When firefighters entered a burning home in northern Utah, they found a roomful of snakes, some venomous.

From ABC News:

Among the snakes that were found were some of the most deadly, including five albino western diamondbacks and a Gaboon viper.

“The Gaboon viper is considered one of the most dangerous snakes in the world,” said Brad Hunt of the Utah Division of Wildlife. “It has very long fangs and very potent venom.”

The Gaboon Viper is indigenous to Africa, and anti-venom for the snake is not readily available in the United States.

Having venomous snakes is illegal in the state of Utah, and even native snakes must be registered and have permits. It is suspected that the owner, whose name has not been released but who officials believe is a snake professional or breeder, smuggled at least the Gaboon viper from out of state.

He was cited for possession of illegal animals, and Animal Control was in contact with an attorney to consider options for pressing any misdemeanor charges.

The snakes that he owned legally will be returned to him, officials said.

An animal control officer on the scene noted "the snakes were kept in 'incredible condition' and in 'immaculate facilities.'"

Read the full story here.

Photo: Gaboon viper by kingsnake.com user viperkeeper.

In a new interview with National Geographic, Dr. Michael Hutchens discusses the hazards of working in areas where there are dangerous species of invertebrates and vertebrates, both on land and water -- and how to protect yourself. During the interview, he tackles a topic that comes up constantly on kingsnake.com: the misuse of the terms "poisonous" and "venomous" when discussing snakes.

From the interview:

First let me address an issue that is a pet peeve of many biologists, and that is the difference between the terms “venomous” and “poisonous.” Many lay people use the terms interchangeably, when, if fact, they are very different. A poison is typically ingested, whereas venom is injected or actively introduced into the victim’s body. An example of the former is the cane toad (Bufo marinus)—potential predators of the toad are poisoned by toxic secretions produced by glands on the skin when they try to ingest the animal. An example of the latter is the king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah), a large predatory snake that literally injects venom through its syringe-like fangs that are connected to venom glands. Some venomous species, such as rear-fanged snakes and gila monsters (Heloderma suspectum, one of the world’s few venomous lizards) must chew in order to introduce the venom, since they have no efficient way of injecting it. In addition, some poisons can be introduced through means other than ingestion, as for example, when someone with a cut on their hand picks up a poison dart frog, and the poison enters the blood stream through a skin abrasion.

Hitchens and NatGeo go on to discuss other herpetofauna as well as sea life and birds. It's well worth a read.

Check out this video "Soft Shelled Turtle," submitted by kingsnake.com user freymann.
Submit your own reptile & amphibian videos at http://www.kingsnake.com/video/ and you could see them featured here or check out all the videos submitted by other users!

So, a python apparently capable of eating a T. rex got out of its cage at a Dartmouth frat house this week, and to hear the national media tell it, we're just lucky Western civilization survived.

Oh, wait. Rather read the real story? Try this from the Hanover, NH, Valley News:

A small dog known to wear pink collars and matching sweaters made national headlines Wednesday after she discovered a ball python that had escaped on Dartmouth College’s campus last week.

Daisy, a 4-year-old Jack Russell/Dachshund mix, found the 3-foot-long snake while walking with her owner outside Tabard House, a coed Dartmouth fraternity, around 8 p.m. Tuesday night.

The snake’s disappearance had been picked up by the national news media when it went missing from its tank at the fraternity last week. Tabard President Connie Gong, a Dartmouth student who is watching the snake this summer, first noticed it was gone on Thursday.

The story erupted online again Wednesday, as the Associated Press picked up the scent. Other news outlets produced their own articles, including the Atlantic Wire, which dubbed the pooch “Hero Dog.”

[...]

[W]hile Hanover Police sought the public’s help in locating the snake, advising people to use caution if they came across it, [veterinarian Christine] Pinello said humans and animals alike were in little danger. Adult pythons can grow up to 5 feet, and they’re not poisonous. A python like the one that escaped Tabard would only eat small animals like mice, Pinello said.

“A 3-foot python really isn’t big,” Pinello said. “The python is probably scared.”

Hanover Police Captain Frank Moran said his department was aware that the snake had been found and the snake is now a “non-issue.”

He offered a joke, too: “The only thing that’s concerning is that now it’s 9 feet long.”

The Dartmouth reported Tuesday night that Gong said the python — named Lyude, and presumably still only 3 feet long — has been returned to its cage.

Read the full story here.

Photo: James M. Patterson/Valley News

From Yahoo News Canada:

A group of biologists working in Saskatchewan's Grasslands National Park are trying to save one of Canada's rarest and perhaps strangest creatures — the greater short-horned lizard.

This lizard, which can be found anywhere between New Mexico and southwestern Alberta, has a rather unique and strange defense mechanism. It shoots its own blood from its eyes to ward off an attacker.
The lizard has been considered endangered on Canada's Species At Risk list since 2007, mainly due to habitat loss from "ongoing oil and gas development, proliferation of roads, proposed mineral development, and an increased human presence."

Read the story here, and watch video of this lizard's bloody defenses under the jump.

An alligator handler in Florida had his arm broken in two places when a thousand-pound gator bit him during a demonstration at a party.

From the Sun-Sentinel:

Will Nace, a volunteer handler, was bitten by the alligator Lunge while performing during a private party at Native Village on Saturday, said park co-owner Ian Tyson.

The alligator grabbed Nace's arm and dragged him into a pond where the two spun around. Another trainer jumped into the gated pit and manage to set Nace's arm free.

Surge Achille, a party-planner at the park, said the frightening incident took less than a few minutes.

"It was surrreal. It was like your mind couldn't catch up with what was happening," Achille said. "I kept thinking it wasn't real, but it was."

Nace will require multiple surgeries and skin grafts. Read the full story here.

Photo: Sun-Sentinel