The Monitor

September, 2011

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

Our very esteemed President had a letter printed in the September, 2011 issue of Reptile's Magazine - on page 10, to be exact. It's a wonderful comment about being a part of Herpetological Societies, and all the benefits that come from being a member!

Note from Jason Richardson:

Good day all,

My name is Jason Richardson, longtime member of the Suncoast Herp Society, but unfortunately due to schedules, an infrequent attendee of meetings. I write to you all today to ask a favor. I am an undergraduate researcher with the Integrative Biology Department at the University of South Florida. My mentor, Dr. Marc Lajeunesse and myself are currently performing a study examining the blood parasites in endemic green anoles versus invasive brown anoles in the Tampa Bay area. As you may all be aware, being Florida residents and herp lovers, anole populations are a little more crowded in urban areas, a perfect condition for our study. Unfortunately for us, this poses a bit of a problem, as most of our study thus far has been confined to public land where our target species are not as prevalent. This is where I seek your assistance. If your yard is a haven for anoles, I seek permission to come and take some samples. Our approach is non-invasive to the animals' well-being, as we take only a small sample of blood and return the animal on its merry way. I ask this groups assistance for the following reasons: 1) As herp enthusiasts, you know the difference between anoles, skinks, and geckos, and can accurately tell me what you've got around. 2) During my time in the Suncoast Herp Society, you've all proved to be a most generous group of people :)

If you'd be willing to let me come collect some blood samples, please contact me at JCRicha3@mail.usf.edu or call (352) 745-0539. I look forward to your response!

My apologies to those who called and I did not pick up for. I started getting a barrage of strange numbers and had totally forgotten that it may have been for my study. If you called and I did not pick up, please call again, it would be much appreciated

Sincerely, Jason Richardson

Our 3rd annual Everglades Field Trip is scheduled for October 21-23, 2011. Because this requires hotel and rentals, we will start a sign up sheet at this upcoming meeting. A $50.00 deposit will also be required ($25.00 of that is refundable) at the time you sign up. The last chance you have to sign up will be September 21, 2011. Any room we have after that date is subject to availability.

Please note with the Everglades trip. This is not a herp collecting mission. All animals within National Everglades Park are protected and collecting them prohibited. We can look for them, photograph them, and make ourselves an annoyance, but we cannot take them.

Also, we would like to say that Suncoast Herpetological Society IS NOT liable for anything that happens on the trip. We are going to be in a place where there are wild animals, some venomous, some big, and some a little ticked, insects of a much larger proportion, most of mosquitoes, and other surprises, I'm sure.. Closer to the time of the trip, we will hand out what would be a good idea to bring, etc.

I, on behalf of the Board, would like to THANK Dennis Beeker for all that he does for the club. He is always coming up with great and new ideas.

We are now on Facebook! Please sign up at 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 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. All money donated is matched by ZooMed.

Ciao,
Carrie

Doreen's Column

Hi there~~

*****Lobstering in Islamorada was fun even though I did not catch anything. I had the misconception that they would be running all around and I had to do was scoop them up in a net. Not true. There is a lot of work involved for little return. But I do enjoy just snorkeling around the water (and being shark bait according to the captain of the boat).

*****Our Everglades trip is set for the weekend of Friday, October 21, 2011. Since we plan on having more people than last year, and we have to rent a hotel and a vehicle, we will be taking a $50 deposit. We can begin taking names and deposits, so if you are interested, bring your check book. The deadline will be September 21 with only $25 refundable if you decide not to go after that date. It was decided that if we get too big, we will break up into two groups. This was an AWESOME trip and I highly recommend it to everyone. We will be talking about it at every meeting. We have already received some deposits and I began checking the price of renting a vehicle. So please get your deposits in by this month so we can get a count because the number of people going will determine what size vehicle to rent.

*****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. We will let you know the procedure on that application as soon as we know.

*****September will be our scavenger hunt at Moccasin Lake. This is a wonderful time to explore our own backyard and slow down to notice nature. It is also good training in trying to spot things when we venture out on our herping trips. John Soto said he will bring in a presentation if we get rained out.

*****October will be show and tell. We encourage members, especially the little ones, to bring in their favorite pet and speak about ten minutes and share your experiences with us.

