Daily Reptile News

Scott Seavey gets jail time.

BRENTWOOD – A Hampstead snake dealer will be spending about four months in county jail after buying a rare, exotic snake he knew was stolen from a business rival.

Scott Seavey, 38, of Haverhill, Mass., was sentenced Friday after a Rockingham County Superior Court jury convicted him in October of receiving stolen property.

Seavey was described by prosecutors as a one-time apprentice and friend of the victim, Kevin McCurley, owner of New England Reptile Distributors in Plaistow.

The snake — an exotic Axanthic Killer Bee ball python — is among only four in the world. McCurley genetically designed the snake after 8 years of work. Its estimated value is more than $10,000.

McCurley said in court that he has had to defend his reputation in the exotic snake world in the wake of the Seavey trial, fending off accusations that he bribed witnesses and set up Seavey.

The attacks against McCurley have been happening mostly online, he said.

“I am not the bad guy. I didn’t set Scott up,” he told Judge John Lewis. “I am constantly having to explain myself over and over again.”

Assistant County Attorney Jerome Blanchard said Seavey was more culpable in the case than the man who actually took the snake from McCurley’s business on Aug. 23, 2009.

Joshua Rogoff, 29, of Haverhill, Mass., who frequented the store because his girlfriend worked there, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor theft and was sentenced to 60 days in jail.

Rogoff took the python, then sold it to Seavey for $500. The snake was recovered at Seavey’s business, CV Exotics, by police and McCurley about four days later.

Blanchard, the prosecutor, said Seavey continued to lie about the case to probation officials after his conviction, and undertook efforts to undermine his felony conviction.

Jason Brand, a witness in the case, testified on Friday that Seavey asked him to change his trial testimony hours after taking the stand and testifying for the state.

“He wanted me to recant my testimony,” Brand said.

Judge John Lewis said he was sending Seavey to jail because the jury concluded that he knew the snake was stolen when he bought it.

“What is relevant is what you have been convicted of,” Lewis said. “I am just pointing out to you that you have a right as an American citizen to say what you want, but what your crime did is create havoc in a business that’s fragile — and you really hurt him at this point.”

Gator attack victim doesn’t let bad memories pull him under

A toy alligator sits on the dash of Joe Elam’s car, a lighthearted reminder of the day 11 years ago when an 8-foot gator clamped down on his leg.

Elam doesn’t mind talking about the attack that occurred in his backyard in Rose Hill Plantation or showing the crescent scar on his calf.

He wasn’t traumatized by it. He says he doesn’t even have nightmares.

“I don’t think much about it,” he says, “until somebody reminds me every now and then.”

He still lives in the same house in front of the same small lagoon that over the years has been home to various alligators.

“They come and live in the lagoon,” he says. “They come and go.”

And he’s not disgruntled about the Rose Hill Property Owners Association after it rejected his claim on its insurance to pay for medical costs associated with the attack. He sued, and in 2000, the association settled the case, wrote him an apology and promised to be more responsive to reports of nuisance alligators. It also paid him about $50,000, though the exact amount wasn’t disclosed.

“There’s no rancor, no real hard feelings,” he says.

It was an attack that could have been prevented if Elam’s warnings that the alligator was aggressive had been heeded.

“That old alligator had been fed for years and had lost his fear of people,” Elam says.

It was a hot afternoon in June 1999. Elam was tending to his bird feeder when he heard a loud splash behind him. He looked back to see an alligator charge out of the water.

“I turned to run, and the next thing I know my leg is in his mouth.”

He was wearing sandals, shorts and a T-shirt. The alligator had his calf in its jaws, up to the knee. During the fall, Elam broke his collarbone. But he didn’t know that at the time.

Adrenaline surged.

He punched the top of its snout.

The gator hung on.

He punched its eyes, pounding repeatedly.

He called for help but no one heard.

After about a minute, one of the punches must have landed in the right place on the eye. The gator let go, and Elam managed to get to the back door of his house several yards away.

His calf was ripped and his hands were swollen to the size of softballs from hitting the gator. He called to his wife, Ginnie.

“Bring a towel and call 911,” he said.

She quickly did as he asked. She noticed his collarbone was out of place. He wasn’t panicking.

“He was very calm,” Ginnie Elam says.

A former Scout and also a Scoutmaster, Elam tended to his wound until the ambulance arrived. Sheriff’s deputies and state wildlife officials also came. The gator was shot, but by then, Elam was on his way to the emergency room at Hilton Head Hospital.

