We are kingsnake.com after all, it is about time we share some alterna, like this Christmas Mountain Locale in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user CaseyLazik you have to meet one in person!! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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More than just a blah python, to truly appreciate Olive Pythons, like the one in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user BNixon you have to meet one in person!! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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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 neat close up view of the Phillipenes Flying Dragon (Draco spilopterus) in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user johnny888 !! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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This Jungle Carpet is so bright it is almost glowing in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user ttreptile1 !! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Got Boa? We do! This stunning Dumerils shows off in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user biophiliacs !! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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As a new week begins. so does life for this baby Box Turtle in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user norristhenut brighten your day!! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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What a stunning Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake shot in the field in Arizona 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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Baby pictures never get old. Let’s welcome 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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Middle of the week blues? Let this hatchling Collared Lizard in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user wwwwwells brighten your day!! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Wild caught Arizona elegans arenicola (Glossy Snake) from Hidalgo County Texas with SFD like symptoms
When I go herping I always wear gloves in between animals. My primary reason for doing so is to avoid transmitting diseases within and among herps. Many people are a bit confused as to why I do that. For one there is literature in Veterinary Medicine that confirms that Batrachochytrium dendrobatitis more commonly known as Bd, an amphibian disease, can be transferred to lizards. Quite a strange occurrence when diseases can pass the species barrier as typically they are specific to a group of animals.
However, more frequently I’m seeing a lot of snakes with symptoms of Snake Fungal Disease (SFD). I hear from collectors that back then they’d find milk snakes with lesions and basically they’d shed them off and be fine after a while. The question is, was it highly contagious among the rest of the person’s collection? I’m not sure how many people may have housed symptomatic snakes with others to confirm whether it was contagious or not. Now we know that SFD is highly contagious, and not to be mistaken with other conditions like water blisters.
If you’re out collecting in the field keep in mind the well-being of the rest of your collection whenever you do pick up an animal that shows SFD symptoms, as it is becoming more and more prevalent. The USGS states that for infected individuals the mortality rate in the wild is 100%. Other literature says >80% likelihood of mortality. Whatever the case may be, antibacterial between snakes may not work as this is a fungus, but the truth of the matter is that even if you do pick up a sick snake and bring it home, housing it in warmer temperatures and a dry enclosure will result in the snake likely shedding off the disease. The key being that you quarantine that snake from the rest of your collection, and that its lesions aren’t so bad that it refuses to eat, as many times the worst symptoms are around the face and chin, making it difficult for them to feed.
It requires a couple of tests to confirm the disease in an individual and we are finding it in more and more species than those initially reported by the USGS. We know it’s prevalent in Texas and is constantly being found in more species of snakes in the state, too. So continue to enjoy the field herping, but take the necessary precautions to keep your personal collection disease free.
Some things that might help are disinfecting your field equipment if you use it at home too, or having a separate set for your snake collection and one for the field. Also, if you see early signs in a snake remove the water bowl and keep the moisture level as low as you can in its enclosure. Offer the animal water every couple …read more
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It’s big, it’s black and it is beautiful! This Indigo seen in Williston, FL while herping earns it spot in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user ACO3124 !! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Blunt-headed tree snakes are blunt nosed and big eyed. This example is darker and with smaller blotches than usual.
When is a head high broken vining tendril not a head high broken vining tendril?
Why, when you grab a handful of tendrils to try and regain you balance and one of them suddenly turns a big-eyed head around on a slender neck to look at you, of course. And that is when you realize that you are doing exactly what you have warned your tour participants not to do—grab without ascertaining what it is that you are grabbing. This time, fortunately, no harm was done to either the grabber (me) or the grabee (snake—blunt headed tree snake, Imantodes cenchoa, to be exact). But the encounter did serve to rewarn me and there had been no one with me to witness the faux pas.
Blunt headed tree snakes are among the commonest and most distinctive of the arboreal serpents of the neotropics. The short snout, big eyes, and supple slenderness are echoed in this region (Depto Loreto, Peru) by only this snake’s congener, the much less often seen Amazonian I. lentiferus.