*****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.

*****I think our club is in an upward swing and we would love everyone of you to be a part of this excitement.

*****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:

September 8 ~~ Dennis Beeker
September 15 ~~ Van Knight
September 16 ~~ Claudia Gunther
September 17 ~~ Anthony Spikes

October 17 ~~ Michele Patton

I know we have had 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~~

SPEAKER RECAP BY CARRIE

First off, I want to thank Bill and Melissa for taping the talk for me, since I was not able to attend the meeting. I enjoyed listening to the talk, and was very much impressed by Joe's presentation, even if I couldn't see the pictures!

Joe is the director of the Florida Snake Bite Institute, an emergency registered nurse for University Community Hospital at Fletcher, works with Florida poison control as a snake bite specialist, and is a member of Southeastern Hot Herpetological Society, Wilderness Medicine Society, and the Emergency Nurse's Association. He has worked in the field for 20 years, and his first snake bite was when he was a Marine Corpsman at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. A young marine had to, uh, well "do his duty" and got bit by a pygmy rattlesnake on the rear. What a way to start a career! He has also had multiple publications in medical journals on envenomation.

Joe formed the Florida Poison Information Center in 2009 because physicians do not have a lot of training in medical school (one hour), and don't have a lot of experience in treating snake bites. The mission of FPIC is improving snake bite treatment through research and education. This includes multiple services like giving free talks in the community and at various emergency rooms and hospitals for the purpose of educating on treatment, the development and sale of snake bite treatment protocols for private collection owners, zoos, institutes, and hospitals, professional consultation with doctors for the management and treatment of snake bites, snake removal, and reptile rescue (though Joe does the last two on his own). In fact he recently did snake bite protocols for Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa.

Here are some interesting statistics on venomous snake bites. Globally, there are 2.5 million bites, with 125,000 deaths per year. Most of these deaths occur in third world countries where there isn't adequate medical care or antivenin. This is a huge number, and in fact is the number one cause of animal related deaths in the world.

Here in the United States, there is an estimated (somebody just pulled this number out of a hat in the 70's and it stuck) 7,000-8,000 bites a year. However, deaths in the United States from venomous snakes are less than ten a year. Statistics from 2009 from the American Association of Poison Control Centers reports 3,589 bites. Florida can claim 328 of those in 2009 and 304 in 2010, the 4th highest in the U.S. We do lead the nation with the most coral snake bites. North Carolina claims the highest - with 19 bites per 100,000 people. The national average is four. Pit vipers account for 98.5% of the bites, 1% for coral snake bites, and .5% for exotic venomous snakes. That number is expected to rise as more collectors get snakes from out of the country. We are fortunate to have Miami-Dade because stock the antivenin for each species. Most snake bite deaths are attributed to the Eastern and Western Diamondback Rattlesnake - with something in the venom that makes it more toxic.

Most bites occur between April and October. Of those bites, 25%-50% are "dry bites," where they don't actually inject venom. For the first defensive bite, 80% are dry. People most likely to get bit? Males between the ages of 15-30 years old. Most bites to the hand or forearms are "illegitimate," which basically means that someone was harassing a snake, most likely alcohol induced. Joe has something called the "7 T's" for getting bit: Teens, Testosterone, Tequila, Trucks (most red-necks drive them), Teasing, and the Teeth to Tattoo ratio. And the worst enemy to a snake is a Homo sapiens red-necker. (That's what he said!) And of course, these people are candidates for the Darwin Awards, or at least an honorable mention. Legitimate bites are from people walking by a snake, kids playing in the yard, etc. Most of those bites are below the knee.

There are six venomous snakes in Florida. Five of those are pit vipers. These are rattlesnakes, water moccasins, and copperheads. They are identified by a flat broad triangular head with elliptical pupils. They have a heat sensing pit between their nostril and their eyes that allows them to "see" heat signatures. While one antivenin (Crofab) is used for pit vipers, each species, and in fact, each animal has a different venom composition, but all have hemotoxic and cytotoxic properties, which causes anticoagulation and tissue destruction. Pit vipers have a sophisticated venom apparatus. They have two hypodermic needle-like hollow fangs that stretch out when the snake opens its mouth 180 degrees and bites in a stabbing motion. It only takes one fang to envenomate. They are constantly regrowing their fangs and it isn't unusual to see more than two fang marks.

