were available and since they reminded me so very much of my old "kanburiensis" I bought a couple of pair and proceeded to try to learn the differences between T. kanburiensis and T. venustus. It seemed that the most visible differences were the number of scale rows at mid-body: 21 for former and 19 for the latter. Venustus had the first 3 supralabials enlarged while the Kanburian did not. I checked and the new pit vipers all had 21 scale rows and enlarged labial scales. They were T. venustus. Then I pulled a photo of that old 1970s example and although I wasn't positive on the scale row count it did have enlarged labials. I don't think that I have seen T. kanburiensis yet. Continue reading "Mistaken for a Kanburian bamboo viper " Saturday, February 14 2015Thursday, February 12 2015Baby gopher tortoise jackpot
"Hey, Dick, here's a gopher!"
"Gopher tortoise, gopher frog, or pocket gopher?" "Gopher tortoise--and it's a baby."  It was early August and Jake and I were on a jaunt hoping to find a photogenic pale-throated anole (a green anole with a gray rather than a red dewlap). So far we had failed, but during our search we found several other interesting herps that ranged from six-lined racerunners to fence and scrub lizards. We were actually in terrain that was well-populated by gopher tortoises, Gopherus polyphemus, so seeing one would not be too much of a surprise. But seeing a juvenile is not an everyday or every gopher colony occurrence. "I'm on my way, Jake. Is it still visible." "Yep. It's just sitting here eating." And even after my delay as I wound my way through the prickly pear and cat's claw, the little tortoise, mostly hidden by grasses and brush, was still busily foraging. With that single sighting what had until then been a very mediocre day suddenly became memorable. Continue reading "Baby gopher tortoise jackpot" Wednesday, February 11 2015HSUS and dangerous wild animal laws The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has lobbied for dangerous wild animal bills in various states throughout the country. As we enter the legislative season in many states, it seems timely to review the stated position of HSUS regarding wild animals as pets. The organization states it "strongly opposes keeping wild animals as pets." It defines wild animals broadly to include "any non-domesticated native or exotic mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, or invertebrate, regardless of whether the animal is wild caught or captive bred." Thus, HSUS considers most pets to be wild animals. HSUS asserts wild animals make unsuitable pets under virtually all circumstances because very few people are properly equipped or have the expertise to maintain them. The extreme reach of dangerous wild animal legislation was revealed during a rule-making process in West Virginia last year. Pursuant to a DWA law supported by HSUS in the state, the proposed list of DWAs included all salamanders, tree frogs, clawed frogs, toads, and turtles (except those native to West Virginia). In response to this proposed list, the WV director for HSUS supported (on page 987) the proposed list with the exception of a suggestion to clarify that domestic rabbits were not DWAs, and a request to add boa constrictors. Although turtles, salamanders, tree frogs, clawed frogs and toads have been removed from the DWA list, it is very clear that HSUS supported their listing as DWAs. Image: Sixth grade class learning about snakes, uploaded by kingsnake.com user leslonsdale1. Tuesday, February 10 2015The coquis call says it all
Are there really coquis in Florida? The longer I search for these little frogs, the more certain I become that they are temporary visitors at best, and that nowhere in the United States are they resident.
 There is no question that a few occasionally are found in plant nurseries in southernmost Florida and a few were once found and heard in southeastern Louisiana. But it now seems a surety that these few have either been stowaways on plant shipments from Puerto Rico, the coqui's home island, or deliberate releases. Unless within a heated greenhouse, the little brownish frogs with a lighter triangle between the eyes, apparently succumb as soon as seasonally cooler weather set in. Over the many years I have searched for them, I have found only 3 coquis, all males, in Miami-Dade County, Florida. One discovered in our tropical garden in Ft. Myers was also a calling male. This lone example made its first appearance in mid-summer a day or so after I had returned from a Florida City nursery with a car full of heliconias. He was seen no more after our first cold snap when the temperature dropped into the low 40 degrees Fahrenheit. The favored calling site of this frog, from which it called almost nightly, was at an elevation of 3 to 7 feet on the smooth bark of a huge orange tree. The call of the coqui is unmistakable. It is an oft-repeated, loud, whistled "co-kee," with the accent on the second syllable. Heard once it will not be forgotten. Continue reading "The coquis call says it all" Monday, February 9 2015After year and a half, more details emerge on tragedy in Campbellton The owner of an exotic pet store in Campbellton, New Brunswick, Canada, was arrested on February 5, 2015, and then promptly released to face charges to be made public at a hearing to be held on April 27. A statement released by the New Brunswick Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) disclosed the pending charges are in connection with the death of two young boys in the pet store owner’s apartment, which was above the store. The RCMP statement also stated "[a]utopsies determined the boys died as a result of being asphyxiated by an African rock python that was being housed in the same apartment where the boys were attending a sleepover." This new information suggests the store owner will be charged with negligent homicide, i.e., the store owner's negligence caused the death of the children. A key fact in any such prosecution is likely to be the first-hand report that a ventilation fan removed from the ceiling of the snake's enclosure left an opening for the snake to escape and crawl onto the drop-ceiling in the adjacent room where the children were sleeping. Questions have remained in the reptile community and elsewhere about exactly what happened on that tragic night one and a half years ago, because it is extraordinarily rare for one of these large snakes to kill a human. Efforts are underway to obtain additional details from the autopsy report or any other documentation when such items become available. Thursday, February 5 2015New European animal laws worry UK hobbyists Reptile hobbyists in the UK are watching closely as new legislation unfolds in other member countries of the European Union. Legislators in Holland have imposed "white list" restrictions on the types of mammals that can be kept in that country, with similar lists for reptiles and birds to be revealed soon. White list legislation comprises a list of species that can be kept in that country, with all other species becoming illegal. Although this type of legislation is condemned by most pet and welfare experts, it is becoming the holy grail of animal-rights groups in Europe and around the world, as these laws impose the greatest restrictions on the number of species that can be kept. The alternative "black list" approach to legislation, which only outlaws those species that are proved to be problematic or invasive, is more widely adopted where proper research and consultation has been conducted. However, with several European countries considering white-list laws, British keepers are worried that this legislation could be adopted and rolled out across the entire Euro-zone. Britain’s reptile hobby and trade have been well protected by advocate organizations such as The Reptile and Exotic Pet Trade and the Federation of British Herpetologists, and so home-grown legislation is unlikely to be problematic. However, reptile keepers are poorly represented in European political circles where animal rights groups are active, well-funded, and organized. Should the EU Commission decide to heed the lobbying of these groups, the legislation produced there would override any British laws. Hide and seek with a greenhouse frog
Today the range of the greenhouse frog, Eleutherodactylus planirostris, (now one of the most common of Florida's frogs) extends, at least locally, as far north as coastal southern South Carolina and eastern Texas. This tiny Bahaman, Cuban, and perhaps Cayman Island interloper has a weak, almost tremulous voice: a chirping whistle that is often mistaken for the stridulations of crickets.
