I’m a little green with envy of this Green Tree Monitor in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user roadspawn and her plans for a lazy day. Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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This young Green Anaconda is almost wistful looking in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user raul_o . What a ham! Part of the original “Big 5”, they were once under threat of being added to the Lacey Act. Now they are under the gun again! Let’s keep the fight going! Did you email your senator today?
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Levy County FL Corn Snake
Whether you call them Corn Snakes or Red Rat Snakes, this lithe constrictor is a wonderful and welcome species of the North American herpetofauna. Long before the advent of the Ball Python fury (perhaps 25 years ago), it was the Corn Snake that was the target of snake-keeper’s genetic manipulation. I make no pretense of remembering what color or pattern expression came first, second, or third, but there were soon dozens of choices that went from cheap to far more than I, being kind of a cheapskate, would ever consider paying.
But this blog isn’t about those days or hobbyist derived phases and morphs. Rather it is just to show you that Mother Nature needs no help when evolving beauty. These are 3 rather distinct corn snakes from southern Florida. One, kind of “cinnamony” from Levy County, one precisely marked form from the Everglades, and one, the old time “rosy Rat snake” from one of Florida’s southern Keys. I hope you enjoy seeing these as much as I enjoyed finding them. Continue reading “Corn Snakes” …read more
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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!
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Boas are a staple of our world, like this gorgeous one in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Sharkman20 . But they were once under threat of being added to the Lacey Act. Now they are under the gun again! Let’s keep the fight going! Did you email your senator today?
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This Green Iguana is chilling in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user ForestTime hoping they get white listed. Not very likely sadly! Let’s keep the fight going! Did you email your senator today?
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Seeing this Burmese Python in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user OrangeTurtle reminds me of winning against the feds for the Big 5 and seeing them back at shows! Let’s keep the fight going! Did you email your senator today?
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This little Retic has it’s eye on you in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Steve_Ray ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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The America COMPETES Act has passed the house on a very slim vote. It is imperative that each and everyone one of us reaches out to our senators to oppose the passing of this act. This will impact more than just reptile owners. IF your pet could survive in the everglades, your pet could be next. This measure does not ban ownership, however it bans transport across state lines. While this may be primarily aimed at the trade and sale, it will also effectively end the ability to keep your pets if you move out of state or even if your vet is in another state, you could not take your pet to receive veterinary care it needs. USARK has sample letters, directions on how to get your letter into your senator’s hands.
We added a portion of the original action alert after the bump with the info you need or you can visit USARK’s info page here. Continue reading “ACTION ALERT: NATIONAL: American COMPETES act to add species to Lacey Act” …read more
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“Squeeze” today. After 10 months of rehab he is able to use his legs again and is growing.
This little denizen of marshes, swamps, water carrying ditches, lake and pond edges and occasionally of backyard goldfish ponds ranges northward from Florida’s Key West to southern and central Georgia and extreme southeastern South Carolina. Adult Three-striped Mud Turtles, Kinosternon bauri, are normally 3 to 4 inches long, but may rarely reach 5 inches. Hatchlings are, as I describe them, about 17/25ths the size of a shiny new quarter. In other words, hatchlings are tiny. In fact, so tiny are they, and so close in color to the earthen nest from which they emerge, that unless they are moving it is very easy to step on and kill or debilitate a hatchling.
And that’s exactly what happened to “Squeeze”, a hatchling that had been brought, on the verge of death, crushed, with cattywampus legs, dehydrated, and misshapen, to Florida Wildlife Care. Eventually “Squeeze” wound up with us, and we began a restoration project that I felt sure would fail. It didn’t. But the resurrection took a long time—several months in fact, and on a small scale is still ongoing. It was only 3 weeks ago (Dec 2021) that Squeeze finally began using his (we of course have no idea whether it’s male or female) right front leg. Today, rather than swimming in circles he goes in a straight line—slowly but straight. And he has begun eating ravenously and has grown. Oh, his name? Patti called him that because his life had been so nearly squeezed out of him. But we now have hope, and I’m pretty sure that Squeeze does too. C’mon Squeeze!
Continue reading “The Three-striped Mud Turtle” …read more
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Lovely head shot of this Brazil Lancehead (Bothrops brazili) in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user neverscared ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! We like to spotlight all our venomous creatures on #RattlesnakeFriday to help bring awareness to the need to protect and conserve these important animals in our world.
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How small are Viper Geckos when they are born? As you can see in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user JohnRobinson VERY small! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Curiosity doesn’t seem dangerous to this Nile Monitor in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user Mantafish every once in a while! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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This vibrant Cape Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer vertebralis) in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user pitparade will brighten your Monday for sure! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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USARK recently caught a few amendments being hidden in the 2000 page plus America COMPETES Act of 2022.
This brief run down of what could be impacted can be found on USARK’s page.
1. Provide that the Lacey Act bans the interstate transport of species listed as injurious. Specifically, it replaces Lacey’s current language ‘‘shipment between the continental United States’’ with ‘‘transport between the States.”