The southern copperhead is found in the extreme northern part of Florida. If you think you see a copperhead down here, you are most likely seeing a juvenile water moccasin. Deaths are very rare, but the venom does cause tissue damage and necrosis. It is very common for people to lose fingers or toes with copperhead bites.

The dusky pygmy rattlesnake is the smallest rattlesnake in Florida, but it accounts for the most bites. They are small, aggressive snakes that are quick to bite. And they are found everywhere. The telltale mark of a dusky pygmy bite is that it is extremely painful. There are no reported deaths but a small child can succumb to a bite.

The water moccasin in Florida is the largest of the three species in the U.S. and they have the distinction of having the 2nd most bites in the state. They like to be near water, and let's face it, Florida has a lot of water. When defensive, they will open their mouth to expose their cotton white colored inside and rattle their tail against leaf litter. They don't have a rattle, but they do it to try and fool a predator that they are one.

Canebrake rattlesnakes are often mistaken or considered a timber rattlesnake. But in reality, they are two different species. Timbers are found more up in the northern states, while the canebrakes are southern. They also look different and have different scale patterns. Canebrake rattlesnakes not only have the hemotoxins and cytotoxins, but also neurotoxins in their venom. Crofab usually does not work and requires a massive dose. Fortunately, these snakes are not found south of Osceola National Park.

And our final pit viper in the state is the eastern diamondback rattlesnake. They are the largest venomous snakes in the United States, and they are responsible for the most deaths in the United States. Juveniles and adults look the same. Like the canebrakes, they too have some neurotoxic properties in their venom.

Venom from a bite can cause many problems. Systemic effects can cause heart, gastrointestinal, and neuromuscular difficulties. Snake bite victims are presented with progressive swelling, black and blue bruises, necrosis, hemorrhagic blood blisters, and anticoagulation. Most of these effects can be traced to an anticoagulation. What happens is the venom causes small micro-clots in your system, which your body breaks down. Eventually, all the clotting properties are used up, and you begin to bleed. The swelling, bruises, and blisters are caused by this. Incidentally, popping the blisters is not recommended. It does not relieve any pressure and can cause secondary infections. These effects can take up to 14 days to resolve. Another effect is myolysis, which is when damaged muscle cells are released and enters the bloodstream. This can cause renal failure.

The antivenin used is Crofab. It is mixed together and given through an IV. There is a standardized dosage, however, it has only been tested for mild to moderate evenomations. More severe bites may require more vials. Crofab only stays in the system for 30 hours, so there has to be two to three more maintenance doses given for it to work correctly. If the maintenance doses are not given, the venom will start working its nastiness again.

The sixth venomous snake in Florida is the eastern coral snake. And again, out of all the species of coral snakes in the U.S., we have the largest. Their venom has myotoxins and neurotoxins. You will feel numbness and a pain going up the arm. Eventually, if you do not get to a hospital soon, it can cause respiratory arrest. Instead of a classic fang mark, their bite looks more like scratches. They are front-fanged snakes and don't need to chew to envenomate a person. However, they have a poorly developed venom apparatus, are small snakes, have small mouths, and don't jump up and bite you like the pit vipers do. Forty percent of their bites are dry. Signs of having been bitten by a coral snake are scratch-like teeth marks, pain up the arm, a drop in blood pressure, neurological signs, and droopy eyes. In fact, it looks like you're drunk. If the antivenin is not received in enough time, respiratory paralysis will occur. The victim will be intubated until the half life of the venom is gone. But this means spending time flat on in an ICU for a while, from weeks to months, and can cause secondary problems like pneumonia and bed sores.

Contrary to claims, there is an ample supply of antivenin for coral snakes. Phizer has extended the expiration dates. And, if for some reason, coral snakes go on the attack and all of our supplies are used up, the Mexican counterpart has been approved as a secondary treatment.

