Reptile & Amphibian News Blog
Keep up with news and features of interest to the reptile and amphibian community on the kingsnake.com blog. We cover breaking stories from the mainstream and scientific media, user-submitted photos and videos, and feature articles and photos by Jeff Barringer, Richard Bartlett, and other herpetologists and herpetoculturists.
Friday, December 31 2010
Other than dry goods, everything for sale on kingsnake.com is illegal somewhere. Reptile and amphibian laws, codes, and ordinances exist at international, federal,state, and local levels. Heck, some neighborhood associations even ban them in their covenants. But it hasn't always been this way. And snakes didn't always come in deli cups.
Jennie Erin Smith's "Stolen World: A Tale Of Reptile, Smugglers, and Skulduggery" is a fascinating read that I found both hard to put down, and hard to pick back up again when I did. I can't put it down because it reads like a Ludlum novel, but I am afraid to pick it back up again because many of the stories she relates make me cringe.
Back in the days before the internet, before captive breeding, before the word "herpetoculture" existed, and before most of the laws and regulations about reptiles and amphibians were even proposals, there were the snake men. Reptile cowboys who strapped on the boots, jumped in the swamp and wrestled the python into a bag, or a cobra, or a krait, or a mamba.
Those men would fly around the world, collect the animals, box them up, put them on a plane, and the animals they acquired would show up at the world's biggest zoos, or in the hands of the few private collectors of the time. It was a loose group of people who maintained their own "internet" based on phone calls, letters, and the occasional mailed price list. There were no reptile expos, no magazines, no clubs, and few organizations open to non-academics.
Continue reading "Book Review: Stolen World: A Tale Of Reptile, Smugglers, and Skulduggery"
Thursday, December 30 2010
 Having lived through more than 170 bites from a variety of venomous snakes, Bill Haast can only be described as a medical miracle.
The former head of the Miami Serpentarium, Bill grew up in a different era. There was no real research into antivenom and medical uses, but Bill saw through this lack of information. Inspired by comparison of Polio's nerve effects and that of a cobra bite, he had a dream to cure the disease with cobra venom. Progress was being made, but research halted with the vaccine release.
The question of Bill's use of self-immunization is a hot one. But no matter what side of the fence you stand on, the fact that transfusions of his blood helping snake bite victims can not be overlooked. In his heyday, he was flown to donate blood to snake bite victims and saved many a life.
Controversies aside, Bill is still an inspiration to many, from visitors to the Serpentarium to a child in the Midwest who got a gift from someone Bill knew from the war, to the folks at Venom 1. More stories can be read on both his facebook fan page and Dan Boyd's PBase site, and basically every reptile site around today.
Bill is someone who inspires with his passion for doing what he lives, standing by what choices he made and showing no regret for how he lived. Happy Birthday, Bill. I have never met you, but will raise a toast in your honor today.
Continue reading "100 years and kicking: Happy Birthday, Bill Haast"
Wednesday, December 29 2010
 In an effort to protect Brazilian wildlife diversity and resources, including many reptiles, the nation plans to stop companies that produce products using their rare animals without compensation.
From ABCNews.com:
Brazil has levied more than 100 million reais ($59 million) in fines since July on companies charged with not paying fair compensation for the use of genetic material native to Brazil, said Bruno Barbosa, who heads inspection for the environmental oversight agency Ibama.
Next year, officials will begin pursuing companies that did not notify the government of their use of local species to create products such as pharmaceuticals, as required by law, meaning fines will likely go up.
[....]
Barbosa says examples of biopiracy abound, such as the development in the 1970s of the hypertension medication captopril from a snake venom that indigenous groups used on arrowhead tips.
Pharmaceuticals companies also used the yellow-and-green Kambo frog, found in Brazil's Amazon state of Acre, to create anti-inflammatory drugs without distributing benefits to local residents, he said. Many of these incidents came before a 2001 decree that created the current rules governing species use.
While some may feel the laws are overly restrictive, this measure may result in the preservation of what's left of Brazil's native flora and fauna.
Tuesday, December 28 2010
 News reporters like to make much ado about a venomous snake bite, be it a native or exotic species, but Janaki Lenin has her own take. Of course she also shares it with her husband Rom Whitaker of the Madras Croc Bank.
From The Hindu:
If a snake catcher gets bitten by a venomous snake, it is his own fault. He was careless, most probably trying to show off, and wasn't paying attention. That was the motto of Rom and his snake-hunting buddies in the U.S. during the 1960s, and it still holds to this day. In keeping with that philosophy, anyone who got bit was teased mercilessly. (Non-snake hunting civilians bitten accidentally were exempt, of course.) There is no doubt that this tradition of peer-admonition has kept these men, most of them, alive to this day.
In India, however, numerous snake-catchers, invariably young men, brag about their various snakebite “exploits”.
One bright spark bagged a cobra in a flimsy translucent bag. When he moved in closer to knot it, the snake nailed him on the hand through the cloth.
