Four-toed salamanders in their sphagnum habitat.
The bed of sphagnum stretched away from the small woodland stream in a semicircle of perhaps 20 yards. Beyond this, scattered smaller patches of sphagnum could be seen. All in all, the habitat looked ideal for the small salamander for which Jake and I were searching on this cool winter day, the four-toed salamander, Hemidactylium scutatum. But even amidst sphagnum habitats four-toes are not evenly distributed, preferring streamside locales where newly hatched larvae can attain, with just a little squirming, access to saturated moss and shallow water.

This area was intersected by several seepages as well as the main stream but it was along the latter that we finally found the 4-toes. Several females, most with egg clutches were seen. Within the egg capsules well developed, soon to hatch, larvae were wriggling.

The plethodontid genus Hemidactylium contains only this 3” long species. Usually reddish dorsally and grayish laterally, the most prominent diagnostic factors of the species are a white belly that bears well-separated black dots and a noticeable basal constriction on the tail. The tail autotomizes readily at the constriction.

This salamander occurs in a great many disjunct populations that range southwestward from the Canadian province of Nova Scotia to extreme seOK and eLA.

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Natural beauty at is finest in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user pitparade with this Kankakee County locality Bullsnake. Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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By Herp News

Conservation biologists have found that many adult loggerhead turtles are migrating to areas of the Mediterranean where they are dying, trapped in fishing nets used by small scale fishing operations in Cyprus, the Middle East and North Africa.

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How adorable are Kelsey and her pal Stubby the BTS in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user danielle4girls4 ?! Seriously, this is why we fight so hard to have our pets! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Two of the several American crocodiles near the Everglades Marina.
I was standing at the edge of the marina near the docks at the general store in Flamingo. It was a quarter moon, partially cloudy, night in Everglades National Park. A slight breeze stirred a few tiny wavelets to life. Their sloshing against the pilings nullified many of the surrounding sounds. But the splash of a surfacing fish could occasionally be heard and a barred owl repeatedly asked a mournful “who cooks for you, who cooks for you-all” from a tree closer to the road. On the docks laughing gulls and black skimmers stood mewing and murmuring , the gulls ghostly pale, the skimmers inky dark. Some ripples below me caught my eye and I turned the headlight on. A fair sized American crocodile had surfaced! My night was complete.

On almost every Everglades trip, day or night, I take a few minutes and stop by the marina to try and search out a basking crocodile. Occasionally one or more will be on the near bank or near the fish-cleaning house, but more often a croc can be found on the far bank. With diligent searching it is almost always possible to see 1 or more American crocodiles, Crocodylus acutus. Most are between 6 and 10 feet in length, but occasionally—I guess it would be more accurate to say “rarely–” a hatchling or yearling may be seen.

From a Florida population in the low hundreds a few decades ago, the number of this very cold sensitive, endangered, croc now probably exceeds 2,000. Known nests are carefully monitored by both federal and state biologists. It has been recorded in coastline habitats from Tampa Bay on the Gulf coast, southward through the Keys, then northward to Jupiter Beach on the east coast. As expected, and as always in the USA, it is most common in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.

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Like something out of a sci-fi film, the mighty Mata Mata patrols the depths of the water in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Geo! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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By Herp News

Hormonally active substances may contribute to global amphibian decline. Some compounds, for example from pharmaceuticals, occur in biologically relevant concentrations in freshwater ecosystems, and thus can affect the hormonal system and the sexual development of animals. Researchers have compared the effects of the pill estrogen ethinylestradiol (EE2) in three amphibian species. The study shows that EE2 can lead to a complete feminization of genetic males. Without molecular establishment of the genetic sex, this has remained partly unnoticed.

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It’s snack time for this Parson Chameleon in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user rocknreptiles . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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It is clear fromour Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Craig_V_Rensburg why some people call Naja nigricollis nigricincta Zebra Snakes! On Rattlesnake Friday, we celebrate ALL things venomous! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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By Herp News

The Indian Purple frog skeleton undergoes dramatic transformation as tadpoles clinging to underwater rocks become adults digging their way underground, according to a new study.

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By Herp News

A new tadpole that burrows through sand has been unearthed from the streambeds in the Western Ghats of India, according to a recent study.

