Vol. 29 (2009), No. 1

M I N N E S O T A HERPETOLOGICAL S O C I E T Y

January

2009

Volume 29

Number 1

President Jennifer Hensley Vice- President David Dewitt Treasurer Nancy Haig nanchaig@citilink.com Membership Secretary Ellen Heck Recording Secretary Jenna Rypka-Hauer

MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY JANUARY 2009

VOLUME 29

NUMBER 1

MHS VOICE MAIL: 612.624.7065 MHS WEBPAGE: HTTP://WWW.MNHERPSOC .ORG GROUP E MAIL : HTTP ://WWW. GROUPS.YAHOO.COM/ GROUP/ MNHERPSOC The Purpose of the Minnesota Herpetological Society is to: • Further the education of the membership and the general public in care and captive propagation • Educate the members and the general public in the ecological role of reptiles and amphibians; • Promote the study and conservation of reptiles and amphibians.

News Letter Editor James Soos MEMBERS AT LARGE Jeff LeClere Kathy Claugherty Chris Smith Heather Clayton COMMITTEES Adoption Sara Richard Education Jan Larson Library Carmelita Pfar Webmaster Anke Reinders

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

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 Please send email to mhsnewseditor@yahoo.com © Copyright Minnesota Herpetological Society 2009. Contents may be reproduced for non-profit use provided that all material is reproduced without Change and proper credit is given authors and the Minnesota Herpetological Society Newsletter citing: volume, number and date.

Cover Animal Green Tree Python by Jim Soos

1

THE NEWS LETTER OF THE MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY

JANUARY 2009

VOLUME 29

NUMBER 1

A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT. MHS Members!

I hope this letter finds you after having a very Happy Holiday Season. I want to be among the first to wish you a very Happy New Year. Things are getting exciting. I can not begin to tell you how much I am looking forward to the next year. Dave has lined up some awesome speakers for this year. I will let him tell you all about them.

Please look at all the upcoming hands-on events, Jan works really hard on putting these together and the more we get out there, the more people we meet and educate.

Again I am looking forward to a GREAT new year! Hope to see you all soon, Jennifer

OUT OF THE OFFICE WITH THE VICE PRESIDENT. A few words form the Vice President. I’m hoping everyone had a wonderful holiday this year. I am also wishing you and yours a happy and prosperous New Year. Looking back I think we had a good year for the MHS. I am looking forward to serving you again in 2009 I feel good about the speakers were going to have in the upcoming year. I’m hoping to keep the monthly meetings interesting. If you have any ideas or input to make our meetings better contact me or any board member with your suggestions.

Our December speaker Joe Wasilewski , Had a good time up here. He was the first to admit he is a freeze baby and didn’t really care for the cold. so ice fishing wasn’t on his list of things to do. Joe was impressed with your knowledge of the subjects he presented. He also expressed a interest in returning to speak in the future. So keep up the good work by supporting your society.

THANK YOU SINCERELY DAVE DEWITT

A WORD FROM THE NEWSLETTER EDITOR Well folks as you can see some changes have occurred to the newsletter this up coming year. We are now running with a color cover. So I am looking for Photo Covers, Photos of the month and Artwork, such as Cartoons. If they are sent to me with your name, phone number and mailing address. I can give them back to you at the following meeting or mail them to you if requested.

Or email them to mhsnewseditor@yahoo.com Please let me know what you think of the newsletter by dropping me an email or just come up to talk to me at a MHS meeting. I thank you for your time and stay warm this winter.

Jim Soos MHS Newsletter Editor

2

THE NEWS LETTER OF THE MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY

THE

MINNESOTA

UP

COMING

Next Meeting:

JANUARY 2009

VOLUME 29

HERPETOLOGICAL

EVENTS

NUMBER 1

SOCIETY

PAGE

Friday, January 9, 2009 Room 335 Borlaug Hall, U of M St. Paul Campus

Two Speakers: Marc Bailey: Ball Pythons & Marc Bailey Reptiles and Rodents Andrew Wyatt: The United States Association of Reptile Keepers (USARK) Andrew is co-founder and president of USARK

Future Speakers:

3

Febuary: John Moriarty

March: Matt Edgar Ven:

April: White Snake Sale.

