Vol. 32 (2012), No. 1

the newsletter of the

Minnesota Herpetological Society

Contents Upcoming Speaker: Enormous Personality in a Small Package Recap: Women in Herpetology Feature: Successful Russian Tortoise Husbandry in The Upper Midwest

January 2012

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Number 1

B OA R D OF DI R E C TOR S

Bell Museum of Natural History, 10 Church Street Southeast, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55455-0104

President Christopher E Smith president@mnherpsoc.com Vice President Dav Kaufman vicepresident@mnherpsoc.com Recording Secretary Ellen Heck recsecretary@mnherpsoc.com

Stay informed! Join us on our forums!

And, you can still leave us a Voice Mail: 612.326.6516

763.593.5414

Membership Secretary Heather Clayton 612.886.7175 memsecretary@mnherpsoc.com Treasurer Nancy Haig treasurer@mnherpsoc.com

January 2012

Newsletter Editor Christopher Rueber 952.594.0101 newslettereditor@mnherpsoc.com Members at Large Jeff LeClere 651.488.6388 memberatlarge4@mnherpsoc.com

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THE PURPOSE OF THE MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY IS TO • • •

763.434.8684

Volume 32

Further the education of the membership and the general public in care and captive propagation of 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.

Kat Rorvig memberatlarge1@mnherpsoc.com

SUBMISSIONS TO THE NEWSLETTER

Beth Girard memberatlarge2@mnherpsoc.com

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 elec- tronic file format if possible.

See inside back cover for ad rates. Submissions may be sent to:

Peter Tornquist memberatlarge3@mnherpsoc.om

COMMITTEES Adoption Sarah Richard RealSarah@aol.com

612.781.9544

Education Jan Larson jan.skunkhollow@juno.com

507.263.4391

The Minnesota Herpetological Society -or- newslettereditor@mnherpsoc.com Attn: Newsletter Editor Bell Museum of Natural History 10 Church St SE Minneapolis, MN 55455-0104

SNAKE BITE EMERGENCY

Library Nancy Haig 763.434.8684 nanchaig@citilink.com

HENNEPIN REGIONAL POISON CENTER 800-222-1222 Cover Photo found on varanus.nl, a site for sharing information about monitor lizards

© Copyright 2012, Minnesota Herpetological Society. Except where noted, contents may be reproduced for non-profit, non-commercial use only. All material must be reproduced without change.

Proper credit will be given including the author/photographer and the Minnesota Herpetological Society Newsletter citing: volume, number and date.

The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society

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January General Meeting Presentation - Friday, January 6th - Starting at 7 P.M. University of MN - St. Paul Campus, Borlaug Hall, Room 335 Joey Muggleston presents...

Enormous Personality in a Small Package: Captive care and breeding of Varanus acanthurus with notes on other commonly kept varanid lizards

By Sonja Koolmo The speaker for the MHS for the month of January will be Joey Muggleston. Joey has been around exotic animals since before he could walk; so it was natural for him to start keeping a variety of pets as soon as he could. The “no snake” (or more specifically, no mammal eating reptiles) rule in his home helped guide his early passion for lizards. His first lizard was a gold tegu (Tupinambis teguixin) sold to him as a swift (Sce-

loporus). This tegu helped spark an interest that continues today. After seeing the glossy photos in Robert Sprackland’s book Giant Lizards, monitors quickly became the primary focus of Joey’s lizard collection.

To date Joey has kept over 13 species of monitors.

Currently he is working with a few species of dwarf monitors to increase the numbers and interest of these more apartment-friendly versions of the giants. He is also working with a group of the larger and relatively unknown Varanus yuwonoi.

In case you missed Cindy Steinle’s talk at the December general meeting:

Women in Herpetology...

By Ellen Heck The speaker for December was Cindy Steinle, speaking on the emerging roles of women in the reptile community. She has been the site coordinator at Kingsnake.com for the last two years. Although herping is generally considered to be a male occupation, approximately half the members on Kingsnake.com, arguably the largest site dedicated to all things herp, are women.

