Grumpy Toad is judging you in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user galen will blind ya! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Here is a vocalizing male Barking Treefrog, Hyla gratiosa. By a small margin, this is our largest native eastern treefrog.
The calls echoed one another from both shoulders of the country roadway upon which Patti and I stood in the darkness. We were well away from the glare of city lights, and in the darkness of a new moon the heavens were fairly atwinkle with myriad stars.
From above us came the nasal “peeeents” of a nighthawk. We could picture it cleaving the darkened skies on white-barred wings as it sought its repast of flying insects. An occasional “whrroooomm” (wind through wing feathers) would divulge to us the fact that as well as feeding the nighthawks were indulging in courtship dives.
Even louder and more pervasive than the sounds of the nocturnal birds were those of the amphibians. A chorus of coarse, porcine, grunts from out the marshes were the calls of pig frogs, Rana grylio. Named for its porcine like notes, the pig frog is nearly as large familiar bullfrog, R. catesbeiana.
Vocalizing with the pig frogs, were fair numbers of a species at the opposite extreme of the size spectrum. This was the pretty and very variable little hylid frog that is known commonly as the Florida cricket frog. Scientifically it answers to the name of Acris gryllus dorsalis. This elfin frog must certainly have derived its name from its size for I perceive no similarity between its pebble-like clicking call and the notes of even a very out-of-tune cricket of any species.
During our evening’s perambulations, we were serenaded by lesser numbers of numerous other species as well. Accompanied by the dot-dash calls of pine woods treefrogs, Hyla femoralis, inquisitive barred owls asked “who-cooks-for-you, who-cooks-for-you-all?” Green treefrogs, Hyla cinerea, “quonked,” and a single barking treefrog, H. gratiosa, voiced its hollow notes. Wherever there was even a trace of moisture, little grass frogs, Pseudacris ocularis, our smallest anuran species, tinkled animatedly. These tiny hylids, adult females of which top out at a whopping 11/16ths of an inch, are the smallest species of anuran in the United States, and among the smallest in the world.
If closely analyzed Mother Nature’s evening choruses will introduce you to what is for many an unsuspected facet of the surrounding world. And it’s FREE! Partake.
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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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The cutest of our angry creatures, this great field shot of a Snapping Turtle takes the spotlight our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user anuraanman ! 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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Meet the Florida Gopher Frog, Rana capito aesopus.
Let’s say that you’re one of the lucky Floridians–one who still has a field or pasture near your home and a gopher tortoise has somehow missed be plowed under by big business. The open areas have been dry, baking in the torrid Florida sunshine. A/Cs running full blast. Then came the rains. Those fields that seemed so flat became shallow expanses of warm water–but the temps had dropped, as if by magic, from 93F to 68F. Then outside of your window, heard over the noise of the computer game or the drivel of TV-land there came a loud snore. Oh-oh. You rushed and turned down the volume on whatever it was that was making the noise and wondered who could be sleeping outside in the downpour. Another snorrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Then another but this one was more distant., then another, and another. Darkness edged its way over the landscape. The snores became a dull roar. Congratulations! You are one of the lucky few who not only has gopher tortoise neighbors, but you have a colony of gopher tortoise commensals– Florida gopher frogs, Rana capito aesopus. How much better could life be?(LOL)
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Meet the Florida Gopher Frog, Rana capito aesopus.
Let’s say that you’re one of the lucky Floridians–one who still has a field or pasture near your home and a gopher tortoise has somehow missed be plowed under by big business. The open areas have been dry, baking in the torrid Florida sunshine. A/Cs running full blast. Then came the rains. Those fields that seemed so flat became shallow expanses of warm water–but the temps had dropped, as if by magic, from 93F to 68F. Then outside of your window, heard over the noise of the computer game or the drivel of TV-land there came a loud snore. Oh-oh. You rushed and turned down the volume on whatever it was that was making the noise and wondered who could be sleeping outside in the downpour. Another snorrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Then another but this one was more distant., then another, and another. Darkness edged its way over the landscape. The snores became a dull roar. Congratulations! You are one of the lucky few who not only has gopher tortoise neighbors, but you have a colony of gopher tortoise commensals– Florida gopher frogs, Rana capito aesopus. How much better could life be?