What do you do if you get bitten? Remain calm. Panicking will only increase how fast the venom goes through your system. Loosen clothing and take off any jewelry so you do not have problems with any possible swelling, and if you can, circle the bite wound and write down the time and date that you were bitten. Most important, call 911 and get yourself to a hospital as soon as possible. DO NOT use a tourniquet. This will only pool the venom in one place and when the tourniquet is released, all the venom will go rushing into the heart, making you really sick really fast. Cutting and sucking blood will not work either, and just creates a bloody mess. Do not apply ice, as it will slow absorption and could cause an amputation. And no, electrical shocks do not work in treating a snake bite. So kindly stay away from taser guns, and do not hook yourselves up to car batteries or jumper cables. Snake bite kits and venom extractors do not work. In fact, they can cause more direct tissue damage than the snake bite itself.

There is so much more I could've talked about here, but due to space, I cannot get it all in. Thank you Joe, for your talk, and all of your invaluable information.

Michele's Musings

For my next article, I choose a reptile that is close to my heart . . . GECKOS!!! Geckos are the most amazing reptile. What fascinates me the most about geckos, are the many similarities between gecko species also each gecko species is very unique on their own.

There are many different species of geckos throughout the world. There are the bright green Day geckos that are diurnal and arboreal, to ground dwelling and nocturnal leopard geckos. The Rhacodactylus Gargoyle gecko comes from a tropical forest in New Caledonia to the Fat-tailed gecko that comes from a dry and arid habitat in West Africa. The Rhacodactylus Leachianus gecko at 14 inches long is the largest gecko species, to the smallest Saba Least gecko (Sphaerodactylus sabanus) which is just a mere 30mm from nose to tail tip. There are geckos that are strictly insectivores others dine on nectar and fruit.

At a reptile show a few years ago I happened to pass by a vendor table that had a giant leaf-tail gecko for sale. As much as I wanted to take it home, I knew nothing about the care this gecko required. Leaf-tail geckos are amazing creatures and some day I wish to have one in my collection. This is some of the research I've been working on to learn more about these cool geckos.

In this article I will use mostly the scientific names, I've found that sometimes different common names are used for the same gecko and can be confusing.

Madagascar Leaf-tail Geckos - Uroplatus Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Reptilia, Order: Squamata, Family: Gekkonidae, Sub-family: Gekkonidae, Genus: Uroplatus

Uroplatus, the Madagascar leaf-tail or flat-tail geckos are the most amazing and strange looking geckos. The Uroplatus are nocturnal and arboreal. They range in size from about 12 inches to 4 inches. Uroplatus have flat triangular heads with large eyes. Their eyes have vertical, often scalloped pupils; some have spines over their eyes giving them the "satanic" name. Their bodies and tail resembles a leaf, tree bark or twig. A fringe of skin (dermal flaps) surrounds the lower jaw and in some larger species occurs on the limbs and sides of the body. These flaps serve to break up the outline of the gecko and provide camouflage.

The larger leaf-tail geckos spend most of their time hanging vertically on tree trunks, head down resting while the smaller leaf tail geckos imitate twigs and leaves.

One interesting characteristic to Uroplatus is that they lack femoral or preanal pores that most other gecko species have. Males show an obvious thickened cloacal area that easily shows the gender. The Uroplatus fimbriatus has more teeth than any other living reptile. Their tail is also unique in that it can only break off in one piece; other geckos have tails that can break off in segments. The tails do not always regenerate. When alarmed the Uroplatus gives a loud distress call that sounds like a sharp click.

Within the Uroplatus genus there are 14 recognized species. All seem to live in primary forests on the island of Madagascar and in similar habitats on the smaller islands offshore. Below are several species that can be found in the pet trade in the United States.

Lined Leaf-tail gecko – Uroplatus lineatus
Spear-tail gecko - Uroplatus ebenaui
Satanic Geckos –Uroplatus phantasticus
Big Leaf-tail geckos – Uroplatus fimriatus
Mossy Leaf-tail gecko – Uroplatus sikorae
Frilled leaf-tail gecko – Uroplatus henkeli
Giant Leaf-tail gecko – Uroplatus fimbriatus

Care

For most of the leaf-tail geckos, tall enclosures should be used. Except for Uroplatus phantasticus and Uroplatus ebenaui, these geckos are ground dwelling and prefer to hide among leaf litter.

