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, December 25 2024
As the sun sets tonight, this Rosy boa in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user natsamjosh wants to wish everyone a Happy Hanukkah! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Santa is done with his chores and chasing a dragon today in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user rosebuds! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Tuesday, December 24 2024
Little Leche is checking to see if this is his present in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user gluellen! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Monday, December 23 2024
This lil beardie is gonna have to grow to fill Santa's hat in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user powell_baby ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Friday, December 20 2024
A great shot of a live (as they should be) Pygmy Rattlesnake on concrete in the field in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user JARHEAD1969 ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Thursday, December 19 2024
This cute lil cham is getting ready to help decorate the tree in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user 1Sun! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Wednesday, December 18 2024
Looks like someone is ready to head to grandma's in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user rosebuds ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Tuesday, December 17 2024
Santa Mango wants to know if you have been naughty or nice in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user rileysquared ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Monday, December 16 2024
The simple shot of a tree frog in a field of green is hard to beat! We hope you enjoy this shot of a Pseudacris regilla in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user emvee!
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Friday, December 13 2024
While not a Rattlesnake, this Mamba in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user fangfatale is screaming from the treetops about conservation!Be sure to tell them you liked it here! As always on Fridays, we take the time to spotlight ALL our venomous friends, rattles or not, to help raise the awareness for the need of conservation and protections of them as part of the #RattlesnakeFriday movement!
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Inset photo by Jeff Barringer of my first Western Diamondback ever seen in the wild. Animal was seen at an event hosted in Sanderson Texas called Snake Days which was a conservation and educational event that brought reptile people from all over the world. I used this photo to respect the nat geo copywrites. They have amazing shots in the article!
Rattlesnakes are one of the most demonized animals on the planet. Deeply beloved by their fans and often hated by others. National Geographic author Elizabeth Royte spent a great deal of time traveling the country and looking into how to change the perceptions of rattlesnakes. She learned a bit about them in nature along the way and a bit about our battle as those who love rattlesnakes on changing perceptions.
At a time when populations of animal species globally have declined by an average of nearly 70 percent, wanton disregard for life—in the absence of imminent threat to humans—bothers Texas A&M University herpetologist Lee Fitzgerald. “The roundups do send a twisted message,” he says. “They’re not helping the way we think about biodiversity. We care about polar bears, but these snakes are worthless?”
...
“I’m blue in the face from teaching people that snakes aren’t out to get you,” Matt Goode said as we hummed through Stone Canyon. “But I don’t know how much progress we’ve made.” Throughout much of the South and Southwest, it’s legal to kill many rattlesnake species. And some people kill a whole lot.
From working with field researchers to a visit to the hell that is the Sweetwater round-up, this is an amazing read. The hardest part to saving these species is changing perceptions on the animal itself. For the full article, visit Nat Geo here.
Thursday, December 12 2024
This Frillie is shouting to you to have a good day in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Blake_Herman! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Wednesday, December 11 2024
How adorable is this Mojave fringe-toed lizard (Uma scoparia) in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user imbob547! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Tuesday, December 10 2024
Loving this Dumeril's basking in the sun for a photoshoot in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user liljenni ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Monday, December 9 2024
This little Gargoyle Gecko helped to get the holiday tree decorated this weekend in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user chrisvanaken! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Friday, December 6 2024
What a stunning shot of an albino Western Diamondback Rattlesnake ( Crotalus atrox) in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user eekster! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! As always on Fridays, we take the time to spotlight our venomous friends to help raise the awareness for the need of conservation and protections of them as part of the #RattlesnakeFriday movement!
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Thursday, December 5 2024
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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Wednesday, December 4 2024
Those aren't rose tinted glasses! This Southern Pine snake in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user bruceatherton is a pink patternless and super pretty to boot!
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Tuesday, December 3 2024
Boas are a staple of our world, like this gorgeous one in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Sharkman20 .
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Friday, November 29 2024
We love the close up of the Black Tailed Rattlesnake in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user bigdnutz! This lil beauty was photographed in situ in Arizona and was a very patient model. Be sure to tell them you liked it here! As always on Fridays, we take the time to spotlight our venomous friends to help raise the awareness for the need of conservation and protections of them as part of the #RattlesnakeFriday movement!
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Wednesday, November 27 2024
How cute is this wee lil Milk Snake in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user goatmilksnake!! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Tuesday, November 26 2024
This Thorny Devil ( Moloch horridus) in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user frilly is certainly an awesome field find!! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Monday, November 25 2024
What a gorgeous little Ameiva in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Agata ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Friday, November 22 2024
We love this weeVenezuelan rattlesnake( Crotalus durissus cumanensisi) in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user wlcmmtt ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! As always on Fridays, we take the time to spotlight our venomous friends to help raise the awareness for the need of conservation and protections of them as part of the #RattlesnakeFriday movement!
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Thursday, November 21 2024
Fall vibes with this Eastern Garter in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user snakekate! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Wednesday, November 20 2024
This Bearded Dragon is striking a pose in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user TazziesMommy! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Tuesday, November 19 2024
In a move that will shock no one, the first what we can assume will be many laws relating to the Leibowitz/Taipan bite case has happened. Florence, S.C. has released new proposed exotics laws that impact more than reptile owners. From the USARK Action alert the proposed banned reptile portion is:
Crocodilians twelve (12) inches or larger;
Large, dangerous, or potentially invasive constricting snakes including reticulated pythons, python reticulatus;
urmese/Indian rock pythons, python molurus; rock pythons, python sebae, and anacondas, eunectes murinus (green anacondas);
Venomous/poisonous reptiles, amphibians, or serpents;
You can read the full action alert on USARK's page here.
Now one thing of note is the snake law is somewhat vague and can be easily adjusted to include any larger snake unfortunately. Simply using the wording large, dangerous OR rather than AND is hugely problematic from someone who has worked in animal control and seen how people will twist those words, but that is just my opinion and experience. I would expect to see far more of these laws popup in South Carolina over the next year. The damage one person can do to our hobby is immense.
The Northern Leopard frog ( Lithobates pipiens) is an fairly widespread US Native species that get a spotlight in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Terry_Cox!
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Monday, November 18 2024
What wonderful color contrast in this hatchling Mud Snake in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Godfrey ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Friday, November 15 2024
Fantastic headshot of a Steppe Viper ( Vipera renardi) in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user VenomouS996 ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! As always on Fridays, we take the time to spotlight our venomous friends to help raise the awareness for the need of conservation and protections of them as part of the #RattlesnakeFriday movement!
Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here!
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