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.
Wednesday, April 13 2016
How awesome is this group of breeding Gharials in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Lucky_7 . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Tuesday, April 12 2016
This large, gravid, aquatic caecilian was netted from the grassy shoreline of an Amazonian river.
It was about midnight. A half dozen of us had just returned to the river boat from a long Amazonian rainforest walk. Several frogs and a few snakes had been found and we now sat on deck discussing the herps that had been seen and what had been missed, watching occasional meteors in the star-spangled sky, and sipping coffee or cold drinks. One by one the participants all headed for the showers and a well-earned few hours of sleep.
I grabbed a net and walked the gangplank to the weedy shore intending to net up a few tropical fish to photograph in the morning. Cichlids and rivulids were common and if lucky I might get a few interesting catfish as well.
But I was really lucky. After a few sweeps of the net I brought up a baby swamp eel, Synbranchus marmoratus, and…I could hardly believe my eyes, a 15” long aquatic caecilian, Typhlonectes compressicauda. I had known that the latter occurred in the region but I hadn’t until then found one. A few more net-sweeps in the shallows brought up another caecilian, this one a bit smaller. Both would be photographed and released in the morning.
Although I had actually kept and bred this interesting amphibian, the “rubber eel” of the aquarium industry, I was happy to make its acquaintance in the field. But it was late and the showers were beckoning. In just a few hours the titi monkeys would be vocalizing, signaling the start of another day of Amazon herping. Life was good.
Continue reading "Remember the Rubber Eel?"
This little Dumeril's Boa is ready to rock in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user liljenni . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Monday, April 11 2016
Typically our photo of the day is of an amazingly beautiful animal, but today we would like to take a moment to congratulate the Chicago Herpetological Society on another very successful ReptileFest. ReptileFest is the longest running, all educational event about reptiles. This event as occurred for over 20 years. The view from above of the Box Turtle pen in 2003, uploaded by kingsnake.com user PHFaustis not only a blast from the past, but also a shining example of hands-on education needed to in our community! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
Thank you to the Chicago Herpetological Society for your continued dedication to education!
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Thursday, April 7 2016
Wild in nature. One of the best places to see this Great Basin Rattlesnake found in Utah, but shared with us in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user crocman6594 ! On Rattlesnake Friday, we celebrate ALL things venomous! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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![](/blog/uploads/HemidactyliumscutatumLeonCntyFL7.JPG)
Four-toed salamanders in their sphagnum habitat.
The bed of sphagnum stretched away from the small woodland stream in a semicircle of perhaps 20 yards. Beyond this, scattered smaller patches of sphagnum could be seen. All in all, the habitat looked ideal for the small salamander for which Jake and I were searching on this cool winter day, the four-toed salamander, Hemidactylium scutatum. But even amidst sphagnum habitats four-toes are not evenly distributed, preferring streamside locales where newly hatched larvae can attain, with just a little squirming, access to saturated moss and shallow water.
This area was intersected by several seepages as well as the main stream but it was along the latter that we finally found the 4-toes. Several females, most with egg clutches were seen. Within the egg capsules well developed, soon to hatch, larvae were wriggling.
The plethodontid genus Hemidactylium contains only this 3” long species. Usually reddish dorsally and grayish laterally, the most prominent diagnostic factors of the species are a white belly that bears well-separated black dots and a noticeable basal constriction on the tail. The tail autotomizes readily at the constriction.
This salamander occurs in a great many disjunct populations that range southwestward from the Canadian province of Nova Scotia to extreme seOK and eLA.
Continue reading "4-Toes"
Natural beauty at is finest in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user pitparade with this Kankakee County locality Bullsnake. Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/190436Kankakee_bull_founder_male_2_adult_Schuyler_Patrick_Briggs_image-med.JPG)
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Wednesday, April 6 2016
How adorable are Kelsey and her pal Stubby the BTS in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user danielle4girls4 ?! Seriously, this is why we fight so hard to have our pets! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/91907kelsey_and_stubby.jpg)
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Tuesday, April 5 2016
![](/blog/uploads/CrocodylusacutusadultENPAug201229.JPG) Two of the several American crocodiles near the Everglades Marina.