Nocturnal by preference, I. cenchoa bears prominent saddles, brown against a light reddish to chalk white ground color while the ground color of the tan saddled I. lentiferus is usually a lighter greenish tan. Both species prey on treefrogs and (usually) sleeping lizards. Adult size is 28 to 36 inches.
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Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) crossing caliche road in South TexasSo this weekend a friend of mine and I decided to go herpin here in South Texas. We left Friday afternoon around 4:30 P.M. and returned on April 2nd at around 3 P.M. We covered at least 5 counties (maybe 6) and travelled a total of 874.7 miles.
Just like back then when herpers would meet up somewhere in the Western regions of Texas we slept a few hours during the hottest part of the day between noonish and 5 P.M. then started all over again, throughout the night into the next morning, thereby allowing us to see all the night time herps and the morning herps. A few times we’d stop in for breakfast in some tiny town waiting for it to warm up before we’d go in search of the diurnal species, but also had deli meats and bread, because we got to make these road cruising trips affordable right?
We saw a total of 50 individuals of 17 different species (herps only), plus a lot of the spring wildflowers, numerous birds, and mammals too. Considering it’s relatively early in the season we considered our trip rather successful. My friend and I have different motives for what drives us to be so hardcore in the field. For some its research, others do it to find lifers, some to add to their personal collection, but all of us I think share one thing in common. Passion. An appreciation for a group of animals often misunderstood and underestimated.
Among our highlights were a slightly aberrantly colored Arizona elegans arenicola (Glossy snake), we both saw our first Mexican Hooknose (Ficimia streckeri) of the year, and we encountered a species that neither one of us had observed in South Texas, the Prairie Lizard (Sceloporus consobrinus), and well a lot of the common herps we’d expected to find. We put our lives on pause, stressed our bodies out, and all for what if nothing was collected, but data and photos? I’ll tell you. A complete feeling of satisfaction, fun, and for me, it is especially cathartic, to get away from the norm, indulge in the nature that’s still clinging on amid rows and rows of wind turbines and agricultural fields. It’s official, the herpin season is in full swing and more of these trips are underway.
In other words, lots of camaraderie, adventures, stories, encounters, networking, new friends and familiar faces all out doing the same thing. There’s always some nostalgia for the way “things used to be.” We’re a relatively small group of people and every year I look forward to encountering other herpers while meandering the back roads of south Texas terrain. Plus, we still didn’t find our target Milksnake to check off our annual list, so it’s on!
Glossy Snake Arizona elegans arenicola
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Looking forward to a wonderful week with this Plated Lizard in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user jungleemporium !! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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What a gorgeous Pygmy Rattlesnake found in the field in North Carolina 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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Glass Lizards, like these guys in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user sweetpea are like having the best of both world’s dontcha think?!! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Juvenile common bird snakes are often darker than this individual.
It was dark—rainforest dark– and rainy—rainforest rainy. I was trying to balance on a slippery fallen log that stretched over a newly freshened rivulet. Made it. Now came a rain-slicked slope about 30 feet long and descending about 15 feet. About half way down grew a spiny trunked palm. It was in a perfect position to make you want to grab hold of it as you slipped and slid by. I can tell you from experience, it would be better to fold your arms up and fall. At the end of the slope was a small but muddy permanent creek forded by a couple of easily replaceable small, wet, logs. And then on the right side of the trail (also in mud) was a small clump of non-spiny palms, the face high fronds of which were for some reason often chosen as resting places by common bird snakes, Pseustes (Phrynonax if you choose) poecilonotus, a pretty but feisty snake that looks and acts much like our rat snakes as well as by occasional juvenile fer-de-lance, Bothrops atrox (yes, these climb!). Just getting to the palm clump was often an adventure in adversity. Then, if a snake was there identifying it before grabbing might also be trying. Adult bird snakes, black above and yellow(ish) below were easily identified. But the mossy brownish juveniles looked far too much like a fer-de-lance for a snap identification. Love those rainy Amazon nights.
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Happy Wednesday from these two “wrestling” Vietnamese Leaf Turtles in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user schroderal ! 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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This nearly patternless mutation was once known as Rana pipiens burnsi, the plain leopard frog.
