That’s a whole lotta bull. Bullsnake that is! Loving the colors on the one here in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user orchidspider has never missed a meal! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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A perfectly posed Red Tailed Green Rat Snake graces our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user uggleedog! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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They may be sassy but the beauty of a Tokay gecko is undeniable, like this one 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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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! Here is a beautiful shot of a Mexican Cantil (Agkistrodon bilineatus) in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Bitis! Fairly common captives, but bordering on threatening with decreasing populations in the wild, they definitely qualify as a species that needs our attention for conservation! 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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Sydney Sylvain Dubey

In Australia, venomous snakes are everywhere and killing them is quite common. One professor is attempting to change that mentality explaining how they can actually benefit the farmers who kill them.

New research by myself and colleagues estimated the magnitude of that benefit. We found adult eastern brown snakes can collectively remove thousands of mice per square kilometre of farmland each year, which substantially increases farm productivity.
Our study suggests the benefits of snake populations on agricultural land far outweigh the potential costs, and farmers should tolerate rather than kill them.
…..
Agricultural productivity gains are not the only benefits of tolerating brown snakes on farmland.

It would also allow a reduction in the use of chemical methods for rodent control, which can be expensive and ineffective. The chemicals can also threaten the health of humans, livestock, scavenging wildlife and pets.

Tolerating brown snakes might also reduce the incidence of snake bite. Most snake bites are inflicted when people are trying to catch or kill the reptile.

Its a pretty refreshing article that attempts to change the minds of people on venomous animals. Here’s to hoping he changes a mind or two. To read the full article and attached study, click here.
…read more
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Back to our roots with this alterna found in Sanderson 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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Second Chance Wildlife Center
Yeah you read that right. It is well known that Rat snakes are often chased from hen houses for eating eggs and one of the more common dangers to many native colubrids is golf balls because they resemble eggs, but this one rat snake decided he was going for broke,

This rat snake was one of the most unusual cases we have treated at SCWC! Upon intake, it was apparent that the snake had ingested a foreign object resembling an egg. This is common in rat snakes, as golf balls and decoy eggs are often mistaken for fresh chicken eggs. In this case, the object had been trapped in the snake’s stomach so long that there was a hole worn through the snake’s skin.

The object turned out to be a gear shift knob and was surgically removed by doctors at Second Chance Wildlife Center, in Gaithersburg, Maryland! She is stable and will winter there before being released in spring. To read the full story click here or visit the rescue’s page here. …read more
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I wonder what this Hernandez’s helmeted basilisk in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user chrish has his eye on? I bet it’s food! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Two for Tuesday with this pair of hatching Beauty snakes in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user DunnsMtnReptiles! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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A different perspective of a fired up Frilled-neck lizard in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user bulgakov! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! What a lovely shot of a Guarico Rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus) in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user robnimmo ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! As always on Friday, we celebrate all of our venomous reptiles for their contribution to the world.

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Zoo Atlanta in Georgia recently sent 11 endangered Guatemalan beaded lizards (Heloderma charlesbogerti) to La Aurora Zoo. (Zoo Atlanta v)

With an estimated 500-600 animals in the wild, the Guatemalan Beaded Lizard (Heloderma charlesbogerti) is one of the more endangered lizards on the planet. Now when you consider the fact that they are part of the family of the only medically significant venomous species of lizards, it makes them even more special. Zoo Atlanta has been long involved in their conservation efforts and recently had a clutch hatch!

“The lizards that went down will not be released into the wild themselves, however,” Zoo Atlanta’s Curator of Herpetology Robert L. Hill explained on Wednesday.

“The plan is that these animals would reproduce in their beaded lizard-specific facilities, and that following a quarantine period, the offspring would then be transferred from La Aurora Zoo to protected areas within the known wild range of the species in the dry forests of the Motagua Valley.”

