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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.
Thursday, October 8 2015Rough Greens We occasionally see adult Florida rough green snakes in the cat briars along the fencelines. I was creeping along on the riding mower a few afternoons ago when just ahead of the right front tire I notices a lengthy piece of grass make a shivery-sinuous movement. Hmmmmm. Either the grass was reacting in a frightened manner at the thought of being decapitated by the whirling blades or there was something there that needed scrutinizing. Choosing the latter of these 2 options I slammed on the brakes, crawled from the seat, moved a step ahead of the idling machine, stooped down and saw----nothing! I stood, was just about to hop back on the mower when I happened to see a little pink tongue flickering. Once the tongue was seen the rest of the creature, all 7 inches of it (a hatching Florida rough green snake, Opheodrys aestivus carinatus wonderfully camouflaged by the grass blades) was easily seen. I was sure glad I had stopped. Over the years I had seen several adult rough green snakes amidst tangles of cat briar, blackberry canes, and Virginia creeper along the fence line, but this was the first hatchling I had seen in the yard. I sure hope it will not be the last. Click below for more pictures Continue reading "Rough Greens" Missing Orlando Cobra Found Under Neighbors Clothes Dryer A missing King Cobra that went on walkabout over a month ago has turned up underneath a clothes dryer at a neighbors house a half mile from it's cage. Found Wednesday night Orange County Animal Control officials and the wife of the snake’s owner confirm the snake is the one that escaped 35 days ago and it has been returned to its owners. “Every time I put something in the dryer this hiss sound happened.” - Cynthia Mullvain The cobra’s owner, Mike Kennedy, is facing charges for failure to immediately report the escape and has pleaded not guilty. To read more check out the article at http://wfla.com/2015/10/08/missing-king-cobra-snake-found-in-orange-county-home/ Florida Wildlife Commision to revoke lost cobra owners permitJust days after capturing the once-missing king cobra from a local garage, Florida wildlife officials on Friday confirmed their intent to revoke the owner's license to own the venomous snake in a revocation letter, sent a day before the king cobra was captured. "Allowing you to continue to possess your venomous reptiles after three escapes would send a message that there will be no consequences for serious rule violations," The owner of the cobra has held permits to keep various exotic and potentially deadly animals for years, but records show numerous violations for not properly containing the animals including being cited in 2001 after another king cobra escaped from a house in the College Park area of Orlando, and in 2004 when an albino diamondback rattlesnake escaped and ended up in a neighbor's yard. Read more at the Orlando Sentinel Herp Photo of the Day: Chameleon
Is there any thing more classic than this chameleon tongue shot in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user 1Sun ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
 Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! Wednesday, October 7 2015Marines Release Tortoises Photo: Lauren Kurkimilis/Marine Corps via AP Near Twentynine Plams Marine Corps Base, 35 Desert Tortoises were recently released in an effort to repopulate the Mojave Desert at a ceremony with Marine Corps officials, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and researchers from the University of California Los Angeles. Biologists have been raising tortoises over the past nine years at a six-acre facility to help boost the population that was nearly decimated by a respiratory virus in the late 1980s. Read more at Marine Corps Times. Herp Photo of the Day: Common Toad
This great shot of a pair of Bufo bufo in the middle of amplexus helps ring in this Wednesday in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user Krallenfrosch ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
 Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! Tuesday, October 6 2015Sandhills Phase Pygmy Rattlers Note the difference in blotch size of these 2 Sandhill pygmys. Back and forth. Back and forth. North 10 miles. South 10 miles. Than over again—and again. Occasionally we changed our route to an intersecting sand road for a few miles. We had only one night left on this trip and we were on a quest in unknown (for Jake and me) territory. The targets here were the sandhill phases of the Carolina pygmy rattlesnake, Sistrurus m. miliarius. Although it hadn’t looked all that far on the map, I’m here to tell you it was a long drive from Hyde County NC to the sandhill region of northcentral SC! Once Jake and I had succeeded in finding and photographing a red phase pygmy in Hyde County, we had decided that in the remaining time we needed at least one more feasible target. Thus began the quest for sandhill pygs that found us now in the land of sand pines, cacti, thornscrub, fox squirrels, beautiful little pothole ponds (which, we were told were replete with broken-striped newts (of which we found exactly none!)