Croc Attacks

The recent Palawan crocodile attack has prompted calls to curb the illegal mangrove tanbarking trade, which some say contributes to greater croc-human interaction. (News source.)

Two people were recently attacked and injured by crocodiles in Orissa, India. (News source.)

Turtle Politics in Vermont

Controversy brews as biologists disagree with the F&W commissioner's recovery plan for the eastern spiny softshell turtle. (News source.)

Coral Snake Antivenom Dwindling

Here is an article that discusses the dwindling supply of coral snake antivenom in the US (as Wyeth no longer manufactures it), and the possibility of a Mexican antivenom if the FDA would actually do something about testing it.

Florida Senator Behind Snake Ban Push

The idiot (and poorly-informed) Florida Senator behind the push to ban python imports and interstate transport is named here. Feel free to send him a note.

Colorado's Official Reptile

The western painted turtle is now Colorado's state reptile. (News source.)

SF Garter & Politics

Here's a commentary on a developer's attempt to finagle its way around its own study of a quarry's habitat potential for San Fran. garters. (News source.)

Resolution Passes in WV

The timber rattlesnake is now West Virginia's state reptile. Not that that means anything to the senator who states: "If I see one in the woods, I’ll blow its head off ... If I see one, he’s dead." (News source.)

Push for SC Turtle Regs

Turtles aren't a protected game species in South Carolina, and some conservationists are pushing for regulations, thinking the species are being exploited for the foreign food markets. (News source.)

WV Timber Status

The timber rattlesnake may become West Virginia's state reptile... (News source.)

PNG Antivenom Debacle Continues

Remarks made by a PNG pharmacy director (defending his company's sale of India antivenom for PNG species) have been ridiculed by herpetologists and toxinologists. (News source.)

Snake Charmers

Marrakesh, Morocco, snake charmers are facing calls for tourism boycotts, by a French animal rights group. The group alleges cruelty, the snake charmers claim the group is ignorant of actual practices. (News source.)

India's ban on snake charming is stirring more trouble, as native snake charmers in West Bengal (an estimated 100,000) are claimed to be on the verge of starvation, having no ration cards or voter identification cards. (News source.)

More Antivenom News

First, the Australian Broadcasting Commission will be screening a documentary on corruption and scamming in PNG, creating an illegal market for antivenom, and making it difficult to acquire legally. (News source.)

Second, the Echitab Study Group, with UK support, will be setting up an antivenom production facility in Gombe, Nigeria, with governmental approval. (News source.)

USFWS Targets Boas, Pythons, and Anacondas

You knew it was going to happen eventually. Rather than working honestly with the herpetocultural industry, the USFWS is sneaking around, trying to weasel regulations through which may very well ban pythons, boas, and anacondas as "injurious pests." Never mind, of course, that these snakes would never survive long in most areas of North America.

In their Notice of Inquiry, they start off with scare tactics: "The importation and introduction of constrictor snakes into the natural ecosystems of the United States may pose a threat to the interests of agriculture, horticulture, forestry; to the health and welfare of human beings; and to the welfare and survival of wildlife and wildlife resources in the United States." This is nothing more than unsubstantiated and groundless fear-mongering (pandering to a regional entity, the South Florida Water Management District). What has happened in the Everglades is tragic, but that is a very special case, and has no bearing on herpetoculture in Pennsylvania, Missouri, Utah, or wherever else. States are perfectly capable of dealing with this issue, if necessary, without Federal interference. (See, for example, the recent crackdown in Florida on boids, without outright bans.)

Public comment is being solicited, a legal requirement (though of course, there's been no active attempt to engage herpetoculture). We have until April 30, 2008, to make our case. They are only accepting comments through the Federal Rulemaking Portal, or you must mail a letter to:

Public Comments Processing,
Attn: RIN 1018–AV68,
Division of Policy and Directives Management,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
4401 North Fairfax Drive,
Suite 222,
Arlington, VA 22203

They will not accept comments through email or fax. You must include your full name, city, state, country, and zip code. They will be publishing all comments, which may include your personal information.

Now, they appear to be asking for comments on specific questions dealing with number of breeders and herp businesses in the country, state regulations, potential impact of native species, etc. Be aware that anti-herp groups may use this as an opportunity to make irrational charges about the potential impact of feral boids in regions where no boids could survive and breed.

Please take the time to read through the Notice of Inquiry and to make comment on these issues; you don't have to be a big snake owner to recognize this as an irrational and unnecessary response to an issue that requires a more serious approach.

