The Monitor

September, 2008

From the Editor's Desk

Newsletter Material

This is YOUR club. The more you give into it, the more you will get out of it. Your opinions, suggesions and submissions are welcome. You may submit articles by the Monday or Tuesday THE WEEK BEFORE a meeting to luvcatz7@tampabay.rr.com

President: Peter Richardson
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: Doreen Saccardo
Webmaster: Carrie Gardner
Administrative Assistant Alexander Peters

NEXT MEETING:
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
SCAVENGER HUNT - again.
7:00 p.m.
Moccasin Lake Nature Park
Clearwater, FL 727-462-6024
~~~~~~~~DON'T MISS IT~~~~~~~~

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

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

If you would like to receive updates on the website via email, please scroll down to the bottom of the home page and join Yahoo! Groups. Choose to receive email or daily digest. I send out an email to the list every time a change is made.

If you have photos you would like added to the "Club Photos" page, please email Carrie to have them added. *The Club Photos page is still up, but I haven't put any recent photographs up because I'm trying to come up with a more conveinent way of displaying the photos*

Carrie's Notes

Hidey Ho fellow herpers!

I did something I haven't done in awhile...miss a meeting. I had a major headache, and probably would've been a major headache to everyone else if I went. So believe me, I did you all a favor.

An era has ended. I have decided that AOL was a pain in the you know where. I knew it was slow, and frustrating, hence the sticky on the ledge over our desk that says "AOL Sucks". What I didn't know was that the McAfee Security Suite I paid for was not protecting my email, and I had 6 trojan horse files, which are gone now. So I went to our default email provider, RoadRunner, and got a new browser...and it's amazing how FAST things load! I also got a refund from McAfee and installed AVG.

So where does all this babbling lead up too? I have a new email address...
luvcatz7@tampabay.rr.com

Hopefully, I will have the links on the website changed over to the new address before the meeting. If not, don't worry, I still have AOL for awhile. I need to pull my favorites and go through saved emails.

RED-EARED SLIDERS: No more permits are being issued to own red-eared sliders. The state is encouraging euthanasia. HOWEVER, thanks to Pete Richardson, there is a place where they can be shipped. This is from The Turtle and Tortoise Club's July Issue: "Stacey Vajanyi and I (Marvin Bennett) have been collecting red-eared sliders from pet owners who could not or choose not to keep them anymore. These pet owners have paid us a small fee to ship these turtles to Oklahoma, ‘their home range,'. It is good to see the previous owners doing the right thing instead of dropping them in their local lakes. This is a program set up by myself and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission." If you have or know of someone who is wanting a new home for their red-eared slider, please contact Marvin Bennett at 407-851-0198 or Stacey Vajanyi 321-961-0050.

Senator Bill Nelson is coming down on the side of the people who would like to ban large pythons. He has taken the USGS map to heart and is in the process of contacting the other states where "Burmese pythons can live" together with the ban. Please feel free to write or e-mail Senator Nelson, as I have done!

Doreen's Column

Hi there~~~

*****August was our election month. Since the humans were running unopposed, the board stands as is (except for our new President). It was a tie for Turasco and Sportie. They got one vote apiece. (Only Xan and I voted).

The HUMAN ticket
President: Pete Richardson
Vice President: Michele Patton
Secretary: Carrie Gardner
Treasurer: Doreen E. Saccardo

*****I am pleased to welcome Peter Richardson as President of the club. He has some great ideas for boosting membership and he also said he would help with getting guest speakers. I like him already!!

*****Last month was the Daytona show. I did not attend but I know of lot of our members were there and I am looking forward to hearing about that adventure.