His one request to the doctor: “Get me fixed up because we’re going to Russia in a few weeks.”

He spent three days in the hospital and months in physical therapy recovering from the attack. But he and Ginnie would make the cruise to Russia, despite his limp.

He hasn’t stopped moving since.

Now 80 years old, Elam still maintains a busy schedule. Just this week, he was honored as Volunteer of the Year for the Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance and Motoring Festival.

He serves as its manager of site setup and has worked with the Concours since its inception nine years ago, says Carolyn Vanagel, festival executive director.

“He’s the guy behind the scenes that’s getting it done,” Vanagel says. “He’s the kind of guy you want on your volunteer team.”

Elam is also busy with other activities. He still goes on mission trips with First Presbyterian Church on Hilton Head Island, where he serves as an usher. He is a Boy Scout district commissioner and has worked with Scout Troop 245, based at the church. He’s a senior deacon with the Masonic Lodge. He collects model trains and toys, and he walks an hour a day — when it’s warmer.

He considers himself to be semi-retired, working as a construction estimator when he can. He’d be working more if the economy was better.

“I’m an active person,” he says.

As to the alligator, he says he has no lingering effects from the attack.

“I was fortunate,” he says. “All I have is a scar and a little pain in that shoulder” on occasion.

He’s also got a story to tell, whenever somebody reminds him every now and then.

What dinosaurs and reptiles did for mammals


New fossil analysis has highlighted two key developments in the evolution of Earth’s largest land animals. First, a burst of global warming 300 million years ago devastated tropical forests, triggering rapid evolutionary development of reptiles – and paving the way for the eventual rise of dinosaurs. Then, 235 million years later, the extinction of the dinosaurs enabled mammals to emerge from their shadow and grow spectacularly in size and diversity.

The earlier event – the intense warming near the end of the Carboniferous period – is less well known, though a study by scientists at Bristol University and Royal Holloway, University of London shows how important it was for the development of vertebrate life.

For mysterious reasons, the climate suddenly became hotter and dryer 300 million years ago, wiping out almost all the tropical forests on Earth. While amphibian populations suffered severe losses along with the forests, fossil analysis shows that reptiles – better able to adapt to dry habitats – underwent an evolutionary explosion.

The increasing reptilian diversity was a response to habitat fragmentation, the researchers say, as new species arose in the isolated fragments of surviving forest and the new arid habitats. The study appears in the journal Geology.

“It is fascinating that even in the face of devastating ecosystem collapse, animals may continue to diversify through the creation of endemic populations,” says Sarda Sahney of Bristol. “Life may not be so lucky again in the future, should the Amazon rainforest collapse.”

The extinction of the dinosaurs (successors to one reptilian line that arose after the Carboniferous forest collapse) 65 million years ago is one of the best-known episodes in geological history. Everyone has assumed that the dinos’ disappearance opened the evolutionary door to the mammals that survived the asteroid impact but only now, in an international study published in the journal Science, have researchers proved the point.

“The dinosaurs disappear and all of a sudden there is nobody else eating the vegetation,” says Jessica Theodor of the University of Calgary. As well as confirming the rapid growth in mammalian size after the dinosaurs, the study shows that the ecosystem can reset itself quickly. “You lose dinosaurs 65 million years ago, and within 25 million years the system is reset to a new maximum for the animals that are there in terms of body size. That’s a pretty short time-frame, geologically speaking,” she says.

The biggest mammal ever to walk the Earth was Indricotherium transouralicum, a herbivore that weighed about 17 tonnes. It lived in Eurasia 34 million years ago.

The Secrets of Snake and Spider Bites

LAS VEGAS – In the movies, a savvy hero saves the victim of a rattler by quickly ripping up a shirt to use as a tourniquet, then sucking the venom from the wound. In real life, forget it.

“A cell phone – that’s your snakebite kit,” said Dr. Cyrus Rangan, director of toxics epidemiology at the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services in his talk on envenomations at the meeting sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics California District 9.



The most common poisonous snake in the U.S. is the rattlesnake.

Few people suffer from severely toxic bites in the United States, but getting the treatment right is essential in these cases. “When it does happen, it’s important to know what your next move is going to be,” said Dr. Rangan, who focused on bites by rattlesnakes and spiders.