I was standing at the edge of the marina near the docks at the general store in Flamingo. It was a quarter moon, partially cloudy, night in Everglades National Park. A slight breeze stirred a few tiny wavelets to life. Their sloshing against the pilings nullified many of the surrounding sounds. But the splash of a surfacing fish could occasionally be heard and a barred owl repeatedly asked a mournful “who cooks for you, who cooks for you-all” from a tree closer to the road. On the docks laughing gulls and black skimmers stood mewing and murmuring , the gulls ghostly pale, the skimmers inky dark. Some ripples below me caught my eye and I turned the headlight on. A fair sized American crocodile had surfaced! My night was complete.
On almost every Everglades trip, day or night, I take a few minutes and stop by the marina to try and search out a basking crocodile. Occasionally one or more will be on the near bank or near the fish-cleaning house, but more often a croc can be found on the far bank. With diligent searching it is almost always possible to see 1 or more American crocodiles, Crocodylus acutus. Most are between 6 and 10 feet in length, but occasionally—I guess it would be more accurate to say “rarely--” a hatchling or yearling may be seen.
From a Florida population in the low hundreds a few decades ago, the number of this very cold sensitive, endangered, croc now probably exceeds 2,000. Known nests are carefully monitored by both federal and state biologists. It has been recorded in coastline habitats from Tampa Bay on the Gulf coast, southward through the Keys, then northward to Jupiter Beach on the east coast. As expected, and as always in the USA, it is most common in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.
Continue reading "Everglades Crocs"
Like something out of a sci-fi film, the mighty Mata Mata patrols the depths of the water in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Geo! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Monday, April 4 2016
It's snack time for this Parson Chameleon in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user rocknreptiles . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Friday, April 1 2016
It is clear fromour Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Craig_V_Rensburg why some people call Naja nigricollis nigricincta Zebra Snakes! On Rattlesnake Friday, we celebrate ALL things venomous! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Thursday, March 31 2016
What stunning colors on this male Sceloporus orcutti 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/Teratolepisfasciatus5.jpg) Small, stock, and with a distinctive tail and scalation, meet the carrot-tailed viper gecko.
Once quite commonly seen in the pet trade, for twofold reasons the little carrot-tailed viper gecko, Hemidactylus imbricatus (formerly Teratolepis fasciatus) is now harder to acquire. Firstly, there are almost no shipments coming to the USA from the Pakistan homeland of this gecko and secondly, for reasons not yet understood some breeders have found the hatchlings delicate. Hatchlings are said to often succumb within the first few weeks of their life.
This gecko of the rocky deserts attains an adult length of about 3 inches and is of stocky build. Despite its small size, once past the rather delicate hatchling stage, this is a hardy gecko that can live for many years in captivity on a diet of vitamin-calcium dusted baby crickets and tiny roaches.
The polygonal body scales are relatively small and only weakly imbricate. However the scales on the carrot-shaped tail are large and strongly imbricate.
My first examples came from a Pakistani friend in the early 60s. All arrived alive, bred readily, and within a year I had added several hatchlings to the growing colony.
Be these Hemidactylus or Teratolepis, they are an alert, primarily terrestrial, easily kept gecko, that is well worthy of consideration.
Additional reading: Bauer, Aaron M.; Varad B. Giri, Eli Greenbaum, Todd R. Jackman, Mahesh S. Dharne and Yogesh S. 2008. On the Systematics of the Gekkonid Genus Teratolepis Günther, 1869: Another One Bites the Dust. Hamadryad 32 (2): 90-104
Continue reading " Carrot-tailed Viper Gecko"
Wednesday, March 30 2016
What stunning colors on this male Sceloporus orcutti in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user arkherps . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/27690sceloporus,orcutti-med.jpg)
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Tuesday, March 29 2016
![](/blog/uploads/Agamurapersica15.jpg) The name of spider gecko is derived from the long, spindly legs.The air mail letter from Jerry had just arrived from Karachi when our customs broker called and mentioned that we had an unexpected shipment from Pakistan at his facility. He could find neither packing list nor invoice within. Could we supply any info? I asked the broker to wait for a moment, opened the letter and found the needed documentation—a now forgotten number of leopard geckos, and a half dozen each of 3 other gecko species, 2 rat snakes, 2 whiskered vipers, and an Indian python were contained. I would fax it to him immediately. This was back in the 60s, at a time when U. S. Customs was easy to work with and there were virtually no state or federal regulatory laws. I expected no problems from this shipper’s oversight nor did we have any. The next morning the shipment was at our facility and I was eagerly unpacking it. I was familiar with most of the species from earlier shipments, but 2 species of geckos were new to me. One of these was the spider gecko, Agamura persica. What was this (remember there were few herp books and no computers/Google in those days)?