*****We were supposed to have our scavenger hunt last month, but since we got rained out and the meeting room was rented, we met under the shelter near the office and John Soto saved the night by showing slides of the Bronx Zoo where he used to be curator of the reptile house. John always has good ideas and knows how to adapt to his surroundings when it comes to building enclosures and "building a better mouse trap." We voted to hold the scavenger hunt this month so be prepared for that. The scavenger hunt is where we walk the trails of Moccasin Lake to eyeball as many of God's creatures we can and we get points for each. Members who participate will be in for a special treat. So another reason why it would be wise to make sure your membership is paid up and you join us for a fun evening of environmental awareness. Bring the bug spray and maybe a flashlight.

*****Don't forget the Florida Reptile Show will be September 27 & 28, 2008 at the Fairgrounds. I will call Alex to secure our table. I will not be able to make it on Saturday, but I plan on Sunday. I will talk to Alex before the meeting and let you know what is going on.

*****Sunday, 12 October 2008 (9:00 am)
Wildlife biologist and environ­mental educator George L. Heinrich will introduce the fascinating world of the gopher tortoise during a two-hour, family-oriented hike. Free of charge with preserve admission. Space is limited; please call the preserve at (727) 893-7326 to sign up.

*****I just want to add continuing thanks to Carrie for keeping up with the website, I know that takes a lot of work with many frustrations. But she does an excellent job and it shows. Thanks Carrie

September 16 ~~ Claudia Gunther
October 17 ~ Michele Patton
October 24 ~ Chad Snellgrove
October 30 ~ Wayne Hill

Happy Birthday to you!

*****I know we have new people attending our meetings, but I have not received any new birthdays. You can drop me an email iguanadoreen@hotmail.com and let me know so I can add the list.

*****Thank you to all who do their part for this club. That is what makes our society the GREATEST in (what once was) the league.

Speaker Recap By Carrie

This isn't so much a speaker recap as it is a bunch of information and emails that I have received.

The first thing I would like to share with you is a letter I received from our former President, Logan Randolph:

Dear Suncoast Herpetological Society Members,
I want to thank all of you for many years of enjoyment as a fellow member and as your president. I'm sorry that I've been out of the loop lately, but there have been a lot of changes in my life.
This past summer I was out of town quite a bit, traveling, visiting family and interviewing for teaching positions. Although I greatly enjoyed and appreciated my time at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, I had been out of teaching for too many years and was very eager to return to a full time academic position. I interviewed for four positions, came very close on two of them and was offered the other two positions. Ironically after searching for the right fit for a long time, I was offered two teaching positions in the same week.
I am very happy to say that I accepted a full time biology professorship at Polk Community College's main campus in Winter Haven. It just felt right from the moment the interview began, and so far I think it has been a perfect fit. As a former Polk County resident, I got to see lots of this county and I know that I will enjoy it over here. I can hardly express how happy I am to be back in a full time professorship.
On the down side, it means that I have been unable to make it to the SHS meetings. In July I was working extra hours to wrap up as many things at the DEP as possible, and in August classes had started already and it was 7PM before I made it to the I-4/I-75 junction. Right now I am still commuting from Temple Terrace to Winter Haven, but in October we are moving to Lakeland.
I will still try to make it over to some meetings once the new job jitters and moving hassles are all settled down. I look forward to continuing to learn from the SHS's many experienced, enthusiastic and knowledgeable members. It's a joy to be associated with such dedicated people.
Many thanks from your former president,
Dr. Logan Randolph

DON'T BE A STRANGER!

Now, here's a message from our new President, Peter Richardson:

I would like to thank the Board for thinking of me for President.

I was active in the New York Herpetological Society on and off for ten years. My first snake was a garter snake, which I caught in New York at the age of seven. Reptile Fever hit and I kept different types of snakes, turtles, lizards, and amphibians, never really finding a favorite until I met the box turtle! My interest has been handed down to my son Jason, who at his age, has passed me in herp. knowledge.

In New York I worked as a vet technician to learn about animal medicine, which has become my greatest interest. My favorite animals that I currently own are my turtles, redeye skinks and 25-pound tegu.

