Note the facial plates on this interesting turtle.
This big side-necked turtle, Peltocephalus dumerilianus, ranges in the Amazon and Orinoco drainages from Ecuador, Peru, and western Venezuela to Brazil. Once thought to have been extirpated from Peruvian waters, it has again been found in that country. The actual abundance there (as elsewhere) is not known.

It is monotypic within its genus, but is most closely related to the much better known Amazon River Turtles of the genus Podocnemis.

This appears to be a seldom seen Podocnemid turtle. Until you see it withdraw and fold its head sideways, its overall appearance is that of a “ginormous” mud turtle. The folding of the neck and its nonhinged plastron, however, are positive giveaways. It can reach a length of slightly more than 2 feet straight measure.

Carapacial color is gray to black. The plastron may be brownish or yellow. Limbs, tail legs, and neck are also dark. The dark head may have yellowish cheeks. The crown, cheeks, and jaws appear plated.

Very little is known about this understudied aquatic turtle, this despite it being an important food source for Amazonian families.

Up to 25 eggs have been reported for a clutch, but it is not known whether this species multi-clutches.

Continue reading “The Big-headed Amazon River Turtle” …read more
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This Cobra in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user MaxPeterson just learned we celebrate venomous animals every Friday! Boy is he happy for the respect! As always on Friday, we celebrate all of our venomous reptiles for their contribution to the world. It is our goal to help dispel the fears surrounding our beloved venomous creatures. Be sure to tell him you like it here.

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This Milk snake is just hanging out our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user gerryg . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Do you ever have an issue explaining why you love your pet snakes so very much to friends? Have you ever had problems putting into words your love of those cold blooded pets that share your world? Never fear, we all have!

A recent opinion piece in the New York Times puts our love of snakes into a special light.

The snake is as much symbol as animal, and this oversaturation of meaning prevents us from seeing the snake clearly. In reality, they are gentle, healthful to the environment, “more scared of you than you are of it,” a sort of tragic hero of the ecosystem that is, when gazed upon without malice, beautiful.

To read the whole article, click here.

BTW, a hearty congrats to WooHoo for reaching 25 years old!

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Love the darker phase of this greyband in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user trevid ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Welcome to the world little one! That magical moment when a baby takes it’s first breath is captured here with this boa in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user dpiscopo69 ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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So small and precious, this baby Broad Banded Water Snake in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user cochran gets up close and person with the mighty herper! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Note the yellow interstitial skin of this forest racer.
The genus Dendrophidion contains about 15 species of big-eyed, diurnal, alert snakes, all of racerlike slenderness and speed. The overall distribution of the genus is from southern Mexico to Bolivia. The Tawny (aka Olive) Forest Racer, Dendrophidion dendrophis, was a common and welcome species at our camps in Amazonian Peru.

Although of subdued color this is a pretty snake. The ground color is lightest anteriorly and darkens progressively towards the tail. A series of 50+ narrow, dark-edged, light bands or dark bands with light lateral spots, begins on the nape, and continues to tailtip. These are best defined on young snake and may be obscure on old adults. The Interstitial skin (the skin between the scales) and the belly are yellow, paling anteriorly. Each eye is shaded by an enlarged, flat, outward projecting, supraocular scale. The eyes of juveniles appear proportionately larger than those of the big-eyed adults.

Adult size of this oviparous snake is 3 to 4 feet. This is a frog-eating species.

These racers are most often seen on or near the ground, but they can climb well and often sleep in shrubs or trees 5 to 8 feet above the ground.

The fact that this snake (as a matter of fact, all snakes in this genus) readily autotomizes the tail if grasped by this terminal appendage explains why many forest racers seen have a truncated appearance. The tail is readily lost but does not regenerate.

Continue reading “The Tawny Forest Racer” …read more
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One day to get things ready and this gecko is making those light look boring in our Herp Photo of the Day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user chrisvanaken! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Santa’s gecko elves are prepping to load the sleigh in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Geckoranch ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Kismet thinks Iguanas are better to lead Santa’s Sleigh in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Really! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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We have the proof Santa is a reptile right here in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user rosebuds! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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This is a typically colored hatchling Banded Calico Snake
Varying by researching authority, the genus Oxyrhopus contains 12 or more, largely nocturnal, neotropical (central and northern South America, including Trinidad and Tobago) snake species that vary widely in color. Some are primarily red others are primarily black, some bear bands of contrasting colors, others, except for the head that often contrasts with the body color, are largely unicolored.

In my opinion, one of the prettiest is the Banded Calico Snake. Other frequently heard common names include False Coral Snake and Forest Flame Snake.

Long known as Oxyrhopus petola, Jay Savage has recently suggested that its proper name is O. petolarius, and that this contains 3 subspecies, including the one with which I am most familiar, O. petolarius petola.

Over the years we have gotten very used to visits from this Calico Snake at the preserves where we stay. We not only happen across adults on the trails and juveniles in trailside shrubbery, but the adults range widely and often stray into our campsites.

Hatchlings and juveniles of this yard long, oviparous, snake are banded white and black, most young adults are banded with bright red (sometimes white) and black, and the red bands old examples often darken until the entire snake looks sooty.

