Daily Reptile News

Category Archives: Turtles

Animals After Dark live show

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Animals After Dark is an afternoon and evening extravaganza starring Brian Barczyk, owner of BHB Enterprises and SnakeBytesTV, and also starring Jim Nesci, owner of Cold Blooded Creatures, along with his trained 8 foot alligator Bubba. The Chicago Pet Sales and Educational Expo is proudly bringing you this event on Saturday, January 15, 2011 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM or 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM at the Round Lake Beach Cultural & Civic Center, located at 2007 Civic Center Way, Round Lake Beach, IL 60073. You will be glued to your seat as Jim Nesci walks out on stage with Bubba, his trained 8 foot alligator and other amazing reptiles! Then you will jump out of your seat with excitement as you watch Brian Barczyk perform with his SnakeBytesTV crew live! Tickets are only $15 each and $10 for children under 10 for the full night of events! Children under 3 are free.

S373 is dead!

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USARK Victorious in Close of 111th Congress
The 111th Congress has come to and end! And with it three federal bills have fallen to the titanic efforts of USARK and the Reptile Nation. As you know USARK engineered an 11th hour campaign to keep those who would destroy our young industry from adding S373, aka ‘The Python Ban’, to a large Natural Resources omnibus put together by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Senator Harry Reid (D-NV). Although much pressure was applied by the Defenders of Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy and the Humane Society of the United States, USARK was able to block the addition of S373 to this massive bill.
As originally written S373 and its US House companion bill HR2811, collectively known as ‘The Python Ban’, would have added all 47 species of Python to the Injurious Wildlife list of the Lacey Act. USARK successfully engaged both bills at the staff and member levels. Both bills were subsequently amended and no longer identical making them more difficult to reconcile. Even though both bills passed out of their respective committees USARK was able to block several attempts at a vote to pass them.
Also, HR669 the ‘‘Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act’’ if passed would have banned most non-native animals in the USA. The bill was written largely to reflect the view of the Defenders of Wildlife and would have set up a “white list”, guilty until proven innocent approach to screening non-native animals. If the bill had passed it would have devastated Herpetoculture, Aquaculture, pets and exotic animals. USARK spearheaded the largest grassroots effort in more than 30 years generating almost 50,000 written letters opposing HR669. The pet industry and exotic animal interests contributed to the monumental grass roots effort. USARK led the charge that stopped HR669 in committee.
Now with the close of the 111th Congress all three threats to the Reptile Nation have been defeated. S373, HR2811 and HR669 are all dead! Andrew Wyatt, President of USARK, said, “I can’t think of a better present to give the Reptile Nation for Christmas!” But Wyatt added, “Although we have a great victory for Christmas we still have to deal with the Rulemaking at US FWS that would do the same thing as S373 & HR2811. And don’t be surprised if Defenders of Wildlife tries to introduce a bill in the Senate similar to HR669 in early 2011…”
So the fight will continue, but today we celebrate a great victory for the Reptile Nation! We now have the tools, experience and voice to mount effective strategies to protect our own interests.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays & Happy New Year from USARK!

Huge 100 pound African tortoise found roaming Arizona desert

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Tortoises native to the Arizona desert rarely grow in excess of about 15 pounds, so imagine the surprise of officials with the Arizona Game and Fish Department when they recently came across a huge 100 pound tortoise living comfortably in the Sonoran Desert.

Probably kept as an exotic pet and released into the Arizona wild by its careless handler, the behemoth reptile was an African spurred tortoise, according to Wildlife Extra News.
“Finding an exotic tortoise this size inhabiting the Sonoran Desert is a reminder of how important it is not to release any exotic species into the wild,” said Cristina Jones of the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
Because they are native to the southern edge of the Sahara desert, these giant tortoises are right at home in the similar environment of the Arizona desert. But like many invasive species, their introduction can pose a serious threat to native species.
“Due to their immense size, while defending its territory an African spurred tortoise could easily injure a native desert tortoise,” said Jones.
The African spurred tortoise can grow to a massive 150 pounds, which actually makes it the largest mainland tortoise species in the world. By comparison, Arizona’s principal native species only grows to about 15 pounds, so needless to say, the native species wouldn’t stand a chance in a battle over territory. Furthermore, the African tortoise can radically alter the landscape where it lives. This tortoise had already established itself long enough to build two burrows, including one that was 9 feet deep.
“When people purchase these tortoises they are about the size of a silver dollar, yet they can grow to more than 150 pounds,” Jones said. “These exotic tortoises are long lived and because of their propensity to dig long, deep burrows, they can be extremely difficult to contain.”
Finding just one African spurred tortoise in the Arizona wild might be strange enough, but this was actually the second one found this year. Officials urge that pet owners understand what they are getting themselves into when they purchase an exotic pet, and to always avoid releasing any exotic animal into a non-native habitat.
Original story

