Daily Reptile News

Reptiles and amphibians to be discussed at Trailside Nature & Science Center

MOUNTAINSIDE — The world of reptiles and amphibians will be the subject of discussion at Trailside Nature & Science Center in Mountainside on Thursday, March 25, from 7 to 8 p.m. Sponsored by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Department of Parks and Community Renewal, this program for adults 18 years of age and older will feature the work of Jonathan Kolby, research biologist and avid photographer.

Kolby will chronicle his years of studying the beauty of reptiles and amphibians, their homes and the importance of protecting these creatures. He will explain why amphibians are an important component of the global ecosystem as indicators of environmental health and contributors to human health. Honored by the National Geographic Society for rediscovering a frog species in Honduras that was thought to be extinct, Kolby also will help us understand why there is a drastic decline in amphibian populations worldwide.

“Jonathan Kolby’s engaging images reignite our interest in natural wonders that often go unnoticed in our fast-paced world,” said Freeholder Chairman Daniel P. Sullivan. “His photographs give us a new appreciation for these beautiful creatures and their habitat.”

The fee for this program is $5 per person. Pre-registration is not required. For additional information about this program or about upcoming programs and special events at Trailside, please call 908-789-3670 or visit the web at ucnj.org/trailside. Trailside Nature and Science Center is located at 452 New Providence Road in Mountainside and is a service of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

Snake slaying was improper, wildlife officials say

A man who helped kill a Burmese python in front of journalists at a Hallandale Beach processing plant broke the rules governing the hunting of the non-native snakes in the Everglades, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Josh Zarmati, a Miami snake breeder, was one of several licensed snake dealers allowed by the state to kill pythons in the Everglades. But under the rules, he was required to either kill the python where it was found or bring it to a veterinarian or research facility, said Scott Hardin, the agency’s exotic species coordinator.

Instead, Zarmati brought two pythons last week to All American Gator in Hallandale Beach and held one down while the company’s president, Brian Wood, whacked off its head with a hatchet. The top four inches of the snake continued to writhe, the mouth opening and closing, until Wood smashed it several times with the hatchet’s blunt end. An account appeared in Wednesday’s Sun-Sentinel.

The Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, based in Fort Lauderdale, e-mailed the state wildlife commission Wednesday asking if this was the proper procedure. The agency contacted Zarmati and told him to follow the rules next time.

“They didn’t want any of the animals — because of the animal rights groups and PETA — to be killed on camera,” Zarmati said. “I kind of got into a little bit of trouble.”

Although the state had begun a special Burmese python hunt in the Everglades last week, Zarmati was not participating in that but had been catching pythons as one of several snake experts who had a special permit.

Euthanasia guidelines from the American Veterinary Medical Association say decapitation is not adequate for snakes and other reptiles because death may not be immediate.

Stephanie Bell, cruelty case manager for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said best method, is to stun the snake or pithe it, that is, scramble its brain immediately with a metal tool. She said Wood did the right thing by whacking it on the head to put it out of its misery.

Zoo to help grow snake population in Lake County


The Lake County Forest Preserve District has contracted with the Lincoln Park Zoo to develop a program to recover, breed and repopulate the smooth green snake.

The Lake County Forest Preserve District will be assisting another slithering critter this season.

Biologists will be counting smooth green snakes on forest preserve property, and hope to capture pregnant females, as part of a two-year program to boost their numbers in the wild.

“It’s not quite on the threatened or endangered list but there is a definite decline,” explained Gary Glowacki, a wildlife biologist with the forest preserve district.

Ranging from about 14 to 26 inches in length, the smooth green snake is the distinct bright green color of healthy grass and has a white belly tinged with yellow. Small populations have been found in a few scattered sites in grassland areas.

The forest preserve district has purchased and restored a significant amount of land with areas perfect for the snake, but the population won’t be able to rebound without help.

To that end, the forest preserve board of commissioners on Tuesday approved a $49,500 contract with Lincoln Park Zoo for the development of a species recovery program to include captive breeding and a plan to supplement and/or reintroduce the snake into suitable areas.

The cost will be covered by a grant from a charitable organization that wishes to remain anonymous. The zoo will provide about $23,000 in in-kind services, such as computer modeling, captive breeding and other expertise.

The goal this year is to determine how many smooth green snakes can safely be removed from the wild for breeding or relocation.

Those found this year will be marked and released, although pregnant females will be collected and kept at the zoo, where they will have a better chance of survival. Any offspring will become the base for a new population to be placed in restored areas.

“We get more value out of the new animals than we would if they were left in the wild,” said Joanne Earnhardt, director of the Alexander Center for Applied Population Biology at Lincoln Park Zoo.

The effort is the third in recent years for the forest preserve district involving snakes, which contribute to the ecological integrity and diversity of forest preserve land.

“We’re kind of at the northern range of several snake species,” Glowacki said. “As conditions change and things urbanize, we’re kind of the front lines of species becoming more rare.”

Last fall, Glowacki, who has an avowed interest in snakes, oversaw the construction of a new subterranean home (actually two pieces of concrete septic tank) for the western fox snake.

Its winter home had been cleared for a development and was replaced in an attempt to keep the colony from dwindling.

Glowacki also is a member of the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake Recovery Team, which since 2006 has been searching in northeastern Illinois for the once-prevalent species that is now in danger of disappearing altogether.

That effort may be 15 or 20 years too late, says Glowacki, which is why action is needed now for species like the smooth green.