He was in hospital for a few days, and in the Indian tradition, the entire neighbourhood visited him to express their concern. Basking in all this attention, our man never once paused to think why the incident had occurred. When he bragged about it numerous times, Rom asked him: “Whose fault was it?” The young man didn't seem sure, but it was certainly not his fault, he declared. Rom countered: “If you had used a proper bag to begin with you wouldn't have been bit, right? So tell me now whose fault was it?” The reply was silence.
The blame lies with the keeper. In this day and age, however. one careless keeper can spark problems for 100 good keepers. Please be careful; I agree with Janaki that we do not need more Darwin Award winners.
Monday, December 27 2010
 When the Gulf Restoration Network and Center for Biological Diversity threatened legal action earlier this year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stepped forward with a proposal to save the Mississippi Gopher Frog, to the tune of around $100,000.
From the Associated Press:
Most of the land is owned by the federal government; 96 acres are owned by the state and 470 acres are privately owned.
Mississippi gopher frogs once lived in longleaf pine forests from western Alabama to southeast Louisiana. Timbering all but eradicated those forests.
They now live in only a few spots in south Mississippi.
Scientists believe fewer than 100 mature adults live in the wild. Five zoos — in Detroit, New Orleans, Memphis, Miami and Omaha, Nebraska — have been breeding or raising them.
If this impacts you, the agency is taking comments until January 11, 2011.
Sunday, December 26 2010
By Varanid
Sun, December 26 2010 at 22:19
Lots of herpers get pictures of giant rattlesnakes (or other species) that have been killed and are being posed. These are frequently debunked, with people stating that they use forced perspective to make the snake look larger. That is 100% true. But I thought I could post an example, using my 30-36" ball python. This will help people to understand how much forced perspective can do. The pictures aren't that great, but they don't need to be artistic. And yes the house is a mess. I had my wife take pictures of me holding the ball python from several distances and angles, two shots with me actually holding trouble and several with me using 3' tongs to hold him out from my body.
Here's a picture of me holding Trouble normally. Now, like I said, Trouble is somewhere between 30 and 36" in length. He's a sweetheart despite his name (I got in trouble with the wife for bringing him home, hence the name).
Here's a picture with me holding trouble out in front of me with tongs; I had my wife get all of me, plus some of the house in the frame. He looks substantially larger this way.
Here's a photo with her standing closer, and focusing on Trouble. He looks honking gigantic.
Here's a side shot so you can see how much space was between Trouble and me.
Keep in mind, we did that using 3' tongs. Many of these pictures will have a dead snake dangling off a hoe, or shovel, with a 5-6' handle, so the effect will be even greater. There's no photoshop or editing involved here. This is just playing with your perception. So next time you see a photo with a seemingly gigantic rattler that someone's got at arm's length, or dangling from a hoe...realize just how much that distorts the apparent size. You may also want to keep this in mind for any pictures the fisherman in your life shows you.
 Israeli airplanes are causing an unnatural mating season for crocs.
From Treehugger.com:
While the animals may very well be delighted that love seems to be in the air more than usual lately, crocodile handler David Golan believes the jet inspired drive to matie is cause for concern. The crocs, which normally perform mating rituals in a particular part of the year, are having their biological clocks thrown off by all the unnatural noise.
To make matters worse, the crocodiles are none the more satisfied by the mating call confusion. The crocs have been observed bellowing back their own song, but for some reason they never seem to partner up with any mate -- as if it's just the jet overhead that has won them over, though it never ceases to play hard-to-get.
The good news is that this is a nursery and not wild animals, but it also makes you wonder what might be happening to other species.
After the bump, video from St. Augustine when I visited this summer and the gators were calling!
Continue reading "Sonic boom romance for crocs"
Friday, December 24 2010
 Researchers are floored by the pH levels in the springs in Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve, located along the Wenlock River in Cairns, Australia.
There, the rain has made lakes so acidic, native fish can no longer tolerate the water.
The scientists, however, have suggested animals and plants living in the natural springs have adapted to the toxic conditions.
Exactly how, though, remains unexplained, according to UQ team leader Prof Craig Franklin.
"Would I swim in it? I wouldn’t drink it, let’s put it that way," Prof Franklin told The Cairns Post.
The springs flow into the Wenlock River.
Researchers had observed many of the saltwater crocodiles in the Wenlock with stained and weak-looking teeth.
Prof Franklin said this may be related to the acidic spring water.
To read the full article, click here.
Thursday, December 23 2010
By PHKeeper
Thu, December 23 2010 at 15:06
 Christmas Lizard greeting.
Visit the KS photo gallery here
 An insurance company in Shawno, Wisc., wants to hire alligators as sales reps. From Fox11:
The classified ad is titled "Alligators." It starts out saying "two weeks ago we found one alligator. We're still looking for two more alligators to fill the two positions that are open." The ad goes on several more lines but closes asking interested applicants to call Mr. Alligator.
“It's something to catch people's eyes,” said Peebles. “The actual ad I didn't write. I don't want to take credit for that, but it's kind of funny.”
“Someone asked me, 'is Mr. Alligator there?' and I was pretty shocked,” said Jeremy Peebles, Dan’s son and an agent at the insurance company. “I thought it was a prank at first because they never told me about it.”
