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.
Monday, March 27 2023
An adult Eastern Indigo from Southern Florida.
In contrast to many other snake species that are warm weather specialists, the Eastern Indigo Snake, Drymarchon couperi, is active and breeding during our cooler weather. To see one in the wild is a spectacular event. Indigos are smooth scaled serpents of large size. Males may exceed 7 feet, females are about a foot shorter. Both gender are alert and so heavy-bodied that they put the Black Racer (with which they are often confused by non-herpers) to shame. In addition, the Indigo is a glossy, a shiny, black (so shiny that it often has a blue sheen in bright light) while the black racer is a soft, non-shiny, satin black. The chin of the Eastern Indigo may be black or red.
Indigo snakes have a comparatively huge home range. They favor brush piles, stump holes, gopher tortoise and mammalian burrows, with tortoise burrows being of prime importance. Tracking summations indicate the range of a single indigo often exceeds 150 acres and occasionally nearly twice that amount. Habitats vary seasonally from longleaf pine plantations and stream beds to sandy ridges. A few reintroduction programs are underway to bring Indigos back to state and federal parks and some other private/public holdings. Presently the Indigo can be found in southern Georgia, southern Alabama, and Florida, and perhaps in extreme se Mississippi and the low country of se South Carolina.
Adult prey items of adult indigos include birds and mammals of suitable size, as well as other reptiles including pit vipers, while juveniles add amphibians and smaller reptiles to the culinary list. Like King Snakes, Indigos are immune to pit viper venom
Indigo Snakes are often thought of as gentle snakes that are disinclined to strike or bite but if surprised, they may vibrate the tail. Because of their tractability they were often sought after for pet snakes. This popularity along with massive habitat loss has resulted in protection at state and federal levels. They cannot be collected from the wild. A federal permit is needed for interstate trade/sale. Be certain to know all relevant state and federal laws.
Indigos are oviparous. Clutches usually number 4 to12 large eggs. Hatchlings are ~20” in length and may be flecked with blue dorsally.
Continue reading "Eastern Indigo Snake"
Friday, March 24 2023
Bear, a captive Heloderma suspectum cinctum, photo courtesy of kingsnake.com user DennisDeLapJr from our galleries.
Venom is a magical thing, it can both destroy and save. When the diabetic drug Byetta hit the market, it was originally marketed as derived from the "spit" of Gila Monsters. The stigma of the destructive properties of venom was too much for the marketing team. Now Ozempic is on the market and making waves for more than it's ability to balance A1C. Ozempic is the newest rage in medical weight loss. But it is the where it came from that interests us. A second medication made from the venom of Gila Monsters moving forward and advancing medicine thanks to the venom of our cold blooded friends.
It all started back in the early 1990s, when government researcher Dr. John Eng discovered that Gila monsters have a special hormone in their venom. The hormone is quite similar to a hunger-regulating hormone humans harbor in the small intestine, which helps control blood sugar levels.
In people, it's called glucagon-like peptide-1. In Gila monsters, Eng named it exendin-4.
Thankfully now, they are marketing it as a venom protein, something we herpers already knew! Here is to hoping this helps increase understanding and conservation into venomous species! To read the full article, click here.
Monday, March 20 2023
This is a juvenile V. l. gaditana. Note the yellowish tinge on the tailtip, This would have been brighter on a neonate.
Although we often hear about the Asp Viper and the European Adder, seldom do we hear about a 3rd, species, the Snub-nosed Viper.
As currently known, the Snub-nosed Viper Vipera latastei,ssp. comprises 3 subspecies, 2 of which range in Spain and the 3rd that ranges from Spain southward to North Africa. The 2 subspecies restricted to Spain are V. l. latastei and V. l. arundana. The third, V. l. gaditana ranges more widely.
None are colorful, having a ground color of light to dark gray with darker gray to black markings. The vertebral pattern may vary from a well defined darker zigzag stripe to well separated black blotches. Dark lateral blotches may be well defined to nearly obscure. The common name describes the rostral area, slightly snubbed or upturned. Neonates have a yellowish tailtip that is used in luring lizard prey to within striking range.
As a group the Snub-nosed Vipers are fairly small and relatively stout. Adult size varies from 18 to 25 inches. They utilize a wide variety of habitats, from vegetated seashore dunes to woodlands, rocky escarpments, and populated areas. Research seems recently to Concern is now being shown
In the wild, females are said to give birth to about a dozen neonates every 2 or 3 years.
Continue reading "Iberian Snub-nosed Vipers, Vipera latastei ssp."
Monday, March 13 2023
This is a dark colored adult male Leopard Rat Snake.
Due to the corn snake’s beauty and genetic adaptability a great many folks once frightened of, or at least impassive towards, snakes have not only become snake owners, but rave about the beauty of their captives as well. But comparatively few of these same keepers are aware that there is another rat snake that is as pretty as our corn snake, but is a bit more difficult as a captive and is much less readily available, This is the beautiful European Leopard Rat Snake, Zamenis situla. This like many other rat snakes world-wide used to be in the then cosmopolitan genus Elaphe.
In colors, patterns, and size this snake may vary somewhat with females being a bit longer, somewhat heavier of body, and more brightly colored than the males. Adult size varies from 26 to 36 inches. The ground color varies, seemingly by locale from dusky gray to bright gray, or occasionally to a golden gray. The black-edged dorsal blotches are often a bright red but, especially on males may be dusky red. Lateral spots are black. Patterns vary from a single row of dorsal spots to a double-row, or may be a combination of the two. Some individuals may have a double row of solid rather even edged stripes, or have a combination of blotches and stripes.
Our adults were rather reluctant feeders on laboratory mice, but eagerly accepted captive bred cotton mice ( Peromyscus gossypinus) when offered.
An oviparous species, eggs may number from 2 to 8 in each clutch.
As you can see, Leopard Rat Snakes can be, and usually are, a bit more finicky than our corn snakes, but are well worth the extra effort put forth.
Continue reading "European Leopard Rat snake "
Monday, March 6 2023
Note the prominent vertebral stripe and postorbital bar on this Canebrake Rattlesnake.
Firstly, what is a Canebrake? Well, the term canebrake actually pertains to a habitat feature, a thicket, a dense growth, of any of a variety of Arundinaria grasses/bamboos that are common in and along lowland streams and ravines in the southeastern United States.
And the Canebrake Rattlesnake is a crotalid that was traditionally associated with the canebrakes and other moist lowlands from FL to the Carolinas and westward to eastern Texas.
Until a few years ago this was a subspecies, Crotalus horridus atricaudatus. But in their constant urge for change (or simply because they have the “power” to make such taxonomic changes), the genetic folks eradicated most subspecies (including those for the timber rattlesnake)and concluded that this beautiful southerner/westerner was merely a color variant of the northerly, often montane, Timber Rattlesnake. Both Timber and Canebrake are now merely C. horridus. But please realize that you are under no obligation to follow this genetic ruling.
Remember that you, as I, remain free to refer to this beautiful rattlesnake as the Canebrake, a rattler that we as southerners have learned to love and one that northern herpers flock southward to see. Comparisons | Timber | Canebrake |
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Ground Color | Black, olive, or yellow | Tan to pinkish |
Markings | Usually no banding on tail when adult
No postorbital stripe
Weak or missing vertebral stripe | Light banding usually visible on black tail
Prominent diagonal postorbital stripe
Prominent orangish vertebral stripe |
Continue reading "Is a Canebrake Really a Canebrake? My Thoughts."
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