LOVE this Cribo in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user steve fuller ! We are so jealous! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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By Herp News
Before the final collision of Eurasia and the Indian subcontinent, land bridges between the landmasses may have served as ‘freeways’ of biodiversity exchange that flowed in both directions, new information shows.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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What a gorgeous pair of (V.r.raddei) Radde’s Rock Viper in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user tjern d! On Rattlesnake Friday, we celebrate ALL things venomous! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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The dwarf salamander ranges from Texas to North Carolina and southern Florida.
It wasn’t crossing the road. It was lying quietly parallel with the yellow line and it was only 1 ¼ “ in length with a diameter hardly greater than a broom straw. It was a newly metamorphosed dwarf salamander, Eurycea quadridigitata. It was probably the smallest salamander that Jake or I had ever road hunted, and yes, I still wonder how either of us, never mind both of us, ever saw this creature that looked upon closer inspection like nothing more than a fine crack in the pavement?
Having an average adult length of 2 ¾ to 3 ¼ inches (and a record length just a hair over 3 ½ inches), at its largest the dwarf salamander is aptly named. As currently described this is probably a species complex. It is a salamander of southeastern swamplands and is small enough to hide beneath even tiny pieces of vegetative debris.
In keeping with its swampland habitat, this is a dark colored salamander. The dorsum is lighter than the sides, often bears a vague herringbone pattern and is divided by a narrow, dark, vertebral stripe that may be continuous or broken, and usually shades to a yellowish or sometimes orange color with no stripe on the tail. A dark dorsolateral stripe is present on each side. The sides and venter are grayish. There are only 4 toes on each foot.
I assure you that it was for the possibility of seeing other herp species that we had travelled to Florida’s Panhandle, but the finding of this little dwarf among dwarves was certainly noteworthy.
Continue reading “The Tiniest Salamander” …read more
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This African spur thigh tortoise in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user dinahmoe is just munching away without a care in the world. We are so jealous! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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By Herp News
Attaching green battery powered light-emitting diodes (LED) to gillnets used by a small-scale fishery reduced the number of green turtle deaths by 64 per cent, without reducing the intended catch of fish, new research demonstrates.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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By Herp News
Scientists have shown that the foam made by Trinidadian frogs represents a new, non-toxic antibiotic delivery system that may help to prevent infections. Researchers have been analysing the frog foam, showing that it is highly stable and capable of taking up drugs before releasing them at a stable rate.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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What a sassy girl! Check out the attitude on this Kimberly rock monitor 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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Love this in situ shot of an alterna climbing the rock cuts in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user StuTennyson . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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An adult male Florida gopher frog.
Living in a region where a goodly number of anurans exist has its herpetological ups and downs. The ups are that on almost any rainy night throughout the year we can see or hear some species of frog, toad, or treefrog. The downs are that to find some species we have to brave the chilly nights and cooler waters (remember, we are Floridian wimps!) of seasons other than midsummer. But, when we do tailor our searches a bit and search out cool weather species, we may find the gopher frog, Rana capito aesopus, a localized and secretive taxon that awaits heavy rains and flooding conditions to begin its breeding sequence.
And so it was on this night. It had rained, poured, rained, then misted all day and Jake decided this was the night when gopher frogs would be active. The problem was, he hadn’t cleared this with the gopher frogs. But Jake swore that that if I would just get him to where the frogs were he WOULD NOT come back to the car without a picture. So we headed westward to visit a known gopher frog locale.
When we arrived it was almost dark, it WAS windy, and it was cool. We could hear no gophers from the road so we, in shorts and flipflops, clawed and shoved our way through 100 feet of brambles and thorny shrubs to pond edge. By this time it was cold, windy and moonlit. But guess what? Gophers WERE singing. We got to the water and I said something to the effect of “they’re here, they’re singing, go get ’em Jake.” His response was “ummmmmm–I forgot my camera.”
By now the frogs were calling loudly so I suggested that Jake go and at least find one so he could add it to his life list. He went. I stood and shivered. Jake got 1/4 way across the pond and the frogs stopped singing. Jake stood. One frog called. Jake, sounding like a dyspeptic porcupine, produced an answering snore. Lo, the frog called again. Jake stalked s-l-o-w-l-y towards it. It was now a contest of whether the pond would evaporate or the frog would die from old age before he got to the calling site.
OK, so you’ve got the idea by now. The trip was a washout. Frogs 10. Jake and me, zero. But we had fun, and later that year, on a warmer and even rainier night, we were more successful. Jake got his photos.
