Daily Reptile News

Toads start breeding season early

UGLY and void of friends, Queensland’s iconic cane toad is back with a vengeance this year, inviting itself into our backyards, swimming pools and pot plants.

The Fraser Coast has enjoyed a few years’ grace from large numbers of the toxic pest but recent warm, wet weather conditions have provided perfect breeding conditions.

Don Macdonald from Maryborough’s Bouganvillia Dell Nursery said this year’s summer wet season was also about to begin and if it was as wet as predicted, cane toads would reach mass proportions by January.

“You can hear them now on ponds and dams,” he said. “They have their own voice entirely.”

Cane toads call with a continuous warble, not unlike the sound of a small petrol engine running.

They produce a cocktail of highly toxic substances in their “warty” skin, which are secreted by two large glands behind the ears. The toads are harmless when left alone but their toxins are dangerous if rubbed into the skin or eyes or eaten by dogs.

Cane toads are also a threat to native wildlife, particularly animals that feed on frogs, and compete with native species for shelter and food.

However Mr Macdonald is not concerned about the pest’s latest invasion.

“It’s natural evolution – they build in numbers then disease takes on and knocks them back down again, keeping numbers under control.”

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service senior conservation officer Harry Hines said cane toads were susceptible to a fungal disease – amphibian mucor – that usually hits at the end of long, dry winters.

“But we haven’t had a long, dry winter,” he said. “The cane toads are happily eating and have started breeding early this season.

“We’re seeing a lot of juveniles, less than five centimetres, kicking around, emerging from ponds and waterways.”

Queensland Museum curator of reptiles and amphibians

Patrick Couper said cane toads bred in large numbers but the vast majority didn’t reach maturity.

“It’s a harsh world out there for small cane toads.”

Mr Macdonald said predators such as crows and magpies had developed a method of killing them.

“They make incisions under their necks and pull the tongues out.”

He also said more myths existed than facts.

“People worry they will poison their goldfish in garden ponds but toads won’t poison their own environment. I don’t think they’re as much a pest as some weeds are.

“But if dogs have been playing with toads and start frothing at the mouth, take them to a vet straight away.”

The recommended method of disposing of cane toads is to place them in plastic bags and freeze them.

Mr Macdonald said people who could easily distinguish cane toad eggs from those of native frogs could destroy the eggs before they hatched but most people should leave the eggs alone.

“They could be killing native frogs.”

Toad titbits

Cane Toads are native to North, Central and South America and were introduced to Queensland to control cane beetles, important pests in the sugar industry.

They were released in north Queensland in 1935 and now occupy an arc extending from the Yamba district of NSW to far north-western WA. Their present distribution covers around half of Queensland but is still expanding.

Female cane toads can produce as many 30,000 eggs in a season.

Snake Bites Spike in Atlanta

ATLANTA, Ga.–Cricket is an Atlanta Lab Rescue dog. Her owner, Justin Bates, gave her a second chance. Peachtree Hills veterinarian, Dr. Duffy Jones, gave her a third.

“One day she came back in favoring her leg after we let him out. Favoring turned into limping and limping turned into swelling so we knew something was up,” Bates said.

“When we tell people their dogs or cats may have been bitten by a snake, they’re surprised,” Dr. Jones said.

“We never saw a snake,” Bates said. “But we do… or we did… have a lot of Ivy.”

And that’s the key to the worst snake bite season vets across Georgia have seen in decades. The wet weather has allowed ivy and kudzu to flourish. And now, it’s Copperhead birthing season. 95% of bites in Georgia are from Copperhead snakes. “Copperheads are really good at living in urban areas. They’ve adapted very, very well,” Dr. Bates said.

Cricket became another city-dwelling dog bit by a copperhead. There’s been a spike, and now, a shortage in anti-venom.

“There is one company that makes it, and a lot of times it is in high demand,” Dr. Bates said.

A single anti-venom treatment for dogs can cost from $500 to $1,000 per treatment, and isn’t always used. It’s a different drug than the one used for humans, but some of the ingredients are the same. Since bites have been more common this year, the demand for those ingredients is higher.

Cricket’s leg swelled, the flesh started to die, and infection was on the way. Losing the leg was a real possibility.

“It took a lot of time, surgery, and changing of bandages to get to this point,” Dr. Jones said. He pointed to Cricket’s back paw. “See? We had to remove the last knuckle of his toe.”

Cricket was lucky…. again. But the conditions are right. Watch your step, or better yet: experts say clear that kudzu.

Researchers link an African lizard fossil in Africa with the Komodo dragon in Indonesia

University of Alberta researchers have unearthed a mysterious link between bones of an ancient lizard found in Africa and the biggest, baddest modern-day lizard of them all, the Komodo dragon, half a world away in Indonesia.

Biologists Alison Murray and Rob Holmes say the unique shape of the vertebrae links the 33-million-year-old African lizard fossil with its cousin the Komodo, which has only been around for some 700,000 years.

“The African fossil was found on the surface of a windswept desert,” said Holmes. “It’s definitely from the lizard genus Varanus and there are more than 50 species alive today, including Komodos and other large lizards.”

Holmes says the telltale African vertebrae fossils belonged to a lizard that was about a metre- and-a-half long whose ability to swim may be key to figuring out how more than 30 million years later its ancestors turned up on the other side of the world.

