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.
Saturday, October 11 2014
![](http://www.kingsnake.com/blog/uploads/Rico.jpg) Longtime reptile keeper and breeder and kingsnake.com member Rico Walder, known for his passion for green tree pythons, lost his long fight with brain cancer yesterday.
Rico always brought out the best in people, and watching the reptile world pull together, with dozens of fundraisers at reptile events coast to coast over a multi-year period, showed just how special he was to our community. His fight was our fight as well, and to lose him makes the reptile world seem a colder, emptier place for all.
Rest in peace Rico. You are already missed.
Friday, October 10 2014
Check out this video "Northern Copperhead," submitted by kingsnake.com user PH FasDog.
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!
It's our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user 1Sun!
Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here!
Thursday, October 9 2014
Ohhhhhh, OK. You can call it the Rio Grande if you choose.
In fact, that is usually what I call this heavily silted river which is the border between Texas and several Mexican states. Jake and I were observing the river in the Big Bend region of West Texas. What caught our attention was a sizable, distant, emergent snag on which 2 turtle species, a soft-shell and a slider, were quietly basking in the August sunshine.
Air temperature, already 100 degrees Fahrenheit, would rise another several degrees before the setting of Sol would allow temperatures to first stabilize and then begin a slow--a very, very slow--drop. This was, after all, the Chihuahuan Desert.
There was a wide spot in the river and the snag on which the turtles rested was far enough away to tax the maximums of our cameras and lenses. There seemed no way to get closer. Jake was particularly concerned for both species were "lifers" for him.
Despite the distance, the slider dropped into the river and was immediately lost to sight as we positioned ourselves. That was frustrating. But the soft-shell, the Texas subspecies of the spiny soft-shell, Apalone spinifera emoryi, seemed to make itself more comfortable. It sat quietly, moving only its head and neck, as we snapped photo after photo. Out of the many snapshots several proved usable. It was a well spent half hour.
Now to find the slider again.
More photos below...
Continue reading "On a snag in the Rio Bravo"
![](/blog/uploads/LizardCam.jpg) Zoo keepers in San Diego are training a Komodo dragon with the help of a camera attached to his back.
From the Daily Mail:
The 9ft (2.7 metre) creature has been taught to walk towards a series of yellow targets, getting a treat if he manages to complete the task successfully.
Despite its terrifying reputation, this Komodo dragon often responds to its keepers call by waddling towards the targets.
As Komodo dragons spend most of their time resting in the sun, the training provides much-needed exercise for Sunny throughout the day.
And once he masters the trick, keepers can ask Sunny to move into a different area of the exhibit.
The training is also helpful if medical attention is needed, as Sunny could voluntarily move without the need for sedation.
Footage from the GoPro camera is currently being used to review the sessions and give an insight into how Sunny sees his training.
Read more...
It's our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user rod_mcleod!
Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here!
Wednesday, October 8 2014
![](/blog/uploads/Pinesnake10.7.14.jpg) After being eligible for 15 years, a snake found in only a few counties in two states may be protected as a "threatened" species.
From AL.com:
According to the federal agency, the black pinesnake is found only in Mobile, Washington and Clarke counties in Alabama, and 11 Mississippi counties, including Jackson and George. It has not been seen in Louisiana in more than 30 years.
If deemed threatened under the Endangered Species Act, the government would impose certain restrictions on activities like the use of herbicides, controlled burns and some timber activities in the affected habitat areas.
"The black pinesnake is an important part of the longleaf pine ecosystem in southern Alabama and Mississippi," Fish & Wildlife Southeast Regional Director Cindy Dohner said in a prepared statement. "Conservation efforts for the black pinesnake align closely with efforts already ongoing in this ecosystem for other wildlife like the gopher tortoise, eastern indigo snake, dusky gopher frog and the red-cockaded woodpecker."
Read more...
It's our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user BoaZilla!
Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here!