Continue reading “Gophers—Frogs That Is” …read more
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We hope that this amazing field shot of a Wood Frog kicks off your Monday right 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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In for spring to hit this weekend, a beautiful photo from an outdoor shoot of an albino Western Diamondback in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user krantz d! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Ever wonder what a day is like for Frankie? What can a sulcata tortoise do all day? The list isn’t all that long:
Get some beauty sleep
Bask in the glory of sunlight till the shell hums with warmth
Walk everywhere
Drink as much water as you want
Check out the sky
Make sure the trees are in their place
Look for exotic foods
Get the daily carrot
Check out the humans
Inspect the yard for intruders and strange objects
Hump anything resembling another tortoise
Ram invaders
Inspect buildings and fences
Wait for a walk around the block..
Okay, so the list gets long once you observe Frankie and his shenanigans.
Your turn to check our Frankie and his daily routine…..about four hours worth of Frankie business.
Video is three minutes and twelve seconds. Enjoy!
…read more
Read more here: Turtle Times
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By Herp News
Scientists have discovered a new species of pale-gold colored frog from the cloud forests of the high Andes in Colombia. Its name, Pristimantis dorado, commemorates both its color (dorado means ‘golden’ in Spanish) and El Dorado, a mythical city of gold eagerly sought for centuries by Spanish conquistadores in South America.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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By Herp News
The legend of St. Patrick banishing snakes from the emerald isle some 1,500 years ago is indelibly etched in folklore — even if science suggests snakes were unlikely to have colonized the country following the last ice age. But what would happen if St. Patrick’s scaly foes were introduced now? Experts believe snakes could certainly slither into Ireland’s ecosystems if introduced but would likely cause trouble for native ecosystems.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Now for something a little bit different. This pair of Gran Canaria giant lizard (Gallotia stehlini) are just trying to find a little privacy in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user John-C . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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All brown, brown and green, or green are all common color variation of the Caatinga horned frog.
When the death of a pet occurs it is disturbing. When the death of a healthy pet occurs it is infinitely more disturbing. And this latter occurred a while ago when my male Caatinga horned frog, Ceratophrys joazierensis, was killed by my female during a breeding attempt.
There is always a chance of such things happening when cannibalistic frog meets cannibalistic frog, but this surprised for vocalizations had led to amplexus and I was reasonably sure that all was well in the rain chamber. But this time I was wrong. For some reason amplexus was discontinued, and the female turned, grasped the male by one hind leg and faster than I could intercede swallowed the male to midbody. By then I had them in hand, pried her jaws open, released the male (who at that time seemed none the worse for that harrowing experience) and separated the pair.
But despite there being no outward sign of the aggression something detrimental had happened to the male because from that day, until his death 2 weeks later, he simply sat in one spot (not unusual for a horned frog) and he never again ate (very unusual for a horned frog).
Since that time I have been looking for a replacement male. I know this taxon has been bred in captivity so there are some out there somewhere. But until now I have neither seen nor heard of any being available. But I’ll keep looking…
Continue reading “A Horned Frog Predicament” …read more
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I will never forget my first Kenya Sand Boa experience. I was around 14 years old when I saw my first babies at the local pet store and I had to buy a pair. It took me over a month to pay for them and I took feeding them and making them breeder sized very seriously. By the time I hit 17 I was working at the shop where I bought them and when my female gave birth I called my boss at around midnight to tell him. I was excited, and he was exhausted!(LOL) But when I got to work the next day he had a big banner up across the isles of the store congratulating me. It was the first time I ever bred a Boa. As I inched towards 40 I had bred many species of snakes and learned that they all took up space, so that got me thinking about Sand Boas again. There are no fortunes to be made here, but the fact is that I find the process to be fun. Not sure if this is manopause or not, but here I am breeding these little worms again. Pictured is my holdback female from 2015. Call it what you will, I am guilty as charged! …read more
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What an amazing field find! This baby 3 toed box turtle is emerging from it’s nest in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user relic37! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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By Herp News
The ability to recognize own offspring and provide preferential care is difficult for the poison frog Allobates femoralis. According to a new study male and female frogs have different strategies for offspring discrimination. Females remember the exact location where they laid their eggs and exhibit preferential behavior toward their own clutches. Males assume that all offspring in their territory are their own.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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In our opinion, Water Snakes, like the one in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Lachesis1 are among the most under-rated and misunderstood of our non-venomous snakes. We, however, love them! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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A beautiful adult Basin emerald.
It seems it always happens this way. For about 20 years, on innumerable trips to Amazonian Peru, I and those who have travelled with me, have searched long and hard for what is considered by many the gem of the Amazonian rainforests, the Basin emerald tree boa, Corallus batesii.
