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, August 19 2011
 I've finally arrived at the National Reptile Breeders' Expo. After getting delayed for an eternity by Delta in Atlanta, I rolled into the Hilton two hours late. Thanks to my driver and partner in crime for the day, Chris Law, I had a ride waiting for me. Check in and lunch at the Hog Wild BBQ then off to set up.
First in the door I got to see one of my favorite gals, Collette Sutherland. We had a meeting as to why herper girls rule. The reason? Because we are girls.
Set-up was pretty much done, but I did get to chat with Jeff Clark for quite sometime. We talked about a lot of the changes from over the years that we have seen. Changes in how people start, how they learn and what we have seen over the years. I felt like an old-timer here.
Here are a few shots of some stuff that I get excited about to tide ya over, under the bump. Tonight I am heading into the talks for a bit and then Chris and I are hooking up with some other friends and hitting the pavement. I am becoming a real herper; I remembered to pack flashlights and my brand spanking new headlamp!
Continue reading "NRBE: Friday set-up - and why girls rule"
 The flatworm parasite, Ribeiroia ondatrae, has been known for a decade to cause deformities. While distribution is not spreading, the location of this parasite in monitored sites has moved.
"We found that, although the distribution of Ribeiroia across wetlands changed, there was little net effect on overall parasite prevalence, with 31 percent of wetlands gaining the parasite and 27 percent losing the parasite," according to the study.
But "what was most intriguing," Johnson said, "was that the locations of hot spots had changed substantially over the last decade."
For instance, ponds where scientists had found few "grotesque" frogs in 1999 now had 30 percent or more frogs with deformed limbs, he said. Likewise, former hot spots now had fewer of the diseased amphibians, according to their results, which are not yet published in a journal.
Because some of the hot spots can house threatened or endangered amphibians, conservationists need to know where the parasite is moving.
Predicting future hot spots by keeping track of environmental factors—for example how land is used—may also help scientists figure out what's happening to amphibian populations.
"These severe malformations—even though it's not in the headline news—these continue to occur in a lot of amphibian populations in the western U.S.," said Johnson, who received funding from the National Geographic Society's Committee for Research and Exploration. (The Society owns National Geographic News.)
To read the full article, click here.
Wednesday, August 17 2011
 Much like the American Alligator, the Lake Erie watersnake ( Nerodia sipedon insularum) is no longer teetering on the brink of extinction.
The Lake Erie watersnake population had declined to about 1,500 adults by the mid-1990s because of human persecution and habitat loss from shoreline development. Federal and state agencies designated 300 acres of inland habitat and 11 miles of shoreline as breeding and hibernation grounds, while scientists led a public relations blitz to convince people the snake was nothing to fear.
The effort quickly paid off. By 2002, the snake had reached the government's minimum goal of 5,555 snakes. A census in 2009 estimated the population at nearly 12,000.
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Exotic species generally are regarded as harmful to ecosystems they invade. The round goby has caused a number of native Great Lakes fish to decline. But it arrived just in time for the watersnake.
"This is an ironic example of where an invasive species actually helps fuel the recovery of an endangered native species," said Kristin Stanford, a Northern Illinois University researcher who also works for Ohio State University's Stone Laboratory on Lake Erie's Gibraltar Island. "Within the past decade, watersnakes are now growing faster, bigger, with more offspring and a higher survival rate."
To read the full article, click here.
 Beating all odds, this Loggerhead turtle is recovering nicely after being shot in the head with a spear and with the help of community outcry, perhaps the culprits will be caught. An increasing reward is being offered and currently sits at $10,750 cash and other items offered by community members.
"The whole community is so up in arms about it," said Richie Moretti, who founded the Turtle Hospital in Marathon in 1986.
The victim is a sub adult, 15 to 18 years old. Although the turtle is too young for its gender to be determined, its rescuers named it Sara, after a family member who was celebrating her 18th birthday.
Doug Mader, an expert reptile veterinarian who removed the four-foot, steel-shafted spear, said Sara is one lucky turtle.
The story began on Aug. 3, when father and son Charlie and Nicholas Borg, vacationing from Michigan, were returning to Big Pine Key from a fishing trip in the Atlantic. They spotted something floating, with flippers in the air, near Little Palm Island.
As they got closer, they discovered it was a sea turtle with a long spear protruding from its face. "I've seen turtles before that were hit by boats, but that was not anything I expected to see," said Nicholas Borg, 22.
"At first we thought it was dead, but it pulled its head up, took a breath and dove back down," he added. "We both looked at each other and knew we needed to do something."
[....]
He expects that Sara will be well enough to be released back into the wild within a month or so.
"I don't think it will have any permanent injuries, just a great story to tell its kids," Mader said.
To read the full article. click here.
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Wed, August 17 2011 at 18:13
Federal: No federal protection for gopher tortoises under Endangered Species Act
MOBILE, Alabama — Gopher tortoises living east of the Tombigbee River deserve protection under the Endangered Species Act but will not get it because listing the species would cost too much and draw resources away from other threatened animals, federal officials said Tuesday morning.
http://blog.al.com/live/2011/07/no_federal_protection_for_goph.html
MD: Baltimore City Council wants say on school board members
Councilman Robert Curran introduced what he calls an overhaul of the city's animal control regulations. The bill appears to broaden the scope of potential violations and extends regulations to exotic and farm animals, though the proposed changes would not increase existing fines and penalties.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-animal-regulations-20110815,0,1477557.story
AR: Crittenden County couple faces 41 counts of animal cruelty
PROCTOR, AR (WMC-TV) - A Mid-South couple faces 41 counts of animal cruelty after investigators made a shocking discovery.
http://www.kait8.com/story/15274212/crittenden-county-couple-faces-41-counts-of-animal-cruelty
NC: Police arrest man who possessed dozens of venomous snakes
Police arrested snake owner Walter Clarence Kidd, 51, Monday night on charges that he illegally possessed venomous reptiles at his home at 65 Doe Trail, Hendersonville.
http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20110816/NEWS/110819824/1008/SPORTS?Title=Police-arrest-man-who-possessed-dozens-of-venomous-snakes
Northern Mariana Islands: Court accepts guilty plea in turtle poaching case
A man accused of poaching a green sea turtle in 2010 pleaded guilty Tuesday as part of a plea deal and was sentenced to six months in prison, all suspended except for three months.
http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?newsID=111919&cat=1
NY: Vanishing turtles and fish at Bowne Park pond stir up poaching fears among residents
Local residents say turtles that live in the park's pond have been disappearing at an alarming rate and that the park's fish population also has plummeted.
ttp://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2011/08/17/2011-08-17_vanishing_park_turtles_fish_stir_poach_fears.html
Tuesday, August 16 2011
By tskinc
Tue, August 16 2011 at 20:09
YES! once again we are going to be hatching out piebald clowns. Not sure how many are in the eggs but we are hoping for a few of them. This is only the second time piebald clowns have been hatched out. So this is a new morph that is sure to be the favorite of many. Stay tuned tomorrow for an update if we can see what is in the egg before we leave to Daytona for the big show.
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