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.
Wednesday, July 5 2023
You know it is going to be fun when you start out the day with an Eastern coachwhip in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user jodscovry! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Monday, July 3 2023
The sunlight really brings out the depth in colors of this Green House Snake in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user kamiki77! Be sure to tell them you liked it here.
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![](/blog/uploads/BrownWaterSnake1.jpg) Large, gravid, and very dark in color, this Brown Water Snake was seen at canal edge in South Florida.The eastern USA is fortunate in having several species and subspecies of the genus Nerodia Water Snakes, as residents. Most are feisty if frightened, many will bite if carelessly restrained, and all are harmless (nonvenomous). Sadly, no matter how dissimilar they may look, many, if not most, are confused by those people who see them, with the venomous Cottonmouths. One that is most apt to be misidentified, is the Brown Watersnake, Nerodia taxispilota. It is also one that catches many folks by surprise.
The Brown Watersnake is one of the larger species, occasionally attaining 5 feet in length and being of heavy body. The color is variable, being brightest and most precise on neonates (yes, this is a live-bearing genus). Adults usually have a very visible pattern of light-edged dark dorsal blotches that alternate with light-edged lateral blotches. Some adults are very dark in overall color, especially when about to enter the shedding cycle.
Overall, the water snakes are semi-aquatic, but most are primarily water lovers. The Brown Water Snake, Nerodia taxispilota, may be seen basking in various riveredge situations including high in trees overhanging the water. From these perches, if startled, this big snake may drop into the water or, as too often happens, drop and land in the fishing boat that startled it. Sadly, when this happens this nonvenomous snake is often mistaken for the venomous cottonmouth and is summarily dispatched.
The light example seen here could probably be referred to as anerythristic (lacking red pigment)
Continue reading "The Brown Water Snake"
Friday, June 30 2023
While not as iconic as the Westerns, Eastern Diamondbacks like this one in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Canes05 are amazing and stunning snakes in their own right! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Thursday, June 29 2023
What more can we say but AMAZING! This is such a beautiful shot of a Desert Horned Lizard in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Brockn ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/7333IMG_Desert_Horned_Lizard.JPG-med.jpg)
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Wednesday, June 28 2023
This cute little pile of Fire Salamanders in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user jungleemporium are certainly "smoking"! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Tuesday, June 27 2023
All hail the mighty Garter Snake in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user TomDickinson for being so many of our first wild herp! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/14364rsz_dsc04726.jpg)
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Monday, June 26 2023
Pudge the Budgets Frog has a case of the Mondays in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user frogological! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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![](/blog/uploads/AmazonTreeBoa1.jpg) Yellow Amazon Tree boas were only occasionally seen on Madre Selva Preserve.
One of the first snake species that I saw at Madre Selva Biological Preserve was coiled high in the rafters of the old kitchen building. From my vantage point the snake appeared to be clad entirely in scales of “old rafter brown.” Tree Boa? Amazon Tree Boa? Could it really be? Could I be that lucky? Segundo, having been summoned, clambered up to the rafters, grasped the snake (that reacted in typical tree boa style) and was soundly bitten during his one-handed decent. He then handed the irate snake to me.
Since that first sighting, I’ve seen many Amazon Tree Boas, Corallus hortulanus, many of various shades of brown, some being brown and orange, other being yellow, and a few being a beautiful blood red. Some I caught, some Segundo caught, others by other of our guides. But somehow, somewhere during the photographing sessions, almost all of the snakes retaliated for having been disturbed and immortalized in a “toothsome” manner. Any of you who have kept these interesting boas will understand why I tell the participants on our herp tours, “Amazon Tree Boas just don’t play nice.”
But that has never dissuaded our tour groups or me from seeking the arboreal gems. Besides in the open-air buildings, we have found tree boas high in trees, others were dangling by their strongly prehensile tail, boa face at human face level, from vines that crisscross above our trails (if not noticed these could have resulted in a real “ouch encounter”). Others have been just coiled quietly atop stumps. On one trip, one of the dangling boas, a yellow example (pictured here) was seen on four of the six nights that we were at the preserve.
The tree boas found have varied in length from 18 inch juvies to 4 to 5 foot long adults.
Continue reading "Amazon Tree Boas"
Friday, June 23 2023
We love everything that rattles, but today we give the spotlight to this baby timber rattlesnake in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user jameswv! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Thursday, June 22 2023
That's a whole lotta bull. Bullsnake that is! Loving the colors on the one here in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user orchidspider has never missed a meal! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/92118P9150004.JPG)
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Wednesday, June 21 2023
Most commonly known as the harlequin toad, this Atelopus barbotinitakes center stage in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user jamesmatthews! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Tuesday, June 20 2023
What a great looking pair of Australian water dragons in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user cochran! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Monday, June 19 2023
This little hatching tortoise in our Herp Photo of the Day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user amazoa is a great way to celebrate World Turtle Day late! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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![](/blog/uploads/OkeeteeMemories1.jpg) Broad-headed Skings were common in Okeetee. This male has assumed his seasonal breeding colors.
I don’t know how Gordy knew where we were but he did. The roadsign we had just passed informed us that Ridgeland was 20 miles ahead. And Ridgeland, in the state of South Carolina’s “Low Country,” was our goal.
