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.
Budding entrepreneur Cai Yong thought it would be great to hatch and raise up a large group of Cobras to make money off the venom extracted. Maybe he should have thought his business plan through a little more, because residents of his remote Xianling village were not pleased to find snakes everywhere, including the bathroom:
Starting at the beginning of this month, cobras were spotted in outhouse toilets, kitchens, front yards and the mah-jong parlour in the tiny farming village in Qijiang county in Chongqing municipality, south-western China.
'I saw one in the bathroom,'' said Zhang Suli, 47, the wife of a corn and rice farmer. ''I was scared, and I started screaming.''
The Mid-Autumn Festival holiday this week, when Chinese celebrate the season's harvest moon, has not been an auspicious one for the people of Xianling.
First, there was the cobras-gone-wild story, which veered between slapstick and terror. Then an apparent government clampdown followed, in which officials declared that most of the snakes had been captured and all was well, assertions that many locals did not believe.
More than half of the 3000 cobras have been confiscated, some are still loose. While Chinese officials state that, "All is well and there is nothing to see," villagers are still claiming to see the loose snakes.
A few things Cai Yong should have considered: Venom extractions must be done in a controlled environment. Venom removed incorrectly (this includes removals in the field) are not always viable for research; sterile controlled conditions are required. Proper storage of the specimens prevent damage. Not to mention the obvious danger of extracting.
To read the full article, click here. I could find no actual ID on the cobras, so I just used a pic of one of the many we met at Reptile Gardens.
My husband, Paul, was cleaning up the garage when he asked me to come see something. When I went into the garage, he was pointing to the floor, "Who is this?" he said.
The 'who' was a big fat male leopard gecko. I picked him up and other than trying to bite me once, he was fine. I checked him over and other than missing a couple of toes on one foot, he looked good. His eyes were clear and bright, his weight was wonderful, and his tail was fat. He had some bright orange onm his back and tail
We weren't missing a big male, and hadn't lost one in the past. We know our neighbors and as far as I know, none of our neighbors have leopard geckos. So hmmm....
I wonder how much ground a big male can cover? I'm kind of curious that some of the outdoor cats didn't get him. Or the coyotes.
But more importantly, why our garage? Did he scent our leopard geckos? Or was it just happenstance?
How can one gecko create so many questions. Too bad the little guy can't talk.
Cochise County can be a dangerous place. A rise in serious Mojave Rattlesnake encounters is prompting pharmacy students to learn more about their venom and possible find a change in its composition.
From the Arizona Daily Wildcat:
As Part of their senior year project at the College of Pharmacy, students Kelvin Richards and Ryan Curtis teamed up with Daniel Massey, Pharmacy resident at University Medical Center. By Studying the Mohave rattlesnake, the most common species in Cochise County, and comparing it with Pima County's they will determine if those Mohave rattlesnakes venom is becoming increasingly potent.
The research began in July, and is a project Massey has wanted to do for three years. "It's a personal passion of my own," Massey said. "I've been collecting snakes... I have pictures since I was 10 years old with rattlesnakes." He met the students through the Arizona Poison and Drug Control Information Center, which is supporting the collaborative research.
The venom of 19 Mohave rattlesnakes have been collected by a third party which provides them with the GPS location of the animals in order to make sure the snakes are from the area they are examining.
Longer recovery, more trouble stabilizing patients and unusual lab results led to the study. To read the full story click here.
In June, 2010, Steve and Gery traveled with a group of veterinarians to Ecuador. They spent three nights in the rain forest of eastern Ecuador, seeing the abundant local wildlife including herps, birds, monkeys and insects. The group then flew to the Galapagos Islands, where they boarded a ship, visited 10 of the islands and saw giant tortoises, land and marine iguanas, lava lizards, three of the four endemic snake species, and many birds, sea lions, insects and fish. They crossed the equator eight times. Their presentation will showcase descriptions and hundreds of photos of the native wildlife and scenery.
Steve and Gery are long time (decades) members of the CHS. Both are veterinarians with special interest in herp patients, and both have been active field herpers for many years.