http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/pets-animals/stories/huge-100-pound-african-tortoise-found-roaming-arizona-desert

Daily Reptile News Announcement

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Daily Reptile News

Ok so by now I think pretty much everyone has heard the announcement. I know I have communicated with several people about it in the last 12 hours. Here is the bottom line, just to lay it out there if I dont figure out a way to at the very least pay the cable bill “internet” next month that DRN in its entirety will be gone for good. Because I own my web server if the connection to the house is cut that means the website will be gone, the ability to update it and upload the show will be gone as well. A had a few fail safes just in case but unfortunately my server is fairly advanced and the backup servers at other locations are not. That being said my fail safe was to move the entire site to one of these other servers for free and host it there until I could figure things out,. As I said though they are far from run of the mill and the site will NOT function on them.

It pains me to see the project that I have been working on for 12 months now start crumbling apart. Making the decision I made to back off on it was in my eyes the ONLY way to try to save even part of it. Most of you know I own a business. While this business is not doing very well right now it is still making money. My hope is that by backing off from DRN and focusing on this business I not only will be able to put more time into it to raise revenue but it will be what not only saves DRN but also saves my house.

When I lost my job I did not see it as a bad thing. At that time I was doing DRN for about 10 months and things were almost growing faster than I could keep up. We were starting to become a driving force, things were happening not because we worked for it to happen persay but because we just picked up the phone and asked for them to happen. People were jumping on board left and right not because of what we were doing or how we were doing it but just because we were doing good. I digress though. I saw loosing my job as a great thing. I could not take 2 things I had a passion for “Reptiles and filming” and make a career out of them. I intensified the work I was doing, taking advantage of every opportunity I could I had to do it, I could not see going back into a career that I did not like.

Now after all this time I look at the following that has been created and still cant believe the did as well as it has but unfortunately things have not worked out the way they were suppose to. I sat and watched people that did not put in nearly a tenth of the work I have pass me up like I was standing still. A lot of promises were made for things that could have greatly helped DRN become much much larger that never happened. Part of me is extremely disappointed in this. I have done every single thing I set out to do and never went back on my word no matter how hard it was to follow through and it panes me to think if one of these things would have happened we could be telling a much different story right now.

For those that follow me and my vlogs very closely you may remember some time ago I talked about a plan, back then I told you if it worked out we are shooting for the stars but if not its over. Well clearly that plan did not happen or has yet to happen so I have held on much much longer that I planned on in the first place. All this being said though this decision is not anyone’s fault. I dont blame anyone for me losing my job and not being about to support this adventure anymore.

When I lost my job my household lost about $4,000 per month of income that we need to make ends meet. I need to now find a way to make that income back up and my #1 priority is to make sure I continue to provide for my family the way they deserve to be provided for. I am taking a huge risk by telling you this as its strictly forbidden but I think you need to see the whole picture to completely understand what is happening. In the past month DRN has made $7.53 there is just no way it is sustainable at that rate. I can live from a %50 cut but before going into this I made that every few minutes so there is no way its a sustainable project at the current schedule.

I have looked for outside sponsors. The website and video alone generate about 3,000 people per day. The videos have been watched by nearly 100,000 people since the started and website has attracted 41,000 page views in the last month. Not long ago I started working on a 30 minute anniversary show and put out the work for advertisers for that but all this has equated to no responses from anyone.

