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, September 8 2014
![](/blog/uploads/Tort9.1.14.JPG) Hundreds of surrendered Sonoran Desert tortoises are in need of new homes, and turning in wild tortoises compounds the problem.
From AZ Central:
"It's a heartbreaking thing when you see them come here, tears in their eyes, and you try to comfort them," said Daniel Marchand, curator at the Phoenix Herpetological Society, a private sanctuary which takes in surrendered reptiles.
But PHS can no longer take in tortoises due to the scope of the current problem.
Releasing them in the wild is not the answer, because one tame tortoise with a virus can kill an entire neighborhood of wild Sonoran Desert tortoises.
Then there's the issue with people finding tortoises in the wild and turning them in to Game and Fish.
"We don't want people turning in baby tortoises," said Burnett. "They're probably wild tortoises, so we want them to leave them in the wild. Obviously, if they're in the middle of the road, move them to the side of the road, but please don't turn in baby tortoises. Let them be in the wild so they don't have to be in captivity."
Read more...
It's our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user RaderRVT!
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Friday, September 5 2014
Check out this video "Small turtle attacks a fluffy cat," submitted by kingsnake.com user Minuet.
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It's our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user biophiliacs!
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Thursday, September 4 2014
![](/blog/uploads/lat-la-me-cobra-la0020898506-20140903.jpg) Is Southern California facing a COBRANADO crisis?
Maybe, maybe not, but questions are being raised in the reptile community about the timeline of the search for an "albino" monocled cobra in the Los Angeles area. The snake was photographed Monday after it allegedly escaped and bit a pet dog.
News stories indicate the dog was bitten and taken to the vet on Monday, yet the incident was not reported to animal control until late Tuesday, with a subsequent search, which involved helicopters, being launched, then cancelled on Wednesday.
How could the resident have the presence of mind to take photos of the cobra, then take his dog to the vet, yet somehow wait a full day to alert the authorities that a potentially lethal exotic snake was roaming the neighborhood?
To read more about the ongoing search for this apparently escaped cobra, check out the Los Angeles Times article here, or follow the ongoing debate by reptile hobbyists and experts alike on Facebook with the hashtags #LACOBRA and #COBRANADO.
Back and forth, back and forth, and then back and forth again. Jake and I were on a stretch of road that was new to us; a stretch of road that was known for the many hatchling Burmese pythons, Python (molurus) bivitattus, that had been found on and along it.
The day had been hot and very humid. We arrived at our destination early to spend a pre-dusk hour birding. With some bird species already queuing for their winter migration southward, that pursuit was successful. With sunset fading on the western horizon and dusk well upon us, a crossing Florida banded water snake signaled that it was time to turn our attention to herping. So we did.
During the following several hours, we saw dozens of green, banded, and brown water snakes, striped crayfish snakes, and corn snakes, while hoping all the while for a crossing hatchling python.
Garter and ribbon snakes became active and water snakes became super-active. By 10:00PM, we had seen no pythons and we began thinking about the air-conditioned comfort of the motel, but were loathe to give up. 11:00PM came and went.
Serpentine activity had waned and we were now counting pack rats, cotton rats, opossums, and raccoons. Although all of these small mammals have supposedly been decimated by the pythons, there were many visible on this night.
We were on what we had decided would be our last pass of the night, when Jake hollered "PYTHON!" We never did see any of the hatchlings we so eagerly sought, but the finding of this ten foot long, slightly skinny male, brought a satisfying closure to our many hours of road-cruising.
More photos below...
Continue reading "No hatchling burms on this trip"
![](/blog/uploads/Crocdoc.jpg) Former kingsnake.com Chat Week guest Adam Britton calls for a better understanding of crocodile behavior to reduce fatal mistakes.
From Yahoo!:
Mr Britton said fatal attacks had very gradually increased since crocodiles were protected in the 1970s, to an average of one every two years.
"You can get three or four attacks within a short space of time, it doesn't necessarily mean there's suddenly been a dramatic increase in the number of crocodile attacks," he said.
"It just means there's been a dramatic increase in the number of people taking unnecessary risks, or putting themselves in a position that they don't think is necessarily safe, and it's tragic when it happens."
Read more...
It's our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user pitparade!
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Wednesday, September 3 2014
![](/blog/uploads/PineSnake.png) Cars may travel faster on roads, but some snakes don't.
From Live Science:
A speed test for the northern pine snake (Pituophis melanoleucus) shows that it takes the snakes 2 minutes to cross a two-lane concrete road. During that time, about 70 cars may pass over a well-used highway to the New Jersey coast. On sand, a trip the same distance would last only 45 seconds, said Dane Ward, a doctoral student in environmental science at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
When a snake moves across a sandy area, it creates sandbanks that it uses to propel itself forward. Concrete does not have enough debris or grip to help with this forward motion, Ward said. "It seems that the snake is having difficulty generating enough lateral thrust to move itself farther," he told Live Science.