Although these snakes were initially considered rear-fanged colubrines, they have now been reclassified as a Dipsadine genus. The venom seems especially virulent against lizards and amphibians on which calico snakes primarily prey. Small rodents and birds are also prey items.

I have found this snake reluctant to bite.
Continue reading “The Banded Calico Snake” …read more
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It would be pretty hard to tread on this Albino Atrox in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user krantz ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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A True Giant. This Komodo Dragon takes center stage in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user cowboyfromhell ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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This lovely Gila monster poses perfectly in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user vegasbilly ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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This female Kimberly Rock Monitor is just hanging out 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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If this axolotl in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user tadpoleo doesn’t make you smile, I am not sure what will! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Juvenile Common Bird Snakes are strongly patterned and highly arboreal.
A common snake in Amazonian Peru, the actual range of this feisty snake is from Mexico through most of northern South America. Both the genus and the species/subspecies names for this snake are currently in flux. Some refer to it as Pseustes poecilonotus, some as Phrynonax polylepis, and others simply refer to it, as I have, as the Common Bird Snake. At the moment I’ll also use the long-standing name of Pseustes poecilonotus for its scientific designation. The snake simply doesn’t care what you call it but is apt to display resentment if you approach it too closely.

We have found many of these snakes, but have never yet found one that was happy to see us. Neck distention, similar to that of the better known Spilotes, is a defensive ploy that may be used before, during, or after the snake has struck at you. Bird snakes are nonvenomous. Juveniles are strongly patterned and quite arboreal often being found at face level or above in trailside trees. Adults are more often found resting at night while coiled atop fallen trunks or simply on the trail.

The common name comes, of course, from this snake’s fondness for birds and their eggs. Small mammals, lizards, frogs, and insects are also eaten.

Continue reading “The Common Bird Snake” …read more
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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! This Timber Rattlesnake in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user herpermike1 was found in a very populated area in Tennesee, and moved to a more safe location! Great Message! ! 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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A Happy Hanukkah to all from us, including this cute lil guy in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user natsamjosh! Be sure to tell them you liked it here.

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We are kicking Wednesday off right with this lovely pair of Reed Frogs in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user arkherps ! We understand they are “wrestling” 🙂 Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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This Sulawesi Forest Turtle looks like he is ready to take on the world and dominate it in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user andystorts ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Love this gorgeous Moluccan python, Morelia clastolepis, in all its shimmering beauty in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user krantz!
Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Coastal eastern Black Rat Snakes are often jet black dorsally.
Long in the herpetocultural shadows of more brightly colored rat snakes, it now seems that much interest is being channeled to the big Black Rat Snake, Pantherophis obsoletus obsoletus. Although I’m surely missing some, genetic aberrancies such as white-sided, albino, lavender, rusty, brindle, and calico, have been developed. But let’s talk about the normal rather than the aberrances here.

The Black Rat Snake, a big dark colored constrictor, has an immense range in eastern USA. Using state abbreviations, it may be found from New England’s Lake Champlain to neGA, then seMN to cKS and cLA. Habitats include stone walls, woodlands, pasture edges, deserted buildings and other such structures.

It, like its several subspecies, is adult at 5 to 6 feet in length. Occasional examples have exceeded 8 feet in length. With a record length of 101 inches it is one of the 5 longest snakes in the USA.

When adult this is a large, primarily black, harmless, but often feisty, semi-arboreal snake. Black above, traces of darker blotches may be seen, and if the snake is a hatchling/juvenile, or distended with a meal or gravid. Patches of white, gray, or orange interstitial skin (the skin between the scales) may also show. Dorsal patterns are also more apt to be seen where this snake nears the ranges of the Gray Rat Snake and Texas Rat Snake. The belly is white with irregular blotches of black.

Typically hatchlings are gray with black saddles. Various colors, especially a dark olive green, may show at areas where this snake intergrades with the yellow rat snake. Rodents, birds, and lizards are the preferred prey items of this powerful constrictor.

Rat snakes, as a group, will hiss if frightened and will often vibrate the tail. This latter, if in dried grass or leaves, will make a whirring sound that is similar to the noise of a rattlesnake’s rattle.

Know the difference before you approach.

Continue reading “The Black Rat Snake” …read more
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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! We are seeing red with this gorgeous shot of a Pygmy Rattlesnake our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user Tamers1 ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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On December 1, 2020 House Bill 6455 (HB6455) was introduced in Michigan that could impact many reptiles keepers. The reptile portion of the bill does primarily impact ownership of venomous, crocodilians and some monitor species. While it is not an outright ban and offers provisions for owners to keep their pets, it can have very far reaching implications.

The reptiles impacted by the Bill are:

“Dangerous reptiles” per HB6455:

(I) A member of the order Crocodilia, including, but not limited to, an alligator, crocodile, gharial, or caiman.
(ii) A member of the family Atractaspidae.
(iii) A member of the species Dispholidus typus of the family Colubridae.
(iv) A member of the family Elapidae, including, but not limited to, a cobra, mamba, krait, coral snake, or Australian tiger snake.
(v) A member of the family Hydrophiidae, including, but not limited to, a sea snake.
(vi) A water monitor or crocodile monitor.
(vii) A member of the family Viperidae, including, but not limited to, a rattlesnake, cottonmouth, bushmaster, puff adder, or gaboon viper.

