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, March 15 2016
In our opinion, Water Snakes, like the one in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Lachesis1 are among the most under-rated and misunderstood of our non-venomous snakes. We, however, love them! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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![](/blog/uploads/Corallusbatesii2.jpg) A beautiful adult Basin emerald.
It seems it always happens this way. For about 20 years, on innumerable trips to Amazonian Peru, I and those who have travelled with me, have searched long and hard for what is considered by many the gem of the Amazonian rainforests, the Basin emerald tree boa, Corallus batesii.
Stated as succinctly as possible, despite the thousands of search-hours spent, we failed. We found 150 other species of herps, but when it came to the emerald, pure and simple, we failed. Years passed and this year (2015) I elected to retire. A few weeks after having done so, friend, Kenny (a biologist and geneticist) decided that he’d like to research the wildlife of what had become our major preserve, Santa Cruz Forest Preserve on the Rio Mazan in Amazonian Peru. He and his family moved to the preserve for a year long stint.
Four months into it Kenny texted me “You retired too soon” and attached a pic of the coveted emerald tree boa. It seems that Kenny, accompanied by his wife, Maria, and a village youngster, Cain, by name, were taking an evening stroll along the main trail when, only a few meters from the compound, Cain noticed the snake. It was hanging head downward, nose only a few inches from the leaf litter of the forest floor, in a small tree only a foot or so from trail edge. Kenny’s correct. I retired a few months too soon.
Continue reading "Emerald Tree Boa—Finally!"
Monday, March 14 2016
Our favorite type of blue Monday! Check out these stunning dart frogs in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user frogological! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Last week a friend bought a sexed pair of Spotted Pythons from me. It took him 4 weeks to save up the funds, and during that time he asked me all the right questions and got everything ready. Within two hours after arriving home and getting the snake put away he discovered that one had escaped…the female of course!
I hate the fact that people have to go through things like this, but most of the time it takes a loss and a bad mistake in order to learn. When it comes to keeping snakes it is a fact that there are forces working against us all at every turn. Even when it is legal and you go out of your way to do everything right, all it takes in one tiny detail to ruin everything and foul up all the fun. In my experience I have found that my work is never done and that it is best to always be on the lookout for how I can make things better. In this case the snakes were put in a baby rack made for snakes, but they still got out even though the snake was over 7 months old and no longer a baby. When I put baby snakes in a rack I fold up newspaper and put it under the box so that it is raised up and made even tighter with the top of the rack. Of course, that restricts air flow so I have to drill more holes to make sure my snake can breathe! It seems that every adjustment requires an additional adjustment! The work never ends, and if you think your work is done I bet something will go wrong while you are sitting back relaxing thinking that all is well! Be careful out there fellow snake keeper! It is all in the details!!
Friday, March 11 2016
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I recently took my daughters to their first reptile show. Once inside they were drawn to a booth with dozens of mounted rats and mice along with rat bone necklaces and mouse skull jewelry. I allowed each of my girls to select a specimen, and as I discussed the terms of the price with the two mouse women a long line formed behind me. I watched as everyone in the line attempted successfully to sell their dead rodents. The herp show had gone green and was recycling dead feeders! I learned that there was a demand for dead snakes too! My favorite item was a jumbo rat mounted on remote controlled wheels. I could sure have some fun with that!
Thursday, March 10 2016
In our celebration of all things venomous on Friday, this little rough-scaled bush viper ( Atheris hispida) in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user eekster26 is looking forward to the weekend! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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What a stunning Leopard Gecko in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Eve! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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![](/blog/uploads/Geoemydaspenglerispengleri36.jpg) Still with well defined facial markings, this black-breasted leaf turtle is about a quarter grown.
Have you ever wanted to kick yourself in the butt for getting rid of a particular herp or for passing by the opportunity to purchase a given species. On several occasions I have done both and regretted it for a long time after.
For example, I regret not acquiring a photo of the Javan tubercled or dragon snakes when they were being offered. It is true that they have proven difficult (read that impossible) to keep as captives but there has to be a key to that problem somewhere.
Of the herps that I am most upset at allowing myself to be talked out of was and still is my 2 pairs of black-breasted leaf turtles, Geomyda spengleri spengleri.
There are several Asiatic turtle species of which I am fond, several members of the genus Cuora among them, but IMO none compare with this little leaf turtle.
This is not because of color. This leaf turtle is a variable but often dingey brown above with very pronounced posterior carapacial serrations. The yellow(ish) rimmed plastron is mostly black. The skin is also brown with the only noticeable highlight being the stark white irides of the protuberant eyes.