CDC Report on Turtle Salmonella

The CDC is fighting back against proposals to allow turtle sales, recently releasing a report that points to turtles being responsible for illness in 33 states. (News source.)

Ohio Species of Concern List Revision

Five herps will be added to Ohio's species of concern list, if a revision is approved: smooth earth snake, smooth green snake, queen snake, ground skink, and Blanchard's cricket frog. (News source.)

Turtle Amendment Not Actually a Repeal

The amendment recently mentioned is not a repeal of the current ban on sales of small turtles, but could lead to that. Or, it could lead to the ban of all pet reptiles. No, not kidding here, and not an overstatement. The idiots who put together the amendment are pushing to place all pet reptiles on equal footing, which might just give the ammunition that anti-reptile groups need to stop American herpetoculture if the industry doesn't do something about it soon. They're betting everything on the salmonella-free turtes, which is fine for turtle farmers, but they shouldn't be screwing around with the rest of the reptile trade. From the Natchez Democrat:

"The U.S. Senate recently passed a farm bill with the 'Domestic Pet Turtle Equality Act' attached, which will either open the market to pet turtle sales or close the market to all reptile pet sales.
"The amendment to the farm bill was added in the Senate, however, and a joint House-Senate committee has to work out a final version of the farm bill to send to the president for signing.
"If the amendment survives the committee and the president signs the bill, within 60 days the Food and Drug Administration will be required to test all of the salmonella-related pets on the market.
"If pet turtles test within a 10 percent prevalence of salmonella among the other animals, the Secretary of Agriculture will have to conduct a study about how turtles can be sold safely as pets.
"Once that study is competed, the Secretary of Agriculture has only two options, to either lift the turtle ban or to ban the sale of other salmonella-related animals."

MD Herp Law Changes

Maryland DNR is planning some changes to the herp regs, adding 6 more turtle species to the regulated species list, with a few other herp species receiving increased protection. (News source.)

State Reptile for Colorado Coming?

Students are trying to get the western painted turtle appointed as Colorado's State Reptile. (News source.)

Red-Bellied Turtles

A state-threatened turtle in Pennsylvania, the red-bellied turtle, may hold up construction work on a new casino. (News source.)

Turtle Amendment Passed?

I haven't really kept up on this, but the Natchez Democrat is reporting that the recently passed Farm, Nutrition and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (H.R. 2419) included an amendment repealing the small turtle sales ban (though noting there may be an effort to repeal the repeal). Turtle farms now process eggs to eradicate Salmonella (or some do, anyway; I'd like to see confirmation that all turtle farms do this). The process goes:

"Once the turtles start to lay their eggs on the levees around the turtle ponds, the eggs are gathered daily, and all dirt is removed from the eggs before they are soaked for 10 minutes in a water and Clorox solution.
"After that, they are cleaned in a commercial washer.
"'We run them through an egg washer manufactured for chicken eggs,' Evans said.
"Once washed, the eggs are placed in a special vacuum tank to eradicate any salmonella. After that, they are placed in incubation trays until they hatch, at which time a state veterinarian certifies they are salmonella free."

[Note: Here is the amendment in question, the Domestic Pet Turtle Equality Act.]

Mountain Yellow-Legged Frogs

A small population of mountain yellow-legged frogs in the San Gabriel Mountains (California), and less than 100 are believed to remain in the wild. Regulations set up by the Forest Service to protect the surrounding habitat are coming into contention with climbers who want to cross the area to reach a popular crag. (News source.)

OH: Bullfrog vs Salamander

Some students in Ohio are trying to push the Bullfrog candidate for state amphibian now that the Spotted Salamander has gained some political progress. (News source.) Seriously, how dumb are the teachers who are pushing for the bullfrog vote just to "get students involved"? If you're going to name a state amphibian, let it be imaginative, interesting, and worthy of the name. (For that matter, the spotted salamander is a bit mundane also, but it's at least a common emblem in various Ohio wildlife or wetlands groups.)

Jollyville Salamander

The USFWS agrees that the Jollyville Plateau salamander deserves protection, but it has to wait in line. (News source.)

Ohio's Amphibian

The spotted salamander was approved by the state senate as Ohio's state amphibian; it now has to pass the House. (News source.)

Queensland Rules

Queensland has released a new set of laws regarding crocodiles in that Australian state. (News source.)

Texas Debacle

Corpus Christi Animal Control screwed up and killed a couple of snakes they apparently didn't know how to care for. 19 snakes and lizards were confiscated because two of the reptiles were larger than city ordinances allow. A judge has recently ordered the reptiles returned, to be kept by a friend of the owner's in another town where they are legal. But, Animal Control had already allowed a couple of the snakes to die and another has disappeared. (News source.)