I stood ankle deep in waters still chilled by the Minnesota winter, listening to the yodels of distant loons, and hoping that in at least one of the flooded swales along this roadway I would finally find at least one of the 2 frogs—1 light colored, the other dark– for which I was then searching. Both now simply mutant phases of the northern leopard frog, Rana pipiens, were once considered subspecies. The light one had been referred to as the plain leopard frog, R. p. burnsi, and the dark one as the Kandiyohi leopard frog, R. p. kandiyohi. I had first seen both when I was a kid as preserved specimens at a New England biological supply house. Now, a half century later, I hoped to find and photograph them.
On that first trip, made in May, the water was still chilly but air temperatures were in the high 70s to low 80s. Cattails and other emergents were flourishing, mosquitos were rampant and bloodthirsty, and leopard frogs, normal colors and patterns predominating, were abundant.
But I did succeed in finding and photographing a few of each of the hoped for mutants. Both were just as attractive as I remembered them being.
Now, a decade later (I don’t rush into anything!), I was back in Minnesota but a bit further north than my previous trip. It was mid-January, and temps were unseasonably warm, hovering at or just above freezing. The week before the temperature varied from zero to minus 30! In recognition of the season, we were birding, with great gray owls, not leopard frogs, being the target taxon.
This was a good thing, for except an open canal on Lake Superior and plowed roads the whole region was icy and snow covered. The mosquitos of summer were not missed; the leopard frogs were.
But having experienced both seasons, a temperature variance of more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit brought the hardiness of those leopard frogs into sharp focus. The adaptations of poikilotherms in boreal regions is remarkable indeed!
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This Leaf-tail Gecko (Uroplatus fimbriatus) has his eye on you in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user zmarchetti ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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In celebration of all things venomous, a photo of a bushmaster taken in the field graces our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user surgeon ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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This Blackhead Python momma is taking a well deserved rest after laying her eggs our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user anthill ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Eastern hellbenders may be strongly patterned or virtually devoid of markings.
I was in northeastern Georgia, about a 6 hour drive from home, staring in awe at the natural beauty of my surroundings. Delighted by the solitude and cooled by the knee-deep, clear rushing waters, the beauty of the forest greens, off-whites, and pinks of the stream-edge mountain laurels, and the crispness of the mountain air, all tied to the possibility of seeing North America’s largest salamander, the wonderful hellbender, brought memories of similar scenes far to the north.
There were a few partially submerged rocks along streamedge. Beneath some I found southern two-lined salamanders, Eurycea cirrigera. In deeper water, about 6 feet of my starting point—HELLBENDER! Not big, about 15 inches, but a hellbender.
The possibility had become a reality. I had checked beneath only a half dozen stream bottom rocks when beneath a flat rock just to the side of a riffle I found the young hellbender, Cryptobranchus a. alleganiensis. Photos were taken. I watched as the little giant slid unhurriedly beneath a riock, and I left, happy.
Now on to the rhododendron edged streams of the Carolina Blue Ridges, terrestrial salamander central!
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Loving this little carpet python our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user zmarchetti ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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The Northern Leopard frog (Lithobates pipiens) is an fairly widespread US Native species that get a spotlight in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Terry_Cox!
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A pretty Australian green frog in today’s pet trade.
Throughout the years I have had several treefrogs that were “dumpy” either by stature or by name, but one in particular stands out in memory. This was a small Australian green (White’s) treefrog, Litoria caerulea (subsequently dubbed “dumpy treefrog” by the pet trade) that my friend and mentor Gordy Johnston and I imported from “Oz” in the mid-1950s.
Only about an inch long when received, the frog had a hearty appetite and quickly began to grow—and grow—and GROW! Within a year it was over 3 inches long and by the time it stopped growing (in length) it was just over 4 inches long. Although its growth lengthwise was noteworthy, its growth in girth was equally so. It became robust, then heavy, then on its diet of insects and pinky mice, it became rotund, and then actually corpulent. Yep, it was “dumpy.” And it remained so for most of the 20+ years of its life.
20 years? Indeed. This and many other amphibians have lengthy lifespans. And the good thing about the dumpy treefrog is even when they mistakenly grab a finger you don’t wind up with embedded teeth as is apt to happen in a horned frog bite. That, in itself, may be enough to sway your choice. Enjoy!