Natural enclosures are the best way to manage the humidity levels in the tank. Use a soft soil substrate like Eco-Earth, Bed-a-Beast or peat moss. Do not use any substrate that has perlite, even the tiniest amount can lead to impaction and death. A soil substrate along with daily misting at night helps to hold humidity. Include live or fake plants and pieces of cork bark, these geckos need to be able to camouflage themselves otherwise they will stress out.

Uroplatus are nocturnal; therefore special lighting is not needed unless you have live plants. Red bulbs or ceramic heat emitters are best since they won't disturb the day/night cycle.

For live plants Ficus benjamina is the best to use. Do not use cactus or any other live or fake plants that have sharp edges that can cause injury to the gecko.

The lineatus and Uroplatus fimbriatus geckos can be found blending into the bark of a tree trunk and can tolerate temperatures between 70 to 80F degrees; where as Uroplatus phantasticus and Uroplatus ebenaui are ground dwellers and spend most of their time among leaf litter on the forest floor and require higher humidity but cooler temperatures between 70 to 75F degrees.

In the wild the Uroplatus gecko feeds on snails, spiders, roaches, pill bugs and other insects. Sometimes the gecko will regurgitate the partially digested shell of the snail. Crickets are the most common and easier to find feeder insect for geckos.

Calcium and vitamin supplements are very important to this species. Geckos have calcium sacs behind their lower jaw; the calcium sacs will be larger in females. Generally you can see the calcium, which is white, inside the sac through the skin of the gecko. Egg-laying is a huge drain on the female gecko, proper supplementation is important for her to survive. If housed with UV lights, vitamin D3 is not needed, however if the enclosure has no UV lights you will need to include vitamin D3 in the supplements.

Uroplatus tends to have problems with too much vitamin D in the diet. Calcium supplements without vitamin D should be used about once a week. Feed these geckos once a day or every other day.

When hunting down a cricket the Leaf Tail gecko will wave its tail, my Leopard geckos also do this. This tail-waving seems to be used to distract the insect before snapping up a cricket. I've only seen my Leopard geckos use the tail wave on crickets, never on mealworms. Tail-waving is also used as communication with another gecko, male to male or female to male. I've seen my baby Leopard geckos tail-wave at each other; sometimes the tail-waving can be very elaborate and worm-like.

Breeding

Captive breeding the Uroplatus species is not as well known. These geckos tend to breed throughout the year and will lay 2 hard-shelled eggs under leaf litter. My Indo-Pacific geckos also will lay eggs throughout the year. Stopping or slowing down during the cooler winter months.

The eggs hatch best when incubated at temperatures 75 to 80F degrees, and the incubation period is usually 70 to 90 days. Babies need to be kept at warmer temperatures and higher humidity than adults. The babies can be fed the same diet as an adult, only a smaller insect that they can safely swallow.

Uroplatus geckos are not a good choice for a beginner; they require a bit more specialized care than a Leopard gecko or Crested gecko.

Threats

Madagascar is allowing less exportation of its plants and animals. Captive breeding of the Uroplatus is vital to keep this species in the pet industry and to protect the species from extinction. Due to deforestation, habitat loss and climate change the natural habitat for these geckos is in danger. Most of the geckos taken out of the wild in Madagascar are from areas that are being cut down. (Very sad)

In January of 2005 the entire Uroplatus genus was listed on the CITES appendix II, which regulates the import of the animals. Some of the species were considered for CITES appendix I, which will further limit the trade of the species. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) lists all the Uroplatus species on their "Top 10 most wanted species" list. As of 2011 all import quotas of some species of Uroplatus have been reduced to none. The average price per gecko was $50 - $100, since the CITES list, prices have nearly doubled or tripled.

For more information and to view photos on these cool Uroplatus geckos, check out these great websites.

References:
Reptiles & Amphibian Hobbyist Magazine November 2000 Issue Glades Herp Farms http://www.gherp.com Uroplatus Information Center http://www.uroplatus.net Geckos Unlimited http://www.geckosunlimited.com Fauna Import UK http://www.faunaimportuk.com Geckoholic Reptiles, LLC http://www.geckoholicreptiles.com Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://www.wikipedia.org

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Until Next Month,
Carrie

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