Now that winter is almost over here in the South, and with it the wonderful mass migrations of all our Ambystomatid salamanders, it is now time to change gears and focus on another group of cool amphibians: Pseudacris!

Although this genus is not a salamander, these neat little frogs are out in full force right now.

Actually, the ornate chorus frog (Pseudacris ornata) have already been calling on warm nights since December. The mountain chorus frogs (Pseudacris brachyphona) are calling in Northeast Alabama, along with the upland chorus frogs (Pseudacris feriarum) and the southern chorus frogs (Pseudacris nigrita) down here.

A personal favorite of mine is is the spring eeper (Pseudacris crucifer crucifer). Not much is known about these secretive frogs because they are really rarely encountered outside of their breeding season, but during this time of the year any ditch, mudhole or low depression that holds water will serve as a breeding site for these small frogs. …read more
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Gotta love seeing a breeding group of gharials in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Lucky 7!

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By Herp News

Turtle Bay Resort announced Tuesday the settlement of a lawsuit brought by Keep the North Shore Country challenging the City and County of Honolulu's acceptance of the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the resort's proposed development plans. Full terms of the settlement were not released, but Turtle Bay Resort has agreed to make contributions toward the conservation of threatened …

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Planned for the Tottenham Hotspur football club, a new athletic facility has halted development because the land is home to great crested newts.

From the Irish Mirror:

“Surveys confirmed the presence of a medium-sized breeding population of great crested newt within the pond on site, and individual long-eared and common pipistrelle bats roosting in the agricultural buildings as well as the presence of grass snake on site.

“This being the case; the proposed development will result in the loss of a great crested newt breeding pond, confirmed bat roosts, amphibian/reptile suitable habitat and mature trees.”

It states that before planning permission can be granted the newts and bats must be “looked after” and that the club must “demonstrate that the favourable conservation status of the species will be maintained within the whole of the site”.

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It was late spring, in the Apalachicola National Forest (ANF) and I happened to have an hour to kill before meeting Kenny for a couple of days of herping. I was within a few miles of a favorite puddle, so decided to stop by for a hurried visit. During the winter this bit of water was a breeding site for ornate chorus frogs, I had seen a banded water snake or two there, and in previous years had seen a few mole salamanders beneath water edge logs.

But this time when I pulled up the site was unrecognizable. We had had an unusually wet winter and the rains had continued into the spring. The site, including the road-edge drainage ditch, was filled and overflowing with water. For a moment or two I contemplated whether I wanted to get wet just before leaving on a trip. But then a turtle surfaced in the flowing water of the ditch–a turtle with a narrow head and a prominently striped neck– an eastern chicken turtle, Deirochelys r. reticularia.

Unlike many of their semi-aquatic emydine stay-at-home relatives, the chicken turtles (3 subspecies) are known for their peregrinations. These turtles wander widely from flooded meadow to vernal pond to the still waters of canal edges. If things get uncomfortably dry they dig down and aestivate. And although I consider them one of the “everywhere and nowhere” turtles (meaning they are widespread but seldom readily seen), they are seen infrequently enough to consider each sighting a mini-event.

So now, if you have interpreted the last paragraph correctly, you know I wasn’t about to leave without at least trying to get some data from the chicken turtle. Yep. I got wet, but I was able to catch the turtle, a perfect example, an adult male. Hopefully he is still wandering, stopping now and again to sire more generations of wandering turtles. They are a delight to see.
Continue reading “Chicken turtles wander, but they aren’t lost” …read more
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This hatchling Gulf Coast spiny softshell gives us just enough of the “awwws” to make it through a Tuesday in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user gambusia!

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By Herp News

Tortoise Energy Infrastructure Corp. today announced that as of Feb. 28, 2015, the company’s unaudited total assets were approximately $4.2 billion and its unaudited ne

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By Herp News

Tortoise Energy Independence Fund, Inc. today announced that as of Feb. 28, 2015, the company’s unaudited total assets were approximately $383.7 million and its unaudit

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By Herp News

Tortoise Energy Independence Fund, Inc. today announced that as of Feb. 28, 2015, the company’s unaudited total assets were approximately $383.7 million and its unaudit

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By Herp News

Tortoise MLP Fund, Inc. today announced that as of Feb. 28, 2015, the company’s unaudited total assets were approximately $2.1 billion and its unaudited net asset value

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By Herp News

Tortoise MLP Fund, Inc. today announced that as of Feb. 28, 2015, the company’s unaudited total assets were approximately $2.1 billion and its unaudited net asset value

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By Herp News

One of the most iconic animals on the planet got good news this week. The world’s giant panda population has risen by 268 individuals over the last decade, hitting a total of 1,864 animals, according to China’s fourth decadal survey. This represents a total rise of 16.8 percent.

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Using computer models of jacky dragons, researchers have learned it’s the order of a jacky dragon’s movement that makes communication possible.

From Johns Hopkins:

Woo and Rieucau conducted a playback experiment using computer animations of lizard displays. They created three simulated animations of lizards that differed in their shape and skin texture and performed the displays either with natural syntax or reversed syntax. There was the “cyberlizard,” which had normal shape and skin texture; a lizard with normal shape but without realistic skin texture; and an object shaped generally like a lizard but lacking texture.