So, if it’s not color what is it about these four inch long Asian turtles that is so enchanting? One word—personality. Once acclimated this turtle, naturally alert, quickly becomes tame-- actually outgoing—and seems contemplative. It reminds me in more ways than one of our little bog turtle but outdoes the boggy in each aspect…
Time to close. I’ve almost talked myself into another purchase.
Continue reading "Black-breasted Leaf Turtle"
Wednesday, March 9 2016
Is this Irian Jaya Jag in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user StonedReptiles bright enough for you? Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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In high school I got my hands on Barbours book about Snakes in Kentucky and will never forget gazing at the picture of the Corn Snake and learning that a small and isolated population of these snakes occurred in Kentucky. Little did I know that the names of the other students who checked out that book would be my future bosses and co-workers at The Louisville Zoo, or that my friend Phil Peak and I would one day focus in on this serpent and spend countless hours in the counties that seemed so far away and foreign to me at the time.
It took some effort to locate my first specimen by the time that I was in my 20’s, but once I began to figure them out I was able to locate well over 100 of them in a very confined area. Phil and I were able to establish a small group of these snakes in captivity and we donated babies to educational facilities across Kentucky. We also gave them to people in our local Herp Society so that they could be used in presentations, and also so that our local people would not feel the need to go down and remove additional specimens from the wild. Phil and I had a lot of questions about this isolated population of snakes so we began to record as much information about each specimen as we could. In addition to blotch and scale row counts we were also able to determine when they emerged, when they bred, when they laid eggs, when the babies hatched, and when the adults went back underground to spend the winter. After compiling all of our data we began the process of publishing our work in a scientific format. This process was long and complicated for us, and we were fortunate to meet Danna Baxley who came onboard with our efforts as a co-author and helped us organize the work in a way that was presentable and acceptable to the newly formed Journal of North American Herpetology where it was published in 2015. To anyone interested in the scientific paper, here is a link to the PDF file that can be found on the Center For North American Herpetology website: http://www.cnah.org/pdf/88314.pdf
It is difficult to fully describe everything that was involved in this whole process in the short format here, so I will close it out by saying that the journey from my high school library all the way to being published in a scientific journal was a long and interesting experience that has left me grateful to the local people of rural Kentucky and to my friends Phil Peak and Danna Baxley whose knowledge and patience made possible what I could not have done on my own.
Tuesday, March 8 2016
Crocodilians come out of the egg sassy, like this Cuvier's dwarf caiman in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user sk8r009 give us a serious case of the "awws"! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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![](/blog/uploads/Trimeresurusmcgregori72.jpg) Many McGregor's pit vipers are strongly patterned.
This is another of today’s choose your name species. This beautiful and variable pit viper from the Philippine islands of Batan and Sabtang (perhaps introduced to other locales) has gone from its 1913 described name of Trimeresurus mcgregori (named for the collector of the first specimen who just happened to receive and survive a bite) to Trimeresrus flavomaculatus mcgregori, then to Parias mcgregori, and now back to the starting name, T. mcgregori.
This is one of the more variably colored pit vipers, ranging from solid brown to a pure silvery white and having many shades of yellow and a few differing patterns between those 2 extremes. It is adult at about 3 feet in length. It is an oviparous species.
Protected in its Philippine homeland and the relatively few captives having proven problematic to breed, this beautiful pit viper is not a frequently seen species in collections. As would be expected, when on the rare occasions this taxon does become available, the prices asked are often out of range for all but the most dedicated of venomous keepers.
Continue reading "McGregor’s Pit Vipers"
Monday, March 7 2016
These hatchling Galapagos Tortoises in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user jerry d. fife give us a serious case of the "awws"! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Friday, March 4 2016
In our celebration of all things venomous on Friday, what an amazing close up of the Hagen's pit viper in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user knotsnake ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/14997Picture_144.1-med.jpg)
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![](/blog/uploads/TropidolaemuswagleriMalaya4.jpg) The old standby, Wagler's viper, Tropidolaemus wagleri, Thailand.
A decade or so ago, the Wagler’s viper, Tropidolaemus wagleri, once thought to be just a very variable snake species, was determined to actually be a species complex. Researchers have now elevated several of what were long considered simply geographic or color variants of the Wagler’s viper to full species status. This has, of course, rendered the Wagler’s viper, itself, much less variable, but definitely no less interesting.
Besides T. wagleri of Thailand and West Malaysia the genus now contains:
Hutton’s pit viper, T. huttoni (a poorly known species from southern India)
Mindanao pit viper, T. philippinensis (a genetically separable Wagler’s viper lookalike from Mindanao)
Keeled green pit viper. T. subannulatus of the Philippines and Borneo (as described, possibly a species complex)
Broad-banded temple pit viper, T. laticinctus, of Sulawesi.