When after opening the bag I got my first look at this slender, big eyed, long legged, skinny tailed, creature I realized that I had never even imagined such a creature existed. I noticed too that they were devoid of toepads, and that when adult they are easily sexed, the males having pronounced hemipenial bulges as 5 of my 6 did. I also was quick to learn that the adult males were incompatible. The 6th individual, then a not sexable subadult, was a male.
Querying the shipper, I learned that this semidesert gecko was a saxicolous species, a terrarium type that was/is easily duplicated. In such terraria I found these geckos undemanding and very hardy.
And for this experience I say many thanks, Jerry.
Continue reading " Spider Gecko"
It's Two for Tuesday with this pair of Cresties in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user MOC_Reptiles . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Monday, March 28 2016
LOVE this Cribo in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user steve fuller ! We are so jealous! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Friday, March 25 2016
What a gorgeous pair of ( V.r.raddei) Radde's Rock Viper in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user tjern d! On Rattlesnake Friday, we celebrate ALL things venomous! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/58721Vipera_r[1].raddei,_males.jpg)
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![](/blog/uploads/EuryceaquadridigitataAlachuaCountyFL2.JPG) The dwarf salamander ranges from Texas to North Carolina and southern Florida.
It wasn’t crossing the road. It was lying quietly parallel with the yellow line and it was only 1 ¼ “ in length with a diameter hardly greater than a broom straw. It was a newly metamorphosed dwarf salamander, Eurycea quadridigitata. It was probably the smallest salamander that Jake or I had ever road hunted, and yes, I still wonder how either of us, never mind both of us, ever saw this creature that looked upon closer inspection like nothing more than a fine crack in the pavement?
Having an average adult length of 2 ¾ to 3 ¼ inches (and a record length just a hair over 3 ½ inches), at its largest the dwarf salamander is aptly named. As currently described this is probably a species complex. It is a salamander of southeastern swamplands and is small enough to hide beneath even tiny pieces of vegetative debris.
In keeping with its swampland habitat, this is a dark colored salamander. The dorsum is lighter than the sides, often bears a vague herringbone pattern and is divided by a narrow, dark, vertebral stripe that may be continuous or broken, and usually shades to a yellowish or sometimes orange color with no stripe on the tail. A dark dorsolateral stripe is present on each side. The sides and venter are grayish. There are only 4 toes on each foot.
I assure you that it was for the possibility of seeing other herp species that we had travelled to Florida’s Panhandle, but the finding of this little dwarf among dwarves was certainly noteworthy.
Continue reading "The Tiniest Salamander"
Thursday, March 24 2016
This African spur thigh tortoise in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user dinahmoe is just munching away without a care in the world. We are so jealous! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Wednesday, March 23 2016
What a sassy girl! Check out the attitude on this Kimberly rock monitor in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user bob. Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Tuesday, March 22 2016
Love this in situ shot of an alterna climbing the rock cuts in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user StuTennyson . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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![](/blog/uploads/RanacapitoaesopusAlachuaCountyJun2620121.JPG) An adult male Florida gopher frog.
Living in a region where a goodly number of anurans exist has its herpetological ups and downs. The ups are that on almost any rainy night throughout the year we can see or hear some species of frog, toad, or treefrog. The downs are that to find some species we have to brave the chilly nights and cooler waters (remember, we are Floridian wimps!) of seasons other than midsummer. But, when we do tailor our searches a bit and search out cool weather species, we may find the gopher frog, Rana capito aesopus, a localized and secretive taxon that awaits heavy rains and flooding conditions to begin its breeding sequence.