Holmes says the ancient African Varanus specimen was found on land that was once the bottom of a river or small lake. “Whether the animals lived in the water or surrounding land, we don’t know, but we do know that some modern day species of Varanus are comfortable swimming in fresh water.”

The researchers agree that fresh-water swimming wouldn’t get the African lizard all the way to Indonesia. Murray says the mystery of how the animals spread deepens when you consider ancient world geography. “From about 100 million years ago until 12 million years ago, Africa was completely isolated, surrounded by ocean, but somehow they got out of Africa during that period,” said Murray. “That’s why this paper is important because there was no known land connection.”

Murray says one unproven theory of how Varanus moved out of Africa is that over millions of years, small land masses or micro-plates may have moved from one place to another, carrying their fauna with them.

The work of the U of A researchers and various co-authors runs counter to some prevailing theories about the origins of some ancient fossil types found in Africa including Varanus lizards and some fresh-water fish. “The assumption for several types of ancient African fossils is that the animals didn’t originate in Africa but came there from Asia,” says Holmes. “But the fossil record of Varanus shows exactly the opposite path of migration.”

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The work of Murray and Holmes and various co-authors was published in the journal Palaeontology.

Woman finds snake curled around car engine

LANCASTER, Calif. (KABC) — A woman found a 9-foot snake in the undercarriage of her car Wednesday. She was parked in the lot of the Stater Brothers market in Lancaster.

The large Columbian red tail boa constrictor surprised the Lancaster family when they came out of the store around noon, walked up to their car and noticed half the body of the massive boa slithering underneath.

“We came outside from the grocery store and we seen a lady and her daughter looking at the snake and then he came around the basket and we seen it,” said Kia Brown.

Animal Control was called to collect the snake, but when they popped the hood they found it wrapped around the engine. They poured cooking oil on the thick snake hoping to loosen its hold on the engine of the car.

After a 30 minute struggle, they were finally able to pry it loose.

Boa constrictors aren’t native to the Antelope Valley and most snakes don’t roam freely in the cool fall temperatures. Experts believe the animal is likely a pet that got loose and Animal Control will keep it in custody for the time being.

“We are going to house it for 15 days, see if the owner comes to get it. If not we will put it up for adoption,” said Rachel Mendez with Animal Control.

Kia Brown said she had never seen a snake that big up close – especially seeking shelter in her car.

“I deal with snakes. That was a big snake and I have never seen a snake go inside a car,” she said.

Veteran fireman in coma after snake bite

JOHOR BARU: Veteran fireman Mohd Safa Mausor has caught hundreds of snakes in his 30 years of service, but is now fighting for his life after being bitten by a king cobra.

The 50-year-old fireman attached to the Kota Tinggi Fire and Rescue Department is in the intensive care unit of the Sultan Ismail Hospital.

Recalling the incident, colleague Subory Md Isa, 40, said he and Mohd Safa rushed to a water treatment plant in Kota Tinggi after receiving a call at 12.37pm on Nov 10.

“The 3.35m-long cobra had gone into a pipe near the staff quarters. We used salt, hot water, sulphur and insecticide to flush it out,” he said, adding that after about 20 minutes, the snake’s tail was visible.

Subory used a pole with a noose to catch the snake by its tail but it started getting aggressive and he had to let go.

“Mohd Safa then tried to distract the snake but tripped and fell.

“The snake slithered towards his face but he managed to grab it by its head and both of us overpowered it.

“We put the snake inside a bag to take it to the station,” he added.

Mohd Safa did not realise that he had been bitten until about an hour later when he felt some discomfort.

“I dropped him off at the hospital before taking the snake back to the station,” he said, adding that he was told later in the evening that Mohd Safa had slipped into a coma.

Kota Tinggi fire station chief Idris Ibrahim said a single snake bite mark was found on the right side of Mohd Safa’s leg below the knee.

Newly appointed Fire and Rescue Depart­ment director-general Datuk Wan Mohd Nor Ibrahim, who visited Mohd Safa at the hospital, said he was in critical condition.

“My men have been bitten in the past but this is the first time one of them is in a coma.” he said.

Lizards Show Evolution in Action

This video tells us about a scientific paper published last year. This paper reports about the changing interactions between fence lizards and invasive fire ants, which can kill lizards in less than one minute.

New amphibian species found

Researchers seeking frogs thought to be extinct came up empty-handed for those species but say they did find three species previously unknown to science.

A poison-secreting rocket frog species and two new toad species were discovered in a search in Colombia, the BBC reported.

The search for extinct amphibians, by Conservation International along with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, has seen expeditions mounted in 19 countries to look for 100 lost species.

So far, three “lost” species have been rediscovered — a Mexican salamander not seen since its discovery in 1941, a frog from the Ivory Coast last observed in 1967, and another frog from Democratic Republic of Congo not seen since 1979.

Scientists tempered their disappointment at not finding any examples of Colombia’s lost species with pleasure at locating three brand new ones.

A species of red-eyed toad, discovered at an altitude of 6,500 feet, evoked particular fascination.

“I have never seen a toad with such vibrant red eyes,” Robin Moore from Conservation International, who set up the rediscovery project, said. “This trait is highly unusual for amphibians, and its discovery offers us a terrific opportunity to learn more about how and why it adapted this way.”

Also found and identified were a tiny toad, less than an inch long, and a rocket frog, a member of the poison dart family, though not as poisonous as many of its cousins, researchers said.

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