The alternate name of temple viper (applied to at least 2 of the species) seems to have originated due to the abundance of T. wagleri near the Temple of the Azure Cloud in Malaya.
If you search old literature or Google the species, you will undoubtedly see photos of people, old and young alike, often near the Temple of the Azure Cloud, holding Wagler’s vipers barehandedly. In my opinion this is unwise in the extreme. Admittedly this snake, nocturnal by nature, is relatively placid and reluctant to bite in the daylight hours. They are far less apt to allow indiscriminate handling after dark. It is to the best interests of all herpers (and especially yourself) that you not become an expensive and controversial snakebite statistic.
Continue reading "Wagler's Vipers"
Thursday, March 3 2016
So precious! We love hatchling photos, like this awakening Gecko in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user SA! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Wednesday, March 2 2016
How cute is this Pacman Frog in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user doobie119 ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Tuesday, March 1 2016
![](/blog/uploads/Boaconstrictorimperator3.jpg) The supraocular areas of this northern Colombian boa baby are barely darkened.
For many decades Colombian boas, Boa constrictor imperator, were a major component in the American pet trade. In fact, they were the dominant and least expensive subspecies available. I purchased my first baby Colombian boa back in the early 1950s from Quivira Specialties Company in Topeka, Kansas. It cost me $4.65 plus postage. Yep—that was 4 dollars and 65 cents. You could buy a “red-tailed” boa for a couple of bucks more but they were less readily available and why would one need a boa with a redder tail that that borne by the Colombian (actually imperator is found from northern Mexico to northwestern South America) subspecies anyway?
What is a B. c. imperator? The call is pretty much made by the shape of the dark head marking. On this subspecies the longitudinal central marking ostensibly had a lateral projection to each eye. In reality the lateral projections could vary from well-defined to nearly absent. They were often represented by the supraocular scales being darkened but not connected to the longitudinal central mark. These projections are lacking on the more southerly forms. The red of the tail of imperator may vary from blackish-red in northern Mexico to dusty red in northern Colombia.
Boas, escaped or deliberately released, were known to have been established in South Florida since the 1960s. They were and are largely restricted to a small area of Miami. Of variable appearance. Some have the head markings and pale red tails that define the northern Colombian boas while others lack even vestiges of the horizontal head projections and have rich red tails suggesting a more southerly origin.
And since I recently lost all pix of Miami boas when a hard drive crashed, I guess it’s time to try my luck once more.
Continue reading "Colombian Boas and a Mention of Miami"
As you can see here in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user mjmullis , there is no doubt where the name came from! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Monday, February 29 2016
Three cheers for one of the best reptile pets, the Bearded Dragons here in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Rick Millspaugh ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Friday, February 26 2016
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This action alert just came in from USARK. Oregon has the ability to change laws through a rulemaking process which is faster, however reduces our time to respond.
ACTION ALERT Oregon state: Comment by March 4.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has proposed some rule changes which will negatively impact both native and exotic animal keepers. The changes may even harm the animals by requiring sterilization of animals that are rarely, if ever, sterilized. While good intention may be the basis for these proposals, ODFW may not be aware of the negative impacts associated with the new rules.
One big change is that it will be illegal to keep animals listed under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). This list includes many non-native species that have been kept and bred in the U.S. for many decades, hence, not affecting wild populations. That list includes not only herps like Radiated tortoises, but many macaws, other birds, fish and even chinchillas. which are commonly kept as pets.
View the full ACTION ALERT at USARK's website here.
Hey mamba, mamba verde! What a great shot of the Western Green Mamba in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user fangfatale ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Thursday, February 25 2016
This young gator is getting a start on the weekend a day early in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user goini04 ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Wednesday, February 24 2016
Hope you have a happy hump day with a little help from this cute Spotted Turtle in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user allen! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Tuesday, February 23 2016
Today is a great day for new beginnings, like this pair of hatching Ball Pythons have in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user sf! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Monday, February 22 2016
How beautiful is this Ctenosaura quinquecarinata in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user rockabirdie ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Friday, February 19 2016
I went to the desert for a snake with no name. What a fabuoous shot of a Great Basin Rattlesnake in Utah in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user crocman6594! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Thursday, February 18 2016
What a gorgeous gartersnake in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user TomDickinson ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Wednesday, February 17 2016
Hope you enjoy this great shot of a Black Salamander in the field in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user sc_shark ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Tuesday, February 16 2016
Let's hope your Valentine's Day was better than this! Kidding! A pair of Water Monitors meet for the first time in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user elaphehead ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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