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.
Thursday, April 30 2015
 Once considered to be non-existent in Angola, a new study reveals the country is home to Gabon vipers.
From SpyGhana.com:
Bitis Gabonica, commonly known as the Gabon viper, is a venomous viper species found in the rainforests and savannas of sub-Saharan Africa. It is not only the largest member of the genus bitis, but also the world’s heaviest viperid, and it has the longest fangs and the highest venom yield of any venomous snake.
Angolan scientist Paula Regina de Oliveira said the species of Bitis Gabonica are the ones with teeth that could reach five centimeters long and larger glands, which allow them to accumulate large amounts of venom.
gallery photo by user TXCobraman
Read more here.
Many years ago, I decided (to my own satisfaction) that although most caiman are hatched feisty, the 2 species of the so called dwarf caimans of the genus Paleosuchus are hatched actually evil.
We see the smooth-fronted species, Paleosuchus trigonotus, on almost all of our trips to the Peruvian Amazon and no experiences I've had with them has altered my opinion in the least. In fact, if anything, my interactions involving this caiman, be they hatchlings or adults, have cemented my opinions ever more firmly.
The scales of this brown-eyed caiman are heavily ossified, providing an alternate name of armored caiman. Comparatively small though they may be, these 4 to 6 foot long alligator relatives are strong, have very sharp teeth, immensely strong jaws, are perpetually ready to do battle, and our guides and I have learned to afford them much respect.
A couple of years ago, a few early arriving clients (experienced herpers, all) got together on a rainy night before my arrival and decided to roadhunt the road to Nauta. After all, isn't that what herpers do? Somewhere along the way they encountered a 30 inch long smooth-fronted caiman, just sitting on the wet pavement minding its own business.
They stopped to look at it. It looked like, with minimal repositioning it would make a fine photo. One of the group attempted to reposition the little beast with a stick only a few inches long. Now this would have been fine for a spotted salamander, but for a 30 inch smooth-front?
Nope. It didn't work. Didn't even come close to working. And the result? Another herper learned respect for "little-but-feisty" beastie. I just wish I had been there to watch the action.
It's always good to start a trip with a little entertainment.
Continue reading "Beware of dwarf caimans"
The Coelen's python may be a hybrid, but they are still are so beautiful that they deserve a spot in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user JonathanH!
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Wednesday, April 29 2015
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Wed, April 29 2015 at 06:03
 Last month I visited Kerala, a south Indian state, with my friend and rescuing partner Axy (Akshay Parhalkar) and our teacher Mr. Iqbal Shaikh (a legend of Indian herpetology and holder of the title “snake man of India” during the 1970s) in search of King Cobra. We weren't lucky enough to find one, but still had some great experiences.
It was the last day of our trip so we decided on a riverside jungle herping adventure. For the first two hours we were not able to find anything. Tired and exhausted, Axy and I decided to have a quick bath in the river. I still remember the lines said by Sir, "Don’t go too far, as I have a strong feeling that we’ll get something at the river bank only."
Keeping that in mind, we were swimming close to the riverbank and suddenly we heard some villagers shouting, "Snake snake." Hearing that word, Axy and I ran and jumped between the huge river rocks towards the direction of the crowd. After reaching the spot we realized that both of us forgot to wear our clothes and we were just wearing our boxers/underwear, but we didn’t let it bother us and continued with our task.
It was a fat and healthy 8-foot Indian rat snake trying to hide under a rock, so I pulled it out gently. It didn’t take much time for the snake to turn into an aggressive creature, so we decided to do a head catch. It was a strong snake so it was a bit difficult for head catch and Axy got bitten while doing the head catch. After making the snake calm we got dressed and clicked some photographs.
The most embarrassing and funny part of this incident was that we were watched and clicked by more than 20 villagers during the task when both of us were "almost naked." This incident still makes us laugh and it adds an unforgettable experience to my life.
 The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is offering workshops to help people identify and report Burmese pythons, but not everyone agrees that the pythons are a problem.
From WUFT News:
"This horse has been beat so many times," said Eugene Bessette, commercial snake breeder and owner of Ophiological Services, a snake farm on Archer Road.
Even though Burmese pythons are not indigenous to South Florida, Bessette said he feels they are ultimately not an ecological problem.
"Ignorance is the biggest problem," Bessette said. “People form opinions before they get the facts."
Bessette lost a substantial part of his business when new regulations put in place in 2012 banned the importation and interstate transportation of Burmese pythons and three other constrictor snakes.
Read more here.
This big mama blood python is holding tight to her eggs in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user AJ01!
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Tuesday, April 28 2015
There's no question that the pattern and colors of this snake are an effective - a very effective - camouflage.
In more than 20 years of tromping through the Peruvian rainforest, we have seen only two speckled forest pitvipers, Bothriopsis taeniatus, and so well did they blend with the background foliage that we almost missed seeing both of them.
Actually, I consider that low number very surprising. The only snake that we search assiduously for and have found fewer of is the emerald tree boa. Of that taxon we have found only one, and unlike the pitviper that one example was not on our normally utilized preserves.
This pitviper may have a ground color of tan or gray to forest or olive green. The pattern is complex and variable, consisting of flecks, blotches, and bands of darker browns, grays, and greens to a green much brighter than the ground color. This pitviper is a slender snake. Adults are often three to three and a half feet in length, but some may attain a length of a few inches over five feet. This snake may spend as much time on the ground as in the trees.
It is a live-bearing snake that reportedly has a small number of young. The neonates are more precisely marked than the adults.
Continue reading "Forest pitvipers: Well camouflaged or very rare?"
 After finding a turtle barely alive, two little girls insisted their parents take the turtle to a "turtle doctor," and a local aquarium offered help.