“It’s much more effective to work on the conservation now. We have a window here to do some good,” he said

Hunt for new, old species of lizards is on in Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles County Natural History Museum is conducting a hunt for the “Lost Lizards of Los Angeles,” which they describe as “an unusual wildlife safari” to be conducted in backyards across the county.
Although the lizard census doesn’t officially start until late spring, the weekend prior to the first day of spring on Mar. 20, a group of about 20 local amphibian experts gathered at Exposition Park in south Los Angeles on a salamander hunt, according to Brian Brown, curator of entomology at the Natural History Museum.
This isn’t the first time the hunt has been on for lizards in Los Angeles County. One search was conducted 76 years ago. Scientists believe there are roughly 4,675 lizard species worldwide, but how many reside in Southern California is an unknown.
To date, there is no record of lizards having been found in Exposition Park, Brown said, and the question for scientists is “why?‘ The hope is the Lost Lizard hunt may answer that question, as well as come up any unaccounted for species, which Brown said there is a good chance of happening.
“The chance of finding a new species here is the same as in a rain forest. Our own backyards in some way are just as unknown as some remote jungle,” he said.
If there are new species, Brown and others think there is a good chance that any lizards new to the area or new breeds will be unearthed by the volunteers who are conducting the search for the Lost Lizards of Los Angeles survey.

Python on mend after tricky operation

T was an operation like no other: a python with a broken back, a vet on her first snake surgery and a reptile expert called in to help manage the patient.

The unusual scenario unfolded on Monday night when an almost 3m python was brought to Northside Vet Surgery in Smithfield with a broken spine.


Clinic owner Sheila Gadaloff had never treated a snake and called an expert in Sydney who coached her through the operation over the phone.

“I’ve never treated a snake,” she said.

“The only scary thing was putting a tube down its throat to anesthetise it.

“We gave the snake a shot of antibiotics and pain relief and it remained on oxygen through the whole operation.”

Ms Gadaloff wrapped a 30cm fibreglass splint around the snake’s injured back while securing it with a special vet wrap which acts like a cast.

The python was bought in by a Clifton Beach resident who accidentally injured the snake’s back while trying to remove it from a chicken pen.

DuPont Nature Center to host March 20 program on amphibians and reptiles

Milford, Del. —

The DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion Harbor Reserve will host a special program about amphibians and reptiles, “Living with Cold Blood,” at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 20.

The program is offered free of charge with no pre-registration required.

In the 90-minute program, educator and center volunteer Nick McLaughlin will share fascinating facts about amphibians and reptiles, including how they survive the winter. He will also be bringing a variety of live animals, from tree frogs to a de-venomed copperhead snake to allow participants a close-up look at some of these unique creatures.

Perched on the edge of Mispillion Harbor at the intersection of the mouths of the Mispillion River and Cedar Creek, the center is a Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife facility that offers interactive exhibits, school tours and educational programs.

In the spring, its location offers wildlife watchers a front-row seat for the spring spectacle of spawning horseshoe crabs and migrating shorebirds including the red knot that depend on horseshoe crab eggs to help fuel their 9,000-mile journey.

The center is located at 2992 Lighthouse Road, east of Milford. Spring hours through April 30 are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Admission is free and open to the public.

For more information about the DuPont Nature Center and its programs, please call 302-422-1329, or visit

Some exotic animals have defenders at hearing

Old Lyme – The lengthy list of exotic animals the state is considering banning as pets includes several that should be allowed and are not necessarily dangerous, exotic pet owners said Tuesday at a state Department of Environmental Protection forum on draft regulations that would make the import and private ownership of many types of wild animals illegal.

Among the exotic pets cited by attendees as not necessarily dangerous were wallabies, some types of pythons and some but not all types of anaconda.

The DEP will use the comments from this forum and two others to revise the proposed rules before a final version is submitted to the state legislature for consideration, Rick Jacobs, acting director of the DEP’s Wildlife Division, told the 20 people in attendance.

The rules were written after the highly publicized attack by a pet chimpanzee on a woman in Stamford highlighted the need to clarify and tighten state laws regarding possession of wild animals considered dangerous to humans, native wildlife and agriculture. Possession of chimpanzees and other primates was banned last year, joining wild dogs, bears and wild felines.

The new list of animals that would be banned includes: wild boar and warthog; hippopotamus; alligators; several types of poisonous snakes; Gila monsters; Komodo dragons and crocodile monitors, among many others. Exceptions would be made for licensed animal exhibitors, zoos, nature centers and other professional animal handlers.

One speaker, who identified himself only as Jonathan from West Hartford, said some of the animals on the list, such as the reticulated python “are far less dangerous than animals considered domestic.”

Because it was a forum and not a public hearing, the DEP did not require speakers to give their full names.

“It is a large snake, and it can be dangerous to people, but no more than your neighbor’s dog,” the West Hartford man said. “There are lots of people who own some of the reptiles on this list.”

Allison Sloane of Deep River took issue with banning all the types of pythons and anacondas on the list.

“I’ve owned several, and if handled correctly” they are good pets, she said. Her yellow anaconda, for example, curls up next to her as she watches television, she said. She added that she has taken in and cared for several reptiles others acquired as pets and were unable to care for.

Several speakers suggested current owners of animals that would be banned should able to legally keep them with a grandfather clause, but Priscilla Feral, president of Friends of Animals in Darien, disagreed. She called on the DEP to evaluate the living conditions of some of these animals before they are given permission to keep them.

The DEP will receive written comments through March 31 at: jenny.dickson@ct.gov. For information, visit: www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?Q=456710&;A=3847

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