The regular monthly meetings of the Chicago Herpetological Society take place at Chicago's newest museum -- the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. This beautiful new building is at Fullerton Parkway and Cannon Drive, directly across Fullerton from the Lincoln Park Zoo. Meetings are free and open to the public. For more information click HERE.
My friend Jaffo came over to visit and was completely enthralled with my Rhino Iguana, Xan. I am working with his training and socialization with blueberries. Enjoy!
Here is a new picture of our female Brazilian rainbow boa, we are anxiously awaiting the birth of her first clutch. Hopefully in about 2 weeks!
I will add pictures soon of our JCP with VPI blood lines we will be breeding them soon as well.
JUST GOTTA LUV EM!!!!!!!!
Before Steve Irwin and before Bear Grylls, there was Malcolm Douglas. The "Original Croc Hunter" in Australia, Doulgas was killed in a car crash at his Wilderness Wildlife Park near Broome today.
His shows combined education about the bush of Kimberly as well as survival techniques should one find themselves stranded in the bush. He also took you beyond nature and allowed you to get to know his Australia as well as the people that made his world. Things that are big sellers today on TV, but something he has been doing longer than I have been alive.
With a great passion for The Kimberly, he had two wildlife parks near Broome, The Wilderness Wildlife Park as well as The Crocodile Park near Cable Beach. The Crocodile Park served as a research station as well as a location that accepted nuisance crocs.
His original documentary "Across the Top" to this day remains one of the highest rated documentaries ever aired in Australia.
Two stories popped up today, both with reminders that we should appreciate -- and leave -- the wild the way it is.
From Oz, a report in The Examiner from Yamba's Whiting Beach:
Clarence Valley Wires reptile co-ordinator Stuart Dart said it was quite common for the species to be found in and around water.
“It appeared as though they were two males wrestling to be the dominant male of the area, or a male and a female mating,” he said.
Mr Dart said the sex of the animals was hard to determine without physically examining them and warned the public about approaching any snake as they were now becoming active after their winter hibernation.
And from Florida an article pointing out the benefits of native wildlife. From NaplesNews.com:
You might see them on the dry ground when they are young, feeding on frogs and lizards but as adults they will look for rodents, and birds in trees. Their body is built for climbing with constricting muscles and edged scales that run along its flattened belly. These specialized scales enable the snake to climb vertically in search of prey. I have even seen them resting on a tree limb. They are constrictors so they grab the prey with their mouths, coil around them to constrict their breathing and when dead, swallow them whole. These are beneficial reptiles that help to control rodents and other pests.
Last week, the story of a petite woman who went to South Carolina and bagged herself a monster alligator in a guided hunt made the national news. The popularity of the show "Swamp People" has alligator hunting on people's minds, too.
I would really like to hear what our community thinks about the alligator hunting story. I understand the need to cull the herd and keep populations viable and in check. I have been a member of the NRA and regularly mooch my share of fall venison off folks. I have also eaten alligator. Something just doesn't sit right with this story, however; it reminds me of the violence of a bull fight.
Afterward, however, some people became outraged by the methods used to dispatch the great reptile: baited fishing lines, followed by harpoons, a muzzle snare, shots from a .22-caliber weapon and, ultimately, a knife jab to the spinal cord.
"This woman should be in jail, not on TV," was among the tamer comments posted beneath a story on Carolinalive.com.
"They tortured that alligator for hours. That's just plain sick," a Bostonherald.com reader chimed in.
The video supplied by the AP is after the bump. What do you think?
It's a beautiful spectacle, graceful and calm. Not that (dancer Pamela) James really has any choice in the matter. She says she quickly noticed that Sunshine, the snake, gets nervous when the dancer moves up and down too quickly. Not thinking it a terribly good idea to make a boa constrictor nervous, James decided to pattern her dance on the snake's twisting movements.
"We're partners: she leads, I follow," says James, describing the relationship with the 20 pounds of muscle wrapped around her neck.
The scene in which she dances is written as one of the dramatic highlights of the entire work. It's a big responsibility for a young performer, one that's made both easier and harder by executing it in tandem with a predatory reptile.
It is glorious to see others appreciating the beauty we take for granted daily in our collections. Check out the opera if you are local to Portland and let us know what you think.