I have a few ideas that I would like to try as we get started with a new year, including a "member profile" every month from all our members. I would like for everyone to get together and form a close-knit group. This would also create a way for members that are trying a new species and needs information, has an animal to trade or sell, or wants to buy an animal, or to use for mating.

I would also like to have a club picnic is one of the many great parks in the area. (Editor's note: this has been discussed by Doreen and I as well).

Pete

Pete also asked me to put this in the newsletter:

A turtle breeder from Spring Hill had some European Pond Turtles stolen from his home. If anyone has any information, please contact Pete on his cell phone: 352-688-0372. Let's keep our eyes and ears open and try to help. Just think of what you would do if you were in that position.

My final message is from Pete's son, Jason.

Andrew Wyatt, President of the United States Association of Reptile Keepers (or USARK), is also the president of the North Carolina Association of Reptile Keepers. He has done an excellent job battling anti-herp legislation in NC and hopefully he will do as good of a job for the whole country. Membership for the organization is $30.00 per member, or $250.00 per business. Andrew Wyatt stated that he hopes to battle anti-herp legislation on the town, state, and country levels. Obviously this will take money. The more the better. USARK can be visited at http://usark.org/index.php.

I went to the site to see what it was all about (EXCELLENT site, by the way), and have their Mission Statement right here! Here it goes:

"The United States Association of Reptile Keepers is a science and education based advocacy for the responsible private ownership of, and trade in, reptiles. We endorse caging standards, sound husbandry, escape prevention protocols, and integrated approach to vital conservation issues. Our goal is to facilitate cooperation between government agencies, the scientific community, and the private sector in order to produce policy proposals that will effectively address important husbandry and conservation issues. The health of these animals, public safety, and maintaining ecological integrity are our primary concerns."

They can be contacted at:
United States Association of Reptile Keepers
PO Box 279
Grandy, NC 27939-0279
252-207-1041
info@usark.org

Michele's Musings

The dangers of Calcium-Sand sold as "Digestible" substrates

I chat on-line on several different reptile forums, one heated topic that always comes up is the use of calcium sand and how bad it is for reptiles.

I have researched calcium sand to try and find out the truth about this substrate. That way you, the reptile owner, can make a more informed choice in choosing what substrate is correct for your reptile. We all love our reptiles and only want what is best for them.

The two products of calcium sand that I have seen in pet stores are T-Rex Bone Aid & Calci-Sand. There is no actual sand in calcium sand; those products are made of 100% Calcium Carbonate with added color dyes.

What the packing tells you:

The packing on the T-Rex Bone Aid & Calci-Sand products states that it is the only substrate for reptiles designed to be not only indigestible, but digestible when swallowed. It makes spot cleaning both easy and accurate. Calci-Sand clumps readily to wet waste material, drying it and preventing it from being spread throughout the enclosure.

What the packing does not tell you:

Did you know that there are actually safe handling practices for humans that need to be implemented when handling this calcium carbonate mineral? The reason for this is; calcium carbonate comes with some hazards. There are potential health effects due to chronic exposure to calcium sand. Excessive oral doses of calcium carbonate may produce alkalosis and hypercalcemia.

Material Safety Data Sheets are required by companies when a chemical, mineral, solvent, or other product has been proven to cause illness or injury to humans. They are required by law, by all companies, that handle these materials. This is to inform the individual that may be handling this product so they know the consequences of improper handling.

This warning should be placed on the bags from T-Rex Bone Aid & Calci-Sand, but they are not. If you want to acquire this information for a product you purchased, you can contact the company and request access to this information.

Humans are instructed to avoid using a calcium carbonate product for longer than 2 weeks unless being monitored by a doctor. If it isn't safe for us to use for longer than 2 weeks, what makes it safe for your reptile to be living on this substrate 24 hours a day for months and years?

The U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health have a warning of what to do in case of an overdose on calcium carbonate, what makes you believe that your reptile can't overdose on it? You can not watch your reptile 24 hours a day to be sure they are not ingesting it.

