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.
India is home to good number of amphibians, including frogs, toads, salamanders, and caecilians. Toads and frogs are found in every part of India, whether it’s a city or a jungle, and according to me they are the cutest cold blooded creatures on earth.
I have been catching frogs and toads since I learned to walk and grab things. I find them really cute and the reason is their face; it always appears a smiling and a happy face. I was always the odd man among my friends because whenever and wherever I used to see a toad I would pick it up, and my friends found it really disgusting.
The Malabar gliding frog, Rhacophorus malabaricus, is my favorite frog amongst the Indian frogs, because of its gliding jumps and green color. This frog has a body length of about 10 cm, making it one of the largest moss frog. The color is vivid green without markings and the belly or underside is pale yellow. The webbings between fingers and toes is large and orange-red.
The Malabar gliding frog is common in the western ghats of India. My first meeting with this frog was really surprising; I was herping for Malabar pit vipers at night and I found a few, so I decided to search for some of these frogs. For 10-15 minutes I couldn’t find anything and I sat on a rock for a break. As I was removing my head torch, I felt something sitting on it, I just grabbed it gently and saw it was a Malabar gliding frog I wasn’t aware of it sitting on my head torch. An unforgettable meeting.
On a trip to New Zealand, Prince Harry met a Tuatara lizard named Harry who is over 100 years old.
From the Sunday Express:
The royal came face to face with a Tuatara lizard, also named Harry, during a welcome ceremony in the city of Invercargill.
The Prince came up close and personal with the 100-year-old reptile as it settled on his arm.
The Tuatara is only found in New Zealand where it is revered in native Maori culture as a messenger of the gods.
It was back to business as usual afterwards as Prince Harry then faced a crowd of screaming female fans - one of whom even managed to plant a kiss on the Royal.
Despite their reputation of being angry, the beauty of a Tokay gecko puts it front and center in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user stingray!
USARK and its lawyers worked at a frantic pace to get a nationwide preliminary injunction (PI) for every single responsible reptile keeper in the continental United States since the recent USFWS Lacey Act listing of reticulated pythons and three species of anacondas.
We submitted multiple legal briefs/memoranda to, and had several hearings before, the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia. Hundreds of hours from numerous individuals have been invested. I am not sure when Phil Goss sleeps!
A PI is an extraordinary legal remedy that is only granted upon satisfying extremely stringent legal requirements. For example, USARK had to establish that its members would suffer irreparable harm without a PI and it is likely to prevail on the merits (when the court eventually hears the main case).
The law also requires the judge to grant a PI as narrow as possible. Because there is no full blown adversary process at the PI stage, the judge essentially assumes that the facts provided by USFWS are accurate for purposes of ruling on the PI. All of these strict legal principles and requirements are why you rarely see a PI granted, especially one on a nationwide basis enjoining enforcement of an environmental law.
Preliminary Injunction Granted
Against all odds, the judge ordered a nationwide PI "with respect to transportation by any Plaintiff or USARK member of the reticulated python and/or green anaconda" (1) out of any of the 49 continental United States, and (2) into all of those states except for Florida and Texas.
Questions and Limitations on Preliminary Injunction
When will the PI be effective?
June 2, 2015, unless USFWS appeals to the Federal Circuit Court and a stay of the PI is granted by the Federal Circuit Court before June 2, 2015. USFWS stated it would take them about 75 days to make a decision on such an appeal.
Does the PI allow every reptile keeper in the continental United States to ship/transport green anacondas and reticulated pythons across state lines?
At the last minute, USFWS made numerous arguments to try to restrict the scope of shipments. In response to USFWS arguments and to protect the PI ruling if appealed, the judge ruled that the PI allows transportation/shipment by anyone who was a member of USARK as of April 8, 2015.
A nationwide injunction for every reptile keeper, including shipments into Florida and Texas, will be issued if/when the judge rules favorably on the interstate transportation issue as part of the main case. Since the judge has already ruled during the PI stage of the case that USARK is likely to prevail on the interstate transportation issue on the merits, it is likely that such an injunction will be granted.
