The last surviving female turtle of her species has laid only infertile eggs. From Scientific American: Two months ago the world’s conservationists crossed their collective fingers and waited to find out if a 100-year-old female Yangtze giant softshell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei), the last of her gender, would—after artificial insemination—finally lay fertile eggs and save her […]

What a beautiful shot to end our week! But really it is hard to not see beauty when you look at the Asian Vine Snake (Ahaetulla prasina) our Herp Photo of the Day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user 13lackcat! Be sure to tell 13lackcat you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos at […]

By Herp News An “absolutely exquisite” fossil of a snake that had four legs has been discovered by a team of scientists and may help show how snakes made the transition from lizards to serpents. Go to Source …read more Read more here: herpetofauna.com No products found. Amazon Auto Links

More Florida sea turtle adventures, this time with a guy who loved them so much he brought them home. Too bad that’s totally against the law. From Tech Times: Officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission visited the home of William Henry Jowett after receiving a tip that he was keeping two of […]

Kansas is a state about which I know very little. I have driven across it a couple of times on my way home from Colorado and I’ve driven to it another couple of times to look up some exotic lizards. But I had never visited the state to witness the great snake emergence from hibernation […]

This is an attractively marked Eastern Box Turtle is named Louie and the owner says he is 9 years old! Louie the Box Turtle is our spotlight in our Herp Photo of the Day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user terrapene! Be sure to tell terrapene you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos […]

A good veterinarian needs the skills of a super sleuth…in the category of Sherlock Holmes or Poirot….given that most of their patients don’t speak. The super sleuth veterinarian must draw on excellent skills of observation and deductive reasoning to figure out what is wrong with their patient. Owners need the same super observation and deductive […]

The beautiful pygmy frog, Microhyla pulchra, is a one-of-a-kind amphibian. But its uniqueness, known as crypsis, is making conservation efforts challenging. From io9.com: Crypsis is an entity’s ability to avoid detection. It can be a predator’s ability to avoid being spotted by prey, or prey’s ability to avoid being spotted by predators, or, in this […]

I have been giving lectures and conducting workshops on reptile management and awareness for some time. I’ve never written about them until now because, to be frank, I never found anything special to be shared. That changed with my last workshop, however, and I would love to share it. My soccer coach, Mr. Savio Dsouza, […]

Snakes and Cats living together, it will be anarchy! Wait what? Nah it is just a nice shot of a Cat Snake (Boiga cyanea) in our Herp Photo of the Day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user ptahtoo! Be sure to tell ptahtoo you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and […]

Apprently the friend of your enemy is your enemy, when it comes to sea turtles — at least in Florida, where a Vietnam veteran was allegedly shot with his own gun by someone who took exception to his efforts to protect a sea turtle nest. From Local10.com: A Vietnam veteran was shot while trying to […]

This past winter, as a cold front came barreling through, I decided to make certain that all of the tortoises were snug in their heated winter houses. I quickly scanned the pens and saw only a few desert box turtles, Terrapene ornata luteola still out. Although I probably needn’t have worried about them I quickly […]

No longer just black and white, these snakes show some of the variety in color that the Black Headed Pythons have in our Herp Photo of the Day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Tom_Keogan! Be sure to tell Tom Keogan you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you […]

No longer just black and white, these snakes show some of the variety in color that the Black Headed Pythons have in our Herp Photo of the Day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Tom_Keogan! Be sure to tell Tom you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could […]

By Herp News The Bush Administration is expected to publish rules that relax protections for endangered species ahead of tomorrow’s deadline in order for them to take effect immediately, reports the Associated Press. Go to Source …read more Read more here: herpetofauna.com No products found. Amazon Auto Links

By Herp News Caspian Seal populations have declined 90% in the past 100 years, prompting the IUCN to switch their designation from Vulnerable to Endangered. Go to Source …read more Read more here: herpetofauna.com No products found. Amazon Auto Links

By Herp News Dr. Laurie Marker, founder and Executive Director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), has been awarded $50,000 by the Tech Museum of Innovation for her organization’s Bushblok program which uses a high-pressure extrusion process to convert invasive, habitat-destroying bush into a clean-burning fuel log. Bushblok provides an alternative to products such as […]

By Herp News A new study has found that colugos or flying lemurs are twice as diverse as previously believed. Go to Source …read more Read more here: herpetofauna.com No products found. Amazon Auto Links

By Herp News Scientists have rediscovered a long-lost species of primate on a remote island in Indonesia. Conducting a survey of Mount Rore Katimbo in Lore Lindu National Park on the island of Sulawesi, a team led by Sharon Gursky-Doyen of Texas A&M University captured three pygmy tarsiers, a tiny species of primate that was […]

By Herp News Frogs, toads, salamanders and other amphibians are disappearing at an alarming rate. Of approximately 6,000 amphibian species in the world, about one third are classified as threatened or endangered. A disease caused by a chytrid fungus has devastated frogs living in mid to high elevation streams worldwide. Amphibians also face habitat destruction […]

