Vol. 27 (2007), No. 11

t he n e w sl e t t e r o f t he

minnesota herpetological society

WEB VERSION

Information edited/removed to respect privacy concerns.

November’s Speaker:

Mark Bee of the University of Minnesota

“Investigating Acoustic Communication in Gray Tree Frogs”

Also Inside: • Photos from RenFest • Art Auction Recap NOV EMBER 20 0 7

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President Bruce Haig

Board of Directors

BELL MUSEUM

Vice Presid ent Jennifer Hensley

Recording Secretary Ellen Heck

Membership Secretary George Richard

The Minnesota H er pet ol og i ca l S o c i e t y

November 2007 Volume 27, Number 11

Newsletter Editor Asra Halvorson Members at Large Sarah Richard

The Purpose of the Minnesota Herpetological Society is to:

David Dewitt

Carmelita Knudson Jeff LeClere

Committees

Education Jan Larson

Library Ted Schave

NATURAL HISTORY, 10 CHURCH STREET SOUTHEAST, MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA 55455-0104

V O I C E M A I L : 612.624.7065 • M H S W E B P A G E : HTTP :// WWW. MNHERPSOC . ORG M H S G R O U P E M A I L : H T T P :// W W W. G R O U P S . YA H O O . C O M / G R O U P / M N H E R P S O C

Treasurer Nancy Haig

Adoption Sarah Richard

OF

Webmaster Anke Reinders theMHSwebmaster@yahoo.com

• of • •

Further the education of the membership and the general public in care and captive propagation reptiles and amphibians; Educate the members and the general public in the ecological role of reptiles and amphibians; Promote the study and conservation of reptiles and amphibians.

The Minnesota Herpetological Society is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization. Membership is open to all individuals with an interest in amphibians and reptiles. The Minnesota Herpetological Society Newsletter is published monthly to provide its members with information concerning the society’s activities and a media for exchanging information, opinions and resources.

General Meetings are held at Borlaug Hall, Room 335 on the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota, on the first Friday of each month (unless there is a holiday conflict). The meeting starts at 7:00pm and lasts about three hours. Please check the MHS Voice mail for changes in schedules or cancellations.

Submissions to the Newsletter Ads or Notices must be submitted no later than the night of the General Meeting to be included in the next issue. Longer articles will be printed as time and space allows and should be in electronic file format if possible. See inside back cover for ad rates.

Submissions may be sent to: The Minnesota Herpetological Society Attn: Newsletter Editor Bell Museum of Natural History 10 Church St. SE. Minneapolis, MN 55455.0104

Copyright 2007, Minnesota Herpetological Society. Except where noted, contents may be reproduced for non-profit, noncommercial use only. All material must be reproduced without change. Proper credit will be given including the author/photographer and the MHS Newsletter citing: volume, number and date.

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November 2007

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New Library Donation

At the last meeting, the book Boas and Pythons of the World

by Mark O’Shea was donated on behalf of Victoria Valois Housewright. This is a beautifully photograghed tour of the many boas and pythons of the world, as would be expected, given the title. Not so expected is the inclusion of several other interesting species, such as blindsnakes, pipsnakes and several others.

Although not by any means a scientific reference, taxonomy and a general background of the snakes is covered as well as environmental factors. Personal notes from the author generally conclude each section based on his own experiences with the snakes.

This book will be put into the library and may be checked out by any current members.

November’s Upcoming Speaker:

Mark Bee of the U of M I have heard back from Mark Bee and he will be speaking for our Nov 2nd meeting.

He will be speaking about the ongoing research investigating acoustic communication in gray tree frogs. I was hoping to have a bio from him by today but that did not happen. He is a Professor at the U of M and we have been trying for a few years to get him to speak to our group. I am very excited about having the chance to hear him speak.

- Jennifer Hensley, MHS Vice-President

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News, Notes, & Announcements

The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society

November 2007

No Fidos Allowed!

