Daily Reptile News

Lawn mower ends standoff with snake in Muncie

MUNCIE — A local landscaper used his mower Monday to end a standoff with a snake that had resulted in police being called to a near-downtown convenience store.

Duwayne Whitted was preparing to mow outside the BP Gas Station, 500 E. Wysor St., early Monday afternoon when he was “kind of startled” to see the snake “raise up out of the ground” as Whitted reached down to remove some trash from the lot.

A bystander called police, suggesting the snake was a cottonmouth water moccasin — North American’s only venomous water snake, according to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park Web site.

Whitted said a city police officer warned him to keep away from the snake, but then another man approached, professed to be familiar with reptiles, and said it was a harmless garter snake.

Needing to finish his work, Whitted said he brought the standoff to an end by running over the snake with his mower.

“I was going to kill it with a hoe whether it was poisonous or not,” he said.

Camden takes action on turtles

The Camden Police Department’s evidence room is stuffed with boxes of weapons, photographs, clothing and drugs.

In the city’s Bureau of Animal Control, the evidence is smaller than a silver dollar and swims to nowhere in a plastic tank with a fake palm tree.

Officers recovered four red-eared slider turtles Thursday after being thwarted once again in their hunt for the men who have reportedly been selling the reptiles on street stands here.

You see, in New Jersey, it’s illegal to sell pet turtles. In Camden, it’s illegal to even own one.

Because of those laws, the city’s animal-control officers took it seriously eight months ago when they began hearing complaints about roadside turtle sales.

Christian McGarry, acting supervisor of the city’s animal-control division, said he suspected at least two people have been purchasing the turtles in bulk from out-of-state breeders and peddling them for $10 or less.

“Apparently these turtles have now become the new pocket pets,” McGarry said. “It comes with their own cage, so what else do you need?”

McGarry and his staff of two officers checked out reported sales outside the Pathmark on Mount Ephraim Avenue; on a vacant lot off Admiral Wilson Boulevard, just before the Baird Boulevard exit; at 27th and River roads in Cramer Hill; and most recently, at Thorndyke Road and Marlton Pike in East Camden.

“Every time they get word we’re coming, they close up shop and move,” McGarry said.

An officer found four turtle cages pushed to the side of the Pathmark last Thursday, McGarry said, but everyone around claimed to know nothing about them.

Nationwide, the Food and Drug Administration banned the sale of turtle eggs and turtles smaller than 4 inches in 1975, amid concerns about the transmission of salmonella, which the reptiles can carry on their shells. But the FDA regulation makes an exception for turtles sold for scientific, educational or exhibition purposes.

New Jersey also prohibits the sale of turtles, McGarry said. The state Division of Fish and Wildlife would handle charges for breaking that law if the sellers are caught, he added. Locally, McGarry said, Camden could charge sellers for operating without a business license as well as for owning prohibited animals.

Although New Jersey law allows turtles to be kept as pets as long as they are not purchased in the state, McGarry said, Camden has its own ordinance outlining permissible pets that dates to 1978.

According to city code, residents may not have any animals other than dogs, cats, rabbits, parrots, parakeets, myna birds, love birds and other normally accepted psittacine birds. Violation of that policy could lead to fines of up to $1,000 per day per animal.

McGarry said his office has only charged about 10 people for possession of turtles during the past five years. More common, he said, are complaints about farm animals, such as chickens, sheep, goats and pigs. McGarry said he even removed a pony from a Centerville apartment several years ago.

Father furious over Army’s snake story

ST. PETERSBURG – Nearly every day, Mike Murburg listens to an old voicemail message from his son. Ehren Murburg, 20, called him from Fort Bragg in North Carolina where Ehren was finishing up his training to become a Green Beret.

In the message, his son talks about being back at the fort and preparing for the future.

“I love you and want to see you soon,” Ehren Murburg says before signing off.

The message is significant because it’s one of the last ones Private First Class Ehren Murburg left before he died. Once a Bright Futures scholar at the University of Florida, Ehren Murburg put college on hold to do something bigger with his life. He enlisted and earned a spot at the Army’s John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center.