 However, the tinkling calls are more musical and have less of a cadence. Loose mulch, leaf litter and the moisture holding cups of terrestrial bromeliads are among the favored habitats, but any and all manner of surface debris - discarded newspapers, construction materials, or vegetable debris, be it in backyard or woodland - provide ready homes for this inch long tropical frog. Since this frog has direct development (no free-swimming tadpole stage), standing water is neither necessary nor sought. The eggs are laid in moist locales,such as on a bromeliad leaf, and when the young emerge they are miniatures of the adult. The ground color of this frog may be brown to reddish brown and usually blends remarkably well with the background. The pattern of lighter striping or darker reticulations serves to break up the outline making this anuran even more difficult to see. In fact it is only the almost imperceptible stirring of a dead leaf made as the alert frog darts quickly from sight that discloses its presence. So if you're herping in the deep south and you think you see a leaf move when you turn debris, take a moment and check it out. You might have just seen a departing greenhouse frog. It would be good to keep tabs on their actual distribution. Continue reading "Hide and seek with a greenhouse frog" Tuesday, February 3 2015The call of the Florida gopher frog
It had rained, poured, rained, then misted all day and Jake wanted to see a Florida gopher frog - badly. So badly that he swore that if I would just get him to where they were chorusing he WOULD NOT come back to the car without a picture.
 We visited and failed at some of my "tried and true" ponds the night before, so I prevailed on Paul Moler's better nature to provide the locale of a new pond. Thanks again, Paul! Jake and I headed west and for nearly the entire hour's drive the conversation varied from his headache (he got a lot of sympathy for that!) to how the next gopher frog he heard would not evade his camera. When we arrived it was almost dark. It was windy and cool. No gophers were singing. Finally after an hour's delay, I decided to walk down to the pond just to take a better listen. Jake accompanied me. Guess what! A few gophers WERE singing. We got to the water and I said something to the effect of "they're here, they're singing, go get 'em Jake." His response was "Um - I forgot my camera." By now the frogs were actually calling loudly so I told Jake to go and at least find one so he could add it to his life list. He went. I stood and shivered. Jake got a quarter of the way across the pond and the frogs stopped singing. Jake stood. One frog called. Jake, sounding like a distraught porcupine, answered. Lo, the frog answered Jake who was again stalking s-l-o-w-l-y towards the calling site. Then, as if a curtain had been lifted, the cloud cover dissipated. Within minutes stars twinkled overhead. Moonlight glinted brightly from the water's wind-rippled surface. Ranid calls ceased. Except for cricket frogs and the whistling of strengthening breezes there was almost absolute silence. It was time to acknowledge that the gophers had won this round. But there would be a next time and we would be ready. Now, if we could only find the path back to the car. Continue reading "The call of the Florida gopher frog" Monday, February 2 2015What makes India the land of the cobra
India is truly the land of the cobra, with five species of cobra found there, including the king cobram Ophiophagus hannah. The spectacled or Indian cobra, Naja naja, is one of the most common cobras found in the Indian subcontinent. They are found in all parts of India exept the snowy mountains of the Himalayan range.
 The average size of the Indian cobra is about 150-180, and its maximum lengthm which is rarely found, is about 220 cm. As its name suggests, it has a distinctive head with large black eyes and nostrils. When the hood is spreadm a spectacle mark is visible on the backside of the hood. This mark is subject to considerable variation and may even be absent. Body colour is yellowish, brown, dark brown, and black.   These snakes are shy by nature, and typically warn more than once before attacking. They usually raise their hood and move away from the other animals to prevent an encounter. They hiss and sometimes strike. This is their last defence mechanism before they attack. Cobras are a universal symbol for snakes around the world. In India this cobra is revered and worshipped. For example, lord Shiva has a cobra wrapped around his neck and Lord Vishnu has a cobra with seven hoods providing him shade. There are many myths and traditions associated with these cobras. The most common amongst them is that cobras search for vengeance if its partner is killed. It is still believed that cobras with five hoods are found in near divine places like temples as the protectors of god. One of the funniest misbeliefs I've come across is that cobras mate with rat s nakes (Ptyas mucosa) on selected weekdays. Some of these misbeliefs are also beneficial, as people hesitate to kill cobras because they believe they are sacred to Lord Shiva and Vishnu. Interestingly, dispelling these superstitions was one of the main motivations of herpetologists to research cobras, as they became curious after getting so many unrealistic views from people all over the country. For me cobras are one of the most beautiful and fascinating creatures on the planet -- and equally dangerous if handled carelessly. |
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