Our friends at USARK have made it easy to speak out to your representatives. Please visit the USARK page for the full action alert. …read more
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The West Alpine locality momma is holding tight to those new eggs in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user oursnakes ! Be sure to tell oursnakes you liked it here!

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Poised and watch, 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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Most commonly known as the harlequin toad, this Atelopus barbotinitakes center stage in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user jamesmatthews! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Newborns are always something that cures a bad day. This little Ctenosaura palearis in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user ilovemonitorliza is just the cure for the blues! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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This terrestrial snake is easily differentiated form its rough-scaled cousin by the lack of keels on the scales.
I know I’ve talked earlier about this little snake, but I would like now to bring to the forefront the fact that the Smooth Green Snake, Opheodrys vernalis, is in trouble.

Dorsally, this small (adult at 15 to 24 inches), smooth scaled, slender, and beautiful snake is leaf green (grayish or yellowish in some small populations and duller immediately after hatching, immediately before shedding or after death when it is bluish). Ventrally it is yellow, white, or pale green belly. It is predominantly terrestrial and was once common to abundant in open grassy areas such as unkempt urban fields, meadows, pastures, and edge habitats. An oviparous species, eggs have a curiously shortened incubation period, hatching in from 4 to 24 days. Hatchlings are duller than adults.

In the east this is a snake of habitats that vary from coastal and other lowlands to montane meadows. The few western populations are found at high elevations. Overall, this snake is considered a boreal species. The northernmost populations are found in Canada’s Maritime Provinces westward to southern Saskatchewan. The southernmost populations were in nw Virginia and s Illinois. Westward of this unusual range there are 25 or 30 small disjunct populations known as far as e WY, ne UT, and the grasslands of e TX (this latter now thought to be extirpated). A population has even been documented in w Chihuahua, MX.

For reasons that have not yet risen above the speculative stage, entire populations of the smooth green snake have now disappeared, and in those now existing, the snake is becoming increasingly rare. With no smooth green snakes having been found in TX in recent years, this population is of special interest. It is wondered by some researchers whether those once found in TX might have been introduced rather than of natural occurrence.

So, why the overall smooth green snake reductions? Is it because of habitat modifications? Probably not. There are still a lot of grasslands, some very remote, throughout this snake’s one-time range.

Could it be dietary. Afterall, this is an insectivorous species, crickets, caterpillars, and an occasional spider being among its favorite prey items. The prevalent use of a wide variety of insecticides has reduced insect populations, this snake’s potential prey.

Is it due to toxic effect from the insecticides themselves? Possibly.

Whichever and whatever it is a problem that we must soon get a handle on lest there be no smooth green snakes left to concern ourselves with.
Continue reading “A Plea for the Wellbeing of the Smooth Green Snake” …read more
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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! I see your Black Friday and raise you this Black-tailed Rattlesnake in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user bigdnutz . Remember that on Rattlesnake Friday, we celebrate all our venomous creatures! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Not something you see every day, this cute little long nose leopard lizard (Gambelia wislizenii) in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user pek296 is totes adorbs! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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What a chunker! I’m just gonna go out on a limb and say that the Barking Tree Frog in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user saltycity has never missed a meal! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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This Thorny Devil (Moloch horridus) in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user frilly is certainly an awesome field find!! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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This adult Rusty Whipsnake was a bit over 7 feet in length.
The neotropical genus Chironius contains about 20 species of slender serpents that are often referred to as “Neotropical whipsnakes.” Although some fully grown at 4 to 5 feet in length, a few species routinely exceed 6 feet when adult. Despite their large size, their whiplike slenderness allows these snakes to be arboreal and they may as often be seen sprawled on the fronds in the crown of a palm tree as in shrubs nearer ground level. Not only the preferred habitats of some, such as the Rusty Whipsnake, C. scurrulus, may change with the growth of the snake, but the overall appearance of the snake changes also.

Reversing ontogenesis from what we have become used to on the emerald tree boa, this snake, the Amazonian Rusty Whipsnake, often found at river edge, is an intense emerald green as an arboreal hatchling. The intensity of the green fades rapidly with the snake’s age and growth. As a semiaquatic adult, the Rusty Whipsnake becomes a beautiful rusty red and is often seen foraging for its prey of frogs at water’s edge.

As indicated above, this is an oviparous species.

In keeping with the above comments, the bright green hatchling fell from the forest canopy during a storm. The paler green juvie was found on a vine covered log, and the red adult was searching for prey on the banks of the Rio Orosa, all so very typical. Enjoy.

Continue reading “The Rusty Whipsnake” …read more
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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! Check out this gorgeous pair of Sidewinders in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user dvenom05 . Remember that on Rattlesnake Friday, we celebrate all our venomous creatures! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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