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.
Tuesday, December 17 2013
Thirteen-year-old Jackston Stone was born without feet, and suffered years of painful surgeries. Now he's walking on snake-like prosthetic legs, thanks to the Shriners of Salt Lake City.
From ABC News 4 Utah:
That new choice meant wearing two prosthetics legs, and Jackson wanted his to look like snakes.
"They're like me," Jackson Stone said.
"How's that?" Reporter Brian Carlson asked.
"I have no feet, they have no feet," he said.
Snakes are part family business. A tattoo artist created the design for Jackson's dream legs, but prosthetic maker couldn't do it.
"So they brought me the art work and it was on canvas which was too heavy for me to apply the prosthesis," said Eric Green, Prosthetist.
That's when Shriners stepped in.
"So I said ya know, I might be able to help," said William "Mr. Bill" Voorhies, Shriners of Salt Lake City.
William Voorhies contacted fellow Shriner Bob Shupe who runs a printing company. He put the design on surface that worked.
"Fortunately our company was able to take that need and develop it," said Bob Shupe, Past Potentate.
The prosthetic maker turned Jackson's snake legs into reality. He loves them, and his friends do too.
"They think it's really cool because a tattoo artist designed it and none of them can get tattoos," said Jackson Stone.
Read the rest here.
I was so intent on determining what was in the beak of the loggerhead shrike that just missed my windshield that I almost ran over the three-plus foot Western diamondback, Crotalus atrox.
I was rolling south out of Marfa, Tex., at a pretty good clip when the shrike decided to defy death and swooped through at hood ornament level.
As I braked, I noted the bird had a tiny snake, slender about 9 inches long, in its beak. I went down the road a bit, U-turned, returned, and U-turned again. The shrike had perched on a barbed wire fence and was still holding the limp snake. I slowed and still carrying the snake the shrike departed. So much for a possible identification.
After checking the mirrors (no cars in sight), I glanced into the "shrike field" again and started pulling out. Something on the ground just in front of the car moved, and I slammed on the brakes.
I got out to the agitated cadence from a telltale rattle. My front left tire was about a half an inch away from a stretched out 3-and-a-half foot Western diamondback. He had crawled out of the grasses while I was meditating unsuccessfully on the shrike-prey.
I watched for a moment and the snake started forward again. Since it seemed evident that it intended to cross the four-lane, sometimes busy, roadway I hooked the snake into a bucket, covered the bucket, carried the snake across the road, and turned it loose.
I wished it bon voyage and it wasted no time disappearing into the roadside vegetation.
More photos under the jump...
Continue reading "Of butcher birds and Western diamondbacks"
This image of a Softshell Turtle, uploaded by kingsnake.com user rudyruebens, is our herp photo of the day!
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Monday, December 16 2013
![](/blog/uploads/iguana-grapes-dixon.jpg) We all may love Bahamanian rock iguanas, but their digest tracts don't love how we show that affection.
From Scientific American:
Hop on over to the photo-sharing site Flickr and you’ll find dozens of photos and videos of people eagerly feeding grapes to hungry iguanas on the beaches of the Bahamas. It looks like great fun and the iguanas obviously go crazy for the fruit, which is usually fed to the lizards on the ends of long sticks. There’s just one problem with this activity: the food is making the iguanas sick. Health conditions arising from the grapes and other foods that iguanas do not normally eat in the wild include diarrhea, high blood sugar and cholesterol as well as lowered levels of potassium and a high level of parasitic infections. All of these problems “could have deleterious effects on long-term fitness and population stability,” according to Charles Knapp, director of conservation and research at Chicago’s John G. Shedd Aquarium and the lead author of a new study of the iguanas published last week in Conservation Physiology.
Read the rest here.
Photo: Chris Dixon. Used under Creative Commons license.
This image of an Iguana hatching, uploaded by kingsnake.com user tony1515, is our herp photo of the day!
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Friday, December 13 2013
Check out our Herp Video of the Week, "Field Herping 2013," submitted by kingsnake.com user smetlogik.
