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, November 19 2018
Herp Keepers with cameras, annoying our eating pets for decades like this bearded dragon in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user jdertinger ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/93030Untitled-23-med.jpg)
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![](/blog/uploads/ccp1.jpg) Besides these 2, we saw several other Carolina "sandhill phase" pygmy rattler on this trip.
Initially our photo-target was the carpenter frog, Rana virgatipes. We had both seen this little ranid on many occasions but it just seemed time to upgrade photos.
But as Jake and I often do, by only an hour later as we had crossed into Georgia, our photo-target list had grown to encompass three additional taxa, Carolina pygmy rattlers Sistrurus m. miliarius, of the Sand Hills phase, just for the heck of it, a southern copperhead, Agkistrodon c. contortrix, and a small, still undescribed two-lined salamander lookalike, Eurycea species. As it turned out, we were successful on all but the salamander.
Continue reading "Carpenters, Copperheads and Pygmys"
Friday, November 16 2018
Wild in nature. One of the best places to see this Great Basin Rattlesnake found in Utah, but shared with us in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user crocman6594 ! On Rattlesnake Friday, we celebrate ALL things venomous! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/147768DSCN9906-med.jpg)
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Thursday, November 15 2018
Get Naked! Ok maybe not, but this Ball python was slipping into something a little more comfy in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user tylerwork ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/222984snake_shedding_cropped-med.jpg)
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Wednesday, November 14 2018
This hatching Cribo in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user alanB makes monday more bearable! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/16634Yellow_Tail_hatching_out_2010-med.jpg)
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Tuesday, November 13 2018
Gotta love the sassy nature of the Schneider's smooth-fronted caiman in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user cpipes! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/76866Eddie-Adult_Male_P._trig-med.JPG)
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Monday, November 12 2018
This Ambilobe Panther Chameleon is all fired up in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user vinniem1210! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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![](/blog/uploads/anole_3a.jpg) For a few years the Marie Gallante sail-tailed anole could be seen in southwestern Florida. It was apparently extirpated by the occasional freezes.
This is a pretty, large (males to about 9 inches females significantly smaller), bluish headed anole with a yellow-green body color. Males have a prominent tailfin. This anole, Anolis ferreus by name, is endemic to the island of Marie Galante in the Lesser Antilles. In the 1990s several examples (adults of both sexes and hatchlings) were seen and photographed in Lee County, FL, but the small population seems no longer extant.
Continue reading " More Non-native Anoles: Marie Galante Sail-tailed, Jamaican Giant, and Knight Anoles"
Friday, November 9 2018
Happy Rattlesnake Friday! This is such an amazing shot of an eyelash viper ( Bothriechis schlegelii) in our photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user beckherps ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! As always on Friday, we celebrate all of our venomous reptiles for their contribution to the world. It is our goal to help dispel the fears surrounding our beloved venomous creatures.
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/32257B_schlegeli_0511-med.jpg)
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Thursday, November 8 2018
One little, two little, three little Bearded Dragons in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user dedragons ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/168625bartis_088-med.jpg)
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Wednesday, November 7 2018
Photo of one of the alligator ponds at St. Augustine provided by Cindy Steinle
St. Augustine Alligator Farm is a fantastic place to visit, but only during open hours. Recently a man in Florida felt it was a good idea to break in to the farm after hours and that is when the shenanigans began. Several exhibits were damaged but so was the trespasser. When workers arrived the next morning, they found the damage to the exhibits, a lot of blood, a pair of shorts and a "croc" shoe. The man was found wandering the neighborhood in only his boxers and covered with blood.
To read the full story and view the video, visit Fox 13.
We never post enough kingsnakes, so get a gander of this beautiful kingsnake in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user kasie ! When this photo was originally posted in 2006, Martha was over 30 years old! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/56813securedownload.jpeg)
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Tuesday, November 6 2018
Gotta love this stunning pair of Chondros in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user NYCMedic ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Monday, November 5 2018
It is hard to not see beauty when you look at the Asian Vine Snake ( Ahaetulla prasina) our Herp Photo of the Day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user 13lackcat! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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![](/blog/uploads/caneking3.jpg) Disturbed during an evening crawl, this canefield king coiled and hissed rather than hurrying away.
Florida’s not like it used to be. But that’s no secret. Native Floridians and long-term residents have known this for decades. And since I’m one of the latter and I have an interest in natural history I’ve noticed and disliked the trend, the never ending conversion of natural areas to macadam covered parking lots and shopping centers. When I started coming to Florida in the mid-1950s US 27 was a 2-lane road that was clad down to Lake Okeechobee with woodlands and a few pastures and south of the Lake was edged on the east by an Australian pine rimmed canal and Everglades and on the west by Everglades, Everglades, and more Everglades. Somewhere to the west of Okeelanta was an area termed “the peanut patch” in which were a dozen long unused migrant laborers houses, all of which were then home to what seemed an endless number of beautiful deep orange Everglades rat snakes.