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This Amazon Tree Boa has a case of the Mondays in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user ThaVille ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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In what may be the most sweeping attempt yet to curb the growing spread of the invasive Burmese Python, President Donald Trump signed an executive order today authorizing the National Park Service to begin construction of a massive snake proof wall around Everglades National Park.
Taking to his Twitter Account the President tweeted;
“Have you seen what they did to the 13th tee at Mar-a-Lago? Very bad. This kind of thing has to be stopped. I saw “Anaconda”, with Jennifer Lopez. So sad. What’s next? These pythons. They’re everywhere. “
“We’re going to build a snake proof wall around the Everglades. It will be great. It’s going to be the greatest snake proof wall anyone’s ever seen. All the other countries are going to be so jealous of our snake proof wall. And we’re gonna make Burma pay for it. Believe me. It will create so many jobs. It will be great. Really.”
President Trump has directed Ryan Zink, Secretary of the Department of the Interior, to immediately begin taking bids on the design and development of a 30 foot tall barrier around the 1.5 million acre park. The Department of the Interior published two requests for proposals late Friday, which included the specifications it expects for a barrier meant to deliver on President Donald Trump’s promise to build a “snake proof wall.”
The agency provided 11 threshold requirements for the wall, which it says “shall be physically imposing in height.” The wall needs to be 30 feet tall — although “heights of at least 18 feet may be acceptable” — and it should prevent tunneling by going at least 6 feet below ground.
The wall, it adds, should be difficult for getting over and offer features that prevent “sophisticated climbing techniques,” though it did not define what that means. Prototypes will also need to prove that they aren’t susceptible to a “physical breach”
The federal government expects proposals to be delivered by April 29 and will award a contract based on a prototype that contractors would build around the Mar-a-Lago golf course and club house.
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In celebration of all things venomous, ciccada is on the menu for this Copperhead in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user coolhl7 ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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A stunning shot from Ghana of this Crowned Bullfrog steals the limelight in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user Slaytonp ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Searching for just the right spot.
Earlier in the day it rained just enough to dampen the ground. No matter the relatively insignificant rainfall, the moisture WAS significant to a female Indian star tortoise. She deemed it nesting time. She had begun coursing the entire enclosure at about the time the 3rd droplet had
fallen. And she continued until an hour later when she had chosen a site that she felt satisfactory. The site chosen was a grassy area between 2 small woody shrubs. She began the nesting process at 1:30 PM and continued preparation through a heavy rain that filled the in-process nest and a temperature drop (from 83F to 65F) until 4:00 PM. Egg deposition and refilling took another hour and a half.
As soon as the female had completed the nesting sequence, Patti redug the cavity with “egg-theft” in mind. In traditional fashion the neck of the nest was long and of small diameter while the egg-site was larger and easily contained the 5 eggs. Interestingly the female, showing more dedication than many do, had not only ignored the temporarily flooded conditions of the nest and the resulting “mudpie” but had encountered and worked around a large horizontal root as well. It took Patti about 15 minutes of careful manipulation to remove the eggs.
The eggs are now in the incubator and I’ll let you know the results in about 3 months. Wish us luck.
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This Emerald Tree Boa shows it is a master of camouflage in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Mike H. ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Spring fever has hit! Loving this field herping shot of a fence lizard in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user JakeM ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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The hours of daylight are spent securely hidden, usually in shallow burrows.
It was actually the 3rd of January rather than New Year’s day of 2017 but as they say, that’s close enough for government work—or for mine in fact. Cloudy all morning, a gentle rain began at noon and continued for several hours. The ground and leaf cover were still wet as darkness fell and the moisture containing clouds dissipated. As I often do, I stepped out for a few moment to watch the low-flying bats and to listen for the whistling ducks that fly over every night at about this time.
A little light from the house windows illuminated the driveway where I stood. And as I stood I noticed some small anurans hopping about in the leaf litter. Usually this is where I find southern toads, but for a pleasant change, on the night of the 03 Jan it was eastern spadefoots, Scaphiopus holbrookii, that were active. Now if we can just get enough rain to flood the low-lying section of the yard perhaps they will breed this year. The eerie burping-moans of the lovelorn males is a sure sign of success. C’mon rain!