To compensate, snakes on concrete roads slither in an "S" motion, which isn't typical for northern pine snakes, Ward said.
Read more...
It's our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user HappyHeathen!
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Tuesday, September 2 2014
Among the world's most beautiful snake species, the slender, tri-colored, ringed, Eastern coral snake, Micrurus fulvius (no subspecies today) is usually an easily recognized serpent.
Throughout most of its mainland range (coastal North Carolina to extreme eastern Louisiana, unless an aberrant example like melanistic or albinistic), the coral snake is of rather standardized appearance. The oft times heard ditty of "red to yellow kill a fellow, and red to black venom lack" aptly describes the snake.
The identification based on color can be a little tricky on the southernmost tip of the Florida peninsula and Key Largo. It was in those areas that the snake was and is of different enough color to have been once (but no longer) designated a subspecies that was called Micrurus fulvius barbouri.
The difference is that in southern Florida, the red rings are often noticeably widened and, except for the first well-defined yellow ring, the yellow rings are less prominent than on typical examples of the Eastern coral snake. In some cases, rather than being precisely delineated, the broad red bands may shade gradually to yellowish-red, a characteristic that can be confusing if unexpected.
Please compare the pictures included with this blog and rely less on the pattern and expected color to identify this dangerously venomous micrurine snake. As an aside, the red to yellow rhyme can lead you far astray in Latin America where very few coral snake species have the two caution colors (red and yellow) touching.
More photos below...
Continue reading "South Florida coral snakes"
![](/blog/uploads/Killerhead.jpg) A chef was killed by a venomous snake twenty minutes after he chopped off the snake's head.
From the Mirror:
A police spokesman said: "It is a highly unusual case but it appears to be just an accident. He prepared the snake himself and was just unlucky.
"There was nothing that could be done to save the man. Only the anti-venom could have helped but this was not given in time. It was just a tragic accident."
The snake was being diced up to be made into snake soup, which is a delicacy in the area and a much sought after dish in high-end restaurants. China has seen a rising demand for snake products, not only in restaurants but also for use in traditional medicine.
Read more...
It's our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user scserpents!
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Monday, September 1 2014
It's our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user ke!
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Friday, August 29 2014
It's our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user harleyherp! Have a safe and happy Labor Day!
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Check out this video "Jumping Frogs," submitted by kingsnake.com user PH FasDog.
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Thursday, August 28 2014
Kenny wanted to see an Eastern fox snake, Pantherophis vulpina gloydi, because it would be a lifer for him and I wanted to see it just because I wanted to see it.
I had seen this species before, but I never tire of seeing herps in the wild, so we were somewhere along the southern shore of Lake Erie in northern Ohio. We walked through a beautiful park where the Eastern fox snake was said to be common. We failed to find one there. We were now walking a breakwater that had jumbles of boulders for its entire length and a fairly dense tree canopy for most of its length.
We walked for more than a mile without seeing as much as a garter snake and then, having decided to try our luck elsewhere, turned to return to the car. The morning lake fog that kept temperatures a bit cool was now burning off and the boulder jumbles not shaded by the trees were beginning to warm - but still no fox snakes.
Ahead of us the area opened up to a boulder-rimmed parking lot, the near side of which had a couple of huge spreading oaks. I decided to go and look at the acorns, and as I neared the tree I almost stepped on an adult fox snake that had just emerged from between two boulders.
I called to Kenny but he was now determined to find his own and declined to come look at mine, which, it turned out was a smart decision. Just as he made another step he hollered, "Here's one," and a couple of moments later, "here's another."
First target of the day found. Westward Ho!
More photos below...
Continue reading "The search for an Eastern fox snake"
![](/blog/uploads/Tort8.23.14.jpg) How do you save endangered tortoises? Sterilization.
From the Elko Daily Free Press:
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service officials say they have to curb the backyard breeding of desert tortoises because the growing population of unwanted pet tortoises diverts resources from efforts to preserve the species in the wild.
Mike Senn, assistant field supervisor for the Fish &Wildlife Service in Nevada, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that it can be “a really difficult issue” to explain to people. He said simply breeding more tortoises won’t save the species if not enough is done to improve and protect natural habitat and address threats in the wild.
Captive tortoises threaten native populations because they can carry diseases with them when they escape or are released illegally in the desert.
Read more...
It's our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user ladyania!
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Wednesday, August 27 2014
![](/blog/uploads/ST8.23.14.jpg) Soldiers in Nicaragua were deployed to prevent poachers from stealing sea turtle eggs.