Women and snakes have been linked historically for millennium, including Minoan and Egyptian snake goddesses, Eve and the apple and even the Greek gorgon. Given that in most cases the women in question were at least partially naked, the connection between sex and snakes was made. This was continued into the 19th and 20th centuries when the most popular sideshow attraction at a circus or carnival was a scantily-clad woman holding a large snake. These “harlot herpers” were some of the first public female herpers.

The very early female herptelogists faced more than gender discrimination in the pursuit of their chosen careers. In general, during this period, women simply did not have careers. They were not allowed to vote or to drive, and most did not pursue any kind

of higher education. In the early 20th century there were also two world wars, pandemics and a global depression to deal with.

Grace Olive Wiley (1883-1948) was an early herpetologist who actually started in entomology at the University of Kansa before starting to observe and collect rattlesnakes in her 30’s. After acting as curator at the Minneapolis Public Library, she became curator of reptiles at the Brookfield Zoo. Grace was the first person known to have successfully bred rattlesnakes in captivity, but some of her methods were disputed.

She argued that venomous snakes were harmless if trained not to bite and was known for her practice of free-handling them with her bare hands. She was handling a cobra for an interview when it bit her. She was taken to a hospital but her only vial of anti-venom was broken, so she died several hours later at age 64.

Despite this, one of her goals was one still shared by many today – to change the public perception of reptiles in general and snakes in particular. She is quoted “The fear of snakes is cultivated. We are not born with it. Children love snakes as naturally as they love dogs and cats. Don’t be afraid of a reptile’s tongue.

The only animal that can hurt you with its tongue is the human being.

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The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society Berta Lutz (1894-1976) was another early leader in the cause of women, and not just as the field of herpetology. Born in Brazil, she studied at the Sorbonne in Paris. Upon returning to Brazil, she devoted herself to the study of amphibians, particularly the poison dart frogs. She was hired by the Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro, despite the fact that, at the time, women were not allowed in the public offices. This lead to her involvement in the women rights movement and the eventual granting of the vote to women in Brazil.

She was also involved in children’s and labor rights and was one of four women who signed the United Nations Charter in 1945.

Alice Middleton Boring (1883-1955) was born and educated in the United States but spent 27 years working and teaching in China. Unfortunately, those 27 years covered civil war, revolution and WWII. During the Japanese invasion and occupation, she was interned in a concentrations camp. Despite these distractions, she continued to publish papers on the taxonomy of the Chinese reptiles and amphibians.

Madge Minton (1924-2004) was the wife and assistant to her husband Sherman. In addition to working with her husband, she was also a WASP during WWII, and regularly ferried new planes from the factories that produced them to the air bases where they were needed. Although not as well-known as her husband, the coluber karelini mintonorum was named for her.

Doris Mable Cochran (1898-1968) was the first female curator of the Division of Herpetology at the United States National Museum. Like most women of her era, she was involved in the event of the day, working in the war department while an undergrad student, putting together pamphlets for the military on the identification of venomous reptiles.

She also studied art and illustrated her own works as well as the works of others. She was only the second person named as a distinguished fellow of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists.

Myrna Watanabe started studying fish but couldn’t swim, so she

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switched over to reptiles. While working with alligators, she was generally asked to do the sexing, as she had the smallest fingers. For those who don’t know, the generally used method to sex alligators involves inserting a finger into the cloaca. The method was developed by Peter Brazaitis at the Bronx Zoo, to whom she is now married. Despite being in a more “enlightened” era, Myrna had great difficulty in getting grants for her research, and was nearly barred from entering China, simply because of her gender. Publishing was also problematical; she would have to “co-author” papers and articles with a man, so his name could be listed first, just to be published. She also had a hard time getting Peter to hire a female reptile keeper.

However, as it turned out, the female keepers tend to work more safely than their male counterparts. This is (in general) because women just go in, do the job and get out. The men, even with training, have a tendency to show off and take unnecessary risks and shortcuts.