Friday, Febuary 6 2009 Room 335 Borlaug Hall, U of M St. Paul Campus

Snake Curator of the St. Louis Zoo.

Do not forget the Photo Contest. details to come in the next few months.

Friday, March 6 2009 Room 335 Borlaug Hall, U of M St. Paul Campus

Friday, April 3 2009 Room 335 Borlaug Hall, U of M St. Paul Campus

THE NEWS LETTER OF THE MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY

JANUARY 2009

VOLUME 29

NUMBER 1

JOE WASILEWSKI SPEAKS American crocodiles are found in the new world from Florida down through Central America to the northern parts of South America, and throughout the Caribbean.

The population of American crocodiles in the US was estimated at about 2000 in 1900. This declined until they hit a low point of 225, give or take about 75 animals, in 1972. Thanks to conservation efforts, this number is back up to about 2000 today. In fact, the crocodile has been down-graded from “endangered” to “threatened”.

All of the crocs in the US are found in Florida. As of 2005, approximately 400, or 20%, lived in the canals of the nuclear plant.

The plant and its surrounding canal system cover an area roughly 5 miles long, 2 miles wide and cover about 3,300 acres. On one side is Biscayne Bay and the National Park that preserves it. On the other side, the facility touches on the Everglades. The plant became operational in 1972, just as the crocs were hitting their low point. The first croc was spotted in the facility in 1976.

In 1978, when digging in the canals, a back hoe turned up a nest. Since then, the plant has made a serious commitment to helping preserve this and other endangered species found on the site. These include several species of snake, birds and at several sites, manatees.

At Turkey Point, in 1988 when Joe first started working with them, they catalogued 19 animals. This had risen to 40 in 1990 and to 400 in 2005. Last year they found 28 nests, marking and releasing over 500 hatchlings.

Worldwide, the survival rate for hatchlings is 5-7%. At the plant, it is about 10%. The largest is a 13’ male, although in general the population there is a fairly young one.

For several reasons, the area around the nuclear plant is ideal for crocodiles. Water temperature does not seem to be one of them, except indirectly. Most of the canal system consists of berms of land divided by deep channels.

The water is about 1 meter close to shore, but drops off sharply and abruptly to 6 meters further out. The combination is perfect for crocodile courtship and mating.

This starts happening in February, when the crocs start “recruiting”. They come in from surrounding areas and start to pair off.

It is also the time of year when the males start fighting.

Some confrontations are all bluff and end peacefully, but

Photo by Jim Soos

The Speaker for December was Joe Wasilewski. Joe has spent 35 years as a wildlife biologist and is employed by Florida Power at the Turkey Point nuclear facility. Two of his main herpetological interests are iguanas (which he talked about Saturday at the banquet) and crocodiles, which were the subject of his talk Friday.

many result in severe injuries or even death for the combatants. Joe showed one photo of a male that survived, but is missing the front half of his lower jaw. Scars are numerous and several are missing eyes. When amenable, the female raises her head at a 45° angle. The male will almost gently approach her.

When ready to lay, the female will go up onto the shore and dig out a nest. Nests are generally easy to spot, as the female leaves distinct marks getting up onto shore. Crocodiles are very fussy about the substrate they use, to the point where many animals will nest in a very small area, if that is the only spot they can find. Fortunately, at Turkey Point, there is a fair amount of spots for them to choose from.

Some of the animals only come into the site to mate and make the nests, and spend the rest of the year elsewhere. Joe and FPL recently constructed an area geared towards being an ideal nesting spot, with substrate mixed the way the crocs seem to prefer and small hatchling and juvenile ponds surrounding the area.

