Vol. 32 (2012), No. 10

the newsletter of the

Minnesota Herpetological Society

Board Elections are coming!

Contents Speaker: John Moriarty on Amphibians and Reptiles Native to Minnesota May Speaker Recap: Sri Lanka Animal Venom Research

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

C/O 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

October 2012

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

Number 10

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

763.434.8684

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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.

Jacob Mee 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.com

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 C/O 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: Chris Smith, MHS President

© 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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Number 10

General Meeting Presentation - Friday, October 5th - Starting at 7 P.M. University of MN - St. Paul Campus, Borlaug Hall, Room 335 John Moriarty will be presenting on...

Amphibians and Reptiles Native to Minnesota It has been almost 20 years since Amphibian and Reptiles Native to Minnesota (Oldfield and Moriarty 1994) was published. The interest in and information on amphibians and reptiles increased greatly over that time. In particular, the natural history and distributional information grew steadily over the years.

The Minnesota County Biological Survey has visited most of the state’s counties gathering large numbers of distributional records. The Minnesota Herpetological Society has also increased their field trips and survey work. Lastly, the general public provided a great deal of important information by way of sightings and other observations. We received many records from people who read the first edition and realized the frog or snake in their yard was not mapped or was doing something not described in the book.

Salamander, Four-toed Salamander, and Common Musk Turtle found in the state and one introduced species, Pond Slider. The taxonomy has changed tremendously with over 40% of Minnesota species having a change in their genus or species names.

The interest in the conservation of reptiles and amphibians has grown. This can be seen in the large volunteer response to the Frog and Toad Calling Survey or the public’s concern about turtles crossing roads.

John is the co-author of both editions of the book.

He has been keeping and studying amphibians and reptiles, especially turtles, in Minnesota for almost 30 years. He has been a member of MHS for the same length of time.

There have been three additional species, Spotted

And, in case you missed the September general meeting, here is a recap just for you!

Sri Lanka Animal Venom Research Dan Keyler is a clinical toxicologist and an adjunct professor at the U of M in experimental and clinical pharmacology. He is also a long-time MHS member (he claims since Nixon was in office). Recently Dan was in Sri Lanka working with AVRI (Animal Venom Research International) as the director of research.

The project is being conducted in collaboration with the Instituto Clodomiro Picado of the University of Costa Rica and the University of Peradeniva.

Sri Lanka is an island in the northern Indian Ocean off the coast of India. It encompasses approximately 25,000 square miles and is primarily Buddhist. The population is just over 20 million, nearly half of which live in the principal cities of Colombo and Kandy. Until 1972 it was known as Ceylon, the name given to it by the British. Because of its varied terrain and large tracts of undeveloped land, there is a large variety of wildlife, including some incredibly

toxic snakes.

Sri Lanka has one of the highest rates of snake bite mortality and morbidity in the world, with approximately 40,000 bites each year. Reasons for this include the absence of optimally efficacious antivenom, the presence of multiple venomous snakes from both viperidae (the most significant species being Russell’s viper, the hump-nosed viper and the saw-scaled viper) and elapidae (spectacled cobra and several species of krait), the lack of local medical help and the lack of effective anti-venom, resulting in large doses of ineffective anti-venom being injected into the victim, which raises the occurrence of side effects. AVRI’s goal is to change this by producing an effective and economical anti-venom that is produced locally.

The first step was to get permissions and permits

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The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society to conduct the work. Despite the high bite and mortality rates, Sri Lanka is very protective of its snakes. Permits and cooperation were necessary from not only the government but also the religious and local communities as well. Then about 5 acres of land was purchased and the building put up last year. Currently it is one level which houses the snakes and labs, but there are plans to add a second floor that will include a library, sleeping rooms and showers. There are about 300 snakes in the serpentarium at any given time. There is also a local dog, which Dan paid $2 for and named Avri, who is the official mascot.