When I spoke in 2022 at the International Herpetological Symposium, I had the pleasure of seeing the breeding setup at Zoo Atlanta! It was very amazing to see in person and get up close to conservation project in action! Congrats to the full Zoo Atlanta team! To read the full story, click here! …read more
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It is a whole lotta squee with this pair of hatching Hognose in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user caracal ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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What a lovely pair of Alligator lizards in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user aliceinwl ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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The variety of Dinodon rufozonatum in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user yumao is impressive! Can you pick a favorite!? Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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How beautiful is this Ctenosaura quinquecarinata in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user rockabirdie ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! This beautiful pair of Copperheads are just things of beauty in our photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user ShadowChaser ! 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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This Tiger Jag Coastal in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user reelmassacre is coming to say hello! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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What a gorgeous little Ameiva in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Agata ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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When it is Appreciate a Dragon day, we only have one option for our herp photo of the day. LOVE this Komodo Dragon, uploaded by kingsnake.com user caparu ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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One week ago, we had zero snow on the ground, Until last Friday, our temperatures here in Wisconsin had been above average for the month every single day. Tuesday we had our first smack of winter. Our first winter storm hit Wisconsin. I live very close to Lake Michigan which is still holding temps above 40 degrees, so here in Milwaukee we didn’t get nothing. You know, it was like my first marriage. Full of promises but it really failed to deliver. We all laughed. Then the Polar vortex started dropping. Thursday night’s storm hit and it snowed from Thursday until late Saturday. We ended up with areas well over a foot of snow and it was really wet and heavy. Power lines and trees were falling at a rapid pace and the impassable roads made it hard for crews to get things put back together. Our temps began plummeting. This scene played out across the entire country.

I’m a pet sitter and was going to be away from home for the nights. This led to a big panic. What if the power went out when no one was home? How would the reptiles fare? I know my dog would be OK but what about the reptiles? And then where would I go? Time to kick the plans into gear. Especially knowing I could be gone with more than 12 hours of no power and a house full of reptiles Continue reading “Polar vortex, what are your back up plans?” …read more
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Happy Monday from this hatching three toed box turtle 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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Not really, but snakes being snakes and making the news. I mean it is Australia. Recently we shared the combating carpet pythons in the middle of a gold tournament, but Australia said, hold my Fosters. An Eastern Brown wanted a better seat at the Brisbane International Tennis Tournment during Dominic Thiem’s opening qualifying round.

“I really love animals, especially exotic ones,” former US Open champion Thiem told the Brisbane International website. “But they said it was a really poisonous snake and it was close to the ballkids, so it was a really dangerous situation.

“It’s something that has never happened to me and is something I’ll definitely never forget.”

To catch the full story click here

And then the age old fear of the snake in the toilet. You know, the one from all of our childhoods. Follow the jump to read the next story! Continue reading “News Wrap: Snakes gone wild in Australia” …read more
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Yep, you read the headline correct! Scientists recently found proteins in the venom of the lancehead pit viper Cotiara (Bothrops cotiara) could help lower blood pressure and may be used in treatments down the road.

“Venoms never cease to surprise us. Even with so much accumulated knowledge, fresh discoveries are possible, such as unpredictable fragments that are parts of known proteins. Despite all the available technology, a great deal remains to be studied in these toxins,” Alexandre Tashima, co-author of the study and professor at the Federal University of São Paulo’s Medical School (EPM-UNIFESP), said in a statement.

On an aside, before I share the link to Newsweek where this article is from, I really need to address their media on this article! It is pretty negative for a pro-snake and pro-venom story. There is not a single photo of the actual species of snake the venom is from, and you know the typical lunging diamondback picture with venom leaking from the fangs instead. This is a story about learning that venom can actually save human lives and really we shouldn’t be adding that aggressive view of animals that really only are like that when cornered. That being said I want to thank Wolfgang Wuster again for use of an ACTUAL photo of Bothrops cotiara. To read the full article, which despite my rant on the media placed within it, was quite wonderful, click here. …read more
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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! Isn’t this Uracoan Rattlesnake (Crotalus d. vegrandis) uploaded by kingsnake.com user Blaze555 gorgeous! 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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Tiny but stunning, this Oophaga ventrimaculatus shines in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user obeligz ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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One little, two little, three little Bearded Dragons in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user dedragons ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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This chunker African Bullfrog in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Ravenousas is waiting for snacks! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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What a stunning boa in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user BoaZilla! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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While scientists were researching the tops of the Talamanca Mountain Range searching for salamanders they stumbled across a new species! The research lasted from 2013 through 2019 and while they collected dozens of species, there were 19 species that were the same, but were a totally new species.

Those 19 specimens turned out to be a new species Bolitoglossa bolanosi, or the Bolaños’ web-footed salamander, researchers said. The species marks the fourth type of salamander known exclusively from the Isthmian Central America’s subalpine rain páramo — a “vulnerable” ecosystem that is especially “isolated” to highlands in the Talamanca mountains.

To read more about this new species of salamander, click here …read more
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Our thoughts are with the family. Rest well Brian.

…read more
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After saving over 700 eggs from poachers, the Costa Rica National Guard released 446 Sea Turtle babies recently!