“They broke him down and rebuilt him as a great young man,” Mike Murburg told investigative reporter Doug Smith.

Mike says his son set high goals for himself during Special Forces training and achieved all of them.

“When their physical training was over,” he recalled, “Ehren would be out there an extra 45 minutes on the obstacle course, trying to make himself a better soldier and a better human being.”

When he called his father, Ehren Murburg had just one final test ahead: a mapping exercise where soldiers are sent out alone. As an experienced hunter, he felt confident he could handle it.

“This was supposed to be a cakewalk for him,” said Mike Murburg.

On June 9, 2008, during a week of record-breaking heat, Ehren Murburg went into the woods on a 10-hour mission, but never came out. He never even tried to activate his GPS tracking beacon to call for help.

Soldiers found his body at one spot, and his backpack at another. His father went to the Hoffman Training Area to see the place his son died.

“All I could do is fall to my knees and weep to see the grass still matted from where he fell,” Mike said, fighting back his emotions. “That’s where he laid for 24 hours until they found him.”

Ehren’s family buried him without knowing exactly why he died. In September 2008, the Army had an answer. The autopsy report said: “Cause of death: snake envenomation, manner of death: accident.”

The investigation concluded that PFC Murburg was bitten on the left hand by a water moccasin. The Army captured a snake, took photos and killed it.

The autopsy report, written after the soldier’s body had already been cremated, noted “discoloration of the left hand” and “multiple bites from a venomous snake.”

Mike Murburg tried to accept the Army’s conclusions, but as months passed, the Ivy League-educated lawyer began to have his doubts and started requesting all the investigative records.

“You call it a snake-bite story?” Doug Smith asked Mike.

“Yes, it’s nothing but a snake-bite story.” Murburg replied. He knew he needed help reviewing the Army’s records, and Pinellas County Medical Examiner John Thogmartin agreed to offer his expertise.

“If you look at what’s going on, it’s probably some sort of sudden event that took over his ability to be conscious and make conscious decisions in a relatively rapid fashion, so he couldn’t activate his tracking beacon,” Dr. Thogmartin said. “And that’s not consistent with a snake bite.”

Dr. Thogmartin says if PFC Murburg would have been bitten on the hand by a snake, there would have been plenty of time for him to use his tracking beacon and signal for help. The medical examiner also says the photos don’t show any evidence of a snake bite on Murburg’s left hand.

“Even in his state of decomposition, you could probably tell that there would be something wrong with one hand verses the other hand,” said Dr. Thogmartin. “His hands look the same. They’re symmetrical.”

Congressman Bill Young, a Republican from Florida, also saw the photos, and he agrees.

“There were no bites, no puncture marks, couple of scratches,” Young said.

The congressman has been working on behalf of the Murburg family to get the Army to release all of the records to Dr. Thogmartin.

“The picture of the area that the Army finally sent to him last week showed that he dropped his pack one place, he dropped something else another place, and his body was found in a third location,” said Congressman Young. “(That) tells me that he was disoriented for some reason, either dehydration or exhaustion.”

”It could easily be heat exhaustion,” agrees Dr. Thogmartin. “The findings are consistent.”

“The exercise should have been black flagged,” said Mike Murburg. He now believes his son should never have been sent into the woods during the heat wave, and that the Army broke its own rules when it allowed the exercise to continue.

Mike Murburg contends that the Army blamed a snake, so no one’s career would be hurt. After he started asking tough questions, the Army changed its story.

The amended report says, “Cause of death: undetermined, manner of death: undetermined.”

“There’s something wrong with that,” said Congressman Bill Young. “I need to know what happened to Private Murburg to make sure that this doesn’t happen to some other soldier

going through this training course.”

Each time Mike Murburg plays Ehren’s final voicemail message, it helps him hold on to his son’s memory. The Army turned over his Ehren’s ashes and dog tags — now, what his father wants most are answers.

“Are you any closer today to knowing the truth than you were almost two years ago?” Doug Smith asked Mike Murburg.

“No answers and no apologies,” he simply replied.

