kingsnake.com gallery photo by chaz901
Four campers in Maryland that decided to go all "Bear Grylls" on a protected timber rattlesnake, Crotalus horridus, by killing it with a BB gun then grilling and eating it, have been sentenced to probation and a $200.00 fine and probation from 14 to 28 months each. Court records show the men from Glen Burnie plead guilty Tuesday in district court to possessing or destroying the snake, a state-protected species.

A fifth defendant is scheduled for trial Dec. 8.

To read more check out the story at ABC11.com

Photo: (Photo: Andrea Stetson/Special to The News-Press)

Two locations in Florida are reporting record sea turtle nests this year, despite the actual numbers of hatchlings being slightly lower than last year.

Collier County and Sanibel Island in Lee County smashed the turtle nesting record for the second year in a row, with 1,510 nests laid on Collier beaches this season and 522 nests laid on Sanibel.

"We had a really good year" "At the end of July we had storms that lasted over a period of 3-4 days with extremely high tides so we did have some inundations and some washouts," "Last year we didn't have any storm issues at all." - Maura Kraus.

The 2015 numbers on Sanibel and Captiva include 26 green turtle nests, which is a record for green turtles as most of the turtles that lay eggs on the local beaches are loggerhead turtles.

To read the full article, visit The News Press.

Photo : Florida Atlantic University
Loggerhead sea turtles have been around for 60 million years and have survived through many changing environments, however, a new study has revealed the turtles survival is being threatened by climate change. Researchers from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) discovered that warming temperatures during incubation yield more females, while more males develop under cooler conditions.

"If climatic changes continue to force the sex ratio bias of loggerheads to even greater extremes, we are going to lose the diversity of sea turtles as well as their overall ability to reproduce effectively. Sex ratios are already strongly female biased,""That's why it's critical to understand how environmental factors, specifically temperature and rainfall, influence hatchling sex ratios." - Dr. Jeanette Wyneken Florida Atlantic University

To read the full article, visit natureworldnews.com.

While the IUCN lists The Panamanian golden frog Atelopus zeteki as critically endangered, it may in fact have been extinct in the wild since 2007, but thanks to efforts like the captive breeding project at the Maryland Zoo, they may have a better chance. For 15 years the program has been running with the tiny amphibians being bred and reared in the zoo, with hopes for eventual release into the wild.

“We’re the first institution to breed the frogs and we’ve been instrumental with a lot of the husbandry and medical side of things,” said Kevin Barrett.
Barrett is the herpetology collection manager and runs Project Golden Frog at the Maryland Zoo.

This year the Zoo is being acknowledged for it's efforts with a conservation award from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

To read the full article and watch the video, visit CBS Baltimore.

Photo: AUREAPTERUS/ISTOCKPHOTO
A new study shows that the prehistoric amphibians were not all that different from their modern day relatives. Limb regeneration was found in animals estimated to be 290 million years old.

The findings suggest that some salamander ancestors had the ability to regenerate body parts nearly 80 million years before the first salamander existed.
The results “show that salamander-like regeneration is not something that is salamander specific, but was instead widespread in the evolutionary past,” says study coauthor Nadia Fröbisch, a paleontologist at the Museum of Natural History in Berlin.

To read the full article, visit Science News.

Photo: Cuba HeadlinesScientists have announced the discovery of a new species of small frog only about 14 mm long, near Guantanamo, Cuba.

First found in 2014, scientists have now officially named the newly discovered amphibian Eleutherodactylus beguei.

"This vertebrate has close to brown coloration. Its natural habitat is the soil moist, hence its survival in this area of eastern Cuba where rainfall is abundant throughout the year" - Gerardo Begue-Quiala

To read the full article, visit Cuba Headlines.

Photo by Dan England @greeleytribune.com
He doesn't even have a name, but over the years a Bullsnake (Pituophis catenifer sayi) in a Greeley Colorado nature center has helped thousands of kids and adults overcome their apprehension and fear of snakes. The snake was given a permanent home at the center four years ago after repeatedly becoming ensnared in live traps the nature center puts out to monitor wildlife along it's trails. Since then he has become a reptilian ambassador, seemingly as curious about these humans as they are of it. And to staff it seems the snake enjoys the interaction with both the staff and the public.

“If you interact with it,” “you realize you don’t have to kill it.” - Ray Tschillard - Poudre Learning Center

The snake did escape once, a couple of years ago, when a volunteer left his cage open after feeding him and was gone most of the winter, until he poked his head out from under a bookshelf. He had many chances to leave and simply didn’t take them.

Read the whole article at the Greeley Tribune.

"I don't know much about art, but I know what I like."

Bill Flowers, an Australian artist based in Tasmania, knows what we like too. Thankfully he has taken it upon himself to edit some of the worlds greatest masterpieces and add the snakes that really should have been a part of the original work.

"I love snakes, and a few other humans on this planet also love snakes. Sadly there are so many humans that do not. I painted this series to make people smile.

Smiling is a positive thing. If I can get humans to have a nice fun feeling while looking at snakes, my job is done. - Bill Flowers"

To see more of Bill's amazing work, check out his post on BoredPanda

How smart are reptiles? Can they be trained like other animals? You might be surprised at just how smart some of our reptilian friends are!

The San Diego Zoo recently released a video of one of their Anegada Iguanas(Cyclura pinguis) named Gus being trained using the target method. The Anegada Iguana is a endangered iguana species that was once distributed over the entire Puerto Rico Bank but its natural range is now restricted to the island of Anegada in the British Virgin Islands. Gus is part of the breeding program at the San Diego Zoo for this critically endangered species.

To watch the video, visit Reuters.

Photo: Allmusic, Facebook/Kevin Fowler
Country Musician Kevin Fowler recently took to facebook to criticize people he feels are "rattlesnake sympathizers".

“All of you people who cry about folks killing rattlesnakes have probably never seen what it looks like when you get bit by one,” wrote Fowler. “All of you rattlesnake sympathizers will change your tune when your kid gets bit playing in your backyard.”

The article does point out the obvious, that rattlesnakes prefer to be left alone and are often hiding for their safety thankfully.
To read the full article, visit Wide Open Country.

Brazilian Lancehead - Gallery Photo by Neverscared A nanofiber hydrogel infused with snake venom may be the best material to stop bleeding quickly, according to scientists at Rice University in Texas.

The hydrogel incorporates batroxobin, a venom produced by two species of South American pit viper. It can be injected as a liquid and quickly turns into a gel that conforms to the site of a wound, keeping it closed, and promotes clotting within seconds. The hydrogel may be most useful for surgeries, particularly for patients who take anti-coagulant drugs to thin their blood.

“It’s interesting that you can take something so deadly and turn it into something that has the potential to save lives,” Jeffrey Hartgerink Rice University

Batroxobin, also known as reptilase, is a snake venom produced by the Fer De Lance Bothrops atrox and Brazilian Lancehead Bothrops moojeni, venomous species of pit viper found in South America. Batroxobin was recognized for its properties as a coagulant in 1936 and has been used in various therapies as a way to remove excess fibrin proteins from the blood to treat thrombosis and as a topical hemostat. It has also been used as a diagnostic tool to determine blood-clotting time in the presence of heparin, an anti-coagulant drug.

See more at: http://news.rice.edu/2015/10/26/snake-venom-helps-hydrogels-stop-the-bleeding/

Happy Rattlesnake Friday! Massive support is needed in the conservation of the gorgeous Massasauga Rattlesnake all across the country. That is why they take the spotlight today in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user ratsnakehaven ! 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!

Gotta love the up close head shot of this Tokay Gecko in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user The_Reptiles_Den ! 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!