False teeth and Tuatara might seem like an odd combination, but research into the New Zealand reptile's teeth is going to benefit human denture wearers.
That's because Tuatara have teeth fixed to their jawbone rather than fixed to pockets with ligaments, like humans do. This research will give insight into how wearing dentures affects the muscles, ligaments and joints of the jaw of those who wear them. From Phsyorg.com:
The team has created a 3-D computer model of the skull of the tuatara to investigate the feedback that occurs between the jaw joints and muscles in a creature that lacks periodontal ligaments.
"Tuatara live happily for over 60 years in the wild without replacing their teeth because they have the ability to unconsciously measure the forces in their jaw joint and adjust the strength of the jaw muscle contractions accordingly", said Dr Curtis.
Although this explains why tuatara and people with false teeth manage not to break their teeth and don't end up with jaw joint disorders, it is still clear that having a periodontal ligament is very useful, in particular for fine tuning chewing movements. This may explain why it has evolved independently in the ancestors of mammals, crocodiles, dinosaurs, and even some fish.
The fossilized skeleton of Clarisse, a 50 million-year-old snake fossil from Wyoming, recently shared a lot with the medical community. The entire chunk of limestone that Clarisse is preserved in underwent a procedure at the United Methodist Hospital in Houston, intended to examine the evolutionary shift of eating small bites and swallowing whole prey is one of the primary interests of scientists.
aher, professor and curator of the collections of herpetology and paleontology at the Museu de Zoologia of the Universidade de São Paulo in Brazil, worked with the Museum of Natural Science in Houston to get Clarisse to Methodist for the scan. He believes Clarisse could be an evolutionary link between snakes who take a lot of small bites to eat their prey and snakes who swallow their prey whole.
....
Clarisse is the best preserved Caenozoic snake known in a U.S. scientific collection. According to preliminary analysis, this snake is believed to be closely related to Boavus indelmani, a booid snake described in the late 1930s. Zaher and the Houston museum hoped that getting a look at the underside of this unique fossil, as well as the inside of bones like the skull would shed some light on the evolutionary history of the species, and its relationship to booid snakes (like pythons and boas).
To read the full article at Science Daily, click here.
Two rare species of iguanas get a second lease on life, one in captivity and one in the wild.
First up, a stowaway Yucatan Spiny Tail Iguana (Ctenosaura defensor) gets new digs at the Detroit Zoo. From Freep.com:
The foot-long rare reptile called a Yucatán spiny-tailed iguana was spotted scooting across a loading dock July 29 at Ford Motor's Van Dyke Transmission Plant in Sterling Heights, zoo spokeswoman Patricia Janeway said.
"This is a unique and rare rescue situation," Detroit Zoo curator of reptiles Jeff Jundt said.
The species is found only in a small area of the Yucatán Peninsula, in a section of 1,200 square miles -- about twice the size of Oakland County, Janeway said.
A notice on the Detroit Zoo website updates us that the iguana will be moving to the Black Iguana cage in fall after his quarantine process.
In a story that thankfully occurred in the correct place, the Sun Coast Titans have a rookie to thank for saving the day.
From The Sydney Morning Herald:
Training on an outside field near their home ground of Skilled Park, the snake had woken from its winter slumber and slithered through the adjacent bushland to get a closer look at training.
It had settled itself in near a walking path before the fearless Ridge picked it up by the tail and relocated it 30m down beside a nearby creek.
The Titans players gathered around as Ridge expertly handled the curious reptile, with Preston Campbell among those who appreciated his exploits with the potentially dangerous creature.
While some of the other players admitted to a phobia of snakes, they praised Ben on his bravery. Let's just hope for his luck, he plays as well as he wrangles venomous snakes.
Our adoption event today paired two things I adore, animals and a little girl with a love of snakes. I barely handled the snake today, but Little Adrienne did a great job getting a few folks over their fears as well as showing that pythons are not the terrifying things the press makes them out to be. People who exhibited fear could not come up with words to explain to this cute little 5 year old button exactly why. This made them actually confront fears and misconceptions, because well little Adrienne is relentless. I may have to hire her full time!