Here I got all excited that some of our rescue animals could pay their own way in an insurance advertisement. Alas, the description of alligators in the ad was actually probably the most benign I have ever seen, "semi-obnoxious and pushy." I spose that I can live with.
Monday, December 20 2010
 In 2011 kingsnake.com will be giving our entire classified system an overhaul and we want you to help! - What features do you want?
- What would you like to be able to do that you can't do now?
- What would you like to see changed?
Whether you're a classified account holder or a power shopper, we want to hear from you!
Give us your input about the rules, the software, how your ads look, or anything else to do with the classifieds -- we want to hear what you have to say.
Post your ideas here, or send us an email and let us know what you'd like to see in the new classifieds.
Happy New Year, and happy new classifieds from kingsnake.com!
------------
UPDATE: - We are getting some great suggestions!
Please make sure to mention suggestions others have already made so we can get an idea how many people would like to see those features.
While some of these would be difficult to implement without causing problems (i.e. unlimited ads would allow retailers to post page after page of ads every day, making hobbyist ads run off the front page in minutes rather than hours or days), others are relatively easy to implement into our current systems as they are based on technology or policy issues that are no longer relevant today as opposed to 1997 when some of these policies and systems were implemented.
Expect to see some of your suggestions implemented in January, with a full overhaul sometime in March. Keep those suggestions coming!
Sunday, December 19 2010
By PHKeeper
Sun, December 19 2010 at 11:17
 Reading Reptiile
Visit the KS photo gallery here
Saturday, December 18 2010
This year has been horrible for us, not just on a reptile level. Between my husband quitting his job of almost ten years and spending a month unemployed to sick critters, we haven't had a good year.
Right now, our jungle carpet x diamond python is suffering from a respiratory infection. We're treating him with antibiotics, and he's improving. Still has some of the rasp but strength and activity has returned greatly. That's a plus.
But to wrap of this year with a bang, fate took ahold and dealt me a devastating blow. Last Sunday, I got up and found my Quaker Parrot dead in the bottom of his cage. Pilsner was only 5 years old, much to young to die unexpectedly.
He showed no signs of illness until that Saturday, and even then I didn't pay much heed. I noticed he was puffed up, but he didn't stay like that long. Then I noticed he hadn't eaten much, but sometimes he was like that, so still I paid no attention, thinking maybe I gave him more than usual.
Sunday morning, as I sat on the floor and cried like a baby, all I could think was I'd killed my bird. And I might have. He may have been sick, and the signs may have been there, but being so worried about our snake and all the other bs in our lives, I didn't notice. I have to live with that guilt.
I'll celebrate when this year is over. So many hard blows we've taken this year. I told my husband if we lose the jcp, I think I'll be done with animals. Obviously we aren't doing something right.
Yes, we've kept reptiles for five or six years and never had an illness, so it was our due time I guess. Doesn't make the blow any easier to handle.
Sorry, just needed to vent.
Thursday, December 16 2010
A federal judge ruled that a U.S. Fish and Wildlife study on protection of the Delta Smelt was "sloppy science" -- the same thing we've been saying about their justification for trying to restrict interstate trade of pythons and boas.
From NYTimes.com:
"The public cannot afford sloppy science and uni-directional prescriptions that ignore California's water needs," the judge wrote, adding that the state Legislature had failed "to provide the means to assure an adequate water supply for both the humans and the species dependent on the delta."
Moreover, in a remarkable side note that cuts to the heart of the many stresses in the Northern California region, Wanger appeared to suggest he does not see a legal avenue for finding a solution for the many interests, farms, wildlife and urban consumers that rely on the delta's water.
"The law alone cannot afford protection to all the competing interests at stake in these cases," Wanger said.
He pushed the study back into the hands of U.S. Fish and Wildlife, who say it may take up to 9 months to edit and recompile the data.
This is something very important to all in the herp community, because it is a battle we may yet need to wage. With the push to pass S373 through during the lame duck congress, we need to be prepared for future battles.
 A CareerBuilder survey run by Harris Poll shows we herpers are in the big money.
The study broke down all demographics of pet owners and what they more likely do for a living and earn. From CareerBuilder:
Key findings include:
Workers with dogs were more likely to report holding senior management positions (CEO, CFO, Senior Vice President, etc)
Workers with snakes/reptiles were the most likely to report earning six figures.
Workers with birds were the most likely to report being satisfied with their jobs.
In terms of career paths, owners of certain pets were more likely to report being drawn to certain professions:
Dog owners were more likely to be professors, nurses, information technology professionals, military professionals and entertainers
Cat owners were more likely to be physicians, real estate agents, science/medical lab technicians, machine operators and personal caretakers
Fish owners were more likely to be human resources professionals, financial professionals, hotel and leisure professionals, farming/fishing/forestry professionals and transportation professionals
Bird owners were more likely to be advertising professionals, sales representatives, construction workers and administrative professionals
Snake/Reptile owners were more likely to be engineers, social workers, marketing/public relations professionals, editors/writers and police officers
Oddly enough, I was part of the Harris Poll pooling group and I participated in this survey, but at last check I didnt make a six-figure pay check. Umm, yeah, Jeff; can we talk?
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