Snakes bite about 3-4 out of every 100,000 people each year in the United States. A quarter of these are “dry bites” in which no venom is released. Half result in severe morbidity. Deaths are rare.

The most common poisonous snake in the United States is the rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox and Crotalus viridis helleri). The bites usually penetrate only a few millimeters and, as a result, the damage is localized. In the rare case when the venom enters a vein, the consequences can be serious. The teeth usually leave simple puncture wounds, but sometimes they drag along the skin far enough to cause lacerations.

In women, such bites are mostly on the foot, the result of accidentally stepping on or near the snake. “Ninety percent of the time men get bitten on the hand because they’re doing something dumb,” said Dr. Rangan. He told the story of a man who kissed a rattler on the mouth – and got bitten – in two separate incidents.

Presentation includes stinging, burning pain, distal-to-proximal swelling, blebs and ecchymoses (caused by someone trying to suck out the venom), and occasional oozing from the bite site. Don’t worry about the oozing or try to treat with platelets, Dr. Rangan advised.

Patients may also experience nausea, a metallic taste, diaphoresis, paresthesia, and rarely hypotension, arrhythmias, or rhabdomyolysis. Fasciculations (muscle twitching) may occur anywhere in the body – the result of neurotoxins in the venom, said Dr. Rangan.

The venom contains enzymes that promote thrombin-like activity and fibrinolysis. Tourniquets are a mistake because it’s better to let the venom circulate rather than be concentrated in one place where it can cause necrosis. Other folk remedies that do more harm than good include extreme icing, attempting to cut away the affected tissue, burning, and even electrotherapy.

What should be done instead? Besides calling a pharmacy to make sure it has the appropriate antivenom in stock, Dr. Rangan said, appropriate first aid includes immobilizing the patient and elevating the bitten extremity above the heart.

At the hospital, he advised doctors to remove all constricting bands, continue to elevate the extremity, monitor the progression of swelling, administer tetanus prophylaxis, and take platelet and fibrinogen labs. Other labs might include CBC, CPK (creatine phosphokinase), Type+Screen in preparation for a possible blood transfusion, and PT (prothrombin time).


Dr. Cyrus Rangan

The appropriate antivenom is Crotalidae polyvalent immune Fab (CroFab), which is made by injecting sheep with the venom, then isolating the antibodies. CroFab contains intact IgG antibodies digested with papain to yield Fab fragments.

Dr. Rangan advised administering six vials in increments until the cessation of swelling and the stabilization of coagulation abnormalities. Empiric antibiotics and blood products can be considered. Anticipate and treat serum sickness. “Don’t forget pain control,” he said.

Surgical intervention is rarely needed. Some necrotic tissue debridement might be called for, but fasciotomy is rarely indicated and is the largest contributor to comorbidity, he added.

Dangerous Spiders

Dr. Rangan emphasized that the brown recluse spider (Loxosceles reclusa) is confined almost entirely to the central Southern states, and even there bites are extremely rare. Likewise, he said, tarantula (Theraphosidae) bites are mostly more painful than damaging. These spiders also can eject barbed hairs, which are generally only serious if they get into a patient’s eyes.

Black widows (Latrodectus), on the other hand, can cause major havoc. “If there is one spider you have to worry about, this is the one,” said Dr. Rangan. These bites can be fatal in small children or the frail elderly.

The bites are single needle-like puncture wounds. A quarter is dry bites that cause little harm, but 60% present with an erythematous macule, 30% with a “target” lesion, 5% with an erythema marginatum, and 5% with tiny distinct dual fang marks. “If you see a patch of sweat and a little red dot, it’s virtually pathognomonic,” said Dr. Rangan.

Symptoms begin 20 minutes to a few hours after the bite. Cramping moves quickly to the abdominal wall where it can resemble a wide range of other syndromes. Pain can be severe and may be accompanied by headache, diarrhea, diaphoresis, photophobia, dyspnea, nausea, vomiting, and agitation.

It’s important to administer the antivenom quickly. In this case, it is equine-derived, so it can cause anaphylaxis in allergic patients. A skin test is available.

Antivenom may relieve symptoms quickly, but in the meantime, you can control pain with diazepam or morphine. Calcium gluconate and methocarbamol have been used in the past for black widow bites, but Dr. Rangan advised against them.

When it doubt, he urged, call Poison Control at 800-222-1222 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            800-222-1222      end_of_the_skype_highlighting, a national hotline.

