The Monitor

January, 2012

From the Editor's Desk

President: Melissa Coakley
Vice-President: Michele Patton
Secretary: Carrie Gardner
Treasurer: Doreen E. Saccardo
Chairman of the Board: John Soto
Editor: Carrie Gardner
Co-Editor: Doreen Saccardo
Field Trip Chair: Bill Murray
Webmaster: Carrie Gardner
Membership Chair: Dennis Beeker

WE MEET THE THIRD WEDNESDAY OF EVERY MONTH AT:
Moccasin Lake Nature Park
2750 Park Trail Lane
Clearwater, FL
727-462-2976

~~~~~~~~DON'T MISS IT~~~~~~~~

WE ARE ON FACEBOOK NOW! Please come and see us at www.facebook.com/suncoastherpsociety

Alton of Smelt Feed and Pet Supply is donating a $15.00 gift certificate every month for our raffle. His store is located at 4116 East 7th Avenue, Tampa, FL 33605, 813-248-2359

Herp Hobby Shop is celebrating their 20th Anniversay!! Please go and visit them at 103 Douglas Road, Unit E, Oldsmar, FL 34677, or give them a call at 813-925-0041! They provide the highest quality in captive-bred and imported reptiles and a full line of reptile supplies.

Web Page info: Calendar page is updated all the time as is Adoptions and Advertisements.

If you have photos you would like added to the "Club Photos" page, please email Carrie to have them added. YES, WE HAVE A PHOTO ALBUM THAT IS UP AND RUNNING AGAIN!

Carrie's Notes

Do you like taking pictures of your reptiles? Do you love bugging people even more with pictures of your reptiles? Then this is for you!! We are going to start a photo contest! Send your pictures to me (at luvcatz7@yahoo.com) and if you win, your picture will get published on our Facebook page! We will also, of course, feature your picture in a special album on our website's photo page. And all other pictures sent will be in another album, because let's face it, we all like to look at pictures of reptiles!! Please make sure you include species (because I don't know them all!), name (if you name your reptiles), and your name. THANKS!!

We now have an incentive for you to bring your friends. If you bring a friend with you to a meeting, you and your friend will get a free raffle ticket for our monthly raffles. You can use the raffle ticket at any meeting you want. However, you cannot use the same friend over and over, and yes, your friend has to be a Homo sapiens. After all, we have to have our standards. And there are always people, like me, who try and push the limits!

CONGRATULATIONS CHRIS KENNEDY FOR WINNING THIS MONTH. He sent me a beautiful picture of a Surinam cobalt dart frog. Check out our Facebook page to check it out.

We have a field trip scheduled for February 25, 2012 to St. Augustine Alligator Farm. I realize for you guys in the Tampa Bay area, that is quite a hike to St. Augustine, but IT IS WORTH IT! St. Augustine Alligator Farm is the only zoo in the WORLD that has all 23 species of crocodilians. They also have a 22-foot reticulated python, a juvenile python, Galapagos tortoises, birds, and primates there. If we can get more than 10 people to go, it will cost around $8.50 to get in. That is more than 50% off regular admission prices. Because we're coordinating with someone at the park to get these prices, we will have to have a complete number of people going.

PLEASE NOTE, I NEED TO KNOW WHO IS GOING BY FEBRUARY 20TH , SO I CAN TELL THE VERY NICE WOMAN WHO IS GIVING US THIS DEAL. PLEASE EMAIL ME AT LUVCATZ7@YAHOO.COM!

We are co-sponsoring Amnesty Day with FWC and Plant City on April 21, 2012. We will need a lot of volunteers - by my figure, around 25. Please let us know if you are interested in helping us out. This is a great way to participate in finding responsible homes for unwanted exotic animals and encourages responsible pet ownership.

We are now on Facebook! Please sign up at http://www.facebook.com/SuncoastHerpSociety, and click on "Like". Doreen, Melissa, Michele, and myself are the administrators, so if you're wondering who's behind the posts, you know who it is!

Please, join http://www.usark.org's mailing list to see what you can do to help with the increasing number of proposed bills that are coming. Become a member or donate some money.