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Loving this Blue tongue skink just chilling in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user PatS . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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In our celebration of all things venomous on Friday, this little rough-scaled bush viper (Atheris hispida) in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user eekster26 is looking forward to the weekend! 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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How cool is this field shot of an Alameda whipsnake grabbing a meal 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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SO bright and brilliant, this Yellow Anaconda shines in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user mattf77 ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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This Boa is doing what they do best in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user minicopilot ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! Here’s lookin’ at you kid! Check out this gorgeous albino Southern Pacific Rattlesnake in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user lichanura . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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What a handsome Caiman Lizard 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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What a great looking pair of Australian water dragons in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user cochran! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Revisiting a classic with this Pied Ball Python in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user js! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Leopard frog yin and yang! The Leucistic tadpole really stands out in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user retnaburner!
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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! This big momma Timber rattlesnake shot in the field in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user throatoyster is a thing of beauty! 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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This is a gorgeous corn snake in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user dallashawks ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! No offense USPS!
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This frillie looks a little angry our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user nydon ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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This little White’s Tree Frog has his eye on you in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user exoreds ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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For their length they are heavy bodied, short-tailed snakes that occur, in their various species when adult (20 to 30 inches), in myriad colors. Of these it is the eastern hog-nosed snake, Heterodon platirhinos, that is the most variable. Hatchlings tend to be more uniformly colored. Collectively, hog-noses range from central New England to central Montana and Southeastern Alberta, then southward to southeastern Arizona, much of sorthern Mexico, southern Texas and the southern tip of the Florida peninsula.
These snakes are our great bluffers of snakedom. If frightened they may coil, they may hiss loudly, they may flatten the head and neck into a modified cobra-like hood, they may strike (usually with their mouth closed) or, if hard-pressed they may begin writhing spastically, contorting the body, open their mouth, then roll over and feign death. But as far as the hog-nosed snake is concerned the only position for a dead snake is lying upside down. If you turn the feigner right side up it will immediately roll upside down again. Southern and Eastern hog-nosed snakes are toad eaters.
Hog-nosed snake species and subspecies:
Hatchlings emerge from the eggs at about the same time metamorphing toadlets leave their pond sites.
Newly metamorphosed toads contain very low levels of the toxins that protect them as adults. So the hatchling hog-noses can safely eat them. As the toad grows and toxins strengthen, the resistance of the growing hog-nosed snake to the amphibian’s toxins also increases—seemingly a perfectly mutualistic program of symbiosis. It should be noted that the various western hog-noses accept a more varied diet than the eastern and southern hog-noses, toad specialists, both.
Hog-nosed snakes are generally considered nonvenomous. They are, however, dipsadine species, rear-fanged snakes, that in reality, produce a mildly toxic saliva. This usually matters not, for it is almost impossible to taunt a hog-noise into biting anything other than their chosen prey. Occasional bites however, whether deliberate or accidental, have resulted in pain, local edema, and some discoloration.
The uptilted rostral (nosetip) scale from which the common name is derived assists the snakes in unearthing burrowed prey items.
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This sulcata is happy basking in the sun while he mows the lawn in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user dinahmoe ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! All venomous snakes need our support! This Cottonmouth is screaming it from the field in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user BowieKnife357 ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Police say a woman has been found dead with an 8-foot-long python wrapped around her neck at a snake-laden home 20 miles northwest of Lafayette. Details are sketchy at the moment and police have yet to point the blame at the Reticulated Python in question. The woman’s cause of death remains under investigation, with an autopsy scheduled Friday. About 140 snakes were found in the home, the woman owned about 20 of them and had visited the home about twice a week.
The reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus) is found in the native to South and Southeast Asia, including India, Burma, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaya, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The worlds longest constricting snake, some specimens are known to exceed 20 ft. in length. An ambush hunter, it waits until prey wanders within strike range before seizing it in its coils and killing by constriction. Its natural diet includes mammals and occasionally birds. Small specimens eat mainly rodents such as rats, whereas larger individuals switch to larger prey including deer and pigs weighing more than 130 lb.
A popular species among reptile hobbyists Reticulated Pythons are common in captivity and have been bred in many different color varieties.
Human fatalities attributed to large constrictors are exceedingly rare but do happen. kingsnake.com wants to emphasize that people working with large or venomous species should always work with a partner to avoid mishaps and injury. No matter how well you think you know an animal it only takes one mistake to have disastrous and sometimes fatal consequences.