All this being said the game is not over yet. I have until mid January to make this work and when I have the time I am going to be kicking it in the ass to keep it going. We have come to far to just walk away now. The only difference is my public appearances “videos” will be less as I work behind the scenes to try to save what we have built. I wanted to make this announcement now though so if come mid January things have not changed you guys will understand why and not be so shocked if the plug is all of the sudden pulled one day.

I greatly appreciate the help I have gotten and love all the people I have met in the past year and will never forget anyone. I hope to god that something changes very soon so I am able to continue trying to change the world.

Below are not guarantees but are ways that anyone can help DRN

Buy a shirt:  http://www.foothillherps.com/news/?page_id=2788

Donate: On the website on the upper let there is a donate button.

DRN Weekly Hard Copy: I have a poll on the website for people interested in a paid weekly hard copy of DRN for their home or business. I am still taking votes on who would be interested in getting this. I am not sure of the cost but because of low volume printing costs I am thinking it would cost about $5 per week. Unfortunately we would need as much as 50 paid subscriptions to make it a viable option

There is one MAJOR way people can help which costs nothing but unfortunately its is a violation of the Adsence TOS for me to tell you how “hint hint”

Terri Irwin & Kids Talk To Oprah Winfrey

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Terri Irwin and her two children – Bindi, 12, and Bob, 7 – appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show at the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia on Tuesday (December 14). The kids’ father is the late Steve Irwin (a.k.a. ‘The Crocodile Hunter’).

Wearing what they called the “family colors,” the trio were accompanied by two giant pythons. Bob made his mother cry as he revealed to the talk show queen that he watches videos of his father every day. “It’s so good because it’s like he’s actually there,” he said.

“Living with Steve was like standing in a cyclone,” Terri said through tears. “Then we lost him. It was like the wind stopped.”

Steve was killed by a stingray barb in 2006.

Cold water leaving Atlantic sea turtles stunned

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BEAUFORT, N.C. — An early blast of cold weather along the Atlantic seaboard has wildlife experts scrambling to save dozens of sea turtles stunned by the chilled water.

More than 200 turtles rescued from Massachusetts to North Carolina have been getting treatment in several coastal states. And on Wednesday, a U.S. Coast Guard crew took about 40 rehabilitated turtles dozens of miles offshore — an eight-hour round trip — to release them in the warmer waters of the Gulf Stream.

To handle all the reptiles, the Coast Guard needed to use one of its 110-foot cutters.

“It’s part of our mission to protect marine life,” said Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Caleb Peacock. “Anytime we can lend a hand, then we definitely volunteer to do so.”

Some of the sea turtles found cold-stunned in recent days have died. Others have developed pneumonia and are still undergoing treatment. Kelly Thorvalson, who is leading the care for some of them as the sea turtle rescue program manager with the South Carolina Aquarium, said her facility is providing antibiotics, daily fluids and vitamin injections.

“Some are certainly in worse shape than others,” she said. She expects all those being treated to survive.

Wildlife experts say they are still finding more turtles who need help. Those stunned by cold water typically wash up on shore.

Matthew Godfrey, the state sea turtle biologist for North Carolina’ Wildlife Resources Commission, said turtles typically run into problems in the sounds off North Carolina’s coast or in Cape Cod. The turtles will begin migrating south when they feel water temperatures dropping, but the geography of the Outer Banks or the Massachusetts coast can block them from finding an exit.

“Sometimes they don’t get out fast enough,” he said.

Senior managers more likely to be dog owners

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Dog owners are more likely to hold senior management jobs, while snake and reptile owners are most likely to make six-figure salaries, according to a survey by CareerBuilder.

The CareerBuilder survey finds dog owners are more likely to be chief executive officers, chief financial officers or senior vice presidents.

Dog owners tend to be professors, nurses, information technology professionals, military professionals and entertainers

Cat owners are more likely to be physicians, real estate agents, science/medical lab technicians, machine operators and personal caretakers.

Those who have birds as pets are more satisfied with their jobs. The survey finds bird owners are more likely to be advertising professionals, sales representatives, construction workers and administrative professionals

Fish owners gravitate to positions in human resources, finance, hotels and leisure, farming and fishing and transportation

Harris Interactive conducted the online survey for CareerBuilder, questioning 2,301 full-time workers with pets. The survey has a margin of error of 2 percent.