Anti-venom is produced by first “milking” venom from a snake. The exact method of extraction varies depending on the species (usually because of the size of the snake and the location of the fangs) as does the yield from each snake. Snakes are milked once every six weeks. After 3 milkings, the snakes are released where they were found. Snakes are collected from all over the island, and in addition to being used to produce anti-venom, the venom will be studied to determine whether there are any regional variations.

The venom is then diluted and injected into horses in a process known as active immunization. The

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horse will produce anti-bodies to the venom. The blood is then drawn from the animal and the antibodies extracted and refined to produce anti-venom.

This phase of the project will be done in Costa Rica, although eventually the entire enterprise will be moved to Sri Lanka. Horses are used because of their size and availability. Any animal could be used, but the larger the animal, the more blood can be extracted.

Once the anti-bodies are processed, they can be injected into a snake bite victim as a passive immunization. AVRI plans on making a poly-specific anti-venom that will be effective against the cobra, krait, and Russell’s, saw-scaled and hump-nosed vipers. This may be done by either by injecting multiple venom types into the horse or by combining them after the anti-bodies are extracted. The resulting anti-venom will be more convenient and economical. Currently, anti-venom costs about $1000 per vial. The goal is to bring the cost down to $50 per vial. Once broken down and dried, if stored correctly the anti-venom can be stored for years. Dan estimates that it will be about two years before clinical trials can be conducted, then another year for the trials.

The website is WWW.USAVRI.ORG

Board Minutes for August 4th, 2012

Board present – Chris Smith, Ellen Heck, Nancy Haig, Heather Clayton, Chris Rueber, Jeff LeClere, Jacob Mee Board absent – Dav Kaufman, Beth Girard, Peter Tornquist Non-board Present – Kathy Claugherty, Rebecca Markowitz, Natalie Tovella The meeting was called to order at 6:15pm. There were 70 people at the general meeting. The calendar was reviewed for action items.

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

Old Business

RICA – Various aspects of a new agreement between MHS and RICA were discussed, including when an animal can be surrendered, what lead-time must be given to RICA before the surrender can be made, criteria for rejecting a surrender and how to handle emergency situations. Heather will write up the notes and send them out to people.

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Website – Chris is still looking for help or a replacement webmaster. The email only allows 100 emails to be sent per hour, so the newsletters mailing needs to be broken up into smaller batches.

Archived Newsletters – The archiving is nearly complete.

City of Minneapolis Permit – No word had been received from the city, although MHS did receive notification of a rate increase.

New Business Burmese Study – A U of M grad student is looking for normal Burmese pythons for a study. Sarah can’t give him unadopted animals but MHS can get notice out to the membership for people to volunteer their animals. The animals will not be harmed in the study.

Motion to adjourn: Heather; 2nd: Jeff. Meeting adjourned at 8:57pm.

The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society

October 2012

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No, Not the Frogs!

By John White of Clara City, Minnesota

least, was my expectation.

Nature used to be kinder. Gentler. More willing to, well, co-exist with us humans. No, I’m not going down Disney’s “Yellow Brick Road” where deer and wolves supposedly wrap forepaws around one another in fantasy, Swan Lake visualizations.

Nope, not this frog. Why the little frump turned to face the rod tip and to actually bite the end of my rod! Chomped right down on it. Fortunately the little frog didn’t have Olness for a dentist! To say I was shocked would be an understatement.

In reality it was a bear-eats-the-rabbit world in nature, and unless we humans entered into unfriendly environs, most of the animal kingdom tended to sneak away from our collective stench and stupidity. Those two human traits have saved oodles of lives through the eons.

“Hey,” I shouted over to Cousin Mick, who was outfitting his canoe for a little bluegill fishing, “check this out!”

Now, take this little two inch frog up in the BWCA last week, who suggested that a harsh change in that fauna detente may have slipped into George Orwell’s predictions from the past. This little bugger backed down to no one. Period. Our little momentary episodes started early Monday morning when I poked his butt with the tip of my fishing rod.