The reptile community hates them, but "snake sit-ins" are all the rage these days. "The Guiness Book of World Records" gave the fad the smack-down it deserves, however:
From AOL News:
Wilcox... said Guinness wants to discourage future attempts like this.
"Snakes are solitary animals, and we've been advised to not encourage Guinness World Records record attempts where they are forced to live together for long periods of time as there is a possibility of opportunistic cannibalism depending on the species," she said. "Our animal expert has also advised against exposing such animals to human presence for long periods of time."
Jones said that Guinness told him they haven't acknowledged any previous sit-ins and have no interest in adding the category.
The only snake-related record they accept is "most snakes in a bathtub with a person." Hey, a two for one -- Guiness and the Darwin Award with one stupid stunt!
I am really excited about this great new blog feature on kingsnake.com. Congratulations and a big thank you to Jeff and the rest of the Kingsnake team. I look forward to sharing photos, stories and photo tips from my field herping trips and studio shoots. I will also be sharing photos and stories about trips and animals that are not herps, such as this Big Horn Sheep from my trip to Alberta last spring with Clint Gilders (see his blog entry).
After the jump is a quick preview of some of my photography. Thank you and enjoy.
Hi My name is Dustin. I am an animal enthusiast. I am here to offer help and assistance to those of you that have small pets that you are no longer able to care for. I am not here to buy all of your animals. I am here for those that don't have the money or time to care for their animals. I will adopt and foster animals that need it. I am only able to take in small animals at this time. This does include reptiles except snakes. Small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and fish. Small mammals do not include cats and dogs. To contact me you can reach me at my facebook.com or on here. My face book is facebook.com/dustin.dishon, my AIM is livingdeadboy36, and my msn is livingdeadboy36@hotmail.com. I hate to turn away animals, but at the same time if i am over crowded with animals it is unhealthy for them for me to take in more than I can house.
Institutions from both countries also participate in the effort, headed by a group Haitians of the Anse-a-Pitre Active Youngsters Organization (OJAA), whose main goal is to monitor and protect the Haitian area where the iguanas (Leza Rico in Creole) live and nest.
The group’s efforts have already bore fruit with a proposal to declare the zone "communal protected area" and managed to halt some activities such as the extraction of sand that threatened to ruin the potential reserve.
Having just spent time seeing the San Diego Zoos work with the conservation efforts, I am extremely excited. Outreach in countries can be hard and getting folks involved can be even harder. The International Reptile Conservation Foundation (IRCF), one of the charities kingsnake.com has supported for years, also has put work into saving the Ricord's. To learn more about the IRCF's efforts click here. Photo of the Ricord's taken from the IRCF page.
Here goes my first post here on the new Kingsnake blog. I'm just testing it out and look forward to contributing. I tend not too write to much and just let the images speak for themselves. I am a professional television camera-man, shooting commercials. I also do sports & wildlife photography.
I am sure that there will be plenty of "controversy" and discussion about the recent changes here on Kingsnake.com. Some people will prefer if everything went back to the way it was, while others will hopefully embrace the changes.
I have to admit, one thing that has bothered my about KS for a long time is that the site seemed "stale". Nothing seemed to change and beyond being a site for a fair number of forums and perhaps the most well known herp classifieds online, there really wasn't much else to it. The worst part of all of this was that it didn't seem like the owners and moderators were in too much of hurry to make any changes either.
I'm not the kind of person who gets upset about being wrong. In fact, I look at it as a learning opportunity. This time, I'm ecstatic about being wrong! I really am! I am so HAPPY that Kingsnake.com finally took the leap into the "new" internet. Perhaps we should change the name to "interactivenet" (I didn't steal that from anyone, it just occurred to me now, so if it becomes big sometime in the future, I reserve the right to profit like crazy from the term! LOL!).
I'm sure there will be a few bugs here and there and some things are most definitely going to change and evolve over the coming weeks and months, but, by and large, the new Kingsnake.com should prove to be much more of an enjoyable experience for old and new members alike.
It seems that nearly every breeder with a website has started their own blogs detailing their breeding trials. I've never been a fan of such blogs. For me, they were always pretty boring and didn't really give me any more information than a simple table with detailing the genotype of both the Sire and Dam followed by the clutch or litter's genotypic results. Beyond that everything else seemed to be bragging and chest thumping.
