News Briefs

While at NARBC Tinley I spent a little time with a few vendors, one was Bryan Suson of Sundown Reptiles with his abronia and a few special monitors! It was super short because Bryan is ALWAYS a very busy guy at the show. Thanks for the time Bryan!

A few weeks ago Jon and Cindy were invited to sit down and chat all things kingsnake.com past and present with Mike Stefani and Nick Lillis. It was awesome and we had a great time!

Bryna Daykin, crew leader, is on an airboat during an American crocodile capture survey. (Photo by UF/IFAS Croc Docs) Today is International Women in Science Day and what better way to celebrate than to highlight some of the "Croc Docs" who track and research the alligators and even burmese pythons in the Everglades. The "Croc Docs" is a program through University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) carry out overnight conservation research projects that checks data on alligator populations as well as tracking invasive species.

For Pupo, a South Florida native, a career in science once felt unrealistic. Like many women in her family, she briefly considered medicine before rediscovering biology during her undergraduate years, inspired by female wildlife professors and peers who shared her passion. “I can’t imagine a more fulfilling way to spend my time than helping to conserve the environment and the fauna that taught me so much growing up,” she said in the news release.

While skin bone plates are well studied in crocodylians (shown here in a gharial, in purple), their presence in lizards and snakes has long remained poorly understood. CT data provided by Jaimi Gray (2022, UF 33421) via MorphoSource. With the horrible weather, it seems a great time to get into this study that looks at the how and why of osteoderms or the bony skin plate that many reptiles have and this awesome study gets deep into it! The original belief was that animals with the bony plated scales all had a similar ancestor, but now with modern technology that has been disproven. So what was the origin?

We found that most lizards first evolved osteoderms during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, more than 100 million years ago. At that time, some of the most iconic dinosaurs roamed the Earth, including the towering Brachiosaurus, the fierce Allosaurus, and the plate-backed Stegosaurus. The climate and ecosystems were changing rapidly, creating new challenges and opportunities. Armour may have helped lizards survive predators, cope with harsh environments, or move into new habitats.

Greg Pandelis, collections manager at the ARDRC and coauthor of the latest scientific publication on the distribution of Texas reptiles. Photo from Fox4 Rumor has it rattlesnakes are everywhere in Texas, but the reality is quite different. Recently a Western Diamondback was discovered in a garage in Denton County, Texas which is out of their normal range. They typically are found more in the drier, desert areas of Texas rather than the more forested, which is where Denton County is located. The animal is now at University of Texas at Arlington’s Amphibian and Reptile Diversity Research Center (ARDRC).

Pandelis believes the snake came from a small undetected population within Denton County rather than migrating from neighboring areas. "This is especially odd because of how common that snake generally is," Pandelis said. "It’s not something that usually eludes detection. So this specimen is very important and interesting because it will reform our understanding of not just where the species occurs in Texas, but maybe even what its habitat requirements are and what its limits are, as far as where it can occur and where it can’t. Having this individual snake preserved as a research specimen is so important because it will fill a gap in our understanding of this species and will be used in studies being done on Diamondback biology," said Pandlis.

Kingsnake is very excited to have been asked by PACNWRS to partner in supporting up and coming youth and young adults in the community.

Vending expos is complex. Especially your first one.
PACNWRS and Kingsnake are running a contest to help an up and coming youth or young adult to vend their first expo.

Lots has happened with kingsnake since October 2025

This blog will serve as a quick easy link to all updates as we build kingsnake in the public.

THANK YOU

It’s been amazing welcoming you all back to the site. We’re exceptionally grateful you spend your time with us.
We’ve now made it easier for you to get assistance when you can’t use Kingsnake to the fullest.

Build in the Public Update You now know our mission statement. Ready to see what we've been working on?? We heard you loud and clear. You want a better mobile experience from Kingsnake. This is our first and top priority. Our development team beautifully stated,

“We are rebuilding Kingsnake with a new, responsive look that displays properly on a desktop, tablet or mobile device”

Tell Hicks, doing what he did best, painting reptiles at NARBC. Photo by Cindy Steinle

The reptile community lost one of our great leaders this Friday when artist Tell Hicks passed away. Tell was always a great friend to kingsnake.com and to me.

Aldabra giant tortoise foraging for food in a forest on North Island, which is part of Aldabra – the world's second-largest coral atoll. Credit: Rich Baxter/IOTA Seychelles In 1997, North Island located in the Seychelles was purchased by private investors for ecotourism and rewilding. Today, that venture took 200 heavy steps forward as 50 Galapagos tortoises were released to the island to roam free again as they did once before. Many of the tortoises were actually pets surrendered for the joint project with Indian Ocean Tortoise Alliance (IOTA) and North Island Environment Department.

Before the tortoises left Mahé, they were microchipped for the national tortoise census and fed only native leaves to prevent the spread of invasive plant species via their droppings. They underwent two quarantines, one in Mahé and one on North Island, before taking their first steps into their new wild home. Now, every day, they walk a little farther and explore a little more. “After months of planning, seeing them walk free was incredibly rewarding,” says IOTA assistant project officer Santosh Albert.

Photo Courtesy California Academy of Sciences Starting his life on September 15, 1995 in a Louisiana swamp, Claude was quickly brought into captivity because the chances of survival as an albino animal is none. After a brief time growing up at St. Augustine Alligator Farm & Zoological Gardens, Claude became a fixture at the California Academy of Sciences building in their swamp. He also in a way became an unofficial and well beloved mascot of the whole City of San Francisco.

“As you can imagine it’s a very sad day over here,” said Jeanette Peach, Cal Academy’s acting communications director, in an email to SFGATE. “At the moment we’re not doing interviews as we don’t have more information to share yet, but once we have the findings of the necropsy and exam that is being performed at UC Davis we will be able to share more.”

Kingsnake has been under new ownership for just shy of 4 weeks and what a ride it’s been.

Jean Beasley with the Karen Beasley Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Topsail Beach holds onto Southport a juvenile Kemp's Ridley sea turtle Wednesday Sept. 20, 2006. Southport along with Carolina held by Sandy Sly as Jeanie Marasco of North East, Maryland looks on were both released back into the ocean after being rehabilitated at the hospital. KEN BLEVINS/STARNEWS

Jean Beasley, the founder of the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center, passed surrounded by loved ones at the age of 90, but she leaves a huge hole in Sea Turtle conservation. She was the director and driving force behind the rehabilition center, named after her daughter who passed from Leukemia at the age of 29/ She and her daughter originally created the Topsail Turtle Project, which protected nests and hatchlings, eventually she expanded that into work with the hospital as well as public outreach through the center. Topsail is the midway point between New York and Florida, so the facility helps many cold stunned turtles each year on their migration. To read more about this amazingly dedicated woman, click here.

Next Gen Retics podcast recently invited Jon and Cindy on to talk about all things kingsnake! We chatted about Jon buying it, a little history, what is coming in the future and more! Catch it here!