Calcium carbonate is used in a variety of medications. One of the most common uses for calcium carbonate is in antacids. This mineral has the ability to neutralize stomach acids. Neutralizing the stomach acids in humans when they don't feel well is great. As a medication serving this purpose it is wonderful. For reptiles, this is downright dangerous.

Geckos are one reptile species that seems to know when their bodies need calcium and will seek it in their environment. Geckos should be provided with a small dish of calcium powder all the time for this purpose. That is what makes calcium sand so dangerous to use with geckos, it encourages geckos to consume it. Plus, that calcium sands ability to clump, will also happen inside your poor little gecko.

As your reptile eats stray food items, hunts insects, or randomly licks and consumes the calcium sand, it is also "medicating" itself with an antacid. The more it consumes, the more neutralized the acid in the stomach becomes. In high doses, this can easily lead to an impaction. The reptile's ability to digest its food adequately can be impaired or can even be halted when excessive amounts have been ingested. It can also cause constipation; this in itself can be lethal as the body is required to expel the waste and byproducts from the foods consumed. If these are not expelled, toxicity can easily and readily become a serious issue. Toxic waste, once entered into the blood stream, can be fatal.

In excessive doses, calcium carbonate is also noted as causing hypercalcemia. Hypercalcemia is an excessive amount of calcium in the blood. This can lead to muscle weakness, psychological issues, nerve damage, spinal column curvature, and other serious issues.

The dust produced by calcium sand can be inhaled. As your reptile stirs the dust up by digging and inhales the dust produced that is made airborne, they could begin to experience eye and lung irritation.

The dyes used are also noted as "staining" reptiles. The "staining" can be reversed by simply removing the reptile from the calcium sand and allowing it to shed several times. Each shed will remove any discoloration resulting from the calcium sand.

Impaction is more common with young and smaller lizards due to their smaller size & digestive tracts regardless of the type of sand that is used. Sand accumulates in their digestive tracts, reduces the size of the space for it to go through. This applies to all sand, but the calcium sand is more dangerous because it actually encourages the reptile to consume it.

In my opinion, why risk using a substrate that may cause harm to your reptile? By the time you realize that your reptile is suffering from an impaction, it may be too late to save him or her. If you have a reptile that needs to be kept on sand, switch to a fine grain sand like Repti Sand. If you want to save money, Home Depot, Lowe's, Wal-Mart, Target and other home centers carry play sand at about $5 for a 50 pound bag. Just be sure to get the smallest grain and to freeze the sand for about 48 hours before use in order to kill any potential parasites.

If anyone would like to add comments about calcium sand or other substrates, please email me at newmichele@gomailnow.com.

References:
Reptile Network Center: www.herpcenter.com/leopard-geckos
The Reptile Channel www.reptilechannel.com
The Veterinary Record: www.veterinaryrecord.bvapublications.com

"277 Secrets Your Snake Wants You To Know" by Paulette Cooper

Snake Myths

1. Most snakes are harmful: false...most snakes are harmless

2. Snakes Can't Smell With Their Noes: False: They smell with their noses, but the tongue and Jacobson's organ are more important to them.

3. Snakes Feel Slimy False: Touch one, it is usually warm and dry.

4. The purpose of scales is to keep the snake warm: False: Scales are watertight. The main purpose is to keep moisture in so the snake won't dry out in the heat.

5. Snakes can hypnotize people and animals. False. The myth probably arose because of the way snakes without moving, and many animals freeze when a snake stares at them.

6. Snake scales are heavy. False. They're actually as thin as paper.

7. Snakes are cold. False. Some snakes can maintain body temperatures of over 100 degrees - higher than humans do (who create their own heat).

8. Snakes are aggressive and strike whenever possible. False. Most snakes are cowards that prefer to swish away and avoid a fight.

9. Snakes don't have backbones. False. Snakes sometimes have as many as 300 vertebrae - compared to a person who has only 33 to 34.

Until Next Month!

Ciao!

Carrie