A number of women have worked and founded businesses with husbands who are also herpers. Pat Bartlett was a southern belle from Georgia, before moving to New Mexico and becoming fascinated with the desert and the animals living there. Her first snake was a gravid garter snake from her sister, although apparently it was his dog that convinced her to marry Dick Bartlett. Kathy Love is a native of Wisconsin, where she also started on the local garter snakes before being mentored by Joe Laszlo. She of course operates CornUtopia and is one of the foremost corn

The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society snake breeders, as well as being the co-author of Corn Snakes: The Comprehensive Owner’s Guide with husband Bill.

Tracy Barker met her husband Dave at a symposium where they were both presenting papers. She was the only female presenter and spent her time talking with the men while most of the wives chatted at other tables. They own and operate Vida Preciosa International, but she still finds people tend to ask Dave the more technical questions and treat her as more of an adjunct, rather than an expert. Collette Sutherland was told growing up that if she wanted a husband, she would have to get rid of the snakes. Today she is co-owner with her husband of The Snake Keeper and assisted with the formation of USARK. Her advice is “Learn, stand up and be vocal. Make them take you as seriously as yourself.”

The next generation Cindy talked about included Amanda Talaba. She was going to be a vet but then volunteered at a local zoo. Despite frequently being taken for a dizzy blond, she is currently involved in molecular lab research. Marisa Tellez is a former beauty queen who now spends her time wrestling with crocodiles. It is not just a hobby; she is studying

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the ecological relationship between crocodilians and their parasites. She says the hardest part of her job is finding a supportive boyfriend, although it does tend to scare off the “icky” types. As she says, “This is my lifestyle. If they can’t keep up, they don’t need to be there”. This has paid off; her current boyfriend works with venomous.

Desiree Wong is a software engineer by trade and started with herps as a hobbyist. Through John and Sandy Binns she became involved with the International Reptile Conservation Foundation. She also was told by her father that in order to find a good husband, she would need to get rid of the reptiles (she is engaged to a reptile breeder). Cindy herself started with reptiles when she inherited dying iguana from ex-boyfriend. Since then she has been involved in Small Scale Reptile Rescue as well as the International Reptile Conservation Foundation, is a board member of the Chicago Herp Society – currently vice-president – runs Kingsnake.com and works in reptile education.

Of the first generation female herpers, she would most like to sit down and have a beer with Grace Olive Wiley, Xan the dinosaur puppy (iguana), Jeff Barringer, Kim Foose and a bottle of vodka.

Successful Russian Tortoise Husbandry in The Upper Midwest

By Ernie Johnson If you were to pick a Tortoise best designed to survive and thrive in the upper Midwest and Plains states, it’s the Russian Tortoise.

Dandelion leaves and flowers, Plantain leaves, thistle leaves (yes, even the nasty ones you need a charcoal mitt to hold), hibiscus leaves and flowers (we have 4 small tree’s we move in and out as weather allows), mallow leaves, raspberry leaves, sweet William, creeping Charley, crab grass, and rose leaves and petals.

Our environment lets you keep them outside 5, and sometimes 6 months of the year, hibernate for 2-3 months, and live in a house bound pen for only 3 - 4 months.

I want to stress you should only feed these items when you haven’t put any type of weed killer or pesticide on your lawn.

With 10 years under my belt with this species here in Minnesota I want to share with you the hi-level principles of what works for this hardy, active, and animated species.

I also have planted weeds in the pen 4-6 weeks before I put them outside in early May in order to provide them with graze – and typically this lasts only a week.

A Nearly Inexhaustible Food Supply in Your Own Backyard Nature in this part of the world provides a veritable smorgasbord of high quality food for a Russian Tortoise.

This is an example of what my herd gets on a regular basis during their 5-6 months outside.

When they’re outside I feed them same when they’re indoors, 3-4 times a week with the amount of food being no more than a good handful of greens per tortoise.

One of the feedings I’ve incorporated over the last few years, in order to increase their calcium intake, is ZooMed Natural Grassland Tortoise food. You can find it at any Petco or PetSmart.

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The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society What I do is soak in warm water 6-10 pellets per tortoise, then once soaked I take a fork and make a mash to which I mix in ½ teaspoon pure Calcium Carbonate powder.