The researchers found the order of the actions was critical for signal recognition. Even the animated lizards with abnormal shape and texture elicited responses from the jacky dragon subjects, as long as the actions were in the correct order.

The lizards responded to animations with correct syntax by making social signals of their own. These included aggressive signals like fast head bobs or the entire visual display pattern (tail flick, quick arm wave, and push-up body rock) or submissive displays like slow arm waves and slow head bobs.

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This tegu is ready to take on the day in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user tristen!

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By Herp News

This notice provides stockholders of Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc. with information regarding the distribution paid on Feb. 27, 2015 and cumulativ

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By Herp News

This notice provides stockholders of Tortoise Pipeline & Energy Fund, Inc. with information regarding the distribution paid on Feb. 27, 2015 and cumulative distribu

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By Herp News

A recent report of a male black-and-white tegus attempting to mate with a dead female in Brazil raises the question: Why are some animals necrophiliacs?

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By Herp News

Dave Bethel, owner of Reptile World, said he is in the process of winding down his business. Nine specimens from Reptile World were euthanized after the Alberta SPCA took 142 reptiles and amphibians into protective custody.

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By Herp News

The remaining animals at Reptile World have been removed and are destined for new homes in Ontario. On Thursday, February 12, Alberta Fish and Wildlife officers and Alberta SPCA officers were at Reptile World.

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By Herp News

The Alberta Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) has issued a warrant to the ownership the Reptile World, and is in control of the building for the next three days.

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By Herp News

After two and a half decades, a major Drumheller tourist attraction may be forced to close it doors.

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By Herp News

Marine biologists have long known that leatherbacks like to chow down on jellies, but they never knew precisely how. Researchers from the non-profit organization the Canadian Sea Turtle Group use the tiny “turtle-cams” to gain insight into the sea turtle’s foraging habits off the coast of Nova Scotia. “It’s like getting turtle’s home videos—seeing what they see, where they go, and how they …

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There is just something adorable about the Bushveld rain frogs, and the cute, catchy video game music makes this a great way to wake up and start your weekend!

Submit your own reptile & amphibian videos at http://www.kingsnake.com/video/ and you could see them featured here or check out all the videos submitted by other users! …read more
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By Herp News

The chytrid fungus, which is fatal to amphibians, has been detected in Madagascar for the first time. This means that the chytridiomycosis pandemic has now reached a biodiversity hotspot. Researchers are therefore proposing an emergency plan. This includes monitoring the spread of the pathogenic fungus, building amphibian breeding stations and developing probiotic treatments, say the scientists.

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Last weekend saw the annual British Royal Pigeon Racing Association show in Blackpool. The show attracts around 15,000 visitors, with over 100 trade stands and around 3,000 animals. It’s the biggest pigeon show in the calendar and, as far as we are aware, it went off without a hitch.

But this is a reptile site, so why am I telling you this? Because at the same time as the pigeon show was happening, the UK reptile show scene is preparing for a landmark legal case to determine if reptile shows are legal.

The Federation of British Herpetologists, representing the interests of reptile societies and hobbyists, is confident that the judicial review will be a good thing for the hobby regardless of the outcome.

Should the review find in favour of the shows then this will be a major blow to the extremist animal rights organizations who wish to see the shows banned. Should the review go against the hobby, then government will be under enormous pressure to revise the loophole in the outdated legislation in British law which makes the legality of shows ambiguous. It is hoped that the shows will eventually be licensed as this will vindicate local authorities who are pressured into stopping the shows by animal rights campaigners.

Reptile shows are a hugely beneficial network facilitating the sharing of expertise. Many respected animal welfare organizations recommend hobbyists buy their animals directly from a reputable breeder, and these shows provide the best opportunity to achieve that aim. These shows and relationships help to advance the hobby.

More worryingly, should reptile shows be banned then the ruling would likely be rolled out to cover all vertebrate animals – dogs, cats, fish, rabbits and pigeons included. Then where would we be? …read more
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By Herp News

The Akron Zoo has announced the passing of a female Galapagos tortoise, Azul. Azul passed away on Thursday, February 19, 2015. Azul was born at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Texas on June 23, 1989. 

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Looking hopeful that spring’s around the corner, this wood turtle will bring a smile to your face in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user kensopher!

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Although actually of Eurasian distribution, this hefty glass lizard is often referred to as the European Glass Lizard.

Commonly an unmarked light to dark brown overall, occasional examples are lighter with variable patterns of a darker brown. Hatchlings are gray with irregular darker banding. It may grow to 3 feet or slightly longer when an adult.

Although never of great hobbyist interest, it seems that there has always been a few of these brown glass lizards with the strongly keeled scales available in the pet trade. Prices have always been reasonable. For example, I just checked the Kingsnake.com classified section for “Other Lizards” and there are 2 ads for these interesting lizards asking $75.00 each.