Continued on page 7

NEW 2009 ELECTED BOARD MEMBERS President

Jennifer Hensley

Vice- President

David Dewitt

Treasurer

Nancy Haig

Membership Secretary

Ellen Heck

Recording Secretary

Jenna Rypka-Hauer

Newsletter Editor

James Soos

MEMBERS AT LARGE Jeff LeClere Kathy Claugherty Chris Smith Heather Clayton 4

THE NEWS LETTER OF THE MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY

REPTILE CARE

WITH

First, I wanted to say that I really enjoyed speaking at your meeting in October. I learned so much from Kathy Love’s corn snake presentation. Jim Soos asked me if I would be interested in contributing articles for the newsletter. I hope that you will find these articles to be informative and helpful. If there are any specific topics you would like addressed you can reach me be e-mail at dr.kizer@lexingtonpetclinic.com This month I would like to provide information about a disease that can affect captive collections of boas and pythons. Inclusion body disease (IBD) is an important viral disease to be aware of because it is responsible for high mortalities and there is no treatment available.

To complicate matters, the mode of transmission is not known. It is thought to be transmitted via oral or respiratory secretions. The snake mite may be a possible vector as well.

Although there are no clinical signs specific to IBD, any boid snake exhibiting neurological signs should be a suspect for IBD. These neurological signs include head tremors, stargazing, and lethargy. It is important to remember that there other diseases that can cause these signs as well. Clinical signs typically progress to anorexia, dehydration, and severe incoordination. There is no treatment or remission of IBD. All infected snakes will die. The incubation is unknown, although some snakes with confirmed IBD will not exhibit signs for months after infection. Because of this a strict quarantine for a minimum of 6 months is recommended for all boas and pythons.

5

JANUARY 2009

VOLUME 29

NUMBER 1

DR. AMY KIZER Unfortunately, there is no definitive diagnosis of IBD in an alive snake. Biopsies can be collected and the disease may be seen histopathologically, but a negative result does not rule out IBD. Although there are some labs working on a blood test (serology) for the virus, at this time there is no test available. Post mortem (after death) diagnosis is based on histopathology, virus isolation, and electron microscopy. Because the disease is not well understood it is recommended to send samples to labs with specific experience in diagnosing the virus.

There is no treatment for IBD so prevention and control are important. The snake’s history including where it came from and potential exposure to other snakes should be known. It is recommended that during quarantine a full exam and bloodwork be performed to rule out any abnormalities that should be addressed. Dilute bleach is an effective disinfectant to prevent spread of IBD as well as many other reptile diseases.

Dr. Amy Kizer practices at Lexington Pet Clinic in Eagan.

She is also the consulting veterinarian for Underwater Adventures at Mall of America. She has a special interest in reptile medicine and surgery.

Sources: Veterinary Information Network (VIN) – reptile medicine Schumacher, Juergen, “Inclusion Body Disease Virus”, Reptile Medicine and Surgery, 2nd edition, Mader. 2006.

THE NEWS LETTER OF THE MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY

JANUARY 2009

VOLUME 29

NUMBER 1

THE HERPER’S CORNER TRAVELING WITH HERPS

so if I’m warm enough, my reptiles will be warm enough too.

One of the things people often wonder about is how I can travel to do my reptile shows when I the weather is extremely hot or cold.

If you are going somewhere in the cold of winter, and are just bringing one or two small reptiles, simply tuck the small container inside your shirt under your loose winter coat and, “Voila!” Instant warm critter!

By Terry Odegaard

The answer is simple. I just make sure that the reptile’s temperature is comfortable for them.

This can be achieved in a number of ways. Of course using a vehicle that is properly maintained so that the chance of a breakdown on the road is minimal is the first consideration. But cars do breakdown and precautions can be taken. In the winter, chemical heat packs used by campers and hunters can be part of a survival pack that can also include blankets and a sleeping bag. These should be kept in a warm house until the car is preheated, as should the reptiles.