By Herp News With its characteristic horn, the endangered rhino rat snake has been bred in a European zoo for the first time. Go to Source …read more Read more here: herpetofauna.com No products found. Amazon Auto Links

By Herp News Scientists have yet to conclusively explain the underlying cause of global declines in amphibian populations, according to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research says that two leading theories for the demise of amphibians — both related to the emergence and spread of the […]

By Herp News South Korea’s Daewoo has signed a 99-year lease for half of Madagascar’s arable land, reports the Financial Times. The agreement covers 1.3 million hectares (3.2 million acres) — an area half the size of Belgium. Daewoo says it plans to plant corn on 1 million hectares in the arid western part of […]

By Herp News Researching one of the world’s most endangered penguins in New Zealand, the yellow-eyed penguin, has led to a remarkable discovery. DNA from 500-year-old penguin fossils has shown that the country was once home to not just one penguin species, but two. The DNA has resurrected an unknown extinct penguin, which researchers have […]

Reading the subject line on this post, most of my American friends might think I’m writing about the beautiful red, yellow, and black coral snake. Sorry, my dear friends; this is an Indian coral snake, and also a very beautiful one. The slender coral snake, calliophis melanurus, is a species of coral snake found in […]

The Dorset Wildlife Trust has a message to herpers: live tin alone. From the BBC: Reptile conservationist Gary Powell said: “If tins are disturbed outside of an official survey then it can affect the results of the research”. Disturbing protected species could result in breaking the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations Act. Conservationists from […]

This Copperhead is looking forward to the what the week hold in our Herp Photo of the Day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user HerpLvr! Be sure to tell HerpLvr you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! …read more Read more here: King […]

By Herp News In the remote, poorly explored and unprotected forests of Sorata, northern Madagascar, there are some bizarre and unknown animals lurking around. A new species of diamond frog has just joined their ranks. Its unusually long legs set it apart from all but one of its closest relatives. Unfortunately, it is already endangered […]

By Herp News Good news on the environmental front in Madagascar has been rare and fleeting in recent years, but today the Indian Ocean island’s Prime Minister gave conservationists a bit of hope by officially decreeing seven new reserves that target critical habitats for endangered lemurs, chameleons, and frogs. Go to Source …read more Read […]

Grumpy Turtle demands you have an amazing weekend in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user andystorts! Be sure to tell andystorts you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! …read more Read more here: King Snake No products […]

By Herp News Good news on the environmental front in Madagascar has been rare and fleeting in recent years, but today the Indian Ocean island’s Prime Minister gave conservationists a bit of hope by officially decreeing seven new reserves that target critical habitats for endangered lemurs, chameleons, and frogs. Go to Source …read more Read […]

World Snake Day is a perfect time to reflect on why snakes are so amazing. From the Deseret News: It is incredible that any creature can crawl, swim, dig, climb, capture prey and in some cases, glide through the air, all without the benefit of limbs, fins or wings. Rather than fear them, we should […]

Kenny had already visited it. I had never heard of it. You’ll love the Bruni dump he told me. Cool stuff. Really cool. If you’re a herper, you’ll probably already have guessed that it was not the trash that was of interest to us. It was what had found their homes beneath the trash: the […]

Why stop with one, when a pile of Drymarchs are so much nicer! Check out the great variety of these snakes in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user alanB! Be sure to tell alanB you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could […]

By Herp News Twenty-one captive-raised southern river terrapins have been released back into their native habitat in southwest Cambodia. Go to Source …read more Read more here: herpetofauna.com No products found. Amazon Auto Links

When the summer heat index reaches 109ºF it prompts me into immediate action to keep Frankie cool. The temperature is actually only 92º which isn’t really all that hot (having spent years in Phoenix, Arizona) but when the humidity is 65% then it’s hot. Frankie doesn’t sweat and he is cold-blooded which for anyone deprived […]

One of the species rarely found in my area is the variegated kukri snake, Oligodon taeniolatus. A non-venomous snake also called Russell’s kukri snake. I have mentioned in one of my previous posts these snakes are named as kukri snakes because of their fangs, which looks similar to a Nepali weapon called a kukri. In […]

After suffering from habitat loss, the Blanding’s turtle may move from “threatened” to “endangered.” From the Pioneer Press: The sand dunes, marshes and backwaters of the upper Mississippi River, including the Weaver Dunes of southeastern Minnesota, hold one of the largest remaining populations of the Blanding’s turtle, which the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources already […]

Tick Tock. The week passes quickly but today is easier starting with the smile of a Nile Croc in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user CDieter! Be sure to tell CDieter you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured […]

By Herp News Africa is famous for its lions and other large carnivores, but populations are dwindling and even vanishing all over the continent. A new study published in mongabay.com’s open-access journal Tropical Conservation Science quantifies the disappearance of the lion (Panthera leo), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), and wild dog (Lycaon pictus) from 41 protected areas […]