For more information on this story please check out https://fox8.com/2019/10/31/indiana-woman-found-dead-with-8-foot-python-around-her-neck/. …read more
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Herpy Halloween from this Bearded Dragon with big aspirations uploaded by kingsnake.com user Snakeskii . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Some kids love kittens and puppies, but totes adorbs Kelsey shows off and her pet Blue Tongue Skink in this throwback pic from 2006 in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user danielle4girls4 ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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There can be little more precious than a child and his pet Ball Python, like Markus and his snake in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user mikev ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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This young banded water snake being very curious in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user casichelydia ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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This coachwhip caused a scream, a screeching stop, and a marathon run. But it was worth it.At scream volume “—S T O P!!!!!!!!!! —.“ Yep, Jake had managed to scare me again. I was in the passing lane doing about 65, about halfway past a slower car, when Jake yelled. Fortunately there was no one following tightly so I slammed on the brakes and before I stopped Jake was out of the car running east while we were heading west. I parked on the verge, clambered out and back about 50 yards Jake was stationed in the grass trying to decide what the snake he had seen and I had missed on the side of the road was going to do.
Hurry screamed Jake. Hmppphhh. Not likely. My days of hurrying are long gone. But I WAS closer now. Go out on the road and try to prevent it from crossing. It’s a coachwhip—a PINK coachwhip!
Now I understood. We had seen but failed to catch or even photo pink coachwhips on our last 3 trips to or through Texas. Suddenly I felt Jake’s excitement. I do love racers and racer relatives.
So I limped out in the road and rather than watching me the big snake was now watching me. Then it turned it’s head towards Jake and started to move. In an instant Jake was airborne.In anotjhert instant he was flat on his belly in the grass and sandspurs. And in a 3rd instant he was screaming OWWWWWCH! GET IT! Certainly no problem now because he alresdyu had the snake at midbody and the snake had him by the eyebrow. Interesting dilemma. I wondered which would win?
But heck I wanted to photo the snake as badly as Jake did, so I grabbed it before it decided to swallow Jake and the snake immediately transferred its attention to my arm. Oh well. It was worth it.
Right Jake?
And I guess it might have been because another 5 miles down the road we had a similar but a bit less bitey encounter with a second pink coachwhip.
I was so impressed with these snakes that I did something that I haven’t done in a long while. I decided that if Jake didn’t wish to retain the snake I would like to keep them. Jake didn’t, I did.
But here’s what I didn’t expect. Once home and caged these 2 adult coachwhips proved dog tame. The first time I fed them both slowly left the hidebox, came to cage top, and gently took each thawed mouse from my fingers. No biting, no striking. And both have continued to do so on each feeding attempt. Now I’m excitedly awaiting their next shed. They should be knockouts.
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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! A glorius shot of a Great Basin Rattlesnake in central Utah brings us some serenity for our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user crocman6594 ! 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 shout out to the little guys! Loving this Vinales Anole in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user macraei ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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So simple and so stunning! What a gorgeous California Kingsnake in our Herp Photo of the Day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user kingzilla! Be sure to tell the you liked it here!
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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!
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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 quietly resting canyon treefrog probably hunkered down for the day.
Although the canyon treefrog, Hyla arenicolor, is common to abundant in many areas, its habit of hunkering down and resting quietly on streamside boulders and rock faces, in rock fissures, concealed in talus, or in crevices in concrete bridges where its pallid coloration renders it almost totally camouflaged, assures that this anuran is usually overlooked.
Having a disjunct range this 2” long treefrog occurs in the Davis and Chisos Mountains of TX as well as much of NM, AZ, and UT, then locally in southwest NV and CO. Its occurence is restricted to areas where at least a small amount of water is permanently available.
As are most treefrogs, this species is capable of remarkable and rapid color and pattern changes. By night it assumes a ground color of rather dark buff, gray, or olive, and is often patterned with extensive darker lichenate markings or well separated, dark-edged, rounded or oval dark markings. The darker markings may be little more than smudges or be well defined, and may be brown, green, or of an intermediate color. Markings may be best defined and ground color the darkest when the frog is chorusing on rainy nights. The lightest colors are assumed when the frog is resting quietly in the morning sun. At such a time the ground color is most apt to be an off-white, palest olive, or very light pinkish-tan, and the dark markings barely discernible. The dorsal skin is rough. A dark-bordered light spot is nearly always discernible beneath the eye. The concealed surfaces of the hind legs are orangeish. The vocal sac is rounded. Males have a dark throat skin; that of the females is light.
When small, tadpoles are quite dark in overall coloration, but with growth lighten considerably and may even appear nearly gold just prior to metamorphosis. The tailfin is usually conspicuously spotted, at least dorsally.
The call, a repetitious stacatto of hollow-sounding notes, is heard most often immediately prior to, during, or closely following rains.
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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! Here’s lookin’ at you kid! Check out this gorgeous albino Southern Pacific Rattlesnake in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user lichanura . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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This young green Basilisk in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user AirPirate is enjoying his morning swim! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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