Stated as succinctly as possible, despite the thousands of search-hours spent, we failed. We found 150 other species of herps, but when it came to the emerald, pure and simple, we failed. Years passed and this year (2015) I elected to retire. A few weeks after having done so, friend, Kenny (a biologist and geneticist) decided that he’d like to research the wildlife of what had become our major preserve, Santa Cruz Forest Preserve on the Rio Mazan in Amazonian Peru. He and his family moved to the preserve for a year long stint.
Four months into it Kenny texted me “You retired too soon” and attached a pic of the coveted emerald tree boa. It seems that Kenny, accompanied by his wife, Maria, and a village youngster, Cain, by name, were taking an evening stroll along the main trail when, only a few meters from the compound, Cain noticed the snake. It was hanging head downward, nose only a few inches from the leaf litter of the forest floor, in a small tree only a foot or so from trail edge. Kenny’s correct. I retired a few months too soon.
Continue reading “Emerald Tree Boa—Finally!” …read more
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Our favorite type of blue Monday! Check out these stunning dart frogs in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user frogological! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Last week a friend bought a sexed pair of Spotted Pythons from me. It took him 4 weeks to save up the funds, and during that time he asked me all the right questions and got everything ready. Within two hours after arriving home and getting the snake put away he discovered that one had escaped…the female of course!
I hate the fact that people have to go through things like this, but most of the time it takes a loss and a bad mistake in order to learn. When it comes to keeping snakes it is a fact that there are forces working against us all at every turn. Even when it is legal and you go out of your way to do everything right, all it takes in one tiny detail to ruin everything and foul up all the fun. In my experience I have found that my work is never done and that it is best to always be on the lookout for how I can make things better. In this case the snakes were put in a baby rack made for snakes, but they still got out even though the snake was over 7 months old and no longer a baby. When I put baby snakes in a rack I fold up newspaper and put it under the box so that it is raised up and made even tighter with the top of the rack. Of course, that restricts air flow so I have to drill more holes to make sure my snake can breathe! It seems that every adjustment requires an additional adjustment! The work never ends, and if you think your work is done I bet something will go wrong while you are sitting back relaxing thinking that all is well! Be careful out there fellow snake keeper! It is all in the details!! …read more
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I recently took my daughters to their first reptile show. Once inside they were drawn to a booth with dozens of mounted rats and mice along with rat bone necklaces and mouse skull jewelry. I allowed each of my girls to select a specimen, and as I discussed the terms of the price with the two mouse women a long line formed behind me. I watched as everyone in the line attempted successfully to sell their dead rodents. The herp show had gone green and was recycling dead feeders! I learned that there was a demand for dead snakes too! My favorite item was a jumbo rat mounted on remote controlled wheels. I could sure have some fun with that! …read more
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A reprieve….I have a day’s reprieve. It’s raining outside, Frankie is hanging out inside his greenhouse, I get to sit and write a Frankie Tortoise Tail.
New problem in the Frankie’s Backyard Paradise.
Two years ago when we moved here our neighbor let us know we had a fruit tree in our yard. The excellent tree that shades the back porch is some sorta exotic fruit tree that I had never hear about. I kept an eye on it that first year yet no flowers or fruit every appeared.
Frankie loved eating the non-toxic year round green leaves that fell in the yard. Pretty much, except for the excellent shade and delicious leaves I quit paying attention to the tree.
…..until this December. Tiny lovely white flowers began adorning the tree. What tree blooms in the middle of the winter?
The Loquot Tree does.
Not only does it bloom in the winter, it’s one of the very few trees that produces fruit in the winter.
Curiously I watched as the fruits begin forming. By January the little green fruits were thumb size. In February they begin to ripen into yellow luscious fruits.
Fruits are a no-no for sulcata tortoises. The fruit sugar wrecks havoc with the tortoise digestion system evolved for a scant grassland diet. Sugars cause intestinal bacteria imbalances, and contributes to the dreaded bladder stones.
Just say, “No,” to fruit Frankie. Just say, “No!”
Frankie camps out under that Loquot Tree like a beggar.
First thing in the morning I head out to the tree and pick up anything fallen from the night before.
Doesn’t matter. Frankie haunts the tree like a Florida retiree on a beach.
Frankie under the Loquot Tree
Took just a couple of days to realize I was missing all the “pre-nibbled” fruit dropped to the ground by birds. Bits of fruit fall the ground hidden by grass and dirt and only the sharp nose of a tortoise can find the little sweet morsels.
And then there were the seeds. For barefooted me its like stepping on Tic-Tacs. I know they are there. I can feel them. The panic came when I realized that Frankie was eating the seeds.