Sadly (and perhaps strangely) there are very few O. apodus bred in captivity. Availability has always dependent on wild collected imports. This renders the availability of this taxon vulnerable to changing and ever more restrictive laws.

I would hope that we won’t allow the availability of this interesting lizard to go the way of the Basin emerald tree boa or the Colombian horned frog, only 2 of many one-time common species that are now very difficult to find in the pet trade.
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85 million year old aquatic reptile fossils were found in Israel, a reminder of a time when Israel was covered in water.

From the Jerusalem Post:

“This is the first time that a fossilized animal like this has been found in Israel during this period,” she said. “It’s very rare for an animal like this to be fossilized.”

Researchers found roughly 30 fossilized remnants of the reptile known as the Elasmosaurus, which Ashckenazi- Polivoda described as the “cousin of dinosaurs.” It was 8 meters long, with its elongated neck constituting a third of its body, she said.

“The most exciting thing is that this is the first time that a single species’ bones [of this type] were found in the same place here,” she added. “We’ve found similar fossils from 10 million years later, but never during this time.”

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This gorgeous eyelash viper is just hanging around waiting for the weekend in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user outonalimbo!

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This garter snake found by the Provo River is looking forward to the weekend in our herp photo of the day,uploaded by kingsnake.com user Utahn!

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By Herp News

Hacking group Lizard Squad claimed credit for the attacks on microblogging service Twitter. Lenovo said attackers breached the domain name system associated with Lenovo and redirected visitors to lenovo.com to another address, while also intercepting internal company emails. Lizard Squad posted an email exchange between Lenovo employees discussing Superfish.

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By Herp News

Last year, scientists released an emergency three-year plan that they argued could, quite literally, save the world’s lemurs from mass extinction. Costing just $7.6 million, the plan focused on setting up better protections in 30 lemur hotspots. However, there was one sticking point: donating to small programs in one of the world’s poorest countries was not exactly user friendly.

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As the name itself describes, the vine snake, Ahaetulla nasuta, is a tree-reliant snake that camofluages itself as a vine in foliage. There are five species of vine snake found in india amongst which the green vine snake is most commonly found.

The green vine snake has a thin and long body that is expanded when disturbed to show a black and white scale marking otherwise hidden under the scales. The head is elongated and pointed, which appears like a leaf shape having attractive golden yellow eyes with black horizontal pupils.

The body colour is bright or dark green with a bluish tint in exceptional cases. The ventral side is separated by two white lines in the greenish dorsal under side .In an adult green vine snake, size varies from 150 to 200 cmThe green vine snake is viviparous by nature.

Vine snakes are found across the world including the South American and African continents. Most of the places it is called a whip snake.

I never got a chance to rescue this species because my area is a “concrete jungle,” full of buildings, but I’ve come across vine snakes while herping. One fine morning in the jungles of Goa, I was herping for some vine snakes and pit viper snakes through the green trees and cool breeze.

Although it was a sunny morning, I could not find anything. Then I took a few steps back and realized I’d missed something due to the previous night’s booze effect, and I saw a vine snake hiding himself in the green leaves. It was almost 7am and indeed a good start.

Vine snakes are a perfect example of nature’s beauty. Many of my friends call it “a snake from a different planet” because of its appearance, which makes it look different from other snakes. For me, “Green is my favourite colour and vine snake is my favourite creature in green.”
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By Herp News

THERE are currently 11 snakes who are living at the SSPCA Cardonald centre and are hoping to find their forever homes with experienced owners.

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Years of studying redtail coral venom has finally paid off.

From Johns Hopkins:

For more than a decade, a vial of rare snake venom refused to give up its secret formula for lethality; its toxins had no effect on the proteins that most venoms target.

It comes from a reclusive redtail coral snake, or Micrurus mipartitus, which is primarily found in Costa Rica and parts of South America.

But recently, an international team of researchers figured out the venom’s recipe—a toxin that permanently activates a crucial type of nerve cell protein, causing deadly seizures in prey. The details were published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday.

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Years of studying redtail coral venom has finally paid off.

From Johns Hopkins:

For more than a decade, a vial of rare snake venom refused to give up its secret formula for lethality; its toxins had no effect on the proteins that most venoms target.

It comes from a reclusive redtail coral snake, or Micrurus mipartitus, which is primarily found in Costa Rica and parts of South America.

But recently, an international team of researchers figured out the venom’s recipe—a toxin that permanently activates a crucial type of nerve cell protein, causing deadly seizures in prey. The details were published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday.

Read more here. …read more
Read more here: King Snake

Hump day blues kicking in? This leopard gecko hatching in our herp photo of the day is the new beginning we need to make it the rest of the week, uploaded by kingsnake.com user alkee42!

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By Herp News

Biodiversity, including small predators such as dragonflies and other aquatic bugs that attack and consume parasites, may improve the health of amphibians, according to a team of researchers. Amphibians have experienced marked declines in the wild around the world in recent decades, the team added.

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By Herp News

NEWPORT, Ore. (AP) — A sea turtle that was rescued from frigid Northwest waters and treated at the Oregon Coast Aquarium has caught a ride back to California on a Coast Guard training flight.

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