Costa Rica, one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, is home to five of the seven sea turtle species. They are natural-born fighters, as only one in every 1,000 sea turtle eggs will become an adult. Hatchlings are prey to almost everything up until that point.

Once they reach adulthood, which can take up to 30 years, their list of enemies decreases significantly. The biggest predators they face are humans.

To read the full story and see the release video, click here. …read more
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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! Check out the stripe on this male South American Rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus collilineatus) uploaded by kingsnake.com user Solenogliph! 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 beautiful in situ Scarlet Snake (Cemophora coccinea)seen in the Ouachitas graces our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user AndrewBrinker! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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I wonder what this pair of Blue Tree Monitors are doing here in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user roadspawnis judging you! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Chelonia mydas, a newly hatched baby green sea turtle. Photo: Shutterstock

In Taiwan, saving the Green Sea Turtle on its preferred nesting island was the goal, but drastically impacting the native lizards species was the unintended result. Since 2001, on Badai Beach the only remaining suitable nesting spot on Orchard Island, researchers have protected every Green Sea Turtle Nest with a fine mesh netting. This netting prevented any ground dwelling predators from dining on the babies cooking inside. Orchard Island is also the home of the kukri snakes and the stink ratsnakes, both of which gladly dine on eggs. With the instant loss of their normal food source, they turned elsewhere.

The scientists estimated kukri snakes consumed around 120 sea turtle eggs each year before 2001, which would be equivalent to between 5,000 and 18,000 lizard eggs from the five soft-shelled lizard species on the island.

The team found that while populations of kukri snakes and stink ratsnakes were estimated to have declined by 12 per cent and 8 per cent per year between 1997 and 2020, lizard species saw drops of 11 to 25 per cent every year.

Now conservation efforts need to alter their program to protect not only the Green Sea Turtles, but also the existing native species, especially the lizards. This shows how science works best. As you learn how things are working, you adjust to make things work better.

To read more of how these efforts are changing, click here. …read more
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Credit: Francisco Farriols Sarabia via Wikimedia Commons

While studying lizard skulls at the National Dinosaur Monument in North Dakota, Dalton Meyer discovered a new species of fossilized Gecko. While inspecting a pair of skulls of previously labeled as European skink ancestors, the use of 3D imaging proved one to be exactly that, however the other emerged to be a gecko type of animal closely resembling the banded gecko common to the US.

What caught my attention the most about the story other than the fact that it was basically about dinosaur geckos (and please click through to the story at the end to read everything) was this part!

In naming the new species, Meyer chose “helioscopus,” which roughly translates into “sun watcher,” and “dickersonae,” which honors his grandmother, Helen Dickerson, his great aunt, Shirley Dickerson, and Mary Cynthia Dickerson (no relation), who was the first curator of herpetology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

“Both my grandmother and great aunt were extremely important people in my life, and my great aunt passed away while I was in the early stages of working on this fossil,” Meyer says. “I was truly honored to have a chance to get to use their family name in this new species, in part as a memorial that will now persist long after I am gone.”

If you remember my first presentation to the International Herpetological Symposium, you know why! To read the full story, and I strongly suggest you do, click here to visit futurity.org. …read more
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This horned lizard in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user reptoman is judging you! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Photo of Gideon, a Grand Cayman hybrid bred by Ty Parks in FL, but living his best life safe in WIsconsin – Cindy Steinle

Recently, the State of Florida deemed all Green Iguanas (Iguana Iguana) as a restricted species and created quite a stir, confiscating animals from even private zoos and killing the animals rather than allowing them to be rehomed or allowed to remain on display at the zoo. Now in a move to destroy the reptile industry further, Florida Fish and Wildlife is making the move to change the language from Iguana (Iguana Iguana) to simply Iguana. This would thus include all species including Cyclura and Ctenosaura most definitely but potentially all species under the family Iguanidae which would also include Amblyrhynchus, Brachylophus, Cachryx, Conolophus, Dipsosaurus, and Sauromalus as well.

This is not only bad for pet owners and breeders, but seriously detrimental to worldwide conservation efforts as many assurance populations of a variety of both Cyclura and Ctenosaura species are maintained safely in Florida.

Read the update after the jump or click here to be taken to USARKFL’s notice! There is also a link to the bill after the jump. Continue reading “ACTION ALERT FLORIDA: Florida moves to include all species of Iguanas as restricted species” …read more
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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! What an amazing close up of this Massasauga uploaded by kingsnake.com user venombill! 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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