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By Herp News

Ten million years ago, a green and black snake lay coiled in the Spanish undergrowth. Once, paleontologists would have been limited by its colorless fossil remains, but now they know what the snake looked like and can guess how it acted. Researchers have discovered that some fossils can retain evidence of skin color from multiple pigments and structural colors, aiding research into the evolution and function of color.

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By Herp News

A new study has found turtles released back into the wild almost always return home — even if they have to swim more than 100km or have spent more than a year away.

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What stunning colors on this male Sceloporus orcutti 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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Small, stock, and with a distinctive tail and scalation, meet the carrot-tailed viper gecko.
Once quite commonly seen in the pet trade, for twofold reasons the little carrot-tailed viper gecko, Hemidactylus imbricatus (formerly Teratolepis fasciatus) is now harder to acquire. Firstly, there are almost no shipments coming to the USA from the Pakistan homeland of this gecko and secondly, for reasons not yet understood some breeders have found the hatchlings delicate. Hatchlings are said to often succumb within the first few weeks of their life.

This gecko of the rocky deserts attains an adult length of about 3 inches and is of stocky build. Despite its small size, once past the rather delicate hatchling stage, this is a hardy gecko that can live for many years in captivity on a diet of vitamin-calcium dusted baby crickets and tiny roaches.

The polygonal body scales are relatively small and only weakly imbricate. However the scales on the carrot-shaped tail are large and strongly imbricate.

My first examples came from a Pakistani friend in the early 60s. All arrived alive, bred readily, and within a year I had added several hatchlings to the growing colony.

Be these Hemidactylus or Teratolepis, they are an alert, primarily terrestrial, easily kept gecko, that is well worthy of consideration.

Additional reading: Bauer, Aaron M.; Varad B. Giri, Eli Greenbaum, Todd R. Jackman,
Mahesh S. Dharne and Yogesh S. 2008. On the Systematics of the Gekkonid Genus Teratolepis Günther, 1869: Another One Bites the Dust. Hamadryad 32 (2): 90-104

Continue reading ” Carrot-tailed Viper Gecko” …read more
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What stunning colors on this male Sceloporus orcutti in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user arkherps . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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The name of spider gecko is derived from the long, spindly legs.The air mail letter from Jerry had just arrived from Karachi when our customs broker called and mentioned that we had an unexpected shipment from Pakistan at his facility. He could find neither packing list nor invoice within. Could we supply any info? I asked the broker to wait for a moment, opened the letter and found the needed documentation—a now forgotten number of leopard geckos, and a half dozen each of 3 other gecko species, 2 rat snakes, 2 whiskered vipers, and an Indian python were contained. I would fax it to him immediately. This was back in the 60s, at a time when U. S. Customs was easy to work with and there were virtually no state or federal regulatory laws. I expected no problems from this shipper’s oversight nor did we have any. The next morning the shipment was at our facility and I was eagerly unpacking it. I was familiar with most of the species from earlier shipments, but 2 species of geckos were new to me. One of these was the spider gecko, Agamura persica. What was this (remember there were few herp books and no computers/Google in those days)?

When after opening the bag I got my first look at this slender, big eyed, long legged, skinny tailed, creature I realized that I had never even imagined such a creature existed. I noticed too that they were devoid of toepads, and that when adult they are easily sexed, the males having pronounced hemipenial bulges as 5 of my 6 did. I also was quick to learn that the adult males were incompatible. The 6th individual, then a not sexable subadult, was a male.

Querying the shipper, I learned that this semidesert gecko was a saxicolous species, a terrarium type that was/is easily duplicated. In such terraria I found these geckos undemanding and very hardy.
And for this experience I say many thanks, Jerry.

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It’s Two for Tuesday with this pair of Cresties in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user MOC_Reptiles . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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By Herp News

Researchers used novel approach with historic film to discover just how endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are. Kemp’s ridley turtles are currently classified as critically endangered on the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species. The species was on the brink of extinction in the 1980s, but a Mexico-U.S. bi-national conservation program initiated in 1978 was able to reverse its decline.

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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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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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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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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!

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Read more here: Turtle Times

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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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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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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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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