A summer survival pack should include towels, several jugs of water, and a cooler of ice.

Traveling with reptiles and amphibians have two advantages over traveling with mammals or birds. First, they are happy to be confined in a small space as they would be in their hide box at home. And secondly, they have a much smaller oxygen requirement than their warm blooded counterparts and can travel in containers with very little ventilation, therefore keeping a relatively stable temperature in the container. And, then too, they don’t have to be fed on a daily basis as a bird or mammal does.

It’s also a good idea to schedule their feeding prior to a trip in such a way that the chances of defecating in the container is minimal. The same goes for watering.

Styrofoam tropical fish boxes with a few pencil holes work well for containers. The herp should be in a smaller container within the box. Plastic shoeboxes work well for this with plenty of paper towels inside to give the herp something to hold onto. The paper towels should be completely dry except for amphibians and soft-shelled turtles where it can be moist but not soggy. Live moss works even better for amphibians. With few exceptions, there should be just one animal per container. Snakes, other than juveniles should be in snake bags within the container. A hot water bottle (or plastic cola bottle), filled with hot water wrapped in a towel can be added for warmth.

Check the temperature every half hour or so while traveling so that adjustments can be made if necessary. And if you haven’t traveled with live reptiles before it’s a good idea to take a dry run and check the temps so you’ll be confident with a live cargo.

Some reptile species, and even certain individuals among one species, take to boxing and traveling better than others. If a snake is constantly trying to prowl when it’s boxed up changes must be made. I don’t bring kingsnkes where a corn snake might catch its scent because corn snakes have a fear of kingsnake scent and will do anything to escape it.

One winter I went on a tour that included over two hundred school programs and the large snake that season was an extremely iridescent male burmese python named Rainbow. From September through January he seemed perfectly content to be taken out on stage and held by several students, (good exercise for Rainbow), boxed up, and again taken out in the motel in the evening. He fed on weekends, and never tried to push out of his box. But come February, that all changed. He prowled constantly when out of the box, and pushed to get out, when in the box. He wouldn’t eat either. Then it dawned on me that my other adult male burmese pythons acted that way back at home in February too! It’s the mating season normal behavior. He was taken home and replaced with a female in my program. End of problem!

In the summer, of course, the concern is too much heat. An air conditioned car solves that problem, right? Wrong!

The sun shining in on a box can still overheat the box and should be shaded. Again, check the temperature with a thermometer frequently. Here a plastic bottle filled with ice water and wrapped in a towel will help keep things cool.

On a trip across the Arizona desert with a car full of herps the air conditioning quit working. The temperature was one hundred ten degrees F. Time to panic? No! This is where the towels and water jugs come in. The boxes were placed on a wet towel and more wet towels were draped over the boxes. The towels had to be rewetted every 20 minutes or so, but the rapid evaporation in the dry Arizona heat cooled the boxes so the inside stayed at 75 degrees.

I also use this wet towel method to cool the boxes when doing an outdoor reptile show in the summer.

When traveling with amphibians in the summer, I always have a cooler of ice along. Check the containers frequently and add ice if needed.

One last hint. If your air conditioning at home breaks down on a very hot day, put a plastic bucket of ice and water in the cage. The snake will coil around the bucket to cool off. It works!

In the winter I always shed my coat and just wear a T-shirt

6

THE NEWS LETTER OF THE MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY Continued from page 4.

The ponds are an important feature, and another reason why the nuclear site is ideal for crocs. The environment supports several types of water, from near fresh to 55 parts per thousand salination levels. This is important, especially for the hatchlings. Crocs, thanks to a salt gland on their tongue which excretes the excess salt, can live in salt water. This only pertains to adults, however; hatchlings do not develop this gland for several months. Therefore, the hatchlings must live in fresh or near-fresh water for the first months of their lives. Prior to the nuclear facility being built, this meant that they lived in and around the bay. They usually hatched out in the rainy season, when the upper surface of the bay has a much lower salination level.

