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.

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.

The Portland Opera house has a new star: an Albino Boa Constrictor.

From Oregon Live:

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.

To read the full article, click here.

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.

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.

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!

Haitian and Dominicans are bonding together to save the highly endangered Ricord's Iguana and a youth group is leading the process.

From Dominican Today:

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.

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.

From TMZ:

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!

Too bad I was already on a plane and headed home.

The folks at Jon's Jungle have the right idea. If you want to attract a crowd, bring on the girls!

Good morning from Anaheim, Calif., and the first day of the National Association of Reptile Breeders Conference!

I'll be keeping you posted throughout the weekend, but for now, here's a photo of Dr. Bryan Grieg Fry and me, in the blinding California sunshine.



I'll have more soon!

We're on the road again! I'm heading out to represent Kingsnake.com at the North American Reptiles Breeder's Conference in Anaheim, CA.

kingsnake.com will be covering NARBC live, just like we did Daytona last month. I'll be meeting up with Jeff Lemm from the San Diego Zoo as well as a pet author Liz Palika, who is very well known in dog land but also runs a reptile rescue from her home in California.

If you're there, look for me at set-up on Friday as well as at the show and auction over the rest of the weekend. Stop me and say hi!

Desiree Wong of the International Reptile Conservation Foundation and her sidekick, Xan, will also be helping with the online coverage.

You can follow us on the Kingsnake.com blog here.

We have a photo gallery made specifically for this show! Upload shots from the show while you're down there to share with everyone! You can find the NARBC Anaheim gallery here.

Be sure to "like" us on Facebook here -- we'll be updating there, too, as well as on Twitter, here.

Are you a regular Twitter user? We have started a hashtag for the event! Post from the show with #narbc to join in on the fun! Not familiar with how hashtags work? No problem! Check out this helpful link for more information.

Safe travels to all on their way to and from the show. If you see me, please stop and say hi! And don't be shocked if I ask for a photo with you!

Modern medicine isn't just for humans anymore. A Loggerhead Sea Turtle named J. George received a CT scan for free at Bon Secours Health Center to help learn why he couldnt dive.
From Pilot-Online:

"His caudal end is buoyant," said the stranding team's Christina Trapani, and Dr. George translated: "He floats with his rear end up like a crab pot marker."

Jersey George was found on a New Jersey beach Aug. 1, 2009. He had been hit by a boat propeller, resulting in three large cuts across his back and paralyzing his rear flippers.

The aquarium agreed to take him into rehab, and J. George has responded well over the past year. But periodically his rear end floats up, a problem for an air-breathing animal that must dive for food.

After 13 months of rehab, they are currently working to see if J.George will be able to be fixed and released. If he is unable to dive, he will need to remain in captivity.

The birth of rare crocodilians is a pretty exciting event, and St. Augustine Alligator Farm is having some nice rare events. TEarlier this week they had a Slender Snout Crocodile hatching, and then today they hatched the first of their Siamese Crocs. Great to see conservation in action at one of my favorite places to visit.

Now for TEH CUTES. The photo to the right is the baby hatchling Siamese Croc -- thanks to Kevin Torregrosa. The photo below is the baby Slender Snouted Croc. So very cute that they made Zooborns.

The folks in Eaton, Mich., love animals and they are taking steps to show even normal people can become extraordinary heroes.

Going above and beyond their normal daily lives, they are taking steps to ensure the wildlife affected by the oil spill gets cleaned up and a second chance. From the Lansing State Journal:

Then there's the woman known as the "Turtle Rehabber," Kay Frasher. Frasher, who works as a vet tech at the Holt Veterinarian Clinic, is licensed as an animal rehabilitator and specializes in turtles native to Michigan.

"Anytime we get turtles, they go to Kay," Sagaert said. Frasher says cleaning a turtle with Dawn liquid detergent, using cotton tipped swabs for the creases in its neck and legs, can take from 30 minutes to several hours, depending on how tarry it is. It's painstaking work that often involves a few bites, especially in the attempt to grab the turtle's head in order to clean its neck.

Frasher, though, isn't complaining. "I've really been amazed to see this come together in such a short time," she said of the large rescue site in Marshall. "I'm honored to have been called and to be here." There are countless examples of loving dedication every day at the rescue site.

To read the tales of all the rescuers, click here.

Several efforts are being launched to create refuges for the Eastern Indigo, one of the largest snakes in the United States.

First up, a congressman who gets it. For those keeping track for voting purposes, this is Congressman Jack Kingston of Savannah, GA. From the Island Packet:

The bespectacled Republican couldn't help but crack a joke about his search for the harmless indigo, one of the largest snakes in North America.

"They're so much more pleasant than the crowd in Washington," he told the TV station.
Kingston, rated by some as the most conservative member of Congress, looks like a typical guy with a wife, four children, two dogs and two cats. But what about those snakes?
"It's golf for one guy, fly fishing for somebody else, it's snakes for me," he told WMAZ.

What he was promoting and researching was Project Orianne, which is named after a little girl who loves Indigos; seriously how cool is that!

From the Orlando Sentinal:

Antonio said the Lake site provides an ideal arena for study and breeding the reptiles, allowing researchers to construct individual open-air enclosures that mirror the eastern indigo snake's natural habitat. He said the enclosures will keep the snakes in and black bear, foxes and other animals out.

"It's a species that needs to come back," said Commissioner Jennifer Hill, who studied the group's website, met with the property owners and read about the black reptile, a predator of rattlesnakes. "It's a very good snake."

The eastern indigo snake preys on frogs, lizards and small mammals but prefers to eat other snakes.

When kingsnake.com visited St. Augustine Alligator Farm, the last thing we expected was for the alligators to sing about our presence, but they did. Walking through their big pond area, we saw that the males were courting and establishing dominance. For the group of friends I was with, this was an amazing experience. My arms were covered in goosebumps from the noise. Walking above the animals, hearing the calls and feeling the bridge vibrate from those calls was one of the most beautiful things I have experienced.

Clean-up from the oil spill continues in Michigan, and even though news coverage has faded away, Fort Worth Zoo is still bringing in daily loads of animals which need care.

We have an upcoming interview with one of the rehabbers on the scene, but in the meantime, here's a quick follow up from FWDailynews.com:

The turtles need a lot of help. “Many of the turtles are covered in black, gooey oil residue,” says Smith. “It can take hours to clean a single turtle.”

After undergoing required training and donning protective Tyvek clothing, masks, and booties to avoid contact with the toxic oil residue, the zoo keepers begin the meticulous task of removing the thick layer of oil coating each turtle. Using gauze, swabs, and disposable towels, they gradually remove the tarry oil from every bit of a turtle’s body.

“It’s very tedious work,” says Smith. So far, about 370 turtles have been brought to the site for cleaning and rehabilitation. Nearly 150 turtles have been released into the Kalamazoo River upstream of the spill. Map turtles, painted turtles, softshell turtles and snapping turtles are among the species rescued.

To read the full article, click here.