Common sense, and that historical stance I previously stated, would suggest that the dark green little water-setter would take the opportunity to jump safely away clear out to toward the cattails. That, at

He ambled over at just about the same moment as I reached to prod the little frog a second time, and was witness to another flagrant attack! Not just once, but twice. And for good measure, the little amphibian actually hopped a clean pivot and turned to eye me straight on! With an evil and angry set of eyes.

“That little thing has an attitude,” I told the cousin from Missouri, who’d actually been pleased with the local mosquitoes that he called “slow” — because where his daughter lives in Mexico, they consider the buzzers “fast” mosquitoes. “You simply can’t slap them,” he’d said. Slow mosquitoes and a frog with an attitude. Welcome to Minnesota!

What is it with the vast animal kingdom? This frog, and those two different women who have reported serious otter attacks in recent weeks. Otters, you say. Yes, those innocent looking little pups who love sliding and playing along the banks of our rivers.

A few years ago my fishing and canoeing buddy, Wes Konzin, and I were paddling down from the Granite dam on an April morning to fish below the Minnesota Falls dam for early season cats when we paddled past the islands just be5

The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society yond the electric plant. On the lee side of the second island, where there was decidedly less current, we came upon a family of otters seemingly playing on a little mud slide. As soon as we saw them we lifted our paddles and glided to a stop just as quietly as possible. I suspect we got in a good minute or two of watching their giddy play before we were spotted. Then, in a blink of an eye, and true to form, they disappeared into the chocolate waters.

After the first report surfaced about the otter attacks I seriously doubt if I was the only disbeliever of the so-called attack, those deep wounds aside. But when the second one was reported, well, what can you say? The times must be a-changing.

I mean, frogs? There have been those August mornings along the Minnesota River where the river banks would be occupied by literally thousands of little frogs. All along the banks and on both sides.

As you paddled down river they would all scurry up the bank in such vast numbers and symmetry that the whole bank appeared to move psychedelically. And, if you’ve ever tried to catch a bull frog, good luck. They sit quietly until you are just ready

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to pounce, and in the blink of an eye, even those a foot long will leap right through your fingers to safety.

Well, just before heading to the BWCA we spotted and caught a couple of leopard frogs in dewy grass.

Then we came up on the little green Kermit on Lake One. That little green frog had my attention all week.

Every morning I’d poke him, and he bite my rod before pivoting around to threaten me with those eyes. For me it was all play, but for the frog it was clear that our little ten feet of BWCA beach was his domain and he intended to stand his sand! Did the same with the blade of a canoe paddle. I sure as hell wasn’t going to stick my finger or toe in its direction!

At one point, in fact, Cousin Mick suggested I catch the little fellow. “Are you out of your blasted mind?”

I believe was my appropriate response.

I do value my fingers.

Be Part of the Board of MHS! It’s that time of the year again! You will be hearing more about the coming elections in the upcoming general meeting, but until then do try to think of any nominations you might like to make!

The Minnesota Herpetological Society is comprised entirely of unpaid, volunteer positions.

Virtually everything accomplished by the Society is done through individual or group incentive, effort and vision. Much of what is done may not be visible, but is necessary for the success of the Society. MHS is very proud of the high percentage of active, dedicated volunteers. There are many opportunities available to those willing to devote their time and energy by becoming a contributor. Contributions need

not be monetary to be effective. Participation of our active membership determines the direction of MHS. Think of how you can help MHS grow, move forward, and find new directions to explore. This is, after all, your society. Get involved! We’ve included the duties and description of MHS board and chair positions so you can see what each job entails. For more information contact someone on the board.

In order to join the board, you must be a current, active member of MHS, and have reached the age of majority.

Come and join the board- Be part of the adventure!

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The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society

October 2012

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Number 10

Board Positions President: The president is the good will ambassador and spokesmen for the society. They chair monthly membership meetings and board meetings. Appoint all special and standing comittee chairs; subject to the approval of the Board.

Ensure all decisions by the board are followed.

Notify people of the board’s decisions. Maintain a list of all volunteers, and keep a tally of total hours. Prepare an annual schedule of society events and tasks. Confirm that mandatory deliverables are completed. Confirm insurance coverage is adequate. Confirm that club duties are completed by officers and committees.