Despite my negative experiences with personally owned reptile related blogs in general, I'm actually looking forward to Kingsnake's attempt at the public blog. Sure there will be plenty of people (both with and without their own personal websites) that will use the KS blog in the same-old, same-old manner as every other breeder out there. That's fine. I know there are plenty of people who enjoy those types of blogs. Due to their popularity the "breeding blog" seems to have become a website staple for nearly every reptile and amphibian breeder out there. I suppose a majority of keepers, breeders, and hobbyist enjoy reading these blogs otherwise they wouldn't be so prolific. Fair enough - to each their own.
I'm not sure how often I'll be typing up new entries for this, my very own Kingsnake.com blog. However, for the entries I do make I intend to put to a different use than the standard "breeding blog". I hopefully will be able to find the free time to be able to write about some of the topics that I find intriguing, interesting, important and (sometimes, maybe) even controversial. I don't intend to start arguments or get into flame wars with other members, but I do know that some of the things I write about won't be very popular with some people. I can't even be sure anyone else will even read my blog. I've been on KS for a long time now and I would think that a fair number of people have become at least somewhat familiar with my name at least.
For those that do know me, you know by now that I tend to ramble, sometimes, I rant, sometimes (okay, oftentimes) I end up going off on a tangent or two. That's just me. I try to type with the same cadence and tone as I speak so, sometimes, my entries can get a little "long-winded". I'm sure this has caused more than one person to decide to just skip my entries on the forums when they see them - like I said before - "So be it - to each their own".
One of the other reasons I usually write more than most other people when I respond to someone's inquiry is that I never take another person's experience level for granted. Since I don't know what someone else does and does not know or understand I prefer to err on the safe side. I do this by explaining everything as though I were explaining it to someone with little or no experience with their particular question or dilemma. Some may find my responses to be condescending, but I promise, it is never my intention to come across as either prideful or arrogant. I'm simply trying my best to explain everything in as much detail as possible. I figure that only one in twenty members actually post messages. The other nineteen simply "lurK" in the background, reading the various posts that they find interesting and gleaming what they can from the experience, questions and responses of other members. Even if my response to a member's question contains more information than the original poster requires, there is sure to be a lurker or two who has less experience and will be able to (hopefully) learn something new from the various responses that people post. I'm writing my responses for those people who lurk just as much as I'm writing for the original poster.
See, I've done it again, I've gone off on a tangent. I began this by discussing the new (and in my opinion - improved) Kingsnake.com and ended up discussing (and somewhat defending) my style of writing and response. I suppose this just supports my claim that I write as if I were having a verbal discussion and like verbal discussions the topic tends to slowly morph and jump from one subject to the next.
Well, I think that is enough for my first blog entry. Like I said, I'm not exactly sure when I'll add another, but I've already have a few topics I'd like to discuss. Perhaps, this blog will end up being a discussion of sorts. If that happens, if I decide to allow comments, all I ask is that people keep their remarks civil. We won't all agree on every topic and I'm sure there will be times where all will have to "agree to disagree" and leave it at that.
normal days are no more...because of scales its all im thinking... I go to the grocery store normal uh ? herp minded to buy turkey burger , bananas and grapes not for me.... driving home I see a nice creek and rocky scene...do I stop to look at natures beauty ...no I stop to lift rocks and explore the creek ...to find that special herp.. what may i find ... herp minded . going to walmart is a treat ...Im very fond of the rubbermaid container section... looking and seeing things I can use for herps that non herpers dont see... they see a box to put papers ...I see a great home for cornsnakes... this is my curse Im glad to have ...And to my herper friend we are special and so are scales ...
Jd hartzel
everyone wonders how people see them... over the years Ive tried to change me but it just dont work .. One day I received a poster with lizards from kids I shared my passion for herps you cant shut me up ... Ive been told Im the silent type but talk about herps ... nothing can stop me ...the other day I learned another great thing .. my daughter was writting just like me.. these are her words “ my dad is special he is a lizardman and I hope to be like him” These words from her is the greatest award.. I do this for the the herps and like to share my passion for them so Im happy to say Im happy to be Hero to young minds that grow.. Maybe into future lizardmen and lizardwomen .