The Army’s Criminal Investigation Command is looking into PFC Murburg’s death, but would not comment. A public affairs officer told FOX 13 the Army’s policy prohibits him from discussing any case until it is closed.

Snake-Bitten Dog Recovering in Virginia

Fairfax County, Va., officials are reporting an unusually high number of copperhead snake sightings and non-fatal bites to humans. In one recent incident a Clifton family said their beloved pet dog was attacked outside their home.

Ten days ago, Luke the border collie was playing in the front yard when he was bitten by a copperhead just a few feet from the front door. Luke went back inside bleeding and not putting any weight on his paw, which soon swelled to the size of a baseball.

“I might see one every six or seven years, that’s how uncommon it is,” said Raymond Van Lienden, the veterinarian that treated Luke.

Luke recovered thanks to medication. There was no anti-venom in the area.

Clifton is in rural Fairfax County. Earlier this month, a man was bitten by a copperhead in the area. He also survived, but it prompted authorities to warn county residents.

Normally, reports of snake bites and sightings don’t peak in Virginia until August through October.

There’s been no explanation for the increase in copperhead bites and sightings, but experts are urging residents to keep their lawns and property mowed since the snakes like tall grass, stay on sidewalks and park trails, supervise children at all times, and keep dogs on leashes.

While death from snake bites is rare, authorities said if you, your child or your pet is bitten, get immediate medical attention.

Louisiana Eyes New Regs for Constrictors and Venomous Snakes

A Louisiana bill that seeks to expand current licensing regulations to include certain non-indigenous and Venomous snakes could be voted on by the state Senate as early as May 26, according to United States Association of Reptile Keepers (USARK).

As written, House Bill 1354 would require any person buying, acquiring or handling any live species of native reptile or amphibian, or any live species of Venomous snake or constrictor, in the state for sale or resale to acquire a reptile and amphibian wholesale/retail dealer’s license. Current law covers native reptiles or amphibians only.

In addition, the bill would require permits for the importation and private possession of venomous snakes and constrictor snakes longer than six feet. Permits would be issued by the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Violators would be subject to fines ranging from $250 to $1,000, imprisonment or both. Violators may also have their permit revoked.

To view the proposed bill, click here to view the proposed bill.

The bill passed the House of Representatives on May 12 and now sits with the state Senate.

USARK said HB 1354 would arbitrarily make all advanced reptile hobbyists and collectors subject to regulation as a wholesale/retail dealer. According to USARK the measure would put undue financial burdens on its members and “serve absolutely no purpose other than raising money for the state.”

Large Gator Blocks Milledgeville Highway

A large alligator caused some delays for Milledgeville drivers Wednesday night.

A viewer sent 13WMAZ photos of the reptile, which blocked traffic on Gordon Highway from around 9:30 p.m. until early Thursday morning.

Danreco Tucker told 13WMAZ that the State Patrol and Department of Natural Resources were finally able to move the reptile around 1 a.m.

He estimates that the gator was 12.5 feet long and weighed about 350 pounds.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources estimates that there are 200,000 alligators in Georgia, most of them south of the Columbus-Georgia-Augusta “fall line.”

Pet Store Break-in, Thief Steals Rare Lizard

A thief knew what he was after when he broke into a St. Paul pet store over the weekend. The crook bypassed the dogs, cats, and birds and stole a rare lizard.

Store security cameras showed a man smashed through the front window at Petland and took a tree agama lizard, valued around $40.

Store manager, Daria Silvan, said she’s surprised that more expensive animals weren’t taken.

“We had two $1,200 puppies in the store so that immediately went through my mind. I was like, oh my gosh, our puppies are gone,” she said. “I never suspected a lizard.”

The man was in the store for a matter of minutes. The tape showed the thief reached in the lizard tank and placed the animal in a plastic bag. Silvan said the tree agama needs special care to survive.

“We found out it was our tree agama which broke my heart also because they are very hard to take care of. They are for the enthusiast. They aren’t for the beginner reptile keeper,” she said.

Police are looking for the lizard and the criminal that stole it.

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