There is an abundance and variety of wildlife in the facility. These means there is a lot of food for the crocs.

Bird life is particularly abundant. This includes spoonbills, flamingos, loggerhead shrikes and white pelicans.

The pelicans are actually migrants from upper Midwest, where they are fairly common. They have only recently, in the last 10 years or so, started to use the plant area as a winter refuge. They quickly learned one adaptation: in the North, they usually sleep at night on the water, for protection from predators. In Florida, they have learned that sleeping in the middle of the canals is a very bad thing, unless their goal is to be a crocodile’s dinner. So now they sleep on the berms instead.

7

Photo by Jim Soos

And in no small part, the security surrounding a nuclear facility comes into play. Because of the threat of terrorist attack, nuclear facilities are heavily guarded.

Joe mentioned M16’s. He didn’t elaborate, but in at the Prairie Island facility here in Minnesota, there is a “dead zone” surrounding the plant, with automated machine gun nests on the walls that guard it. This means that poachers don’t have a chance at either animals or nests. Motorized vehicles are restricted to authorized vehicles only, so traffic is minimal.

In fact, the main predator for the crocodiles, at least the younger ones, are the larger crocs. Joe mentioned tracking 8 microchips, originally implanted in hatch-

JANUARY 2009

VOLUME 29

NUMBER 1

ings, in the belly of one adult. 4 were from the nearby area, but the other 4 were from a site 2 ½ miles away. So population control is pretty much taking care of itself.

Joe’s site http://www.natselections.com/ Two links to one of his favorite sites http://www.iucn-isg.org/index.php http://www.iucncsg.org/ph1/modules/Home/

THE ADOPTION REPORT We had a nice well rounded Adoption this month.

Thanks to all my helpers, once again we found homes for all the critters. It amuses me that 11 animals should feel like a light month, but it does.

December Intake: 2 Leopard Tortoise (female) 2 Margenated Tortoise (male) 2 Sulcatas (small) 1 Box turtle (eastern?) with a bad jaw 1 Red Eared Slider 1 Ball Python 1 Boa, lrg 1 Tegu (black and white) These 23 animals came in at the November meeting and were all placed.

1 Bearded Dragon 1 Red Eared Slider 4 Frogs 7 Toads 1 Albino Burm lrg 4 Ball Pythons 2 Boas sml 3 Corn Snakes Sarah Richard Adoption Chair Minnesota Herpetological Society

THE NEWS LETTER OF THE MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY

JANUARY 2009

VOLUME 29

NUMBER 1

ADVERTISING POLICIES 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 arenot 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.

MHS AD RATES Business card $5/Month $55/Year* 1/4 Page $10/Month $110/Year* 1/2 Page $20/Month $220/Year* Full Page $40/Month $440/Year*

GET YOUR MESSAGE TO YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE WITH A 1/4 PAGE AD. $10 PER MONTH $110 PER YEAR*

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

*12th month is free on a one year commitment

MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION New

Name

Renewal

Address

Membership#

City, State, Zip,

Type

Phone

Email

Check #

List in MHS Directory?

No Yes

Herp Related interests

Active Memberships: Required check info. Drivers Lic #

Sustaining ($60/year)

Basic ($20/year)

Contributing ($40/year) State

DOB

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.

Photos of the Month..

This is a new segment starting every month. If you got some amazing color photos, please send them to mhsnewseditor@yahoo.com. I will publish the best photos sent to me every month.

This Month’s Photos by Brad Bay-

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Mpls, MN Permit No. 2275

Bell Museum of Natural History 10 Church Street SE Minneapolis, MN 55455-0104

Adddress Service Requested

Next Meeting:

Friday, January 9 2009 Room 335 Borlaug Hall, U of M St. Paul Campus

MHS Voice Mail: 612.624.7065

MHS Web Page: www.mnherpsoc.org

This Newsletter is Printed on Recycled paper.