Vol. 32 (2012), No. 3

Minnesota Herpetological Society

The White Snake Sale is Coming!

the newsletter of the

Contents Upcoming Speaker: Boelen’s Pythons

March 2012

Volume 32

Number 3

B OA R D OF DI R E C TOR S President Christopher E Smith president@mnherpsoc.com

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

651.315.7760

Vice President Dāv Kaufman 612.669.4567 vicepresident@mnherpsoc.com Recording Secretary Ellen Heck recsecretary@mnherpsoc.com

763.593.5414

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

Stay informed! Join us on our forums!

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

March 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 612.616.8431 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 Credit: Stewart Macdonald Found on Flickr. Reproduced with permission.

© 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

March 2012

Volume 32

Number 3

February General Meeting Presentation - Friday, March 2nd - Starting at 7 P.M. University of MN - St. Paul Campus, Borlaug Hall, Room 335 Mark Spatero will be presenting on...

Boelen’s Pythons!

And, in case you missed Nick Mutton’s talk at the February general meeting:

Carpet Pythons The speaker in February was Nick Mutton, co-author of The Complete Carpet Pythons.

Nick has been fascinated with and breeding these snakes for 20 years. One thing he has observed over the years is that although you can incubate the eggs in an incubator, the carpets do a better job incubating the eggs themselves. The babies hatch out larger and healthier, and although the females end up very thin after 7 months of not eating, they obviously know something we humans do not.

Pythons in general immigrated to Australia from Asia about 35 million years ago. Once they got there, they quickly diversified into the various eco-systems available. Carpet pythons are endemic to Australia with a few species in New Guinea. However, they didn’t need to get their feet wet to spread to the island; New Guinea and Australia are the same continental mass. Periodically more of it sticks out of the ocean and the Australian native species walked there before the oceans rose again.

Morelia spilota spilota, the diamond python, is one of first pythons ever described. They come in three varieties; a northern form, a southern form and a very stable integrade form in between the two. This is a bit unusual as there are no geographic barriers, at least now, to explain the differences. This is true of the birds and skinks in this area as well, so

possibly there was some sort of barrier in the past. As Nick put it, it is like an entire mountain range just got up and left. They live in areas that are cooler than one would expect for pythons; cool wet forests with cool drafts of air under the canopy. They seem delicate in captivity but this is due to their specific climate needs.

The coastal carpet, morelia spilota mcdowelli, is found on the northeast coast and seems to have no real rules as to their appearance.

They tend to be very arboreal, spending roughly 90% of their time “on a stick”. The extreme southern snakes are the largest (10’14’), have larger mostly pattern-less heads and the babies are red. The northern types are smaller and the colors are more contrasting.

Morelia spilota cheynei is the jungle carpet.

There are many color differentiations in this group but not enough genetic differences to make valid subspecies. This may be because during the inter-glacial periods, the rainforests grow back and the snakes spread out.

But the eco-system does not last long enough for genetic variation.

The species of morelia spilota variegata used to include all carpet pythons but now just is specifically a rarer type from the northwest.

These are very distinct genetically, coming from an area of eucalyptus. They are mostly 3

The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society orange and brown in coloring.

The inland carpet, morelia spilota metcalfei, may need be more than a subspecies of carpet python, being very genetically distinct from the others. However, despite a dividing mountain range splitting the population, they are very closely related to each other. In color they are a gunmetal blue. The region they are found in is extremely dry; many of the “rivers” only have water in them at certain times of the year, or every couple of years.

The population density is therefore fairly low.

In captivity they will actually build nests to lay eggs in. They became available in the US about 5 years ago and were successfully bred last year.

Bredl’s python, morelia bredl, comes from a desert in the center of continent that is surrounded by another desert. Alice Springs is in this area and the terrain has a lot of rock escarpments and gum trees. The sand is red, so the snakes are very red in color to blend in. Finding them in the wild tends to be difficult. Although technically not a carpet python, this is one of Nick’s favorite species.

The southern carpet became a subspecies in 1981 and has now been elevated to a full species morelia imbreicata. There are basically two populations in south central and southwestern Australia, separated by about 700 miles with not a lot in between. This is probably due to the long term climate changes the continent has gone through over the last 14 million years.