Misc Herp News

A South African man was charged with possession of a python, which he was using for healing purposes. (News source.)

The Iowa state director for political candidate Mike Huckabee is a snake enthusiast. (News source.)

Two American crocs have been confirmed in the Sans Soucí port region, Dominican Republic, concerning the locals. (News source.)

Here is a profile on a luxury resort in Oman with beaches used by nesting sea turtles.

Here is a profile on a gila monster that had to be x-rayed, and the steps taken to do so safely.

Hoekstra Hates Turtles

I guess it's good publicity, and they're a safe target; it's not like the turtles are going to march against him or anything. A Michigan congressman has started railing about $318,000 spent by MDOT to create turtle barriers along stretches with high turtle mortality. (The funds are specifically given for road enhancement and safety by the Feds, not general roadwork. There are a fair number of accidents caused by turtles crossing roads, btw.) Here's a clue: if you want to clean up Michigan and its lousy employment rate, start somewhere that's going to actually going to help solve the problem. The good congressman is just using turtles for a hand-waving demonstration (News source.)

State Amphibian

A Middle School campaign is pushing to make the spotted salamander the state amphibian for Ohio. (News source.)

Croc Confiscation

There's an interesting article here, discussing a reporter's attempt to get back a crocodile tooth souvenir confiscated by NZ customs, after having thought he had done everything necessary to ascertain its CITES legality. (News source.)

Two Gators Killed

North Carolina officials killed two small alligators found in the northwest part of the state, where native populations are unknown. They did this in spite of arguments made by a wildlife rehabilitator that he could find a home for one. The NC officials' arguments were 1) the animals couldn't be released into the wild due to possibility of disease or because they may have been "domesticated," 2) the "normal" alligator rescues were full, and 3) they didn't want people to think that releasing exotic animals into the wild would result in their rescue and future care.

Of course, a) there are several alligator rescues, not all of which are "full," and are still accepting rescues or can locate a home for crocodilians, b) when an exotic is released into the wild, the exotic is a victim, not a perpetrator, and if a legal home can be located in a reasonable amount of time, it is irresponsible for the officials to destroy the animals to "make a point," particularly one that isn't very logical.

Snake Breeder Sues

A Mapleton, UT, snake breeder who was forced to move is suing the city for damages (the move upset the breeding cycles, etc.). (News source.)

PA: Toad Halts Road

Spadefoot toads, rare in Pennsylvania, have killed a road project due to concerns over a Northumberland County wetlands where they have been found. (News source)

Ohio: Salamander Protest

A Cincinnati-area plot of forested wetlands next to a nature preserve has been bought to be developed into a drag strip. Members of the local herp society note that as many as 18 species of amphibians and reptiles, including the marbled salamander, have been found in the wetlands. They argue that development could lead to hydrological changes detrimental to the wetlands. (News source.)

Snake Fears lead to Tragedy

A 5-year-old boy was killed by a stray bullet when Noble, Oklahoma, police shot at a snake lodged in a neighbor's birdhouse.

From NewsOK: "Police had gotten a call of a snake complaint from a woman on Crest Lane, whose 16-year-old daughter saw the snake hanging about 3 feet of its body outside a neighbor's bird house on Friday. The woman, who would not identify herself, told The Oklahoman she called the police station to see if animal control could respond and take care of the snake, which she believed to be a diamondback rattlesnake. She was told that the city, which lost its only animal control officer recently, would send a police officer over to help."

The snake's identity appears to be confused. From the Norman (OK) Transcript: "The officer, whose name has not been released by the Noble police department, was responding to a call sometime around 8 p.m. about a snake trapped in a birdhouse. The animal is believed to have been a 'cotton mouth' or 'water moccasin' — a poisonous water snake."

Of course, anyone remotely familiar with snakes will recognize that the snake in question, just from its behavior, was far more likely to have been a nonvenomous species, probably a large ratsnake. It certainly wasn't a "water moccasin." (I might email a journalist just to see whether they can dig up the exact species.) Why, exactly, isn't basic snake identification taught to law enforcement? There aren't that many species to distinguish in most regions. The snake should have just been left alone to begin with.

Snakebite Policy

India is initiating a national policy designed to prevent deaths from delayed treatment for snakebite, as well as making antivenom more available to rural districts. (News source.)