Continue reading "Canefield Kings"
Friday, November 2 2018
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A woman in Pennsylvania is hissing mad because someone sold her 17 year old son a 4 foot alligator at a local reptile show. The alligator, which now resides at a reptile rescue, had no comment.
While many states regulate the sales of crocodilians Pennsylvania does not and the operator of the rescue is urging people to contact their state legislators to stop the "Pannsylvania alligator invasion" and outlaw their sales to children. To read the full article click here.
Happy Rattlesnake Friday! We just love this close up of a Massasauga in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user venombill ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/464045.jpg)
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Wednesday, October 31 2018
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kingsnake.com's Cindy Steinle is live blogging the 2018 Herp Law Symposium in Maryland today and tomorrow (she is also slated as a moderator for one of the panels). This event, sponsored by PIJAC, USARK, kingsnake.com, and a number of other businesses and organizations in the herp community, brings the voices of many different facets of the reptile world together to discuss regulatory issues, conservation issues, and trending disease issues such as the Chytrid fungus that is decimating amphibian populations worldwide. Below is her live blog transcript from the first day:
Continue reading "2018 Herp Symposium Live blog Day 1"
Tuesday, October 30 2018
This hatching Burmese python our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user OrangeTurtle is our inspiration as we prepare to head to the reptile legal summit. Seeing these back at shows this year reminded us WHY we keep fighting. Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/207229Burm1-med.JPG)
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Monday, October 29 2018
What a stunning shot! This gorgeous California newt in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user AndrewFromSoCal takes you right into the field. Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/117015CaliforniaNewt1-med.jpg)
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![](/blog/uploads/L_nigra.jpg) The Eastern Black Kingsnake, Lampropeltis nigra
The Eastern Black Kingsnakes was recently revised from what was a sub-species to a full blown species, Lampropeltis nigra. This snake has a relatively small range when compared to many other species that used to also be included in what was the getula complex. A considerable amount of variation occurs in this snake across its range. I appreciate this snake in all of its forms but can’t help but to like the ones that are the most black and also the most shiny. Many EBK retain a lot of pattern and others can have a dull look. The specimen pictured was found in a North-Central Kentucky county and exhibits the attributes that I most appreciate. Because the majority and most centrally located portion of this snake’s range is in Kentucky I have often wanted for this to be named the State Reptile of Kentucky.
While it is true that most snakes are loathed by many people, this snake is one that the majority of local and rural people recognize as being beneficial. In time I also suspect that this species will catch the interests of those who like to keep kingsnakes. In addition to being attractive, easy to keep, and somewhat rare in collections, this species is also smaller than many of the other kings from the Eastern US and this makes it more attractive to keepers who have space-related issues. In my experience males make the best captives with fewer health complications and whose dispositions lend themselves to educational programs, live interactions, and handling.
Friday, October 26 2018
Happy Rattlesnake Friday! Let's celebrate in the mighty southwest beauty of the Rock Rattlesnake here in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Janne ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/2480106-0649_IMG-med.JPG)
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Thursday, October 25 2018
Martha, a Reeve's Turtle, is just chilling out in the sun in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user kasie ! When this photo was originally posted in 2006, Martha was over 30 years old! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/113455IMG_2164-med.jpg)
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Tuesday, October 23 2018
So tiny and cute! This young garter in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Scott_Felzer is seeing how he measures up. Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/3643Eastern_normal_looking_from_Mohr_Anery_east_CB_09_05_16_2009-med.JPG)
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Monday, October 22 2018
Hopefully this hatching Ctenosaura palearis in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user ilovemonitorliza cures any case of the Mondays you might have! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/116168P175004_13-04-10a-med.JPG)
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![](/blog/uploads/cubantree1.jpg) Female Cuban treefrogs can attain a length of more than 5 inches.
I had been told for years that the ”Dreaded Cacophony” was coming. And about 12 years ago it finally got here. The “dreaded cacophony” had become a reality. I think it was first heard in Alachua County, FL in a tiny temporary runoff puddle by the post office. Then, that same year it a second cacophony was heard a few miles away in an even smaller puddle at the entrance of a subdivision. The noises sounded like a series of rivet guns badly in need of oiling. The next year it was heard from a couple of more ponds and the year following from still more. The cacophonists were here and it seemed they were here, despite winters that were a lot colder than those where they had evolved, to stay.
Continue reading "The Dreaded Cacophony"
Friday, October 19 2018
Happy Rattlesnake Friday! We know, this isi NOT a rattlesnake but Thai the King Cobra greeter at Wildlife Discovery Center in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user SoLA ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! As always on Friday, we celebrate all of our venomous reptiles for their contribution to the world.
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/125542thai.jpg)
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Thursday, October 18 2018
There is so much to love about Colubrids, so why not celebrate them with a big ole pile of beauty in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user xtranch ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/216720snake_pets-med.jpg)
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Wednesday, October 17 2018
This little Caiman in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user roadkill55 is feeling SASSY! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/77587caimansmall.JPG)
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Tuesday, October 16 2018
What an awesome field shot of a Blue Spiny Lizard in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user arkherps ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/27690sceloporus,cyanogenys1-med.jpg)
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