Nature Adventures co-hosts give live show at MES

Madison Elementary students were treated to a live animal show with Nature Adventures co-hosts Todd Magnuson and Terri Lawrenz Friday (today).

Magnuson and Lawrenz host Nature Adventures on South Dakota Public Broadcasting System. The weekly show that airs on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. started as a pilot program that was filmed in 2005 and sent to SD PBS. It was originally called South Dakota Wildlife Adventures.

The show is now in its third season.

Magnuson said it’s something he wanted to do, but never imagined he would be doing. Their pilot show was about rattle snakes.

“It’s the first show they wanted to air that was independently made and make a series out of,” Magnuson said.

Not only does their show air weekly on SD PBS, but they also have on-line education modules and programs accessible on the Nature Adventures website. They’ve been bringing live programs to schools in South Dakota for three years as well, with the number of school visits increasing each year.

The popularity of their program has also increased. This past year, the program was nominated for an Emmy, and Public Broadcasting channels in Minnesota, North Dakota and Nebraska are now airing the program.

The crew for their program includes Magnuson and Lawrenz as well as Rutland native Tom Orton who is director of photography and Hartford native Jeff Canfield who is assistant producer.

Lawrenz said each show features something unique.

“It’s almost a real reality show,” Magnuson said.

Nature is so unpredictable, he said, that a show they set out to film about badgers may turn into a show about something completely different.

“We want kids to be excited to go outside,” Lawrenz said.

Magnuson said everything in nature has a story from the animals to rock formations. Their goal is to share some of the things they know.

Lawrenz admits she had a real phobia of snakes when she started the show three years ago. She said that phobia was the result of her mom’s phobia. She overcame her fear, she said, through education.

“I had to feel comfortable with the snakes,” she said. The first step was touching them and then holding them.

Elementary students got to see a Ball Python, Black Rat Snake, Bullsnake, Hog-Nosed Snake and King Snake.

They also saw examples of painted turtles, a Russian Tortoise, a Bearded Dragon and another soft-shelled turtle.

Students learned that a hog-nosed snake is venomous, but its venom is only harmful to its prey (a mouse or a toad), it isn’t harmful to humans. The hog-nosed snake also plays dead to fool a predator and will imitate not only a rattle snake but also a cobra.

Magnuson shared an interesting fact about painted turtles as well. Their eggs are laid in the fall, he said, freeze in the ground through the winter, and complete incubation in the spring when they hatch.

Local sponsors for the visit were Prostrollo’s All American Auto Mall, Lake County International, Stadium Sports Bar and Grill, Bulldog Media Group, Pizza Ranch and Nicky’s Restaurant.

Residents can buy shelter pets now, pick them up later

LONGMONT — It may seem like a cute idea. A tiny kitty waiting under the tree on Christmas morning. That cherubic puppy looks irresistible with a red and green bow on its head. And an iguana is sure to elicit excited yelps from the 8-year-old budding zoo-keeper.

But experts warn against introducing new pets into a home during the hustle and bustle of the holidays.

Most homes have more activity during the holidays, and that can make it difficult for pets to acclimate to their surroundings.

“When that activity increases, that can also elevate the energy levels, and animals react very strongly to those energy levels, especially stress,” Longmont Humane Society spokeswoman Brianna Beauvait said. “They’re coming in with no idea what the rules and regulations are.”

Frustrations and anxieties also run high for owners during the season, and that can trickle down to pets. And when dogs and cats get stressed, accidents like biting and scratching increase, Beauvait said.

But that doesn’t mean people should refrain from adopting, she said. Rather, the shelter encourages people to wait until after the holidays to bring home their pets.

Beauvait suggests buying a gift basket of goodies for the new arrival to put under the Christmas tree. The shelter allows people to buy pets and house them at the humane society until after the holidays.

Rather than giving someone a reptile, Colorado Reptile Humane Society board member Margie Allison suggests the gift certificate option to allow the recipient pick out a pet. The organization gets more inquiries about gift pets this time of year but also discourages taking in new reptiles during the holidays, she said. Reptiles thrive on routine, and owners need to find the right pet for their schedules, she said.

“You don’t want to put a nocturnal animal in a room with a teenager who has the light on all night,” Allison said.

If a child desperately wants a reptile but parents know it wouldn’t be a good fit at home, she advises sponsoring a homeless reptile at the society.

Allison reminds people that reptiles, unlike dogs and cats, are wild animals forced to live in domesticity, and creating a liveable habitat for them can be difficult. A large number of reptiles die in their first year of captivity because they do not receive the proper care, she said.