Tuesday, October 7 2014
Jake and I have just returned from 10 days in the Big Bend region of West Texas. This was Jake's first sojourn to the area and my first return in about 20 years. We had a great time and are already plotting next year's visit. We talked in some detail about locales and targets (both herps and birds) and had a fair idea of what we hoped to find.
Jake's list was simple. He wanted to see and photograph at least one of everything. We didn't even come close! My list of half a dozen herp and 2 bird species was a bit more specific. It was topped with the Chihuahuan lyre snake, Trimorphodon vilkinsonii, (on this we failed) and ended with a colorful male of the Southwestern earless lizard, Cophosaurus texanus scitulus, (on this we succeeded).
At a length that occasionally exceeds 7 inches, the Southwestern earless lizard is marginally the largest of the earless clan in the United States. When suitably warmed, it is also the most colorful. During the breeding season, the pinks, greens, blues and black of the dominant males must be seen to be truly appreciated.
Should you be traveling in southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico, or western Texas, be sure to look them up. And have your camera ready. You'll certainly want a photo.
More photos below...
Continue reading "Mr. Green Jeans"
![](/blog/uploads/MountainChickenFrog10.6.14.jpeg) Years after their parents were airlifted out of the Caribbean, endangered mountain chicken frogs were released in their natural habitat.
From the Guardian:
A total of 51 Leptodactylus fallax, known as mountain chicken frogs because they reportedly taste like chicken and make a clucking-like noise, were released on the Jersey-sized island of Montserrat, a British Overseas Territory.
In 2009, conservationists rescued a population of the critically endangered frogs from the island to avoid them being wiped out by a chytrid fungus which has devastated amphibian numbers worldwide. The mountain chicken frog population has also dwindled due to people eating them – the species is the national dish in nearby Dominica.
Following a breeding programme with the rescued frogs by London Zoo and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, which produced 76 frogs from just two females, 51 frogs in July were put in custom-built shipping containers, flown to Antigua and then by a smaller plane to Montserrat. On arrival at their remote forest home on the volcanically active island, they were kept in tents for several days to avoid being stressed by their new environment, before being released into the wild.
Read more...
It's our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user sballard!
Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here!
Monday, October 6 2014
![](/blog/uploads/Pythonrock10.3.1.jpg) Really like pythons? You're not alone. Pythons were at the center of mankind's earliest rituals.
From Science Daily:
The python is one of the San's most important animals. According to their creation myth, mankind descended from the python and the ancient, arid streambeds around the hills are said to have been created by the python as it circled the hills in its ceaseless search for water.
Sheila Coulson's find shows that people from the area had a specific ritual location associated with the python. The ritual was held in a little cave on the northern side of the Tsodilo Hills. The cave itself is so secluded and access to it is so difficult that it was not even discovered by archaeologists until the 1990s.
When Coulson entered the cave this summer with her three master's students, it struck them that the mysterious rock resembled the head of a huge python. On the six meter long by two meter tall rock, they found three-to-four hundred indentations that could only have been man-made.
Read more...
It's our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user BIONCENTER!
Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here!
Friday, October 3 2014
Check out this video "Weekend Herping," 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!
It's our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user stefan31!
Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here!
Thursday, October 2 2014
![](/blog/uploads/SeaTurtle10.1.14.jpg) Fishermen outside Golden Gate caught and released the first green sea turtle seen in the area.
From the SF Gate:
Green sea turtles normally live in the Pacific’s warmer latitudes. Their numbers are dwindling because of development along the beaches they use to nest, and because they sometimes become snared in industrial fishing nets and drown.
Climate change has also affected the ancient reptiles. Because temperature determines their gender when they hatch, females vastly outnumber males these days. And the warmer ocean currents tend to take the turtles places they’re not accustomed to going, such as San Francisco Bay.
Read more...
It was more than 10 years ago that I found my first Everglades Burmese python, Python molurus bivitattus. A little over 7 feet in length, the snake was crawling slowly across the roadway and rather than trying to escape when we neared, it simply coiled slightly and stopped crawling. At no time did it display the slightest hostile behavior.