Jd Hartzel
sneaky eastern milksnake .. I seen you in leaf litter then you were gone ... looking around in the rocks seen you again ... and gone again ... sneaky eastern milksnake till we meet again ..
Jd hartzel
tegu story.. Mr tegu walking in the forest looking for some grub... yummy birds eggs with a flick flick flick with the tongue .. mouth opens one after another the eggs go... Mr tegu now full ...finds a nice big rock in the sun... the sun feels so good Mr tegu yawns and returns home to his burrow.... Mr tegu sleeps and will return another day...
waiting lizard wait for them waking up in march... wait for them to breed.... wait for eggs.. wait for eggs to hatch... wait wait and some more ... mr tegu I will wait for you... I suggest a name change from tegu to waiting lizard..
Jd Hartzel
There is much to be said about the high cost of California real estate, but you won't hear much complaining from the Galapagos tortoises in San Diego who just moved into new $1 million digs at the zoo.
To show off their new enclosure, the tortoises and the San Diego Zoo are hosting four days of REPTILEMANIA, a hands on experience with the cold and slithery, starting today and ending Sunday.
The Los Angeles Times has a great write up on the Zoo's tortoises on their web site today, with a lot of cool background material on the individual tortoises, their backgrounds, history, and personality traits.
Abbot (No. 25) is known for a stubborn streak, sometimes refusing to move even for a carrot or other leafy vegetable. The same is true with Madeline (No. 5), although she will sometimes fall in line when she sees other females being cooperative.
Chips (No. 9) seems the most playful and Emerson (No. 30) the most aggressive. Winston (No. 2B) sometimes blocks the door to the tortoise "bedroom" until he gets fed.
As for connubial activity, Gramma (No. 4), thought to be between 120 and 130 years old, is the most accommodating of the females. Augustus (No. 7) is considered the most lusty of the males, but given the right mood and setting, all the males will seek out a female or two.<
It would be fair to say that these tortoises have welcomed millions of visitors to the zoo over the years. I've met the zoo's tortoises three times myself, but would love to get the opportunity to check them out again.
I receive a call about an abandoned alligator in the basement of a house on the west side of Columbus around 2:30pm (9/14/2010). This is typical, especially considering the area. The overwhelming majority of West-siders are meth addicts, drunks, and just all around low life scum. Police are called to that area more than they are called to any other part of Columbus. I get to the house and I'm greeted by two officers, and two contractors that were apparently hired to renovate this house, as I take it, it was abandoned and the lease/mortgage was just walked away from. The contractors there were simply assessing damage done to the house, and estimating what the work-load would be.
The contractors warn me that the place is filthy, and offer me some long rubber gloves before touching anything in the household. Immediately walking in, the place smells like mold and is excessively dusty. The couches were left among some boxes, and various other furniture. Apparently, they moved out in a hurry. They escort me downstairs, where upon opening the door leading to the basement, you immediately get the smell of ammonia and rotting flesh. In fact, that's exactly what was going on.
They show me to a stock tub that had thick, filthy, slimy water about 2" deep, housing one live (barely) alligator, and the carcass of another alligator. Both specimens each about 3' in length. The dead alligator's flesh was rotting away quickly, maggots were crawling on the carcass, flies were buzzing all over the place. The Alligator that was barely alive, was simply that...just awaiting his own death. He was thin, emaciated, eyes sunken in and maggots were crawling around on them. Skin on this particular animal was practically rotting off itself. The animal had no strength to move, and had to rest his head on the carcass of the other alligator to hold his head up to prevent drowning in the slimy filth he was forced to stay in. This tub had no basking option, or ability to escape the water. They were simply stuck in there to rot.
The alligator whistling and blowing bubbles from his nostrils as he was making attempts to breathe...hardly any life in him left, whatsoever. There was simply nothing I could do for this animal, beyond arrange the inevitable a little sooner for him. This was by far the kindest thing that any human could do for this animal at this point. The officers with me only had .45 Cal handguns and 12 Gauge shotguns and both were far too powerful for the size of the animals in question. Further, we were within city limits and discharging that high power of a firearm without just reasoning could cause some problems. I contacted a Division of Wildlife officer that I've worked with in the past and he dispatched another officer that was close to my area to the house with a .22 cal rifle to end his suffering.