Concern was expressed at the last general meeting regarding the presence of dogs at the MHS meetings. Unfortunately, the U of M has a strict policy regarding dogs. Only service animals are allowed; companion animals are not.

The only (live, non-bipedal) animals at the meeting should be the Adoption animals, animals offered for sale and the Critter of the Month animals. Of these, only the Critter of the Month animals may be displayed in the room and only at the appropriate time. We ask that our members respect the U of M rules, since failure to do so could result in the loss of our meeting space.

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October Adoption Report By your MHS Adoption Committee

Thanks to those who continue to make our adoption program a success - 16 critters went to new homes this month!

We had six U of M students come to the exam on Thursday night and they learned lots! We placed: 1 American Alligator 2 Bearded Dragons 1 Blue Tongue Skink 1 Veiled Chameleon 4 Boas 2 Ball Pythons 2 Dumerils Boas 1 Snapping Turtle 1 Box Tortoise 1 Russian Tortoise

Amazingly enough, no Iguanas this month! That probably means we'll have 7 next month, so be ready to share your Thanksgiving with a new critter. We are also still looking for a home for a large, friendly Burmese Python. Email the list if you have an interest. See you in November!

October’s Art Auction Recap

This months meeting, in addition to the speaker, also featured a live art auction. Fran Frisch, a former MHS president and instigator of both the White Snake Sale and the Midwest Herpetological Symposium, donated 6 original water color cartoons, plus a water color of intertwined desert king snakes. An Escher print of lizards was also auctioned, as were 2 cages. A total of $420 was raised. Thank you to everyone who donated and bid on the items. And a huge thank you to Fran Frisch for donating his work and for his continuing support of the MHS.

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October Speaker Review

The speaker this month was Glen Jacobson, aka Jake. He did a presentation on the trip he and his wife Donna Calander took to the Galapagos Islands. The trip was actually to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary, although it occurred months later. They wanted to include diving on their trip, and the water is warmest there in April.

Unbeknownst to many of us herp-oriented types, the diving in the Galapagos is as famous as the land animals.

In order to be in the Galapagos, you are required to have a naturalist/guide with you. You cannot step foot on an island without one. Groups generally consist of 16 people, which is the maximum allowed for 2 guides. In the past, the waters have not been as protected, resulting in the severe population reduction of several species of sea cucumber and other species. Recently, however, more protection is being given to the waters surrounding the islands. Anchorage is more restricted for the dive boats and Jake says that in the future, anchoring may be prohibited altogether.

Travel between the islands is generally done at night, while the visitors are sleeping. The days started early, about 5:306am with breakfast. Then into the launches to explore the island while it was still reasonably cool. Because of their volcanic composition, the islands tend to be very hot, especially on the beaches where there is little or no plant cover.

Jake said that the 45-50 SPF sunscreen they used was just barely adequate, even with a hat. Snorkeling was after lunch, with another trip to land late in the afternoon.

Afternoons were devoted to diving. The animals are just as unafraid under water as they are on land, with the sea lions coming up to the divers to “peek in the window” and occasionally to play with the divers’ fins. Not all animals are innocuous; Donna had a too-close encounter with a jellyfish. As on land, the animals may touch you, but you may not touch them

Although an itinerary is laid out, the actual sites visited can change based on weather and what the other tourist groups are doing. The number of visitors to an island at any given time is restricted, so a certain amount of schedule juggling occurs. However, there are no severe tropical storms on the equator, so hurricanes are not an issue.

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The goats on the islands are an on-going issue. Introduced to the islands as a food source for whalers, they have devastated the vegetation, to the detriment of native species. The massive eradication effort is starting to pay off, however.

The hunting is frequently done from the air, as the goats are intelligent and recognize a hunter when they see one. Due to the scope of the project and the fact that many of the areas the goats inhabit are almost inaccessible, the carcasses are often left lying where they fall. While this is less than picturesque, it does provide the scavengers with a meal.