From France24:
The first 1,400 Olive Ridley turtles arrived to nest Thursday at the Chacocente Wildlife Refuge on the Central American country's southern coast, regional military commander Jose Larios told the Nuevo Diario newspaper.
They were followed by hundreds more on Friday and Saturday, said Larios, whose troops are guarding a 1,500-meter (one-mile) stretch of beach where the turtles lay their eggs.
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It's our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user VenomouS996!
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Tuesday, August 26 2014
![](/blog/uploads/NJ8.23.14.jpg) Conservationists in Scotland search dunes and marshes by flashlight, looking for critically endangered natterjack toads.
From BBC News:
The scientists search the area after dark, using torchlight to find the natterjacks.
The toads are then measured and photographed.
James Silvey of RSPB Scotland said: "The beautiful thing about natterjacks is they each come with their own individual fingerprint, and that's in the form of the big warts and the yellow stripe on their backs.
"Each of the toads we photograph today could potentially live for 10 or 15 years and if we photograph it again we'll know that individual was found here at Mersehead in 2014.
Read more...
"Gordy! Will you look at this! This turtle has a red belly!"
The place was somewhere south of Ringwood, New Jersey. The time was back in the 1950s. The occasion was me seeing my first red-bellied turtle of any species. My companion was my friend and mentor, E. Gordon (Gordy) Johnston (now deceased).
I was 14 or 15 years old on my first herping jaunt away from home. It was memorable because we had already seen more Eastern box turtles than I had ever guessed existed, we saw an Eastern king snake, and visited Asa Pittman and seen his collection of Northern pine snakes and "Coastal Plains" milk snakes. Now I had just hand-caught what I thought to be a hatchling painted turtle only to find it was a Northern red-bellied turtle, Pseudemys rubriventris.
And to top it off, that night we camped in a little deserted Pine Barrens cabin and were serenaded all night long by whip-poor-wills and screech owls. What an occasion for a herp loving kid!
Since then, I have seen many Northern red-bellied turtles, and although I marveled at each and every one of them, none have stuck in memory like that first one. I can still see myself darting from the damp shoreline into the shallows to grab that little "painted turtle" I had just startled only to find it was something so very different that I hadn't then known it even existed.
That's herping at its very, very, best.
More photos below...
Continue reading " Northern red-bellied turtle"
It's our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user terryo!
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Monday, August 25 2014
![](/blog/uploads/Endangeredfrog8.23.14.jpg) A critically endangered tree frog has just been discovered in Madagascar.
From Newsweek:
Boophis ankarafensis, as the scientists have dubbed the amphibian, is bright green with red speckles red on its head and back. It was found on the Sahamalaza Peninsula in the Ankarafa forest, from whence its name comes.
The frog’s call—a series of high-pitched trills, followed by three clicks—differs slightly from related frog species, which stop at a pair of clicks. Its body size and coloration are also slightly different; genetic analysis proved that it is indeed a separate species, according to a study describing the animal published today in the journal ZooKeys.
Although the Sahamalaza-Iles Radama National Park, where the frog is found, remains protected in name, deforestation is rampant in the surrounding forests, the researchers wrote.
Read more...
It's our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user hermanbronsgeest!
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Friday, August 22 2014
Check out this video "Bubblegum the Talking Snake," submitted by kingsnake.com user snakewz.
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It's our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user RDBartlett!
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Thursday, August 21 2014
![](/blog/uploads/Rodentcage.jpg) NASA is planning to send rats to the International Space Station so they can study the effects of microgravity on animals.
From Fox News:
While rodents have flown on space shuttle flights in the past, those missions have only lasted a week or two. This new rats in space mission, however, could range between 30 and 90 days, depending on the availability of spacecraft like SpaceX's Dragon capsule to ferry them on the roundtrip.
This means there will need to be changes to animal husbandry to keep the rats happy and healthy, said Julie Robinson, NASA's chief scientist for the space station, in a recent press conference.
"This will allow animals to be studied for longer period of time on space station missions," she said, adding that of the 35 or so studies where rats have gone into space, few of them have gone for more than two weeks.
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![](/blog/uploads/SSV8.18.14.jpg) Scientists hope a new discovery about the origin of snake venom can lead to more effective treatments of snake bites.
From Laboratory Equipment:
The genes encoding these proteins have been duplicated at some point in the past and one of the resulting copies has been restricted to the venom gland, where natural selection has acted to develop or increase toxicity. This differs from the long-standing hypothesis that venom proteins are “recruited” from body tissues, in the sense that these proteins are already expressed in the venom or salivary gland prior to becoming toxic.
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