About a year and a half later, I found a second example. Like the first, although larger, this one showed no hostility causing me to ask myself "what is with these pythons?"
Another 2 years passed and I found a third python, a 5 footer, that was a little feisty - but only a little.
In August of 2011, I found a fresh DOR hatchling, still well within the Everglades, but outside the boundaries of the National Park.
And then in 2014, a friend and I found a 10 footer: an underweight male that was far more interested in avoiding us than in confrontation.
5 pythons in over ten years found during more than 25 Everglades sojourns that had pythons as at least one of the target species. That's not very many. Admittedly these were only road sightings and well over 1,500 of the big snakes have been documented, removed, and euthanized.
I didn't hike through choice python habitat, which according to experts is nearly anyplace you chose to hike. As most recent trips drew to a close without the sighting of even one python, I couldn't help but think of the great and much lauded FWC sponsored python hunt of 2013. This fiasco, dubbed a success by the "experts," turned up only 68 pythons which was the cumulative result achieved by almost 1,600 hunters over a period of nearly a month.
Over the last 10 years, I have seen several Burmese pythons in Florida's Everglades. Except for a single DOR hatchling, those I have seen were between 5 and 12 feet in length. Whether you call this unfortunate or fortunate, it is a fact. Although there is no question that pythons should not exist in Florida, since they are here due stupidity or accident I am glad that I have had the opportunity to make their acquaintance.
More photos below...
Continue reading "Personal comments on glades pythons"
It's our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user MaxPeterson!
Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here!
Wednesday, October 1 2014
![](/blog/uploads/SandLiz9.30.15.jpg) Lizards thought to be extinct in the wild have been reintroduced into Welsh sand dunes after breeding and care from experts.
From the Daily Post:
Herpetology keeper Ruth Smith said: “Sand lizards are the UK’s rarest lizard and populations in some areas are so low that we can’t just rely on protecting the site, we have to help breed them to boost their numbers.
“Surveys have shown that sand lizard numbers have significantly improved in the locations where they have been released before and it’s proven that those bred in the likes of zoos have a higher chance of survival than those that hatch in the wild.
“That’s because we’re able to give them plenty of food and intensive care in their vital early days and build them up for around four to six weeks, giving them a great head start.
Read more...
It's our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user dragonpaw!
Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here!
Tuesday, September 30 2014
![](/blog/uploads/Closeup9.29.14.jpg) Photographer Mike Korostelev spent some one-on-one time with a crocodile, resulting in remarkable underwater photos.
From the Daily Mail:
But far from being scared, Mr Korostelev was delighted with his deadly encounter.
He said: 'It was not an accidental meeting, the main purpose of my trip was to capture an American crocodile in its natural environment.
'I met this crocodile underwater face to face. When it swam close to me, the only thought I had was about how great it was that I could take great pictures.
'It nuzzled into the camera several times and sometimes it touched me with its tail.'
Read more...
Whether you know it by the American name of rhinoceros viper or the name of river jack that is commonly heard elsewhere, Bitis nascicornis is a magnificent snake that deserves the utmost respect.
It is easily determined whence came the American name, for this stocky viper has several pairs of moderately to greatly elongated scales on its nose. Although it can swim, the name of river jack seems a bit inaccurate. Rather than being actually a riverine species, the snake is known to be an inhabitant of the forests and rarely of the woodlands of West and Central Africa.
Those in some populations are among the world's most beautiful snakes while others are dull (especially the old adults) and of muddy appearance. Those from the northeastern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (often referred to as the Ituri Forest or Ituri Rainforest) are often very brightly colored. This snake has a dangerously potent venom that is primarily haemotoxic but that also contains neurotoxins.
A live-bearing species, female rhino vipers may have from 10 to 36 babies. Normal adult length for this very heavy bodied viper is 25 to 36 inches with the females attaining a larger size than the males.