They eagerly eat it and I know their getting added calcium beyond what they get in their weed diet. Minnesota doesn’t have large limestone deposits below our soil (unlike the Mediterranean) so added calcium is important for this species.

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The Tortoise stay dry and you have peace of mind. This arrangement also works as the temperature in mid to late September come into play. Pulling the plastic cover at night keeps the surface temp above 45 degrees even when it gets to high 30’s at night.

Mid to late September is also when mine start winding down as the lower amount of sunshine and daytime temps in the 60’s kicks in their natural desire to hibernate.

Outdoor Pen Requirements

Indoor Pen Requirements

The picture below is one of the two outdoor pens for our Russian Tortoises. It’s before I attached the tops, so you can get an idea of the landscaping.

For an indoor pen I suggest a minimum of 3 feet by 6 feet for either one or two Russians. These are active, curious tortoises that need exercise to keep them healthy and from getting fat.

This pen is 6 feet wide by 16 feet long and can easily house 3-4 Tortoises. I keep my males separated from the females because the aggressive and potentially hazardous mating behavior visited on the females.

The pictures show one of our indoor 3 x 6 indoor pens. The bulbs are a UVB (mandatory for these guys) and 2-100 watt “hot spot” bulbs. All of these are run off a timer which I set to equal the natural amount of daylight to keep them in tune with the yearly light/dark cycle.

If you do keep them together, make sure it’s a very large pen and the females have hiding areas where they can get away from the males.

The total cost for the wood, screws, locks, plants, and chicken wire for the tops was around $150 and as I write this the pen below is now 10 years old and still completely functional.

I do not have a water bowl in the pens, but I do soak them twice a week when they’re outside to make sure they stay hydrated and to inspect them for any issues. The indoor pen has a water bowl which they drink from on a regular basis.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to the health of these Tortoises to have access to clean water. They do and will drink from a water bowl with a water level that comes up to their chin.

Here’s the same pen with the tops attached. I secure them with locks on each side in order to keep out any curious neighbor children and more importantly, any Raccoons and our dogs.

What do you do when it rains? I purchased some inexpensive PVC tubes at Home Depot and they fit inside the chicken wire holes of the top. Then I pull across either a large tarp or 3-5 mil plastic sheeting which I secure with bricks to pull it tight.

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Large rocks work very well as site breaks and smaller ones are perfect for them to climb over – a favorite activity. Creating hides using large long rocks is easy as you can see below.

The two hides they’ve dug out under the two flat rocks give them the safety they need to acclimate from the wild successfully.

For the substrate I use a 50/50 combination of play sand and top soil. You don’t see it in these pictures, but I use a 6 inch, 1 inch deep pottery flow pot base as their water bowl. It’s sunk into the substrate so they can easily drink or soak themselves. I end up changing the water on a daily basis.

Turnip greens, cactus pads (your local Cub Foods carries them), endive, organic Romaine lettuce, and collard greens are the diet mine get when they’re indoors, along with the ZooMed Natural Grassland Tortoise food. All of these are supplemented weekly with the calcium carbonate.

These are given to them on the rough side of a 6 inch tile slate. Feeding on a rough slate helps keep their beak from needing any trimming.

I also put in a handful of dried Timothy hay each week, which you can get at any Petco or Petsmart, which they eat over time and is an excellent source of added fiber to their diet.

The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society I stop mine from eating anything for 3 weeks prior to the day I move them into my small hibernation refrigerator. This timing allows them to completely purge their digestive track of any food. This is important because any food left in their gut or lower GI tract can rot, even at 45 degrees and potential kill your tortoise.

Second is making sure you have them drink their fill at least once (twice is better) a week for those 3 weeks you stop their food intake. This ensures they’re fully hydrated during their 2- 3 month “sleep.” Without being properly hydrated you risk kidney issues and urate concentration which can cause major issues when they come out of hibernation.

For the refrigerator (which is a small College dorm room type), I use deep plastic shoe boxes filled with 2-3 inches of topsoil and 3-4 inches of shredded paper towels on top. They dig into this and eventually settle into a corner and slowly go to sleep.