This was way back in the mid-1950s and I was as “wound-up” as a young herper could be. I was an eager and avid herper, birder, and “everything-elser.” In other words, except for humans if it breathed, I wanted to learn about it, and herps were at the top of the list. And somewhere near Ridgeland there was a special place that Gordy had heard about---Okeetee Hunt Club. This was and is a 50,000 acre plot of land that came into being way back in 1894. Today it is fenced and patrolled and only members are allowed to enter. But back in the mid-1900s, back before today’s market hunters and the tendency to litigate every bruise or sprained ankle, anyone who wished could enter, and I was one of the lucky ones.
Besides being a refuge and gathering place for arms-bearing hunters, Okeetee was Mecca to a host of herpers. It was one of Karl Kauffeld’s favorite places and it quickly became one of Gordy’s and mine. And when you added on the several other nearby hunt clubs and preserves, the area became unbeatable. Corn snakes were common, as were Eastern Kingsnakes, Scarlet Kings, Hognoses, Eastern Diamondbacks and Canebrakes. Pine snakes were not uncommon; Broad-headed Skinks were abundant. Chorus Frogs ratcheted from nearby canal edges, Bird-voiced, Cope’s Gray, Barking and Green Treefrogs called from the Great Swamp. Oh, and did I mention that we often found Mud and Rainbow Snakes, and Red-bellied Water Snakes. The list goes on and on.
I’m glad that I actually got to experience those times now long gone. I wish the herpers of today, well.
Continue reading "Okeetee Memories"
Friday, June 16 2023
Happy Rattlesnake Friday! What a gorgeous albino helleri in our photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user lichanura ! 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.
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Thursday, June 15 2023
So bright and brilliant, this Yellow Anaconda shines in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user mattf77 ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/152760ANACONDA1_2-med.jpg)
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Wednesday, June 14 2023
Revisiting a classic with this Pied Ball Python in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user js! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/3623814_9_2_Pied_F-med.JPG)
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Tuesday, June 13 2023
A cute little Seal Salamander in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user bradley_skinner just chilling in on some moss! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! No offense USPS!
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Monday, June 12 2023
![](/blog/uploads/Pyxicephalus1.jpg) A young adult Pyxie Frog.Don’t be deceived by either the common or the scientific names. There is nothing—nothing at all --pyxie-ish about this frog. Adult males are every bit as large as the biggest of the Horned Frogs, Ceratophrys. They surpass in size the biggest American Bullfrog that I have seen, and are equally as voracious as any examples of either.
The frog we are discussing is the African Bullfrog Pyxicephalus adspersus. It is in the small family Pyxicephalidae. It has an immense range, including much of sub-Saharan Africa. The common name, of course, is derived from the genus name, and whoever decided on this scientific designation must have had a remarkable sense-of-humor. The Pyxie is cannibalistic, eats other frogs, rodents, and any invertebrates it happens across. Add to that the fact that it will latch rather painfully on to the errant finger of any careless keeper.
Possible lifespan is debatable. Some researchers say 20 years, others double that time span. It seems the frogs grow slowly, throughout much of their long lives. At adulthood male Pyxies may reach 10” in svl (snout-vent length). Females are smaller. Males are also a bit more brightly colored than the females. Males are a decided green and have a yellowish throat while the females are a much duller olive green to brown(ish)-green and have whitish throats. Juveniles are green with bright green vertebral and lateral stripes.Several rows of interrupted, elongate, dorsal and lateral ridges are present on both sexes.
Pyxies are secretive and spend much of their lives in burrows of their own construction. They are explosive breeders, emerging from their burrows to breed en-masse in temporary waterholes formed at the beginning of the rainy season. Sparring by the males is a common occurrence.
As an aside, hobbyists actually like this belligerent frog, and Pyxies are now being bred commercially for the pet trade.
Continue reading "Pyxie Frogs"
This is a gorgeous corn snake in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user dallashawks ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! No offense USPS!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/183522Gwyn20121023_1314-med.jpg)
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Friday, June 9 2023
This Black-backed Coral Snake in our photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user RDBartlettkills that whole rhyme we were taught! It doesn't always work kids! 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/4300narduccii.jpg)
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Thursday, June 8 2023
Welcome to the world little one! That magical moment when a baby takes it's first breath is captured here with this boa in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user dpiscopo69 ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/69466baby_boa_still_in_sack.jpg)
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Wednesday, June 7 2023
A shout out to the little guys! Loving this Vinales Anole in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user macraei ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Tuesday, June 6 2023
This Wagler's sipo ( Chironius scurrulus) in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Herpetologia was found in the field in Brazil! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/178723Chironius_scurrulus_(2).jpg)
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Monday, June 5 2023
Native Colubrids in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user xtranch are like a box of chocolates! So much good to choose from! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/216720snake_pets-med.jpg)
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Friday, June 2 2023
Awesome field shot of a Mojave ( Crotalus scutulatus salvini) taken in Mexico in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user OXYUMAURUS! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Thursday, June 1 2023
Back to our roots with this alterna found in Sanderson in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user StuTennyson! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/92642north_sandy_female-med.jpg)
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Wednesday, May 31 2023
The natural sunlight makes this Rainbow Boa glitter in our Herp Photo of the Day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user curaniel! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Tuesday, May 30 2023
Hoggies are SUCH drama queens, like this one in our Herp Photo of the Day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user JoeTaffis! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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