Rico Walder, one of kingsnake.com's most longstanding community members, and a good friend to all in the herp community, is struggling against Stage IV glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer. Can we come together to help him win that fight?

Rico's family and friends have established a fundraising effort to help with the staggering medical bills that come along with an illness like this. Let's make sure that Rico can focus all his energy and thoughts on overcoming his illness instead of worrying about money.

Visit The Rico Relief Effort at giveitforward.com to donate, and don't forget to pass it on!

The dark side of science, when it tells you things you don't want to be true.

From NBC Science News:

Nearly one fifth of all reptiles — turtles, snakes, lizards and crocodiles — are on a slippery slope toward extinction due to loss of habitat, overharvesting and other factors, a new report says.

The study is the first of its kind to summarize the global conservation status of reptiles. More than 1,500 species were selected at random from around the world for conservation assessments in an effort to gain a representative sample.

The results highlight "conservation priorities and knowledge gaps which need to be addressed urgently to ensure the continued survival of the world’s reptiles," more than 200 researchers led by Monika Böhm at the Zoological Society of London write today in the journal Biological Conservation.

"Nearly one in five reptilian species are threatened with extinction, with another one in five species classed as Data Deficient."

Read the whole article, and view images, here; the study abstract can be viewed free, and the complete study be downloaded for $31.50, on the journal website.

Photo: NBC Science News

Sea turtle vs. shark doesn't usually end too well for the turtle, but some human intervention has a sea turtle named Hu swimming again. From Mashable:

Hu, a 25-year-old female loggerhead, was discovered by fishermen in mid-2008 when they accidentally pulled her up in their fishing nets. After noticing the creature was missing large portions of its two front fins, presumably from an assailment, the fishermen turned it into the Suma Aqualife Park in Kobe, Japan.

Since Hu's arrival, the aquarium's researchers have experimented with 27 pairs of artificial limbs in an attempt to aid the injured animal. Finally, they say, they've found the right fit.

The most recent development is comprised of two rubber fins, held together by a slip-over vest to prevent Hu from breaking free. The aquarium's staff say the fins have helped Hu swim just as easily as before the accident — a pretty remarkable feat, considering the turtle's 32-inch long shell and 220-pound body.

Read the whole story here.

Photo: Mashable.com

A University of Colorado study published today in the journal Nature tags biodiversity -- a large number of different species -- in pond environments as a major factor in protecting amphibians from the parasite Ribeiroia ondatrae.

From Science News:

The richer the assortment of amphibian species living in a pond, the more protection that community of frogs, toads and salamanders has against a parasitic infection that can cause severe deformities, including the growth of extra legs, according to a new study by the University of Colorado Boulder.

The findings, published Feb. 14 in the journal Nature, support the idea that greater biodiversity in larger-scale ecosystems, such as forests or grasslands, may also provide greater protection against diseases, including those that attack humans. For example, a larger number of mammal species in an area may curb cases of Lyme disease, while a larger number of bird species may slow the spread of West Nile virus.

"How biodiversity affects the risk of infectious diseases, including those of humans and wildlife, has become an increasingly important question," said Pieter Johnson, an assistant professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and lead author of the study. "But as it turns out, solidly testing these linkages with realistic experiments has proven very challenging in most systems."

Read the story here. The study can also be previewed on the Nature website.

Photo: Freshwaters Illustrated; University of Colorado at Boulder

The state of Connecticut has introduced House Bill 5832, which amends the state's exotic pets law as follows:

That section 26-40a of the general statutes be amended to provide that the sale, transfer or breeding of certain exotic animals is also prohibited and to add tigers, mole vipers, boa constrictors, burmese pythons and sea snakes to the list of prohibited animals. Further, to provide an exception to such prohibition for persons who lawfully possessed such animal prior to July 1, 2013, provided certain conditions are met and to further clarify the current exemption from the prohibition for certain educational and zoological organizations.

The current status of the bill, and a link to its complete text, can be found here.

The United States Association of Reptile Keepers (USARK) has issued an action alert on the bill, and is asking concerned citizens to use this link to contact the lawmakers.

With the tally of pythons hunted and killed in Florida's much-hyped "Python Challenge" stalled at around 50, the retroactive lowering of the success bar is in full swing.

From the Miami Herald:

The haul from Florida’s much-ballyhooed Python Challenge, which wrapped up at midnight Sunday, may not sound impressive. After all, nearly 1,600 people signed up for a month-long hunt to win cash for catching an invasive species that has gobbled up everything from egrets to alligators in the Everglades.

In reality, the effort bagged pretty much what many scientists, reptile experts and Florida wildlife managers expected — lots of publicity, also known as public awareness, and lots of data for researchers. It also produced what may wind up ranking as a record monthly count of Burmese python skins, though the bounty hunt was never envisioned as a way to eradicate them.

[...]

“The only thing that comes close to generating the same number of pythons was a historic freeze,” [University of Florida wildlife ecologist Frank] Mazzotti said. “I think the challenge did a darn good job.”

From the New York Daily News:

The month-long 2013 Python Challenge, designed to cull the population of the non-native snakes, saw participation by more than 1,500 hunters from 38 states and one Canadian province.

Despite the sizeable turnout, the hunt, which went from Jan. 12 and to midnight Sunday, bagged only about 50 of the Burmese constrictors as of Friday.

But Carli Segelson, a spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, says not to be fooled by the number.

"Burmese pythons are difficult to find,” Segelson told The News, “and are very-well camouflaged for that area.

“And they're tricky to capture even if you do find one," he added.

Science news service Phys.org took a more cynical view:

State wildlife officials are calling the invasive-snake bounty hunt a success, but for all the pomp and urgency, some hunters are not pleased.

"I don't feel the epidemic is as bad as they're saying," said Mike Singleton, 39, of Tampa, who participated in the hunt the first weekend, but became disillusioned and quit.

By the numbers, it doesn't sound good. At least 1,563 hunters registered to participate in the contest, which lasted a month. The number of Burmese pythons in the Everglades is said to be in the hundreds of thousands.

In the end, even they seemed to think the prospect of a pile of python carcasses would have been a good thing -- despite the apparent post-hunt assurances that such a goal never crossed anyone's mind.