And so it was on this night. It had rained, poured, rained, then misted all day and Jake decided this was the night when gopher frogs would be active. The problem was, he hadn’t cleared this with the gopher frogs. But Jake swore that that if I would just get him to where the frogs were he WOULD NOT come back to the car without a picture. So we headed westward to visit a known gopher frog locale.
When we arrived it was almost dark, it WAS windy, and it was cool. We could hear no gophers from the road so we, in shorts and flipflops, clawed and shoved our way through 100 feet of brambles and thorny shrubs to pond edge. By this time it was cold, windy and moonlit. But guess what? Gophers WERE singing. We got to the water and I said something to the effect of "they're here, they're singing, go get 'em Jake." His response was "ummmmmm--I forgot my camera."
By now the frogs were calling loudly so I suggested that Jake go and at least find one so he could add it to his life list. He went. I stood and shivered. Jake got 1/4 way across the pond and the frogs stopped singing. Jake stood. One frog called. Jake, sounding like a dyspeptic porcupine, produced an answering snore. Lo, the frog called again. Jake stalked s-l-o-w-l-y towards it. It was now a contest of whether the pond would evaporate or the frog would die from old age before he got to the calling site.
OK, so you've got the idea by now. The trip was a washout. Frogs 10. Jake and me, zero. But we had fun, and later that year, on a warmer and even rainier night, we were more successful. Jake got his photos.
Continue reading "Gophers—Frogs That Is"
Monday, March 21 2016
We hope that this amazing field shot of a Wood Frog kicks off your Monday right in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user casichelydia . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/74956101_rana_sylvatica_P6210121-med.jpg)
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Friday, March 18 2016
In for spring to hit this weekend, a beautiful photo from an outdoor shoot of an albino Western Diamondback in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user krantz d! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Thursday, March 17 2016
Now for something a little bit different. This pair of Gran Canaria giant lizard (Gallotia stehlini) are just trying to find a little privacy in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user John-C . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
![](http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/19756G_stehlini_Boss_Hog_&_Daisy__2-7-09-med.jpg)
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![](/blog/uploads/Ceratophrysjoazierensis85.JPG) All brown, brown and green, or green are all common color variation of the Caatinga horned frog.
When the death of a pet occurs it is disturbing. When the death of a healthy pet occurs it is infinitely more disturbing. And this latter occurred a while ago when my male Caatinga horned frog, Ceratophrys joazierensis, was killed by my female during a breeding attempt.
There is always a chance of such things happening when cannibalistic frog meets cannibalistic frog, but this surprised for vocalizations had led to amplexus and I was reasonably sure that all was well in the rain chamber. But this time I was wrong. For some reason amplexus was discontinued, and the female turned, grasped the male by one hind leg and faster than I could intercede swallowed the male to midbody. By then I had them in hand, pried her jaws open, released the male (who at that time seemed none the worse for that harrowing experience) and separated the pair.
But despite there being no outward sign of the aggression something detrimental had happened to the male because from that day, until his death 2 weeks later, he simply sat in one spot (not unusual for a horned frog) and he never again ate (very unusual for a horned frog).
Since that time I have been looking for a replacement male. I know this taxon has been bred in captivity so there are some out there somewhere. But until now I have neither seen nor heard of any being available. But I’ll keep looking…
Continue reading "A Horned Frog Predicament"
Wednesday, March 16 2016
![](/blog/uploads/ksKenyaSandBoaMarch2016.JPG)
I will never forget my first Kenya Sand Boa experience. I was around 14 years old when I saw my first babies at the local pet store and I had to buy a pair. It took me over a month to pay for them and I took feeding them and making them breeder sized very seriously. By the time I hit 17 I was working at the shop where I bought them and when my female gave birth I called my boss at around midnight to tell him. I was excited, and he was exhausted!(LOL) But when I got to work the next day he had a big banner up across the isles of the store congratulating me. It was the first time I ever bred a Boa. As I inched towards 40 I had bred many species of snakes and learned that they all took up space, so that got me thinking about Sand Boas again. There are no fortunes to be made here, but the fact is that I find the process to be fun. Not sure if this is manopause or not, but here I am breeding these little worms again. Pictured is my holdback female from 2015. Call it what you will, I am guilty as charged!
What an amazing field find! This baby 3 toed box turtle is emerging from it's nest in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user relic37! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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