2. Create a “white list” of species that can be imported. This means that any animal (reptile, amphibian, fish, bird, mammal, invertebrate) that is not on the white list is by default treated as an injurious species and is banned from importation.
3. Create a new authority allowing FWS to use an “emergency designation” that becomes effective immediately after being published in the Federal Register unless an extension of no more than 60 days is allowed. That means no due process, public input, hearings, advanced notice, etc. for injurious listings.
4. Permit FWS to not allow importation if a species has not been imported in “minimal quantities” (to be defined) in the year prior to the enactment of this Act.
The effective date would be one year after the enactment of this Act.
This can and will impact more than just reptiles, so reach out to your friends and family that own things other than your normal dog and cat. If a species can survive in Florida, it may be targeted. Once a species is listed as injurious crossing state lines with the animal becomes illegal, even if it is for you to move OR going to a veterinarian! You will still be able to own it. However this also can impact our trade as well. This is is far more restrictive than the originally proposed “Big 5” that USARK was able to overturn with a lawsuit.
What can you do? USARK has given us everything we need! From their action alert:
Through Feb. 2, contact the House Rules Committee and your federal Representatives. Remember to be civil and professional at all times. Please personalize/edit your letters, if possible. If the bill passes the House with the amendments, then attention must turn to the Senate.
1. Call your Representatives’ offices (link below) and the Rules Committee at (202)-225-9091;
2. Email Representatives (link below);
3. Fax letters to (202)-226-9191 and your Representatives;
4. SHARE this and encourage others to complete the Alert!!!
The page also includes ways to find out who your representatives are as well as a form letter that you can copy and paste. You can find the action alert here. …read more
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Help fight off any case of the Mondays by welcoming this little ball python to the world in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user TerryHeuring brighten your day!! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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After emerging from the forest this 6″ long yellowfoot simply crossed the trail and disappeared on the other side.Patti and I were fortunate in being able to spend a good bit of time leading rainforest tours through various areas of the Peruvian rainforest. Depending on what our guests hoped to see we might have been following trails after dark in search of pit vipers, paddling kayaks in hope of seeing crocodile tegus, looking for green forest dragons in treefall areas, or simply meandering along forest pathways to see what we could see. All choices were wonderful, but I think I liked the daytime pathway walks the most. For it was on these we would occasionally meet one of my favorite herps, the Yellow-footed Tortoise, Chelonoidis denticulata.
In fact, it was only on these diurnal walks that we met these pretty chelonians. Sometimes they would be just sitting, legs mostly withdrawn, head and neck extended, soaking up the sunshine. At other times the tortoise might be strolling slowly along path edges nipping at whatever piece of forest vegetation that caught its eye. Sometimes they might only be bustling from one side of the trail to the other, leading us to the old why does a chicken cross the road query.
Despite being closely related to the red-footed tortoise, no variants have been designated for this species. Known to attain a straight measure of 28 inches, this tortoise is classed as the 5th largest land species.
Continue reading “Amazonian Yellow-footed Tortoises” …read more
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A great shot of a live (as they should be) Pygmy Rattlesnake on concrete in the field in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user JARHEAD1969 ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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What a gorgeous way to spotlight one of the underappreciated pythons! This lovely Olive Python poses perfectly in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user BNixon ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Martha, a Reeve’s Turtle, is just chilling out in the sun in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user kasie ! When this photo was originally posted in 2006, Martha was over 30 years old! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Despite their reputation of being angry, the beauty of a Tokay gecko puts it front and center in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user stingray! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Red and black? Black and yellow? Mimics in nature are clear with this pair of South American hognose from the same clutch in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Longhitano!
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A cherry-head red-footed tortoise from Southeast Brazil.
As far back as I can remember (well, maybe not quite that far- LOL) Red-footed Tortoises, Chelonoidis carbonaria, have been available in the American pet trade. But although all have been readily identifiable as redfoots, not all have been exactly the same. The first I recall with any assurance of accuracy were imported from Colombia I don’t remember any “cherryheads” from this northern South American country, but when viewed from above all that I saw were reminiscent of a dumbbell—somewhat expanded at both ends but noticeably narrower in the middle. A few from Bolivia were brighter in color, seemingly larger than the Colombians when adult, had brighter facial pattern, but retained the dumbbell shape. Oh, the red on the legs was brighter too. And in fact some were what have become now known as cherryheads. But the “real” cherryheads came from Brazil. On this most redfoot enthusiasts seemed to agree. Then a few arrived from Paraguay and while some were a bit lacking in color, others were red-headed (and footed) knockouts. And now there are “Clown-faced” red foots from Venezuela. Oh, and occasional examples from various Caribbean Islands.
Genetic definitions: Not species, not subspecies, merely seen as slightly differing populations:
Northeastern variant: Head and legs light orange to red. Carapace black. Plastrons are mostly pale yellow. Range includes Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and northern Brazil.
Northwestern variant: They are similar to the above but their carapace varies from grey to brown. Their yellow plastron bears a dark central figure. They are found in southeast Panama and Colombia.