Ciao,
Carrie

Message From Our President, Melissa

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope all of your herps are staying warm in the cooler weather. I love Florida and am happy that the winter has been, for the most part, pretty mild. Did anyone get any new animals over Christmas? Bill surprised me with 5 baby white's tree frogs. They are so cute! Billy Schwinn breeds them - so, give him a call if you are interested. I love white's tree frogs: not only are they adorable they are very hardy and easy to maintain. They also eat like little pigs. I have an adult male that someone gave me at a show 2 years ago. I don't think he has ever refused a meal. I don't know the sex on the babies yet, but I really hope I get a couple females. If you haven't seen an adult female white's tree frog, Google a picture and you'll see why I'm hoping for some females. They look so cool! It is fun to watch the 5 babies together in one tank. Another great recent surprise was that Bill built some outdoor lizard cages. As it warms up our tegus and monitors and other various lizards will get outside on a more regular basis to soak up the sun's rays. The cages aren't quite finished yet, but they look amazing so far. I am really excited to get all the lizards outside. I was using the Apogee Reptariums but they just aren't secure enough anymore because I've had them for years and they are wearing out (also, many of our lizards, predictably, go totally insane in the sunlight!!). Once again I want to thank you all for coming out to the meetings. It is one of the best nights of the month for me! I know that Bill is working on setting up some exciting field herping trips for the spring. I hope you will all consider coming along. The field trips are a fun and exciting way to "extend" the club and the more eyes the better. See you on the 18th!

Melissa

Doreen's Column

Hi there~~

*****Happy New Year. We had a wonderful Christmas/holiday party. Got to see Twisted Sister Twisted Christmas on the big screen TV what a treat (for some). Food, was good, fellowship was good, friends are good.

*****Some of the board members met with Shawna Everidge from Plant City to discuss Amnesty Day. It looks like the date will be April 21, 2012 from 10 am to 2 pm. This is a good opportunity to share our knowledge and promote responsible pet ownership. If you plan on volunteering, we will need you there around 8:00 am. This is a fun experience just to see what comes in and also a great opportunity to promote responsible pet ownership. If you are looking to adopt anything, get your applications in to Fish and Wildlife early so you can be approved. I have a copy of the new amnesty application and it seems to be a lot simpler. One part is for the applicant information (that would be you) and the second part is for the breed of animal you want to adopt. So you may have to fill out several of those. For example I filled one out for bearded dragons, and green iguanas (my first love). These applications are no longer date specific and one of the questions is "would you be willing to adopt throughout the year"? This means if they have an animal that needs a good home, they would call you any time of the year. I will bring some apps to the meeting. Dennis also has been working very hard and designed a super flyer for amnesty day with all the information of FWC contacts, our name and contact info. Take a look at that, Dennis does a super job.

*****We have another Amnesty Day meeting on January 15, we will let you know what transpires at that time.

*****Jim Peters is confirmed for our January meeting. He did not want to tell me what his talk is all about. He wants you to just show up to hear it. He always does a fantastic job. February, Melissa has a surprise guest speaker. I know he will be traveling from afar, so please do not miss this meeting. March is Ivan Alfonso, vet, April is our auction. If anyone has any suggestions or know anyone who would like to speak, please let me know, any help I can get would be greatly appreciated. I have a lot going on and every time I turn around the time has zipped by me.

*****Since Ed could not get his son to change the date of his wedding, the St Augustine Alligator Farm trip has been changed to February 25, 2012. Carrie did a great job setting this up and getting us a super discount of $8.50 per person if we have ten or more. I suggest a couple of people carpool.

*****This schedule is subject to change upon availability of speakers and the weather. That is why it is important to make sure your dues are paid up so you can be in the loop as far as getting all the information. We do not make any money on the membership fees, but it does defray the cost of mailing out the newsletter. The price of stamps is going up in January.

*****I just wanted everyone to know that I am back selling Reptiles Magazine two years for the one year price of $24. If anyone is interested, please let me know.

*****I want to continually thank Carrie for doing all she does for the club. She keeps up with the newsletter and the website. I also want to thank Alice for keeping up with the member list and my monthly reminder call.

*****Happy Birthday to:

January 1 ~~ Toni Sutton

February 16 ~~ Sylvia LaFave
February 28 ~~ Red Klavins
February 28 ~~ Rachel Segal

I have a lot of new members and if you do not see your birthday listed, please let me know, it means I do not have it.