Surprising someone with a pet, no matter what species, is never a good idea and can lead to those same animals being returned later.

The Longmont Humane Society requires all family members to meet with a dog before it’s adopted. For cats, a meeting must occur if the family has children younger than 12 years old. In all cases, families are encouraged to research breeds and browse the shelter’s website before choosing a pet, Beauvait said.

Reptiles have specific housing needs, including large tanks that can support the right temperature gradient, special UVB lighting and heaters. It costs no more than about $65 to adopt a reptile from the society, but supplies for its habitat can cost hundreds of dollars, Allison said.

And because reptiles aren’t cuddly and playful like mammals, younger children especially can lose interest in them quickly. The Colorado Reptile Humane Society requires new owners to be at least 18 years old or to have a responsible parent present, and adoption counselors work closely with families.

Beauvait hopes pet owners are getting the message.

Over the past three years, the number of dogs and cats relinquished to the Longmont Humane Society following the holidays has decreased. Between January and April 2008, 225 dogs were returned. This year, it was 143. Owners relinquished 300 cats during that same period in 2008, but only 129 this year.

“We like to think that the public is getting educated,” Beauvait said.

Newt to worry about for model railway enthusiasts

TRAIN lovers who feared their plans to extend a miniature railway would be derailed by a rare amphibian have newt to worry about, it has emerged.

Surrey Society of Model Engineers (SSME) earlier withdrew proposals to enlarge its track at Mill Lane, in Leatherhead, amid concerns about the possible presence of the Great Crested Newt.

But the plans are now back on track thanks to the water company that leases the land to SSME, which has proved the protected species does not reside there.

Sutton and East Surrey Water had an ecological survey carried out when proposing a pipeline route alongside Cobham Road.

Its findings that there were no such newts there mean councillors making the planning decision for SSME can forget the possible sighting of one about 12 years ago near the site of the planned track extension.

It is hoped this will lead to the councillors giving the green light to the plans to approximately double the size of the existing half-mile track.

SSME has about 50 members who mainly concentrate on their steam railways at the site close to the River Mole.

Previously home to watercress beds, the area now has ground-level and raised tracks, with a variety of different locomotives and carriages built by members.

These pass by signal boxes, a workshop, footbridge and sheds. An amenity building, turntable and shunting yard are also part of the operation.

For more than seven years the club has opened this site to the public for around 12 days a year, generally on bank holidays and weekends. It charges just £1 per ride and also opens to schools and charities.

But the society has become a victim of its own success and has found that its existing track struggles to deal with public demand at open days, member Gordon Winder said.

“More people are turning up than we can comfortably handle,” he said, and added the group then decided to extend the track.

“The aim was to run longer and more powerful trains over a longer distance,” Mr Winder said.

Non-profit making

Having got the water company on board and in agreement to lease further land, the plans looked set to steam ahead when neighbours showed support for them, many taking up an invite for a free ride.

But they hit a snag in the shape of the newt, classed as a European Protected Species.

Mr Winder added: “We have consulted very widely. There was no serious objection from the locals.

“The fly in the ointment was the possible Great Crested Newt sighting, so Surrey Wildlife Trust said we should carry out a survey. But a full ecological survey was going to cost thousands.”

This would have been too much to afford for SSME, a non-profit making club which charges for rides only to pay for coal, water and other costs.

“About 18 months ago the water company, which has been very co-operative, built a replacement water main for which they had to carry out an ecological survey,” Mr Winder added.

“They agreed we could quote from the original survey and it concluded there was no problem.

“We don’t think there are any [Great Crested Newts] there but I can’t say that because I’m not an ecologist.”

Surrey Amphibian and Reptile Group also reported finding none in a brief investigation earlier this year, and Surrey Wildlife Trust conservation officer Ken Anckorn said the survey appeared to show no problems on wildlife grounds.

“What we were doing was advising the local authority that there might be a Great Crested Newt on that site,” he said. “It’s part of normal checking.”

Mr Winder added: “All we want to build is a miniature railway. It’s not exactly a main line. It has been an exhaustive process but luckily many of our members are retired and have time.

“If we do get permission it’s going to take quite a while. It’s not something you can knock up in your back yard overnight. We are looking at between two and five years before it is in operation.”

The society’s next open days are on December 11 and 12 between 10.15am and 4pm.

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