Submit your own reptile & amphibian videos at http://www.kingsnake.com/video/ and you could see them featured here or check out all the videos submitted by other users!
This image of a Hagen's Pit Viper, uploaded by kingsnake.com user knotsnake, is our herp photo of the day!
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Thursday, December 12 2013
![](/blog/uploads/Venom1.jpg) Venom from the Southeast Asia pit viper ( Deinagkistrodon acutus) may help stop human heart attacks and strokes.
From the Montreal Gazette report on the Canadian study:
Using venom milked from the snake, researchers filtered out all but one protein to create a drug called Anfibatide, which in human testing prevented blood clots from forming but didn't prolong bleeding as is the case with some clot-busting drugs.
"The concept that we can harness something potentially poisonous in nature and turn it into a beneficial therapy is very exciting," said Dr. Heyu Ni, a scientist at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto involved in the drug's development.
Anfibatide is designed to target a specific receptor on the surface of platelets in the blood that is instrumental in the formation of clots.
Read the rest here.
Photo: THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - St. Michael's Hospital
At the dead end of a dirt road, a road that can be little more than a trail in some spots, a road across which all manner of desert creatures from gilas to javelinas and cougars cross, there is a desert spring.
If you stand on the nearest shore (the south) of this wonderful landmark, Quitobaquito Spring by name, and toss a rock back over your shoulder, it will land in Mexico.
Around the shores of the spring are venerable desert willows and an assortment of rushes and other emergents that provide cover for one of the nation's most beautiful fishes, the tiny Quitobaquito pupfish.
You'll also see the ]very ordinary appearing, but subspecifically different, kinosternid turtle, Kinosternon sonoriensis longifemorale, the Sonoyta mud turtle.
Changing times, and for various reasons the road to Quitobaquito is now closed to casual vehicular traffic. It is my understanding that Organ Pipe now offers occasional guided tours to the spring. For details check with OP headquarters, and consider a tour along this roadway where you can still enjoy the incredible beauty of the Sonoran Desert.
Another photo under the jump...
Continue reading "Herping the beauty of the Sonoran Desert"
This image of an Iguana, uploaded by kingsnake.com user twylin, is our herp photo of the day!
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Wednesday, December 11 2013
Ever heard of Siats meekerorum? Our old dino friend T. rex did, and not in a good way.
Check out this video all about Siats, and why he's been dubbed a "man-eating monster."
This image of a Midland Mud Salamander, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Kevin Saunders, is our herp photo of the day!
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Tuesday, December 10 2013
Meet the little grass frog (aka the least treefrog, and actually a chorus frog), Pseudacris ocularis.
They are the tiniest of the tiny, are a slender half-inch long and egg-laden females a whopping five-eighths of an inch.
Somewhere in Florida the tinkling vocalizations of this Liliputian chorus frog may be heard during every month of the year. Further north (it ranges widely along the coastal plain to the vicinity of Virginia's Great Dismal Swamp) it is a bit more seasonal, seeking seclusion during the coldest weather or during periods of extended drouth.
Although variable, this frog is usually of some shade of tan, often lighter on the sides and darker on the back and between the eyes. The dorsal and lateral colors are usually separated by a very thin dark line. It has a dark mask and this may continue rearward as a partial or complete brown lateral line.
Look or listen for this frog along the grassy/weedy shallow edges of ponds, marshes or swamps as well as in seasonally flooded roadside ditches.
More photos under the jump...
Continue reading "The little grass frog: A diminutive hylid"
![](http://gallery.connectedbypets.com/data/3816B.irregulariscopy-med.jpg) Dead mice pumped full of poison are being dropped from planes onto Guam to kill brown tree snakes ( Boiga irregularis).
From NBC News:
They floated down from the sky Sunday — 2,000 mice, wafting on tiny cardboard parachutes over Andersen Air Force Base in the U.S. territory of Guam.
But the rodent commandos didn't know they were on a mission: to help eradicate the brown tree snake, an invasive species that has caused millions of dollars in wildlife and commercial losses since it arrived a few decades ago.