*****Thank you to all who do their part for this club. You guys are what make our society the GREATEST in Florida!!!!

*****Have a Herpy Day!!!***** Doreen~~

~HILARIOUS HERPIN' HAPPENINGS BY MELISSA COAKLEY

Everyone loves a good laugh now and then, right? Well, some of my funniest and favorite moments happened while field herping. Let's take a trip back through some of these memories.

First, a few years ago Bill and I booked a trip out west. We got a hotel in Las Vegas but drove around Arizona and California too. This meant that we had to sleep in the car a few nights because we were so far away from our room. One night, I believe we were in Arizona, Bill pulled over and we decided to take a nap. It was about 2 am and we had been hiking and road cruising all day and night. We both fell quickly asleep but within moments Bill jumped and woke up with a startle. You see, he was still sitting behind the wheel and he thought he fell asleep while driving. This happened a few more times – each time Bill startled himself awake I woke up just as nervously. Needless to say in order to prevent another "rude awakening" we finally switched seats.

Another hilarious moment occurred on that same trip. Bill and I stopped for a snake. It was the first snake of the night and we were overly excited. We had just flown across the country to find snakes and we were eager to see what luck had in store for us. We both jumped out of the car and ran over to check out the serpent. A few seconds later a ranger from the park department pulled up alongside us and asked us what we were doing. We explained that we were moving a snake off the road… she said "that's fine, but next time please move your car". We both simultaneously turned around and saw that we not only left the car parked in the middle of the road but that the doors were wide open.

One of my all time favorite herping memories is from my first big group trip. I went to Costa Rica with Jim Kavney in 2007. The first night of the trip we went out, in two separate cars, to do some road cruising. I was in the group with the second car - the first car left just before we did. A few minutes into our drive that night we all spotted a large luminescent snake in the middle of the road. What a way to start the night! YES! Everyone piled out of the car and ran up to the snake… only to find that it was a rubber snake – the first in a series of many that night. The car before us, being full of jokesters, dropped off the snakes to tease us a little bit. We did however manage to get the main "culprit" back. You see, we collected all the rubber snakes and then played dumb when the other car asked us if we had seen anything unique that night. A few days later we talked the housekeeping staff into hiding all the snakes under the pillow of our practical joker. After a night of serious snake hunting he came home to a massive collection of realistic looking rubber snakes. Bill and I are going on this trip again with Jim Kavney in a few months. We can't wait! Should we pack some rubber snakes?

One other funny rubber snake story comes to mind. Bill and I were doing a little road cruising in south Florida when eagle eye Bill, the driver, spotted a small snake on the passenger side of the road. We tried to turn around but there were too many cars behind us. In the 2 or 3 minutes it took us to get back to the snake we kept freaking out saying "oh no, someone is going to hit that snake!" Finally, I was able to get out of the car and run over to the snake… only to find out that it was a rubber ring-neck snake!

A really unexpected snake encounter occurred one day at work. I was on break with my friend Melody and we were sitting outside watching the anoles run around. I managed to catch one of the anoles and he was sitting somewhat calmly in my open hand. What Melody and I didn't realize was that there was a black racer stalking that very anole. All of our attention was focused on the lizard – so, we were thoroughly startled when all of the sudden the black racer leapt into my hand in attempt to catch the anole. The snake surprised and shocked me so much that I actually let out a startled yelp. The tables had turned; I was usually the one to surprise the snakes – but this time a snake surprised me.

Of course I can't leave out my favorite killer rabbit story. One day Bill and I were herping in South Florida. We spotted a large cottonmouth deep in shed. Bill started messing around with his snake hook to see where the cottonmouth had slithered off too… when all of the sudden a rabbit jumped out right at Bill's knees. It happened so fast and startled Bill so deeply that he jumped about 5 ft in the air. Now, at least three years later, I can still vividly see the image of an air bound Bill!

Another great moment occurred after finding a large corn snake on the road in Tampa. I happily ran over and picked her up – she was a good 4ft. I spent a few minutes handling her and then I brought her over to Bill so he could take a look. As soon as he reached out for her she immediately attacked his finger. I looked at his hand and realized the first two knuckles were missing on his right pointer finger. The snake that had been so calm and peaceful in my hands moments before didn't waste a second getting to know Bill – personally! She had bit his finger so far down and so quickly. It took awhile for Bill to get his finger back from the grips of the corn snakes gullet.