—and the sandy countryside (again we were told) was acrawl with pygmy rattlers. The afternoon waned, sunset neared, passed, and darkness enveloped us. Bats wheeled and darted in front and overhead and still we drove. We turned onto a paved side road, drove up a few miles and reversed direction. I looked at what seemed to me a black marked white stick at the road edge. Jake did a double take and hollered “STOP. Back up. That was a snake!” And sure enough it was a little dark blotched silvery white pygmy, the first of 4 seen that night. Photos were taken and we headed southward. It had been a great trip. Thanks, Jake. Continue reading "Sandhills Phase Pygmy Rattlers" Herp Photo of the Day: Vogel's Pit Viper
This stunning Trimeresurus vogeli is just hanging around in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user Vittorio_K ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
 Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! Monday, October 5 2015Pet store owner critically injured by python A python, reported to be 20 feet in length, critically injured a pet store owner in Newport Ohio in an apparent feeding mishap. According to media reports store owner Terry Wilkins was feeding the snake when it latched onto his arm and wrapped around his head, neck, and torso. Wilkens was not breathing when officers arrived to free him but he did resume breathing before he was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center. "It was only by the grace of God that one of the officers knew how to deal with snakes," - police chief Tom Collins The owner appears to be recovering after two officers pried off the 125-pound python that was wrapped around his head, neck and torso, according Collins. The snake is currently alive and being held at the store where the incident occurred. Police are working with animal control to determine if the animal will need to be removed from the shop. Click here to read more at WCPO Gallery photo by ahas Black Pine Snakes Added to Threatened and Endangered Species List In what is likely to be the first of a number of reptilian additions the Black Pine Snake, Pituophis melanoleucus lodingi, has been added to the USFWS Threatened and Endangered Species List. Found in southwestern Alabama through southeastern Mississippi into eastern Louisiana, Black Pine Snakes are the only melanistic pine snake, ranging in coloration from an overall black and brown banded snake to a nearly jet-black animal. A threatened designation means a species is at risk of becoming endangered within the foreseeable future. The snake’s threatened status allows the USFWS to include exemptions allowing certain management activities to continue to occur with protection from the loss, injury or harassment. “We crafted the exemptions to provide landowners flexibility to manage for their objectives while still affording conservation benefits to the black pinesnake,” - Cindy Dohner, USFWS Southeast Regional Director. The Black Pine Snake’s decline is primarily attributed to the loss and degradation of the longleaf pine ecosystem because of habitat fragmentation, fire suppression, conversion of natural pine forests to densely stocked pine plantations, and agricultural and urban development. Other threats to the snake’s survival include road mortality and killing by humans. The Black Pine Snake was added to the US Fish and Wildlife Services list of candidates for federal protection in 1999, and the Service published a proposed rule to list the black pinesnake as threatened on October 7, 2014. The black pinesnake final listing becomes effective on November 5, 2015 which is 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register on October 6, 2015. The decision is part of the Service’s effort to implement a court-approved settlement under an agreement aimed at significantly reducing it's current litigation-driven workload. To read the USFWS Press Release click here. Gallery photo by user noMad627 Protection on the way for Massasaugas Photo: Eric Sharp, Detroit Free Press Despite being up for consideration of listing on the Endangered Species Act since 1999, the Eastern Massasauga has remained unprotected. Now it appears that will change. Known for their docile nature, the massasauga rattlesnake has it's greatest known population density in the state of Michigan, but as with most endangered species, habitat destruction has started putting extreme pressure on the current populations. The biggest threat to the snake, across its range from Missouri to New York, is loss and degradation of habitat, Kingsbury said. Read more at USAToday.com. Herp Photo of the Day: Bearded Dragon
Is it any wonder that Bearded Dragons are still one of the most popular pets in the reptile community? Not when you see this cute guy in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user JFKDragons ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
 Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! Friday, October 2 2015Herp Photo of the Day: Rattlesnake Friday!
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!
 Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! Thursday, October 1 2015The Egyptian Tortoise This is an adult pair of Egyptian tortoises. It was about 35 years ago when Chris invited me to check out a few tiny tortoises that he had just received. They were, he said, Egyptian tortoises, Testudo kleinmanni. I had to do some scrambling to familiarize myself with this taxon but I was able to learn that at an adult size of only 3.5 to 5" this was the smallest of the genus and that even in those days was considered a rarity. It had apparently once ranged from Libya to Israel but was thought to have been extirpated over much of its range. Sadly, Florida proved an unsuitable home for these new arrived but aridland adapted arrivals. Although most survived here few actually thrived. In contrast, many of them that went to homes in the drier and less humid desert and prairie states seemed to do well and once the chelonians had been acclimated a number of hobbyists succeeded in breeding them one or more times. But even today the availability of these little charmers is spotty at best. And although I have never maintained this taxon I have been told that the hatchlings produced from well acclimated captive adults are much hardier than those imports of long ago. I sure hope that this is the case and that future years will see this tortoise readily available to herpetoculturists. More photos under the jump Continue reading "The Egyptian Tortoise" Genetics Prove Kauffeld Right Photo Credit: Matthew Schlesinger, New York Natural Heritage Program Carl Kauffeld believe there were two very different species of Leopard Frogs, but he did not have the means to prove it. Thankfully we now do! With the help of a geneticist, a team of researchers recently proved Kauffeld's belief to be true and named the Atlantic Coast Leopard Frogs after the herper great, Rana kauffeldi. "There might have been some jumping up and down," recalled Dr. Matthew Schlesinger, the head of zoology at the New York Natural Heritage Program, who was part of the team. "There might have been some high fives going around." Learn more at WNYC. Herp Photo of the Day: Painted Turtle
This gorgeous closeup of a Painted Turtle also shows a bit of old fashion home grown cage decor in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user trachemys ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
 Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! Wednesday, September 30 2015Herp Photo of the Day: Indigo
An wonderful shot of this Indigo Snake in the field in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user ACO3124! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
 Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! Iguana Have a Seat Photo via Twitter user @MeghanCArnold San Francisco is having an invasion of sorts on their public transit. It seems many owners of Green Iguanas are taking over, bringing their pets on the bus. While we wish it weren't causing such a stir, looking at these photos, we can certainly understand why! When transporting your reptiles, be it via train, plane or automobile, it is wise to properly secure that animal. Dogs have leash laws and many places have a law banning releasing cats, it is only wise for us to contain our reptile pets. Looking through these photos, it is clear that if the animal tried hard enough, there is no protection to keep them with their owner. The other issue is there are people with fears of dogs and cats, but there are many more that fear reptiles. As one Muni rider tweeted: Guy with large iguana on crowded MUNI picking dead iguana skin off his iguana Outreach is great, sharing our pets is wonderful, but pushing limits can bring upon strict rules. Practice safety at all times when transporting your reptile pets, not only for the safety of others but also for the safety of that animal. Read the full article at City Lab. Scarlet Kingsnakes in Kentucky Finding examples of the Scarlet Kingsnake (Lampropeltis triangulum elapsoides) in Kentucky can be quite difficult. On a scale of 1-10 I give them a solid 7.5, perhaps lower if you live in or close to a county where they occur. As for myself, I have to drive over 3 hours each way to be in the game. The easiest way to locate this species in my area is to road cruise for them. I can run that drill, but I prefer to utilize and deploy artificial cover, and by doing so I, along with my colleague Phil Peak, was able to locate a sexed pair under metal this year. A cast shed from the male was under the metal and the female was just preparing to shed as you can see in the photo of both snakes. These snakes were found in mid to late April and we believe that they were preparing to mate or less-likely had already bred. There is always a reason or series of reasons why snakes are found when and in the way in which they are located. Interpreting this information is something I find interesting as it helps to increase the number of snakes I find in the future! I want to welcome everyone to my first kingsnake.com blog and want to thank Jeff B and everyone else here for the opportunity. I plan to have both captive and field-oriented posts that will focus on snakes but will also include lizards, frogs, salamanders, turtles, and crocs! Because this is my first effort here, I wanted to kick things off with a kingsnake! Tuesday, September 29 2015The Mohave Rattler Meet an upset Mohave rattler. Again came the now familiar cry -- "snake!" But this time it was I who noticed the hefty serpent at road edge. Either a western diamondback or a Mohave rattler-- and it proved to be a 3 1/2 foot long example of the latter. Jake had been getting a few minutes of shuteye before we reached our chosen hunting area. We expected it to be a long night as we searched out the anurans. The torrential rains that had fallen for the last 2 hours has stopped but the desert was soaked, dry creeks were raging and playas were filled. My yell jerked Jake instantly awake and by the time I had stopped the car he was piling out. Mohave rattlesnakes (yes, it's now spelled with an "h" and not a "j"), Crotalus s. scutulatus, have reputations for having bad tempers and this one was certainly living up to that reputation. The hefty snake had begun striking the moment Jake had stepped from the car. Not only did the snake strike so hard that it slid forward each time on the wet and slippery road, but the striking was incessant, causing Jake to take couple of involuntary steps backward from the pavement. Of course this brought him (equally involuntarily) into an unexpected rear attack by formidably armed "monkey-get-back-bushes" (mesquite, cats claw, and beaver-tail cacti). Then and there Jake performed an impromptu rendition of that horrid old dance the we old timers refer to as the "green-apple-quickstep." Jake proved far more agile than I had credited him to be! But eventually Jake's perseverance prevailed, photos of the Mohave were taken and we were on our way again. More photos under the jump Continue reading "The Mohave Rattler" Rare Skink Rediscovered in Kenya Photo : Sjoerd van Berge Henegouwen/Nature World News Previously thought to be extinct, the first photographs of a live Western Serpentiform skink (Eumecia anchietae) have emerged. In true reptile fashion, it was spotted alongside the road by a tourist in Masai Mara. There is little known of the species because of their extremely reclusive nature and the fact that they were believed to be extinct. A chance meeting will lead to publication for one lucky tourist. At the time the photos were taken, both the ranger and tourist, Sjoerd van Berge Henegouwen, were unable to identify the species. When Henegouwen posted them on his Facebook page, Dr. Wagner identified the lizard. These photos will be published in a book Dr. Wagner is writing about reptiles in Africa. Read more at Nature World News. Herp Photo of the Day: Frilled Dragon
Take 5 and turn your face to the sun today, just like the Frilled Dragon in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user cochran ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
 Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! Monday, September 28 2015USFWS to review 14 reptiles and amphibians for endangered status The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is initiating status reviews for 14 petitions that presented substantial information that the species may warrant listing under the Endangered Species Act . The Service will initiate a review of the status of each of the reptile and amphibian species listed below. To ensure that these reviews are comprehensive, the Service is requesting scientific and commercial data and other information for each species. Based on the status reviews, the Service will address whether the petitioned action is warranted. To see the listing and the information request, click on a species link below. kingsnake.com gallery photo by Leo Rattlesnake Venom Tested for Post-surgical Care Loma Linda University is working closely with researchers to determine whether the proteins can reduce bleeding and swelling during and after brain surgery. The study will last until 2019, but if successful it may impact over 800,000 people in aiding in the recovery after surgery including the reduction of loss of functions that may happen when operating on this sensitive area. “We are tremendously excited about what the findings could mean to medicine,” Zhang said. “Our team is studying surgical brain injury and, currently, when a surgeon removes a brain tumor, the liver, or some other organ is often damaged in the process. By immunizing the patient with snake venom ahead of time, we can reduce the trauma that is associated with the surgery.” If successful, other the venom of other animals may also be analyzed. Read more at Adventist Review. Herp Photo of the Day: Dart Frog
Hopefully this stunning shot of a Painted Mantella (Mantella baroni) in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user Hoosierfrogger starts your week out right! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
 Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! Saturday, September 26 2015Woman arrested for riding sea turtle From the "don't be an idiot" files... Stephanie Moore (pictured right), 20, was jailed on a $2,000 bond on a felony warrant on charges of possessing, selling or molesting a marine turtle or eggs nest, according to the Melbourne Police Department's Facebook page. Moore was arrested after police in Melbourne, on Florida's Atlantic coast, responded to a disturbance at a home Saturday and determined a warrant had been out for her. Moore was allegedly one of two women sitting on sea turtles in photos that were shared online. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission took up the case as a criminal investigation asking for the public's help in identifying the suspects. Read more at NBC News Friday, September 25 2015Florida keeper bitten by Gaboon Viper-med.jpg) A retired teacher in Winter Park Florida is in an Orlando hospital after being bitten on the hand Thursday by a 20 inch Gaboon Viper (Bitis gabonica). The reptile owner, a licensed keeper, is expected to recover, and the snake has been secured, as has the rest of his small collection. "It wasn't as if the snake had gotten out from my understanding. I think he was bitten on the hand, but based on the evidence, it looks like a simple keeper mishap," - Steve McDaniel, FWC investigator Found in the rainforests and savannas of sub-Saharan Africa Gaboon Vipers have the longest fangs, up to 2 inches (5 cm), and the highest venom yield of any venomous snake. Read more on the WESH web site. Gallery photo by dendroaspis Herp Photo of the Day: Rattlesnake Friday!
Check out this gorgeous Southern Pacific Rattlesnake in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user lichanura ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
 Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! Thursday, September 24 2015Herp Photo of the Day: Bullfrog
A stunning shot from Ghana of this Crowned Bullfrog steals the limelight in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user Slaytonp ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
 Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! Baird's Rat Snake, a Serpentine Beauty Hatchling and juvenile Baird's rat snakes have prominent saddles "Snake!" Jake had grimmaced as I stopped again to photograph the ever-changing and increasingly beautiful West Texas sunset. Within minutes I was back on the road and traffic was still quite light. We dipped and had started up a gentle incline when a female striped skunk with 5 trailing kits started across the road. As I slowed the female bolted leaving 5 very confused skunklets milling around. I stopped and moved the kits from the pavement into the roadside grass. Whoops. Guess I got sprayed. Jake was really grimmacing now--and holding his throat and hanging out the window. This had all the makings of a great night I was back up to cruising speed now and still extolling the beauty of the sunset and the skunks when Jake hollered "snake." It was a good thing that one of us was watching the road. I stopped, backed up and there sure was a snake--and it was a silver-blue beauty--3 feet of Baird's rat snake, Pantherophis bairdi. This beautiful constrictor may attain an adult length of 5 feet, is the westernmost representative of the Pantherophis obsoletus complex, and is certainly one of the prettiest. Continue reading "Baird's Rat Snake, a Serpentine Beauty" |
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