That's because they were dead. And pumped full of painkillers.
The unlikely invasion was the fourth and biggest rodent air assault so far, part of an $8 million U.S. program approved in February to eradicate the snakes and save the exotic native birds that are their snack food.
Read the full story here.
Photo: kingsnake.com user Tereza
This image of an Everglades Rat Snake, uploaded by kingsnake.com user eric561, is our herp photo of the day!
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Monday, December 9 2013
This image of a Pastel Ball Python, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Unstable3lement, is our herp photo of the day!
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A robotic turtle, deveoped at the Tallinn University of Technology's Centre for Biorobotics, premiered at Robot Safari at the London Science Museum. The robot is intended to be used to investigate shipwrecks, but after that will probably take over the world.
Read all about it here.
Photo: Tallinn University of Technology
Friday, December 6 2013
It was a beautiful sunny day in northern California. Kenny and I turned eastward and headed for the locale of our target of the morning, Plethodon stormi, the Siskiyou Mountains Salamander.
Five minutes later we were beneath a cloud cover that became increasingly dense as we proceeded eastward. A few minutes later it had begun to rain and a few minutes after that the rain had become snow. Snow.
At the time, Kenny was living in Texas. He was used to snow. But I was then (as now) an old, fat, Floridian. I seldom acknowledge the existence of snow and am even more loathe to have it falling on me. But I had driven 2500 miles to see this salamander (among others) so I wasn't about to be deterred by the vagaries of Mother Nature without at least making an attempt to see our goal.
By the time we had gotten to our final turnoff the ground was very white and the conifers were postcard picturesque. The stream (which had nothing to do with the salamander except as a landmark) burbled, bubbled, and rushed between newly whitened banks.
A north wind whistled. The beautiful sunny day had been left far behind. But now at the salamander's habitat we began pawing through the snow to access the rocks, beneath which the caudatans dwelt. Man, those rocks were cold.
Within minutes both Kenny and I were complaining about numb fingers. But we persisted until we succeeded in finding a juvenile.
Photos were taken, the day was declared a success, the car's heater was turned on full blast, and we headed for lower -- and hopefully snowless -- altitudes.
Photo of adult salamader under the jump...
Continue reading "The Search for the Siskiyou Mountains Salamander"
Check out our Herp Video of the Week, "Eastern hog defensive display," submitted by kingsnake.com user wisema2297.
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This image of a Panther Chameleon, uploaded by kingsnake.com user itsajeepthing, is our herp photo of the day!
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Thursday, December 5 2013
![](/blog/uploads/horn.jpg) New research into the Cerataphora lizard, an endangered agamid lizard from Sri Lanka, suggests that the animal uses its horns to communicate.
From National Geographic:
Ruchira Somaweera, a zoologist at the University of Sydney and principal investigator in the yearlong field study, which is funded by the National Geographic Society, said the data is still being analyzed, but the primary hypothesis is that the horns are used in communication within specific species.
Somaweera and his team focused mainly on the critically endangered leaf-nosed lizards (C. tennentii) and found that on these and on rhino horn lizards (C. stoddartii), the males of both species can move their horns slowly at a 45-degree angle while opening their mouths in a threat display.
This may aid in communication between males, he said.
Read more here.
Photo: National Geographic
This image of a Northern Water Snake, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Michael56, is our herp photo of the day!
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Wednesday, December 4 2013
This image of a Sunset Boa, uploaded by kingsnake.com user lostworldproductions , is our herp photo of the day!
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![](/blog/uploads/Wichita.jpg) Students at Wichita State University have found chytrid, a fungus deadly to frogs, in Kansas ponds and streams.
From the Wichita Eagle:
Students working with (biologist Mary Liz) Jameson in her Wichita State University field ecology class over the last three years have confirmed the fears of anyone in Kansas who likes frogs: They found an amphibian-killing fungus called chytrid in streams and ponds of Kansas.