The papuan carpet, morelia spilota harrisoni, is found over in New Guinea. The island is covered mostly by rainforest, with a few scrub patches of eucalyptus scattered around. If is in the patches that the Australian species, includ4

March 2012

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Number 3

ing the pythons, are found. Genetically, they are almost indistinguishable from the coastal species. Most are found along the southern coast, although there is one lone record from the 1920’s in the north. It is likely they are still there, but no one has gone looking to find them, or determine if they are a distinct species. The eucalyptus savannahs are not connected, nor has there been any real testing done between the different populations to determine what, if any, variations there are.

Most appear to be similar, although the eastern snakes tend to be larger and heavier.

Like most snakes, carpet pythons have enough genetic variations and mutations to produce morphs. Although Nick doesn’t think they will become another ball python, they are becoming more available and so more popular.

This is going to become even more true in the future, with bans being placed on the larger pythons. Carpet pythons can produce the most common morphs like albino, striped and axanthic of course, but zebra, jaguar, tiger and caramel variations are also being bred.

Some types, like granite, tend to have health issues. Nick’s theory is that since morphs are caused by the color genes not working correctly, other genes are also not fully functional. Rather than trying to describe the morphs, I suggest visiting Nick’s website www.inlandreptile.com for pictures. Or check out www.

Moreliapythons.com for “carpet python nerd central”.

The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society

March 2012

Volume 32

Number 3

Board Minutes for January 7th, 2011

By Ellen Heck

New Business

The meeting was called to order at 6:20pm at the St. Paul Campus. The calendar was reviewed for action items.

Ellen read the minutes. Several corrections were made. Motion to accept the minutes as corrected: Heather; 2nd: Jeff. Motion passed.

GiveMN.org: This is a website to allow people to donate money to a non-profit. All nonprofits are listed whether we know it or not but the information can be added to our website to advertise it. Any donations will be mailed to our official address.

Vice-President February: Nick Mutton - carpet pythons; March: Mark Spatero; May: open; June: Kevin McCurley - conservation of rattlesnakes; July: Mark Tovar - snake venom in cancer research; August: Wayne Hill - the history of the National Reptile Breeders Expo & turtle keeping; Sept: open; October: Bill Love - herp photography in the field; November: may be booked; December: possibly Tell Hicks

Expense Payment System: Rather than create a 4th bank account or get into pre-paid credit cards, a card will be issued against the transfer account to make certain payments, such as speaker expenses, easier.

Adoption Committee: A few more things need to be defined to break up the intake and the handling of unadopted animals after the meeting.

There are several volunteers.

Mailbox: The University will no longer allow MHS to have a mailbox at the Bell Museum.

There are several options, including a PO box at a post office, the UPS store and a personal address. These will be reviewed at the February meeting.

Old Business Online Newsletters: So far, 23 people have signed up to receive electronic newsletters. The exchange newsletters still need to be reviewed.

The extra newsletters being sent to some of the board positions can be discontinued. Lifetime memberships will be given the same options as any other member. Expired memberships will receive the electronic newsletter only for the 2 months grace period, regardless of their preference. They will also have 2 months grace on the website.

Sioux Falls Herp Society: A new society is starting up in the Sioux Falls area. Heather will contact them to see if they would like to set up a newsletter exchange.

Motion to adjourn: Jeff; 2nd: Dav. Meeting adjourned: 9:51 pm.

Meeting Dates: The dates for September and October still need to be finalized, as there are conflicts.

5

The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society

March 2012

As of January 1st, 2012 all new and renewing MHS memberships at the $20 (Basic), $40 (Contributing), $60 (Sustainable), and $25 (Business) levels will receive ONLINE ONLY newsletters by default. Memberships expiring after the first of January will be grandfathered into the printed newsletter system at no additional cost until their 2012 renewal deadline. The most recent 12 online newsletters will be viewable (to current members only) by logging into the MHS’s website.

All newsletters older than 12 months will be viewable to the public. We will also be sending out notices of newsletter availability via e-mail starting in January 2012.