How do I determine my status/qualification for USARK membership?
ALL questions regarding USARK membership must be directed to contact@USARK.org. Please do not flood USARK with emails unless you have a current expectation of shipping/transporting green anacondas or reticulated pythons across state lines. The limited USARK resources are needed to focus on future issues in the case, etc.
Does the PI allow transportation/shipment to or from Hawaii, Puerto Rico, territories and possessions of the US or Washington, DC?
No. These activities are prohibited by a provision of the Lacey Act that was not challenged in the PI. This issue may be resolved in our favor when the court hears the merits of our case.
Does the PI allow importation from other countries into the United States?
No, but exportation to other countries is permitted. In addition, the ban on importation will be addressed when USARK presents the merits stage of the case.
Does the PI allow transportation/shipment into a state in violation of that state’s law?
No.
Does the PI allow transportation of Beni anacondas or DeShauensee’s anacondas across state lines?
No, such an injunction could not be granted because these anacondas have not previously been available in trade.
Does the PI allow me to ship out of the 47 continental US states through Miami or Dallas?
No. Shipments out of the 47 continental US states must go through one of the other 16 USFWS designated export ports. Shipments beginning in Florida can go through Miami and shipments beginning in Texas can go through Dallas.
Below is a full list of the other designated ports (Miami and Dallas are excluded):
Anchorage, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Newark, Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle.
Is anyone restricted from making a shipment via plane solely because it flies over Florida, Texas, Washington, DC, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, or any territory or possession of the US?
No.
For a lawsuit timeline and other frequently asked questions, click here.
If you are a hardcore fan of tree snakes, then I would suggest you put herping India on your to-do list. India is the place where you can find 50-60 species of tree snakes. Most of the tree snakes are from the family of Pit Vipers, Bronzeback Tree snakes, Vine snakes and Cat snakes. In India you can find 14-15 species of cat snakes, I would rather say that this is the second largest family of any snake in India after the pit vipers which has 18 species.
The Ceylon cat snake, Boiga ceylonensis, is one of my favourite snakes. I love the way they recoil, and their thin and long body mesmerizes me.
This snake has an attractive color pattern that makes it shine sometimes like gold during early morning sunrise. Ceylon cat snakes are greyish-brown with dark brown spots or stripes, a brown diagonal streak is present behind the eye. The maximum length is 130 cm and it is oviparous by nature.
Finding this snake in the jungle during early morning was something unforgettable. It was something more than finding "gold."
You think getting your kids to brush their teeth is hard, imagine doing it with a croc! Check out the dental care given to Jaws over at Madras Croc Bank in India in our Herp Video of the Week.
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!
Black-tailed prairie dog burrows scar the landscape. Stop for a moment while driving through Wind Cave National Wildlife Refuge in the Black Hills during the hours of daylight and a dozen or more prairie dogs will come running in hope of a handout.
Look both ways before you begin driving again because a curious bison just might be standing in front of your vehicle. But things are quieter at night. Bison drift away from the road to bunk down on the open prairie. The prairie dogs are all snoozing in their burrows. As a great horned owl flies over on silent wings, a summering burrowing owl ducks into a prairie dog burrow for safety.
But what is that tiny head emerging from the next prairie dog burrow? It's a salamander - a blotched tiger salamander, Ambystoma mavortium melanostictum! And we were to learn that the use of these havens by the salamanders was not at all uncommon.
The blotched tiger salamander attains a robust 6 to 11 inches in total length. Some examples have a well-defined reticulum of black against the predominating olive-yellow to olive-green, while others are less precisely patterned.
Neoteny is well documented, and it is this subspecies that is often offered for sale as "waterdogs" in the pet trade. Captive conditions usually cause waterdogs to metamorphose so be ready to change its housing from aquarium to terrarium.
But, whether adult or larva, this is a hardy salamander that often survives for more than a decade as a captive and that is easily fed on pelleted salamander food and/or earthworms.