They found it in several streams and ponds near Wichita, and in Wichita at Chisholm Creek Park, near 32nd Street North and Oliver. WSU released a statement earlier this year outlining the basics of what Jameson and her students found, including a warning from one of her graduate students, Timothy Eberl.
Eberl said in the news release that this has implications beyond the death of frogs.
Read the full story here.
Photo: Wichita State University
Tuesday, December 3 2013
It was a dark and stormy night and...
Well, actually it was dark, especially on the trail that wound beneath the towering rainforest trees. And it had stormed (but earlier that day). The forest floor was still drenched and the trees continued to drip the earlier rainfall from the canopy leaves.
With just over a day left before we were to leave the rainforest. all participants were determined to make the most of the remaining time. It had been dark for hours, but many herpers were again out on the trails, some herping along the edges of the reservoir and a few (me included in these latter efforts) trying to catch up on picture taking.
Finally all had straggled in, wet, muddy, butwith a few more herp finds to their already impressive lists. But after a few minutes Matt Cage and Mike Pingleton, trip leaders both, decided to take "just one more" hike. Off they went, down the long trail towards the river. Forty five minutes later, Matt was coming back across the compound clearing hollering, "Bushmaster, big bushmaster. Mike's keeping it on the trail, but we need help."
Needless to say, they got the help they wanted, the 6+ foot long, three-quarters grown bushmaster was safely and gently bagged, and was brought back to camp for all to photograph.
Following the photo session during which everyone had to take "just one more picture" (about 20 times each), the beautiful snake, a heavy-bodied female, was returned to the exact spot where she had been found, and released.
Another photo under the jump...
Continue reading "A bushmaster in the dark"
![](/blog/uploads/AnsonWong.jpg) Malaysian authorities are pointing fingers at each other after a documentary, The Return of the Lizard King, alleged that Anson Wong was still active in the illegal wildlife trading business after a high-profile arrest and conviction in 2010.
Wong was orginally sentenced to five years for trafficking wildlife including endangered species like snow leopards, pandas, and rare reptiles, but his sentence was reduced to 17 months.
From the Star:
(Election strategist Dr.) Ong (Kian Ming) claimed that there was an obvious question of corruption within Perhilitan (Department of Wildlife and National Parks) as public records show that Wong and his wife, Cheah Bing Shee still owned companies involving in importing and exporting wildlife.
He said there was a need to see if there was anyone who was helping them obtain the permits, despite the Government's insistence that all of Wong and Cheah's licenses had been revoked.
"This affects Malaysia's reputation. Anson Wong could just be the tip of the iceberg. If Malaysia is identified as a possible transshipment hub for illegal wildlife activities, this will give us a bad reputation, " he warned.
Read more here.
Photo: The Star
This image of an Albino Monocled Cobra, uploaded by kingsnake.com user herpetology16, is our herp photo of the day!
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Monday, December 2 2013
![](/blog/uploads/AnPlanLizards.jpg) A former Animal Planet personality admitted he sold endangered lizards in a federal court last week.
From NBC Los Angeles:
Donald Schultz, 35, the former host of "Wild Recon" on Animal Planet, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to violating the Endangered Species Act by offering to sell, and actually selling, two live desert monitor lizards (Varanus griseus) in interstate commerce, according to the U.S. District Attorney's Office.
Schultz admitted that on July 29, 2010, he sold the lizards to an undercover agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who was posing as a prospective buyer, and shipped the lizards from Los Angeles to Buffalo, New York.
Schultz told NBC4 that he kept the lizards as pets, but decided to sell them because he was moving.
"Someone contacted me and asked to buy them from me," said Schultz. "In retrospect, it was a stupid thing to do. I had no idea it was against the law."
Read the full story here.
Photo: US Attorney
This image of a Green Tree Monitor, uploaded by kingsnake.com user roadspawn, is our herp photo of the day!
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Friday, November 29 2013
Check out this video "White Leucistic Spanish Ribbed Newt," submitted by kingsnake.com user rhacadank.
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