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.
Tuesday, June 12 2018
Good things come in small packages, like the Rough Earth Snake in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user gdy! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Monday, June 11 2018
So much curiosity in this hatchling Baja black-collared lizard in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user wwwwwells ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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 This is the "Dixie Caverns" phase of Wherle's salamander.
Of variable colors and/or patterns in all populations, in 2 of its 3 variations, Wehrle’s salamander, Plethodon wehrlei, is just an interesting little (tyo 6”) dark-colored salamander of the wooded uplands. It range southward from extreme South West New York to extreme North Central North Carolina. Then there is a disjunct population in North Central Tennessee and Eastern Kentucky. Southernmost examples have a ground color of bluish-brown (also “ish”) that may or may not be heavily spotted laterally with white flecks. Northerly examples are of similar bluish-brown(ish) ground color with white to bluish-white lateral flecks and bronzy dorsal flecks. These latter are often referred to as the “Dixie Caverns variant”.
However it is the 3rd variant that seems of the most interest to herpers, and certainly is to me. This is the “twin-spotted” variant, a phase that might be likened to a spotted salamandey that had been on a lengthy diet. This pattern anomaly is most often seen in the TN, KY, and many western WV populations. Similar to those in the other populations, the ground color remains a brownish-gray and there are scattered light lateral spots and often light flecks from nape to a point above the forelimbs. But with these the pattern similarity ends for along the dorsum, from forelimbs to the anterior portion of the tail, there is a dual row of paired yellow to orange spots. In my opinion these markings transform what in other populations are merely ”interesting” salamanders to what are then “pretty” salamanders
But of course, what is pretty is always in the eyes of the beholder. And what is of interest to a given individual is equally personal.
Continue reading "Wehrle’s Salamander"
Friday, June 8 2018
We give all venomous species some love on Rattlesnake Friday, especially these baby Cobras in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user SouthernHerp !? Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Thursday, June 7 2018
Let's go Hog Wild for this Eddy County New Mexico Locality Hognose in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user nearhoofm ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Wednesday, June 6 2018
This Helmeted Iguana or Hernandez's helmeted basilisk ( Corytophanes hernandezi) in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user chrish is quite the break from our usual. What a regal and stunning animal! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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 Having just emerged from the walls of our house, this black racer is now waiting for the sunshine.
Every morning (weather permitting) this little black nose, belonging to an adult southern black racer, Coluber constrictor priapus, pokes out of a tiny space between our home's siding and the frame. A half hour later the owner of that nose glides slowly up onto the back steps, thermoregulates for 10 or 15 minutes, then begins its day of hunting for brown anoles, a food item of which there is no paucity in our yard. Having started this routine about 2 years ago when he or she was a youngster just losing its baby pattern, it has now become so accustomed to us that, unlike others of its ilk, the snake allows us to walk within a couple of feet of it without bolting.
A few other hobbyists have related interesting activity patterns involving racers of various subspecies both when captive and wild. In some case this involves feeding patterns while with others it has been the approachability and associated responses by the racer.
Racers (and I guess I’ll include whipsnakes (Masticophis) in this comment) are large, intelligent, and in some cases brightly colored snakes that produce fair-sized clutches of easily incubated eggs. I have long wondered why they are so often overlooked by hobbyists.
Continue reading "Black racer"
Tuesday, June 5 2018
I'm a little green with envy of this Green Tree Monitor in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user roadspawn and her plans for a lazy day. Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Monday, June 4 2018
What makes a Monday more tolerable? A baby box turtle hatching like the one in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user norristhenut . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Friday, June 1 2018
Happy Rattlesnake Friday! All coiled up, this Central American jumping pitviper ( Atropoides mexicanus) in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Gaboonviper1388 is all chilled out! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! As always on Friday, we celebrate all of our venomous reptiles for their contribution to the world.

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