The carcasses were bagged up in construction style trash bags (graciously offered by the construction crew on-site) and taken to the Ohio Wildlife Center for proper disposal.
American Alligators are sold at alarming rates as "casual pets". These animals are anything but. They all too often outgrow their welcome in northern homes, as the cost of proper housing an adult or even subadult specimen is far too demanding for most. Further, at typical pet store prices, they are cheap, disposable, and quickly forgotten about. Please do you research and be HONEST with yourself, before attempting to purchase such an animal.
Its finally underway....The 2010-2011 Boa Breeding season. I have some really amazing pairings planned for this year. There will be some more Cyclones and Hypo Cyclones as well as some great Central American boas including some Pure Nicaraguan Bloods, Anerys, and maybe some Pewters and some Blood Motleys and even possibly some Plasma Motleys.....
Keep Checking in to see how things are progressing....In the meantime some pictures!!
It isn't every day that a reptile show will make TMZ, but when Leo is spotted, you know someone will get it there!
The article posted today on the TMZ website has an accompanying video in which Leo (that's Leonardo DiCaprio for those confused) was spotted buying an African Spur Thigh Tortoise from Prehistoric Pets Booth.
Sources close to the actor tell TMZ, Leo picked up the 10-year-old Sulcata tortoise at the North American Reptile Breeders Conference and Trade Show in Anaheim, CA over the weekend -- which he attended with fellow "Inception" star Lukas Haas -- and get this ... the animal can live to be 80 years old!
.jpg "Click to visit PACNWRS")
Budding entrepreneur Cai Yong thought it would be great to hatch and raise up a large group of Cobras to make money off the venom extracted. Maybe he should have thought his business plan through a little more, because residents of his remote Xianling village were not pleased to find snakes everywhere, including the bathroom:
Cochise County can be a dangerous place. A rise in serious Mojave Rattlesnake encounters is prompting pharmacy students to learn more about their venom and possible find a change in its composition.
Before Steve Irwin and before Bear Grylls, there was Malcolm Douglas. The "Original Croc Hunter" in Australia, Doulgas was killed in a car crash at his Wilderness Wildlife Park near Broome today.
Two stories popped up today, both with reminders that we should appreciate -- and leave -- the wild the way it is.
Last week, the story of a petite woman who went to South Carolina and bagged herself a monster alligator in a guided hunt made the national news. The popularity of the show "Swamp People" has alligator hunting on people's minds, too.
The Portland Opera house has a new star: an Albino Boa Constrictor. 
False teeth and Tuatara might seem like an odd combination, but research into the New Zealand reptile's teeth is going to benefit human denture wearers.
The fossilized skeleton of Clarisse, a 50 million-year-old snake fossil from Wyoming, recently shared a lot with the medical community. The entire chunk of limestone that Clarisse is preserved in underwent a procedure at the United Methodist Hospital in Houston, intended to examine the evolutionary shift of eating small bites and swallowing whole prey is one of the primary interests of scientists.
Two rare species of iguanas get a second lease on life, one in captivity and one in the wild.
In a story that thankfully occurred in the correct place, the Sun Coast Titans have a rookie to thank for saving the day.
The reptile community hates them, but "snake sit-ins" are all the rage these days. "The Guiness Book of World Records" gave the fad the smack-down it deserves, however: 
I look forward to sharing photos, stories and photo tips from my field herping trips and studio shoots. I will also be sharing photos and stories about trips and animals that are not herps, such as this Big Horn Sheep from my trip to Alberta last spring with Clint Gilders (see his blog entry).
Haitian and Dominicans are bonding together to save the highly endangered Ricord's Iguana and a youth group is leading the process.
There is much to be said about the high cost of California real estate, but you won't hear much complaining from the Galapagos tortoises in San Diego who just moved into new $1 million digs at the zoo. 
It isn't every day that a reptile show will make TMZ, but when Leo is spotted, you know someone will get it there!