Contrary to popular belief, there are actually 2 types of predators in the Galapagos – the Galapagos Hawk (as Jake pointed out, many of the species are Galapagos this or that, since they occur nowhere else in the world) and several species of snake. There are, however, no mammalian predators.

Most of the species are herbivores, which means that the vegetation is waxy, gummy, spikey or some combination of the three. Non-native cacti are developing into “trees” in an effort to survive.

Fresh water is very hard to come by. El Junco, on the island of San Cristobal, is generally considered the only natural freshwater lake in the islands. It is quite isolated, at least 45 minutes by bus from the nearest city and sits at 2,300 ft. It is the caldera, or collapsed cone, of an extinct volcano. It is also considered to be one of the oldest lakes in the world, since it was not affected by the ice age. It was also used during World War II by American soldiers stationed in Baltra. Unfortunately, the US government left a large amount of debris in the islands, which Ecuador is now trying to get us to clean up.

The islands are owned by Ecuador, and when traveling to and from the islands it is necessary to stay on the mainland there. The agency Jake and Donna booked through was actually out of California. He also said it costs about $10,000 per person, so start saving now. Where else can you see flamingos and penguins on the same island?

For further reading, start with www.wikipedia.org

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The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society

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November 2007

Volume 27

Number 11

September Speaker Review At September’s meeting we were visited by the Serpent Dancers/Shades of Arabia troupe. The group consists of the Beastmaster and his two wives, plus a drummer they picked up on the way. Their show is a combination of exotic dance and exotic animals the Beastmaster has found in his travels.

The first animal shown was the royal or ball python.

This dainty and diminutive representative of the python family comes from western and central Africa and is known for its mild disposition and tendency to curl in a ball when threatened.

They did what they do best – hang out – while the two wives performed a dance with a pair each.

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The next (4-legged) exotic creature up was Booker, a fairly mature African Spurred, or sulcata, tortoise. Booker was a wild-caught adult.

He also comes from Africa, from the southern edge of the Sahara desert, where these animals are caught for food.

The people there drill a hole into the shell of the captured tortoise to keep it tethered. The animal can be kept until ready for slaughter, much like a cow.

Luckily for Booker, the Beastmaster traded his third wife for him – he eats less and doesn’t shop, so the Beastmaster figures he got the better end of the bargain.

Booker is likely over 70 years old. This is the third largest species of tortoise in the world, and adult weights of 100lbs or more are common.

Another very pretty python from Southeast Asia is the bloodpython. Fairly short and very heavy-bodied, this animal can be 8’ long and 48 lbs and is the largest of the shorttailed pythons. Their coloring has blood-red patches on a brown/gray background, giving the snake its name. The Beastmaster put forward another theory on the origin of its name: given its temperament, anything unfortunate enough to cross the path of this snake ends up covered with blood. Captive-bred specimens tend to be less vindictive than their wild-caught brethren.

The wives next danced with macklot pythons. These very pretty snakes from Indonesia are ideal for dancing, as they are large enough to be seen but not as heavy-bodied as some other python species – only about 13 lbs. Most tend to be fairly aggressive, especially when young, but these particular specimens are very manageable.

Also displayed were a pair of iguanas, both at the “cute and green” stage and the larger, less wieldy stage. This was to emphasize that these animals get big and can have a less-than-sunny personality or, as the wife put it, “he’s cranky” (we can only

The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society

November 2007

Volume 27

Number 11

assume she meant the iguana). The Beastmaster admitted both were a handful, and again one must assume he was referring to the reptiles.

The largest (non-legged) animal on display was an albino reticulated python named Oscar. Only 4 years old, she is already 14’ long and 70 lbs, from a birth size of 18” and about a pound. Her full length will probably be in the upper 2629’ range and weight of over 300 lbs. This species is the longest python species, although the anaconda can get even larger.