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Cane Toad and Gulf Coast Toad co-inhabiting in the same burrowThe Deep South Texas terrain is quite interesting. It’s mostly a delta with none to very little elevation. Hence the features of the terrain are mostly thorn-scrub, at least what is still sort of intact. The rest has become ag-land for crops or urban sprawl. The point being that there are no rock cuts, or boulders or hills or other features that are conducive to providing herps a lot of hiding spaces. As a result they’re often found around people’s houses using artificial cover.
There was one incidence when I observed a Cane Toad and a Gulf Coast Toad co-inhabiting in the same burrow. It made me wonder why they’d do so if the Cane Toad could potentially poison the gulf coast toad or even eat it. I looked around the caliche pit and there weren’t very many hiding spaces, as is the case for most of the Lower Rio Grande Valley. So, my curiosity was overwhelming and I wanted to see who was being choosy about the burrow availability.
I collected 30 Cane Toads and 30 Gulf Coast toads. With the help of a NASA engineer we designed a box with identical burrows, except one was connected to a cooler and maintained a cool 75 degrees, while the rest of the chamber was brought up to 100°F, not unusual for the region. This caused the other burrows to maintain a temperature about 10-15 degrees lower than ambient temperature, but the cooled burrow remained at 75°F. We put in pairs of toads of the same species, or one of each species all for 10 minutes at a time, never using the same toad twice during one trial. We had infrared cameras set up to look inside the burrows and digital cams above recording their movements.
We found that Gulf Coast Toads will enter any hole they can inhabit to escape the heat, but Cane Toads, explored all available holes and 90% of the time chose the cool burrow. The other 10 percent of the time they chose burrows that already had a toad inside. We presented this work at the Joint Meeting for Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. The reason for this I believe is that by being in close proximity to another toad they reduce surface area and hence decrease desiccation. Another advantage is that if the “other” toad expels some water onto the substrate both the Cane Toad and the Gulf Coast toad can re-uptake it. Cane toads were sort of using the other toads as living canteens if you will, because they’re just bad-asses and excellent problem solvers.
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Garter Snakes hold such a special spot for so many herpers, we needed to share this gorgeous Garter in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user skyserpent ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! This is such an amazing shot of an eyelash viper (Bothriechis schlegelii) in our photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user beckherps ! 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. It is our goal to help dispel the fears surrounding our beloved venomous creatures.
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American alligator, very dark, broad snout
“Dick LOOK.”
I was in the shotgun seat and my vision to the water on the driver’s side was obscured.
Not realizing this Dan exclaimed again, but not as emphatically. “Look.” By then he had swung the car around and there on the boat launch ramp lay a 6 ½ foot long American crocodile, Crocodylus acutus.
This wasn’t really unexpected, for we were in the Everglades National Park, but unexpected or not, seeing a croc, by far the rarer of the 2 native American species, is always exciting.
Actually it was the second one of the day but rather than being out in the open as this one was, the first had been basking in the evening sunlight beneath a doc and was largely covered by floating water plants.
Besides our 2 native species, Florida is home to a 3rd crocodilian species. This the introduced spectacled caiman, Caiman crocodilus ssp., has been present in rather small numbers for more than 50 years. It is restricted to southern FL.
Individuals of at least 3 other crocodilian species have been found in FL. These have been the smooth-fronted caiman, the black caiman, a Nile crocodile, and a croc that, despite DNA samples having been assessed, defies identification.
Florida’s native and established crocodilians: On all, the markings are usually most prominent when the animal is wet.
American alligator: hatchlings and juveniles are black with yellow crossbands. Adults are black. Snout broad and rounded. To 19 feet but usually 12 feet or less.
Spectacled caiman: hatchlings and juveniles are olive green, olive yellow, or olive brown with darker bands, Adults are usually dark olive gray, Snout moderately broad. A bony ridge across snout just anterior to eyes. To 8 feet but usually 6 feet or less.
American crocodile: hatchlings and juveniles are greenish gray with broken darker crossbands that are often most prominent dorsally. Adults are (usually dark) grayish green. Snout long, narrow, and tapering. To 15 feet but usually less than 12 feet.
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