Despite its lethal potential this snake, popular with hobbyists, remains occasionally available at rather affordable prices.
Continue reading "The river jack"
It's our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user concinnitor!
Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here!
Monday, September 29 2014
![](/blog/uploads/CPHead9.23.14.jpg) Owners who purchased a property overrun with copperheads used to kill one hundred of the snakes each year, but when they learned how important snake venom is to medical research, they had a change of heart.
From Click2Houston:
"We were supposed to come out on a Friday the first time," said Swanson. "We ended up being delayed by a day because he was burying his aunt, who had just died from breast cancer the day before. When he found out that we were out here to collect these snakes to try to use them for cancer research, it changed their whole outlook on it."
It changed the Hubbards' outlook so much that they plan to turn part of their property into a conservation area so people can view the creatures in their natural habitat. They're hoping to open up the eco-tourist venture by sometime next summer.
Read more...
It's our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user lovin2act!
Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here!
Friday, September 26 2014
It's our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user RANDYTAYLOR!
Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here!
Check out this video "Caiman Lizard unboxing," submitted by kingsnake.com user Minuet.
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!
Thursday, September 25 2014
In a feel-good story out of Texas, Fort Worth firefighters rescued a young girl's pet frog from a burning home.
From the Star-Telegram:
“Firefighters conducted a search but found that the house was unoccupied at the time of the fire,” Lt. Carol Jones, a fire department spokeswoman, said in a news release issued Tuesday morning. “A family member who later arrived explained that the owners were actually out of state and then inquired about the family pet.”
Firefighters happily reunited the daughter with the family’s pet frog, who appeared unharmed, Jones said.
Read more...
We sure don't live in the country, but there is enough undeveloped land around us to support a few Florida box turtles, Terrapene carolina bauri.
This pretty subspecies of the eastern box turtle is variably but quite consistently marked with yellow striping against a black carapacial ground color. Most seen here are adults and although it is always a pleasure to see them, I occasionally wonder where these turtles nest and how can the babies remain so successfully hidden?
A couple of years ago, I got lucky. A gravid female Florida box turtle wandered up to the edge of a restraining board in our yard, dug her nest, and laid 4 eggs. I was able to watch the whole nesting and incubation sequence, and I happened to be nearby when three of the four eggs hatched (one appeared infertile). I decided to keep all and give them a "head start" before loosing them into the wilds.
As with other subspecies of the eastern box turtle, the carapacial color of the quarter-sized hatchlings was fragmented and the carapace itself was far less domed that of the adult. The hatchlings ate ravenously and at the end of the year I allotted for head start, they were more than one and half inches in length, carapacial doming was noted, and the carapacial markings were forming into the radiating stripes so typical of this turtle.
Although they have no identifying marks, I'll forever hope that at least some of the box turtles that I meet near my house are these babies, now grown.
More photos below...
Continue reading "Baby boxies"
![](/blog/uploads/George9.24.14.jpg) How did taxidermists preserve the likeness of a now extinct species? Very carefully and with painstaking research.
From Gizmodo:
Lonsesome George was the last of the Pinta Island giant tortoises on the Galapagos. Due to human intervention in the ecosystem his entire species whittled down to just George. Since his discovery he'd been well cared for and revered by scientists across the board. Several attempts at mating George just never panned out and he died from old age. Within 24 hours of his death he was frozen with the decision to taxidermy him.
The first step of the process was to get George to the museum for evaluation. This involved huge amounts of coordination and paperwork to get him to NY through customs and into the States safely intact. They worked against the clock to minimize any types of freezer burn or damage done to George that could happen when kept frozen too long or transported poorly. After the museum assessed George, he was brought to the Wildlife Preservations taxidermy studio in Woodland Park, NJ.
George Dante, president of Wildlife Preservations and an expert in the field of taxidermy, lead the effort in bringing George's likeness back into existence. Since there were no other animals of his species to base him off of, extensive amounts of research went into making sure the process was as accurate as possible.
Read more...
|