An internet search reveals the seeds may or may not be poisonous, depending on the source. Thanks, Internet.
Time for Poop Patrol. I dissect three previous days’ poop. Yep. Frankie is eating the pits.
Good news: Frankie doesn’t chew. Bad news: Frankie swallows.
It’s been wait and watch.
Fruits been falling for three weeks. Frankie isn’t dead yet.
Still not taking chances. I am outside sweeping, raking, picking up the fruit all day long. I have to be vigilant. Frankie is.
Frankie does his morning bask and a quick …read more
Read more here: Turtle Times
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By Herp News
A new fossil reptile that lived 250 million years ago in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, southernmost Brazil has been discovered by an international team of researchers. The species has been identified from a mostly complete and well preserved fossil skull.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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By Herp News
Imagine exploring a wooded site along an Alaska stream or lake for evidence of animals. Maybe you’ll see moose prints in the soil or a bit of wolf fur in a berry bush. But some species don’t leave footprints. They still leave a clue. It’s their DNA.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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By Herp News
Separated by several hundred kilometers from its next of kin, a new blue-tailed monitor lizard unique to the remote Mussau Island has been described. Given a Latin name meaning ‘isolated,’ it is the only large-sized land-living predator and scavenger on the small Pacific island.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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By Herp News
A gene in snails that determines whether their shells twist clockwise or anti-clockwise has been discovered by a team of international researchers. It could offer clues to how the same gene affects body asymmetry in other animals including humans, they report.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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By Herp News
A new study has called for a change in the way we manage bycatch — to better monitor the unintentional catching of sea turtles by commercial fishers. The number of turtles caught in a single fishery or year may not seem to be a cause for concern, but even low levels might place pressure on a species when considered across fisheries and over multiple years, say the authors.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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By Herp News
A new species of snake has been identified in Europe. The researchers were able to demonstrate that the “Iberian Grass Snake” does not constitute a subspecies of the wide-spread common Grass Snake as previously thought, but rather a distinct species.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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By Herp News
Marine turtles experienced an evolutionary windfall thanks to a mass extinction of crocodyliforms around 145 million years ago, say researchers.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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By Herp News
As the natural forests in Ethiopia is already less than 3 percent of what it once has been, the banana frog species, dwelling exclusively in the southwestern part of the African country, is exposed to a great risk of extinction. Through their survey, a research team have extended its range, thus making the first steps to saving the charming frogs.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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By Herp News
Using head shapes and genetic analyses, researchers have recommend that six groups of subspecies of the western rattlesnake be elevated to full species status.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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By Herp News
Researchers have discovered a new species of extinct worm lizard in Texas and dubbed it the ‘Lone Star’ lizard. The species — the first known example of a worm lizard in Texas — offers evidence that Texas acted as a subtropical refuge during one of the great cooling periods of the past.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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By Herp News
Coral snake venom carries significant neurotoxicity and human injuries can be severe or even lethal. Despite this, antivenom treatments are scarce due to challenges collecting adequate amounts of venom needed to produce anti-elapidic serum. Exciting new research uses synthetically designed DNA to produce coral-snake antivenom.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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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 a stunning Leopard Gecko in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Eve! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Still with well defined facial markings, this black-breasted leaf turtle is about a quarter grown.
Have you ever wanted to kick yourself in the butt for getting rid of a particular herp or for passing by the opportunity to purchase a given species. On several occasions I have done both and regretted it for a long time after.
For example, I regret not acquiring a photo of the Javan tubercled or dragon snakes when they were being offered. It is true that they have proven difficult (read that impossible) to keep as captives but there has to be a key to that problem somewhere.
Of the herps that I am most upset at allowing myself to be talked out of was and still is my 2 pairs of black-breasted leaf turtles, Geomyda spengleri spengleri.
There are several Asiatic turtle species of which I am fond, several members of the genus Cuora among them, but IMO none compare with this little leaf turtle.
This is not because of color. This leaf turtle is a variable but often dingey brown above with very pronounced posterior carapacial serrations. The yellow(ish) rimmed plastron is mostly black. The skin is also brown with the only noticeable highlight being the stark white irides of the protuberant eyes.
So, if it’s not color what is it about these four inch long Asian turtles that is so enchanting? One word—personality. Once acclimated this turtle, naturally alert, quickly becomes tame– actually outgoing—and seems contemplative. It reminds me in more ways than one of our little bog turtle but outdoes the boggy in each aspect…
Time to close. I’ve almost talked myself into another purchase.
Continue reading “Black-breasted Leaf Turtle” …read more
Read more here: King Snake
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