A newly approved rattlesnake antivenom is being tested in Arizona.
From KVOA.com:
The Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy in Tucson and the Banner Poison and Drug Information Center at Banner-University Medical Center in Phoenix will be conducting a study to find the most effective way to use the two antivenoms.
"Arizona has the largest diversity of rattlesnake bites in the country and what we see in all these rattlesnake bites is an incredible diversity of patients and the kind of effects we see in the rattlesnakes themselves," said Keith Boesen, director of the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center.
Every year, there are between 250 to 350 rattlesnake bites in Arizona. Many of the victims credit antivenom for saving their lives.
What a great shot! Check out this close up of the eye of the dragon (a bearded one that is) in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user mecdwell!
Water management plans are making it difficult for alligators to find prey.
From the Sun Sentinel:
The Everglades alligators appear to be suffering from the artificial water management imposed on the area to drain land for cities and farms, he said.
Before the canals and pumps and other structures went up over the past century, he said there were sufficient dry periods to concentrate prey, allowing the alligators to find enough food. But now, some areas are flooded year-round, allowing fish, turtles and other prey to spread out over a wide area. That makes it harder for the alligators to find enough to eat.
"They are thinner," he said. "They're not getting enough to eat. We've been seeing that for a number of years, specifically in the Everglades and the water conservation areas.'
Baby shots are always a favorite! This Lampropeltis triangulum gaigeae grabs its first breath in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user nategodin!
The London Zoo has become the first zoo in the world to successfully breed an incredibly rare Lake Oku clawed frog.
From the Irish Examiner:
The Lake Oku clawed frog is native to only Lake Oku in Cameroon and, due to their unique history of evolution (including the loss of their tongues), the aquatic frogs are tottering on the brink of extinction.
A team of amphibian keepers at the zoo are the first to ever successfully breed the frog, sparking fresh hope of ensuring the survival of the species.
Zookeepers have been intent on maintaining perfect conditions for the amphibians to thrive and four of the zoo’s 13 tadpoles have already metamorphosed into young, colourful frogs.
In many areas where once common, the smooth green snake, Opheodrys vernalis, seem to have become hard to find. In various areas where I have searched - Michigan, Massachusetts, Virginia, West Virginia, South Dakota, and New Mexico among them - in locales where the taxon was known to have once been fairly common, I have often failed to find any. I may have found only one or two after extensive searches.
Jake, who grew up with smooth green snakes common on the family property in Maine looked long and hard for the last several years, finding none until in 2014 when he found one - just one.
The last ones that I saw were in the Black Hills of South Dakota (a single snake) and then, while returning to Florida, I found two examples in Missouri. The Black Hills example was beneath a recently fallen dead tree trunk of moderate diameter in a blueberry flat. The Missouri specimens were beneath pieces of cardboard at the edge of a pasture.
A friend who visits Wisconsin on fairly regular intervals has found this little snake to still be common in Door County, a peninsula jutting eastward into Lake Michigan. Not only is the smooth green snake still common there, but it occurs in at least 2 color phases, the typical leaf green and a gray-green.
And as I write this I'm thinking that it is long past time for me to visit Wisconsin.
And just as a "by the way," smooth green snakes, known to be insectivores (perhaps arachnivores would be more accurate), have proven to be difficult to feed, delicate captives that are best left in the wild.
This yearling Okeetee corn snake is just hanging out doing snake things, like climbing a tree, in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user cochran!
Conservationists are working to make sure Florida has a great turtle season this year, and are on the lookout for green turtles.
From news-press.com:
Kelly Sloan, sea turtle program coordinator Sanibel/Captiva Conservation Foundation, also has plans to make this a good year for turtles.
"Coyotes are a problem," Sloan explained. "We are going to attempt to screen every nest this year. Hopefully that will keep the coyotes out."