The Serpent Dancers may be seen at the local Fair in Shakopee, where they perform 5 shows a day. Troupe members are “Beastmaster” Chase Delles, “wives” DeeDee Sherek and Sally Gardiner and drummer Adam Bacchus. x

2007 MHS Slate of Candidates

Elections for the MHS Board of Directors will be held at the November General meeting. Here’s who’s running:

President

Jennifer Hensley

Vice-President

Dave DeWitt Jared Rypka-Hauer

Treasurer

Nancy Haig

Recording Secretary Membership Secretary Newsletter Editor

Member-At-Large (4)

Ellen Heck

Chris Smith Jim Soos

Kathy Claugherty Jeff LeClere Christina Danathar Pete Kazeck

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The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society

November 2007

Volume 27

Number 11

(ยง) - - - rom the 2007 Re f s t n e val i t m n s a e i o s F s a e c n M

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November 2007

Volume 27

Number 11

MHS Treasurer's Report

Prepared by Nancy Haig, Treasurer

For September 2007 Beginning Checkbook Balance: . . . . . . . . . . . 20,988.04

Income: Membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 710.00 Library Fines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00 Raffle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65.25 Adoption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275.00 Rodent Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,036.00 RenFest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,250.00 DNR Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200.00 Sales* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200.00 Total Income: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,791.25 Expense: Newsletter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388.30 Misc. Printing and Postage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300.00 Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.00 Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00 T-shirts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164.75 Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,020.00 White Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385.72 Hands-On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00 Adoption Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60.00 Voicemail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271.56 Renfest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227.64 Total Expense: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,867.97

Cash Increase/(Decrease): . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 923.28

Ending Checkbook Balance: . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21,911.32 Placement of Cash Holdings

Checking Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21,911.32 Cash on Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155.00

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,066.32

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G E T YOUR ME S SA GE TO Y O UR T AR GE T A UD I EN CE W I T H A 1 / 4 PA G E A D. $10 PER MONT H $ 1 10 P ER Y EA R *

*112th month is free on a one year commitment Advertising Policies

MHS AD RATES

Business card 1/4 Page 1/2 Page Full Page

$5/Month $10/Month $20/Month $40/Month

$55/Year* $110/Year* $220/Year* $440/Year*

* Note: 12th month is free on a one year commitment

New

MHS Ad Policy: The MHS assumes NO RESPONSIBILITY regarding the health or legality of any animal, or the quality or legality of any product or service advertised in the MHS Newsletter. Any ad may be rejected at the discretion of the Newsletter Editor. Due to space limitations, unpaid and complimentary advertisements are subject to occasional omission.

Classified Ads: All active members are allowed a classified ad, run free of charge as space permits. Ads may be run three consecutive months, after which time they may be resubmitted. Corresponding members are allowed a complimentary business card advertisement monthly as space permits. Due to federal restrictions on non-profit mailing permits, we are not allowed to run ads for travel, credit, or insurance agencies.

Submissions: All advertisements should be submitted to the MHS Editor, Bell Museum of Natural History, 10 Church St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Deadline is the night of the General Meeting for inclusion in the next newsletter. Make checks payable to: Minnesota Herpetological Society.

Minnesota Herpetological Society Membership Application

Renewal Membership# Type Check #

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Address City, State, Zip, Phone

Email

List in MHS Directory?

Yes

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Herp related interests

Active Memberships:

Sustaining ($60/year)

Contributing ($40/year)

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Corresponding Memberships: Commercial ($25/year, 2 business card ads/year) Required check info. Drivers Lic #

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Please enclose the proper payment with your application. Make Checks Payable To: Minnesota Herpetological Society. Membership is for 12 months from the date of approval, a receipt will be sent only upon request. Mail to: Minnesota Herpetological Society, Bell Museum of Natural History, 10 Church St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Please allow 6-8 weeks for processing.

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Next Meeting: Friday, November 2, 2007 7:00 PM Room 335 Borlaug Hall, U of M St. Paul Campus MHS Voice Mail: 612.624.7065

MHS Web Page:

www.mnherpsoc.org