Croc Hunter Challenges Preserve

An Australian crocodile hunter and taxidermist has challenged the government funded crocodile preserve in North Queensland being named in honor of Steve Irwin, claiming that it will hurt the commercial crocodile industry. He has challenged the Irwin family to a debate on crocodiles in that country. (News source.)

Politics and Salties

Whether the North Queensland saltwater crocodile populations are booming or not is the controversy creating sparring between the Environmental Ministry and other politicians. An in-house croc survey only fueled the fighting. (News source.)

Snake Farm Phobia

A Mapleton, UT, snake farm (primarily ball pythons and boas) has been attacked by neighbors who think it will lower property values, despite an independent auditor's report that suggests far less of an impact. (News source.)

CDC and Turtle-Based Salmonella

The CDC has released a report describing 22 cases of turtle-based salmonellosis in 2006 and 2007. One case involved the fatality of a three-week-old child. Interestingly, the report comes out while an attempt is being made by some legislators to lift the CDC ban on small turtle sales. (News source.)

Salamander Blocks Road

A road planned in south Kitchener, Ontario, has been held up when surveys found a threatened salamander that officials refused to identify. They will assess the impact of the road before moving forward. The newspaper dug up reports that noted Jefferson salamanders being found in the area, which are threatened in Ontario. (News source.)

Washington State Amphibian Upsets Editor

The approval of the Pacific chorus frog as State Amphibian of Washington state has upset one Washington state newspaper editor. He thinks such nominations are a waste of legislative time. Such nominations, of course, are routinely sponsored by school children (as was the Pacific chorus frog) to introduce them to and establish their interest in the political system. (News source.)

Georgia Turtle Mess

A Lawrenceville, GA, man claims he was working in cooperation with a USFWS officer when he purchased 12 baby map turtles from a Georgia DNR officer. Court documents showed that Steve Santhuff had worked in the past with USFWS as a confidential informant to the black market turtle trade. Santhuff reported this sale to federal officers and the state attorney general's office. The Georgia DNR officer then used this sale to seize Santhuff's large private collection of turtles, for which Santhuff has legal documentation. (USFWS apparently used this opportunity to award the DNR officer with a "conservation" award.) The turtles in Santhuff's collection were taken to a fish hatchery in July 2005. Since then, Santhuff claims that 200 have died from miscare. A GA wildlife biologists, Thomas Floyd, states that "only" 25% of the turtles have died. (So that's what, 125 rather than 200? Way to go...) Floyd also points out that with 350 turtles, "It's fairly obvious to connect the dots there that it's beyond a hobby." Right. Hobbyists should only be allowed to keep one or two reptiles. The take-home message? Stay out of Georgia. Santhuff has a few lawsuits in the works, to get back his turtles (that are still alive) and for compensation. (News source.)

Missouri and Box Turtles

Missouri has added the three-toed box turtle as the state reptile, along with the crayfish as the state invertebrate. (News source.)

Pine Snake and Development

New Jersey housing development opponents have discovered the presence of northern pine snakes near a potential development site, and are trying to use that in their fight. (News source.)

Gopher Tortoises

Developers of a mall in Florida are planning to move gopher tortoises out of the way, while a group of mall opponents is fighting the move. (News source.)

Texas Blind Salamander Rejected

The Texas Blind Salamander was nominated as Texas' state amphibian, but effectively vetoed by the Governor, who claimed it had too limited a range to represent an entire state. A director for the San Marcos River Foundation jumped on this decision, claiming it was consistent with the Governor's actions (wanting to raise pumping caps due to drought conditions), stating that those would affect the salamander's habitat. (News source.)

Bill to Lift Ban on Baby Turtles

NPR's Morning Edition reviews the bill seeking to lift the ban on sales of baby turtles in the US. Includes mention of the process some turtle farmers are using to minimize salmonella.

King Cobra Study Halted

India's Karnataka Forest Department has withdrawn permission for renowned herpetologist Romulus Whitaker to continue his study of king cobras in their natural habitat, apparently due to political maneuvering by a former employee with a grudge. No official charges have been made, but the innuendo encouraged animal rights-activist MP Maneka Gandhi to solicit an inquiry. Whitaker is well-known for having started a conservationist snake park and crocodile bank in Chennai. (News source.)

Herp Society versus Fourth Graders

A group of fourth-graders has nominated the bullfrog as the state amphibian of North Carolina. Members of the NC Herpetological Society, however, disagree with the choice because it is not particularly unique to the state, and has already been chosen as a state symbol by several other states. Legislators are divided, some noting that several lesser-known species nominated by the NCHS are only found in certain parts of the state. (News source.)