Sloan is also hoping for lots of green turtles this year. They had a record number of greens, 23 of them, in 2013 and none last year. Sloan is also starting a big campaign with a slogan "After Nine it's Turtle Time," in an attempt to get people to turn off or conceal lights at night. Hatchlings use the lights from the horizon to find the water. Artificial light can lure them the wrong way.
I've been rescuing snakes and other animals for a long time now, and I'm very well aware of the species found in my area. Nonetheless, my last rescue really surprised me.
Two days ago, somewhere around 7 PM or half past, I received a rescue call from a nearby area where I had rescued common trinkets twice before. The person said it was the same snake I had rescued previously, so I was sure it was a trinket.
When I saw the snake, though, I couldn’t believe my eyes: it was a Montane trinket snake, Coelognathus helena helena. I was never so surprised before while on a rescue, and for a minute I just stood there, wondering how it was possible, since these wild siblings of common trinkets prefer staying in the wild.
But it was real. It was a semi-adult Montane trinket, around 60-70 cms. I had to travel 30 miles to the jungle to release this snake where it belongs. The only places where I have encountered these snakes are the jungles in the outskirts of my cities, and I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would get this snake on a rescue in my urban area -- but sometimes there are unexpected surprises in life.
A salmonella outbreak in 16 states, linked to crested geckos, has been confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although usually associated with turtles, salmonella in its various sub-types is found in all reptiles and amphibians. This outbreak is a reminder to all that proper hygiene is required after handling any reptile or amphibian.
As of May 13, 2015, a total of 20 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Muenchen have been reported from 16 states since January 1, 2014.
CDC is collaborating with public health, veterinary, and agriculture officials in many states and the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) to investigate an outbreak of Salmonella Muenchen infections linked to contact with pet crested geckos purchased from multiple stores in different states. Crested geckos are popular pet lizards that come in a variety of colors.
This outbreak is a reminder to follow simple steps to enjoy your pet and keep your family healthy. CDC does not recommend that pet owners get rid of their geckos.
It is very important to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water right after touching pet reptiles or anything in the area where they live and roam.
The white-lipped pit viper, Trimeresurus albolabris, is one of the most common species of pit vipers found in southeastern parts of Asia, which includes some northern states of India. As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, India is home to 17 species of pit viper; among these 17, the white-lipped pit viper is most commonly found in northern and northeastern parts of India.
The white-lipped pit viper is green in color like other green tree vipers, and the ventral body is pale yellow or whitish yellow in color. A light ventrolateral stripe is present in all males, but absent in females. The color of the tail is reddish-brown or reddish-maroon. The size of these snakes varies from 2-2.7 feet, and these snakes are viviparous by nature.
It’s very difficult for a snake lover in the southwestern part of India to encounter such a beautiful snake, but I find myself very lucky because I’m native to Uttarakhand, one of the northern states of India. I found this snake during the summer of 2013 in Uttarakhand.
The thing that surprised me the most was that I always thought pit vipers are found only on trees and sometimes on land, but this fellow was enjoying himself in a stream.
When I picked him up I noticed that its belly was fully loaded with small fishes. This is one of the main reasons I love snakes as I've been studing them for a long time, but they never stop surprising me. Photo: Hazard-Bot. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Our Herp Video of the Week shares a herper named Zach and his Valentine's Day find of a bundle of ringneck snakes in the Bay Area.
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!
Awareness! There was such a thing as a horned frog, and a giant one at that.
My first awareness of this genus of frogs occurred at about 7 years old as I was, with parents, riding the rails - the rails of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford - home from New York. We had been to the Bronx Zoo and in my hand was a zoo guide, a thick paperback, devoted to identifying and discussing some of the creatures we had seen that day.
I scanned the mammal and bird sections and remember turning the pages to the reptiles and stopping at a picture of a horned frog in the amphibian section. I was dismayed for I had not seen this creature at the zoo, yet here it was, bigger than life, pictured in the guide.
I'm almost positive it was a giant horned frog, a Ceratophrys aurita, a horned frog about which to this day I know precious little.