In each shoebox I have use a digital thermometer with a probe and wire that I can attached to the outside of the Fridge in order to monitor the actual temp in the shoebox.

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I turn on the fridge a week prior to them going in so I can stabilize the temp in the shoe boxes at 43-45 degrees.

Once they’re naturally slowed down, you’ve stopped them from eating for 3 weeks, and soaked them twice a week for those 3 weeks to make sure they’re hydrated, you can literally plop them in a 45 degree refrigerator and let them sleep.

I check them each week to make sure everything is normal and have after 10 hibernation seasons have never had to pull one up early due to any issues.

I’ll close by saying that once you get them healthy and cleaned of any parasites found during your initial vet visit, (this assumes wild caught, not captive bred) these are extremely hardy tortoises. They can handle temps to the low 40’s (as long as it’s dry) and up to 100 degrees as well.

They are a highly personable and enjoyable species to work with and once you get the husbandry right, a long-term companion.

Enjoy!

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The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society

January 2012

A Message from the Midwest Symposium Coordinators The Minnesota Herpetological Society would like to thank Great Harvest Breads for their generous donation of Scones, Breads and Muffins given to share at the Midwest Herpetological Symposium.

We would also like to thank Surley Brewing for the donation of items for the raffle and quality beer which was shared in our hospitality suite.

Thank you, Liz Bosman The Midwest Herpetological Symposium committee would like to thank the following Coordinators for their contribution of time and talents: Dan Keyler-Speaker lineup, Heather ClaytonVendor line-up, Sally Brewer- Graphics, Ann Porwoll- T-shirts & bag printing and promotional items, Ellen Heck- snake bags, Fred & Liz Bosman-Hospitality Suite, John Morairty- Auctioneer, Beth Girard & Jim Gerholdt for their exceptional live animal display of native MN herps. We would also like to thank the MHS members who stepped up and helped out during the Symposium weekend, Skyler Bouley -all around volunteer par excellence, Sarah Richard, Chris Smith, Erica Hoaglund, Jan Andreasen, Jacob Mee, Nina Katayama, and Terry Odegaard. As well as Bill Moss and Nancy Hakomaki for their Renfest tribute Friday night and Beer wenches Heather and Christa.

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Treasurer’s Report for Nov 2011 Prepared by Nancy Haig

Beginning Balance

$21,321.43

Income: Membership

Raffle

Adoption

Rodent Sales Renfest Donations Banquet

$280.00 $63.00 $105.00 $470.00 $2,848.50 $105.00

Total Income $3,871.50 Expense: Program Rodent Cost adopt/Vet Newsletter Midwest Supplies Postage Library

$50.00 $678.85 $60.00 $511.86 $5,183.46 $21.72 $100.00 $72.00

Total Expense $6,603.93 Cash Increase/Decrease

-$2,732.43

Ending Balance

$18,589.00

Placement of cash holdings

Checking Account TCF/Paypal

Paypal

Cash on hand

$18,589.00 $2,432.09 $336.96 $175.00

Total $21,532.05 Notes: Midwest breakdown will be in the year end report

December Adoption Report

Posted by Sarah Richard, Edited by Chris Rueber There were two Fire Belly Toads, three Russian Tortoises, three Bearded Dragons, a Day Gecko, a Leopard Gecko, a Burmese Python, a Ball Python and a Corn Snake.

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Advertising Costs Size Cost Business Card Sized $5/month or $55/year* 1/4 Page $10/month or $110/year* 1/2 Page $20/month or $220/year* Full Page $40/month or $440/year* *12th month is free with a one year committment.

rodentorders@mnherpsoc.com

MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY BELL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 10 CHURCH STREET SE MINNNEAPOLIS, MN 55455-0104

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ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Next Meeting: Friday - January 6th - 7:00 pm Room 335 Borlaug Hall, U of M St. Paul Campus

MHS Voice Mail: 612.326.6516 MHS Web Page: www.mnherpsoc.com

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