Northern variant: These are similar but smaller than the above. Range includes Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
Southern variant: can be identified by range, this being Paraguay, and northern Argentina.
Eastern variant: Plastron are mostly mottled with dark pigment. Heads and legs vary from yellow to the eagerly sought cherry-heads. Range includes east to southeastern Brazil.
Take your pick. The choice is often yours.
Continue reading “The Reign of the Redfoot” …read more
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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! What a lovely shot of a Guarico Rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus) in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user robnimmo ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! As always on Friday, we celebrate all of our venomous reptiles for their contribution to the world.
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Awesome shot of a sassy Cane Toad in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Ravenousas! Be sure to tell them you liked it here.
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Herp Keepers with cameras, annoying our eating pets for decades like this bearded dragon in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user jdertinger ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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What an amazing headshot of a Diamond Python in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user CincyGrady is all amphibian! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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The red tongue is 1 criterion for determining an Everglades Rat Snake
Since that day some 65+ years ago, when on a herping trip with Gordy Johnston from our homes in MA to the FL Everglades, I first saw a Everglades rat snake, then known as Elaphe obsoleta rossalleni, it has been my favorite USA species.
Since that first sighting several adverse things have happened to the comparatively small range of the snake: the despoiling of the glades being one, the removal of an exotic tree species (Australian pines) that had been accepted by the big orange snakes, the draining of the water table, the advent of sugarcane and sod farms, and the resulting genetic pollution of the Everglades rat snake by the yellow rat snake, being others. Today it is almost impossible to find a truly orange rat snake that shows all of the characteristics that define the Everglades subspecies, but occasionally you can still be lucky. Continue reading “Everglades Rat Snakes” …read more
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What better way to celebrate “Betty White Day” than with Kelsey and Stubbs the blue tongue skink, best of friends in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user danielle4girls4 is all amphibian! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! To end the week, a whole lotta squee for these baby Death Adders for our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Oxyrhopus ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! As always on Friday, we celebrate all of our venomous reptiles for their contribution to the world.
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Although often called incorrectly a rubber eel, this Rio Cauca Caecilian (Typhlonectes natans) in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user chrish is all amphibian! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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What more can we say but AMAZING! This is such a beautiful shot of a Desert Horned Lizard in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Brockn ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Love the color variation that this mottled Mexican Redtail Indigo (Drymarchon m. rubidus) has in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user alanB ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Hang in there today just like this Borneo Eared Frog in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user tropicaltreefrog! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! We just love this close up of a Massasauga in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user venombill ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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I’m a little green with envy of this Green Tree Monitor in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user roadspawn and her plans for a lazy day. Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Shiva has her eye on you in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user musicloverhoney! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Love this shot! You can feel the texture and see the amazing variety of colors on this kingsnake in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Tony D ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Poised and watching, what a stunning Mangrove in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user ptahtoo! Be sure to tell them you liked it here.
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An adult Fringed Leaf Frog, Amazonian Peru.
The frogs were there. There was no question about their presence in my mind. To find them we would be dependent on Lady Luck and suitably rainy nights. Would this be the night?
It had looked stormy for most of the day, had clouded entirely by late afternoon, and had begun raining in the torrents so typical of the aptly named Amazonian (Peru) rainforest by early evening. In herper’s terms, it looked like it was going to be a great night for amphibs—especially the hylids— that were so quiet between the storms that they seemed absent.
By the time it was fully dark, puddles had formed on the forest floor and frog-voices were echoing from treetops, tree hollows, puddles, and vegetated areas of the flooded oxbows.
Although I recognized many of the anuran calls, I was listening intently through the rain for a soft burping call, one with little carrying power.
But even if I couldn’t hear it, if I could by chance actually see the frog, I’d know it. The species? Cruziohyla craspedopus, the fringed leaf frog, a hylid that, unless breeding, was said by many to not voluntarily leave the high overhead leafy canopy (this thought may now have been contraindicated).
Adults of this leaf frog, moderately large and spectacularly pretty, are usually leaf-green dorsally. Metamorphs and juveniles are grayish. The continuity of the dorsal color is broken by irregular, pale, blue-grey lichenate blotches. The sides and inner surfaces of the legs are yellow with black vertical bars. The belly is yellow. The tarsi and outer toes are strongly and unevenly fringed. From this feature the common name is derived.
This remarkable frog descends to lower branches when breeding. Eggs are deposited in water holding concavities in fallen trees but may also be placed in ground-level puddles near a fallen tree.
Although we walked late into the night, startled by potoos and berated by owl monkeys, our goal frog eluded us. But the next day one of the hikers with us suddenly stopped as we were passing through a patch of broad-leafed vegetation, pointed, and asked “what kind of frog is this?”
And there flattened tightly, eyes closed, against a Heliconia leaf. was a beautiful adult fringed leaf frog.
All was well with the world. Continue reading “A “Fanciful” and Fancied Treefrog” …read more
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