The Brazilian horned frog is supposedly the largest of the genus, larger even that the biggest of the female ornate horned frogs. However, the very few breeders of "C. aurita" today have smaller frogs and believe that the actual size of C. aurita has been exaggerated or if not, that the species varies in adult size populationally and/or individually.
I know that having not seen one yet, I am anxiously awaiting the availability of a dinner-plate sized, long-horned, Brazilian horned frog in the pet trade.
Recently discovered Brazilian frogs create underwater chambers to mate.
From the Daily Mail:
And when it comes to mating, this family of frogs has a unique trait not seen in other frogs.
They typically like to live near fast streams and, if a pair decides to mate, they will spend five minutes searching for a private spot.
‘The male quickly carves out a chamber by excavating the sand around small rocks at the bottom of the stream,’ said Agata Blaszczak-Boxe from New Scientist.
‘Then, like Christian Grey from Fifty Shades he invites his mate into his sex dungeon, which is only just big enough to fit the two amorous amphibians.’
Simply beautiful is the only way to describe this Mitchell's reed frog (Hyperolius mitchelli) taking center stage in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user arkherps!
Balls of tar have washed ashore on a Malaysian beach known for its nesting green turtles.
From the Star Online:
Lang Tengah Turtle Watch co-founder Raphe van Zevenbergen said he noticed clumps of tar balls washing up ashore along the 15m-stretch beach and immediately lodged a report with the marine park authorities.
“So far, we have collected some 13 bags of tar balls. We are concerned that the tar might seep into the sand. We have also asked for help from the nearby resorts.
“They have been very obliging in cleaning their own sections of the beach as we all await assistance from the authorities,” he said.
Lang Tengah Island, which is just under three kilometres in length, is popularly known as Turtle Bay due to its known turtle nesting population, predominantly the green turtles.
There is nothing common about these common frogs (Rana temporaria) taking the spotlight in our Herp Photo of the Day , uploaded by kingsnake.com user Krallenfrosch!
After a long, hard fight against cancer, former New Mexico state herpetologist Charlie Painter succumbed to the disease early this morning. His wife and partner, Lori King Painter, said, "Charlie lived his life with everything fiber of his being, and did not want to leave the world that he loved so much."
Charlie's contributions to herpetofauna over the years include authoring over 80 peer reviewed articles, serving as editor for Herpetological Review, and becoming the first state herpetologist for the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, a role he held for over 25 years. Charlie authored the 1996 book Amphibians and Reptiles of New Mexico and, with the Museum of Southwestern Biology at the University of New Mexico, helped build and maintain one of the best herpetofauna collections in the nation.
Painter was the 2013 recipient of the Allison Haskell Award for Excellence in Herpetofaunal Conservation from his peers in the Partnership for Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, and his decades-long efforts working with students and herpers of all ages imparted a long-lasting legacy in the herpetology of the western United States.
Kenny and I agreed that it was a long way from North Central Florida to southwest South Dakota just to try to see one little snake, so time and again we delayed the attempt. But finally the time seemed right.
We were planning a salamandering trip that would take us along most of the Pacific Coast so we'd start at the north (Washington) and work our way southward to southern California, then eastward and towards home. By starting in the north we could travel through the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota, up into Montana. The time had come to try to see the Black Hills red-bellied snake, Storeria occipitomaculata pahasapae.
We allocated 3 weeks for the entire trip (and as it turned out we used every minute of it), allowing a couple of days to search out the Black Hills target.
Despite locales provided by a friendly researcher, finding the targeted "west of the heartland" red-bellied snake took more time and work that we had thought it would. It seemed that we had arrived a week or two later than was best and the little snakes had already left the hibernaculas. Not only had they dispersed, but seemingly most were already in subsurface retreats.
We persevered and after several hours of searching, Kenny found one of the reclusive and seclusive snakes. It was the only example of the subspecies found. Remembering how difficult it had been to justify the trip to the Black Hills, many more photos than were actually needed were taken.