If a member desires to continue receiving printed copies of the newsletter in the mail, they will need to opt-in at the time of their 2012 renewal date. By opting in to a print copy of the newsletter, the member is also agreeing to pay an additional $5.00 above the cost of their standard membership and will need to notify and submit the additional fee to the Membership Secretary. That additional fee will need to be paid each year upon renewal.

As of January 1st, 2012, any member can request to be moved to the online only newsletter system before their 2012 renewal date. This is encouraged! Please send your name (First and Last) and preferred e-mail address to the Membership Secretary at: memsecretary@mnherpsoc.com Sincerely, MHS Board of Directors www.mnherpsoc.com

Number 3

Treasurer’s Report for Jan 2012

NOTICE- Minnesota Herpetological Society In an effort to cut costs and be more environmentally friendly, the current Board of Directors has made the decision to move the monthly newsletter to a digital format. It is our hope that as the society reduces the volume of its printed materials, it will open up additional funds that can be turned around and used to further benefit the members of the MHS, along with furthering the goals of the society with things such as by bringing in additional high-quality speakers and funding herpetofaunal research.

Volume 32

Prepared by Nancy Haig

Beginning Balance

$13,449.20

Income: Membership

Raffle

Adoption

Rodent Sales Hands-On Donations Holiday Banquet Midwest Symposium

$280.00 $51.00 $110.00 $459.00 $212.65 $165.00 $2,748.50

Total Income $4,026.15 Expense: Newsletter

Program

Rodent Cost

adopt/Vet

Holiday Banquet Midwest Symposium

$230.70 $500.00 $0.00 $60.00 $115.71 $484.32

Total Expense $1,390.73 Cash Increase/Decrease

+$2,635.41

Ending Balance

$16,084.62

Placement of cash holdings

Checking Account Transfer to checking TCF/Paypal

Paypal

Cash on hand

$16,084.62 $2,300.00 $131.09 $451.98 $175.00

Total $19,142.69

February Adoption Report

Posted by Sarah Richard, Edited by Chris Rueber

6

There was one Ball Python and one Garter Snake. Two Boarded Dragons, and a single Leopard Gecko. There were three Russian Tortoise, three Soft Shell Turtle, two Red Eared Slider, and three Toad Box Turtles.

Minnesota Herpetological Society Membership Application New

Name

Renewal

Address

Membership #

City, State, Zip Phone Email List in MHS Directory? Yes No Contact information only? Yes No

Type

Herp related interests

Check #

Active Memberships: Sustainin ($60/year) Contributing ($40/year) Basic ($20/year) Printed Newsletter ($5/year plus membership) Corresponding Memberships: Commercial ($25/year, 2 business card ads/year) Required check info. Drivers Lic #

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.

Rodents! Order online!

Did you know you can order online? By phone?

See below!

MICE

Pinkies Fuzzies Hoppers Weanlings Adults Jumbo Adult

RATS

Small Adults Med Adults Large Adults Jumbo

WEIGHT 2-3 grams 5-7 grams 8-11 grams 12-15 grams 25-30 grams 45+ grams

WEIGHT 50-60 grams 125-150 grams 200-240 grams 250-350 grams

PRICE

$7 / dz $7 / dz $8 / dz $9 / dz $10 / dz $14 / dz

PRICE

$18 / dz $24 / dz $30 / dz $36 / dz

For pick-up at monthly meetings only. Orders may be placed the following ways 1. At the meeting for the following Month 2. Online at http://mnherpsoc.com/content/rodent-orders 3. Calling the MHS voicemail: 612.326.6516 Orders MUST be placed 10 DAYS IN ADVANCE of the date of meeting in order to guarantee availability.

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 (3) consecutive months, after which time they may be resubmitted.

Submissions: All advertisements should be submitted to the MHS Membership Secretary at the general meeting or mailed to: 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.

Advertising Costs Size

Business Card Sized 1/4 Page 1/2 Page Full Page

Cost

$5/month or $55/year* $10/month or $110/year* $20/month or $220/year* $40/month or $440/year*

* 12th month is free with a one year committment.

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

Non-profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Twin Cities, MN Permit no. 92275

Next Meeting: Friday - March 2nd - 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

This newsletter is printed on recycled paper