Have some hilarious herping moments of your own? I encourage you to share your favorite crazy herping stories on the Suncoast Facebook page. If you don't have enough crazy herping memories yet – be sure to come on all of our future field trips… I guarantee some funny and memorable experiences!

Michele's Musings

The recent cold weather had me thinking, while all my geckos and snakes have their heat lamps and heat pads to keep warm, how do reptiles in the wild deal with cold weather?

Reptiles and cold weather

Reptiles are vertebrates and share many anatomical features with birds and mammals. However, reptiles are different from birds and mammals in how their bodies operate and create heat. Birds and mammals are endotherms; they create body heat metabolically by using energy from food. Birds and mammals can maintain a high and constant body temperature even in cool conditions. That is how birds and mammals can survive in cold environments and remain active year round.

Reptiles are ectotherms; they generate almost no body heat metabolically. Reptiles rely on heat from their environment such as the sun or sun-warmed rocks and pavement. Most reptiles like to keep their body at a certain temperature. They can't change their temperature by metabolism alone; instead they move from place to place using their environment to keep their body at a comfortable temperature. If a reptile is cool they will move to a warm sunny spot or warm blacktop. When a reptile gets too hot they will retreat to shade or a cool hide. A larger reptile will take longer to warm up but also longer to lose body heat.

While birds and mammals are able to live in cold climates and high elevations, they have to be able to maintain a high and constant body temperature by frequent feeding. Reptiles because they are ectotherms, they do not need to eat as often. This is an advantage when food is scarce; it also allows aquatic reptiles to stay under water for a long time without coming up for air.

Some birds and mammals can lower their body temperature during winter hibernation however; reptiles can allow their body temperature to fluctuate to a much greater degree without hurting themselves. When food is short reptiles will retreat to a cool hide to lower their metabolic rate and conserve energy.

When non-native reptiles are introduced into an environment they not from, most of them die during sudden cold snaps and prolonged winters. Those reptiles are not adapted to living in that type of environment.

The cold does limit the number and type of reptiles that survive in northern climates. Painted turtles avoid freezing temperatures by going to the bottom of ponds or lakes that do not freeze solid. Even though the surface of the water may be covered in ice the turtles survive by absorbing the small amount of oxygen they need from the water. Lizards and snakes hibernate on land by using burrows underground that are below the frost line.

While birds and mammals are able to migrate south during the winter months, reptiles must either tolerate the cold or move underground or underwater to escape it. Supercooling is another way reptiles deal with cold temperatures. Supercooling is lowering the body temperature below 0 C without freezing body liquids, or to tolerate freezing directly. Supercooling is NOT something you should try at home with your pet reptiles.

In northern climates where winters are very cold and the frost line is deep, reptiles will share hibernating sites with other animals. Sharing hibernating sites is more common in certain species, garter snakes and rattlesnakes have been found in large communal hibernation burrows in British Columbia. Because there are very few communal hibernation sites, snakes that use them often have to migrate long distances to find them.

In birds and mammals, the body tries to make heat by shivering and then conserves heat to internal organs by withdrawing the blood from extremities. Reptiles lose heat when faced with lower temperatures than their species required thermal gradient.

Female pythons that are incubating eggs shiver as a way to increase their body temperature, but they do not seem to do this when they are kept too cold.

Leatherback sea turtles can keep their body temperatures up by constant activity and special adaptations to their circulatory system which enables them to maintain a certain body temperature.

References:
The Reptiles of British Columbia – <"http://www..bcreptiles.ca">http://www.bcreptiles.ca
Hypothermia in Iguanas and other reptiles - <"http://www.anapsid.org">www.anapsid.org
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - www.wikipedia.org

And Finally...

We were over at a friend's for Christmas, and was talking to someone who had served in the Military in Panama. He told us that the lady in charge of the Peace Corps. was telling members that if attacked by a python, make sure you have a knife AND LET IT SWALLOW YOU. When you've been swallowed enough, take the knife and rip it open!!

I told him that it would be VERY hard to do, considering the snake would constrict the person to death before swallowing. However, it astounded me!!

This is merely another example of how there has to be more education about reptiles. That was the most ridiculous thing I ever heard!!!

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Until Next Month,
Carrie

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