From BizNews.com:
The aquarium was overseeing the rehabilitation of baby Loggerhead turtles found washed up along the Cape Coast predominantly in Struisbaai.
The family drove the turtle to the aquarium, where staff were on hand to meet them.
“Rosie was put into the rehabilitation tank along with the 178 other Loggerhead turtles currently in their care and by Sunday morning Two Oceans Aquarium staff confirmed that Rosie was doing well and appearing to be strong and healthy much to the delight of the Campbells,” Lambinon said.
He said of all the 179 Loggerheads found along the Cape coast to date, Rosie was the found the furthest south.
Read more here.
Check out this gorgeous Moluccan python , Morelia clastolepis, in all its shimmering beauty in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user krantz!
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Monday, April 27 2015
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Mon, April 27 2015 at 05:58
 The kukri snake, Oligodon arnesis, isn't very familar to snake lovers from the African and American continents. If you're among them, you probably wonder where he got his name.
These snakes are called "kukri" because their teeth/fangs look like a Nepali weapon called the kukri.
Despite their weaponized name, these snakes are non-venomous. They are found in many Asian countries including China, Thailand, and Malaysia.
India is home to 12-13 species of kukri snakes amongst which the banded kukri is the most common -- and probably why it's also called the common kukri snake.
The body of the banded kukri is round with a short tail, and the body color is ash-or reddish-brown with black or brown bands. The underside is white and usually three black ‘V’ shapes are present on the head.
These beautiful snakes are found in ant hills, crevices in rocks, tree hollows, old houses, or heaps of stones. It’s a shy-natured snake and generally they don’t bite, but there's no guarantee as I have been a victim of their painful bite. They feed on reptile eggs, geckos, skinks, and mice. These snakes constrict their prey with 2-3 coils before swallowing it. Size varies from 40-70cms in adults. They are oviparous by nature, laying 5-7 eggs in crevices.
It’s always a joyful experience during the rescue of these snakes as they are usually quiet and I love them, even though I still carry some fear because of that one bad experience.
Photo: Riyaz Khoja
 Inspired by poison dart frogs, an engineering professor developed a new way to construct airplane wings that keeps them from becoming icy.
From CNET:
Rykaczewski, an assistant professor of engineering at Arizona State University, was inspired by the bad-ass dart frog to devise a new type of artificial anti-ice "skin" for airplane wings. His research, which was conducted with several colleagues, was included in the latest issue of Advanced Materials Interfaces, published this week.
In the same way that dart frogs hold their venom beneath their outer skin and release it when they're in trouble, Rykaczewski's skin has two layers. The bottom layer contains an antifreeze liquid, and the outer layer is made from a superhydrophobic material, which means it is crazy good at repelling water. The outer layer also has a series of pores in it through which the antifreeze can be released.
Read more here.
This Chondro seems to be saying "Give me 5 more minutes" in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user AJ01!
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Friday, April 24 2015
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Fri, April 24 2015 at 06:15
 India has 17 species of pit viper, mostly found on trees. The hump-nosed pit viper ( Hypnale hypnale) is an exception.
Hump-nosed pit vipers are found in Goa and some parts of Karnataka, India. Like other pit vipers these snakes have hemotoxic venom, but mildly so. These snakes are not fatal to humans as they are very rarely found on rescues and they mostly spend their entire lives in forests.
Hump-nosed pit vipers are nocturnal by nature but sometimes are seen coiled on rocks near streams, low bushes, or under fallen leaves on the ground during day. The head of this snake is pointed and triangular with a tip curved upwards, giving it its lance-headed apperance.
The body color is grey or brown with dark brown bands and yellowish or reddish tail tip. What I like best about the young hump-nosed pit vipers is the way they wriggle their tails to attract lizards, skinks, and geckos.
The maximum size of hump-nosed pit vipers is 55 cm. These beautiful snakes are viviparous by nature and give birth to 4-10 young ones.
It was really an unforgettable experience encountering this beauty in the jungles of Goa while herping at 2 AM. I was so amazed to see this snake that I didn't leave the place for 1-2 hours. I just sat on a rock and observed the snake until it disappeared in the dried leaves.
Photos: Riyaz Khoja
Let's follow the lead of this Saltie in our herp photo of the day and let it all hang out for the weekend, uploaded by kingsnake.com user croc2005!
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Thursday, April 23 2015
Everywhere and nowhere best describe where you may find this tropical American lance-headed snake. Certainly the fer-de-lance, Bothrops atrox, is one of the commonly seen venomous taxa on the Project Amazonas Biological Stations and in nearby villages, as well on trails far distant from all activity. Many seen are neonates or juveniles but some are 4 foot long adults.
Depending on weather patterns, this snake may be seen in some numbers on one day and night and then be absent, or at least not seen, for several days.
Such was the case on one rainy trip. Small puddles along busy trails on Madre Selva Biological Preserve had drawn sizable populations of breeding frogs and the presence of the frogs had, in turn, drawn the fer-de-lances. Day or night for two days following the storm, we could check the perimeters of the puddles and find 3 or 4 of these snakes, often with body distended by a belly full of frog. However, by the third night we found that they had mostly dispersed and by the following day we saw none.
Then there was the time when a fer-de-lance wasn't present when we left the tambo (2-person cabin) to walk to the kitchen, but one was coiled tightly between the stepping stones when we returned a half hour later.
On another occasion, we hadn't seen a fer-de-lanc in the week we had been at the station. But one evening one person (who later told me he hadn't believed all of my warnings), was distracted in conversation with his son and almost stepped on one that was crawling slowly across the camp clearing.
We were sure glad it was "almost."
As I say, these brown on olive-brown snakes are everywhere, and nowhere. If you're in Amazonas use care - always. Plan ahead when out at night. Carry a flashlight and use it.
Continue reading "The incredible disappearing fer-de-lance"
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