Vice President: The Vice President is responsible for coordinating and introducing the speakers at the monthly meetings. He/She also assesses and facilitates the needs of the speakers, as well as adjusting the lighting in the room as needed.

The Vice Presidential duties also include assisting the President, performing his/her duties in case of absence, notifying the newsletter of upcoming speakers and generating an article to promote those upcoming speakers. He/She is also to attend the board meetings which are held the Saturdays following the monthly meeting.

Treasurer: Responsible for all funds and assets of the MHS. Maintain checkbook and banking accounts. Sets-up and maintains ledgers. Present monthly financial report at board meeting and for newsletter. Maintains expense accounts.

Reconciles statements. Prepares financial documentation on all club activities. Prepares yearend report and submits the records for audit.

Serves on the annual audit committee.

Membership Secretary: Collect payment for membership and provide funds to treasurer, maintain and update membership database. Ac-

tivates new members on the website. Responsible for supplying a monthly summary of membership activities, and maintaining a file of prior newsletters and responding to all information and membership inquiries. Insures the printing of the annual white pages. Making backups of all reports. Newsletter label creation and distribution.

Recording Secretary: Records the minutes of the monthly board and general meetings and provides summaries to the Newsletter Editor.

The Recording Secretary maintains: the minutes of the board meetings, a complete archive of past newsletters, and a listing of the inventory of MHS supplies, fixtures and goods. Other duties include chairing the Election Committee and providing an annual summary of any unresolved action items.

Newsletter Editor: Edits submissions, enters monthly business, and prepares the MHS newsletter for printing. The Editor also solicits articles, items of interest and advertising. The Editor is responsible for the appearance of the newsletter.

Member-at-Large: Participate in the decision making process and volunteer for projects or committees. The Members-At-Large perform other duties as assigned by the President (e.g. pass out information at meetings, field questions, etc).

In addition to all duties listed, all board members are expected to be present during the monthly board meeting that takes place the day following the general meeting, usually located in student services. Beyond that, all Officers are expected to abide the membership bylaws and policies of MHS. 7

The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society

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Treasurer’s Report for August 2012 Prepared by Nancy Haig

Beginning Balance

$15,458.69

Income: Membership

$365.00 Raffle

$46.00 Adoption

$150.00 Rodent Sales $289.00

Newsletter Editor Needed!

As of the end of this term period, the current newsletter editor is stepping down from the position due to time constraints. If you are interested, please consider stepping up to take his place.

Currently the newsletter is processed using Adobe InDesign CS5 and Photoshop CS5.

For more details, or if you’re interested in hearing about how the newsletter is put together, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Your current newsletter editor, Chris Rueber crueber@gmail.com

Banquet Help Needed!

The MHS Holiday Banquet is upon us! Help is needed! Please contact Chris Smith for details and to volunteer!

Total Income 850.00 Expense: Newsletter

$45.00 Program $100.00 Vet Costs

$60.00 Grants

$1,090.75 Field Survey

$173.49 City Permit

$211.00 Rodent Cost

$287.50

Total Expense

$1,967.74

Cash Increase/Decrease

-$1,117.74

Ending Balance

$14,340.95

Placement of cash holdings

Checking Account TCF/Paypal

Paypal

Cash on hand

$14,340.95 $931.41 $471.84 $175.00

Total $15,919.20

September Adoption Report

Posted by Sarah Richard, Written by Chris Rueber

2 Red-eared Sliders, 1 Painted Turtle, 1 Tiger Salamander, 3 Bearded Dragons, 2 Green Anoles, 1 Iguana, 1 Leopard Gecko, 1 Western Fence Lizard, 3 Cornsnakes, 1 Boa, 3 Ball Pythons, 1 Black Ratsnake.

2 Iguans, 4 Cornsnakes, 4 Boas and 1 Ball Python went in to adoption.

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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, C/O 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: Minnesota Herpetological Society, C/O 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*

MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY C/O BELL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 10 CHURCH ST SE MINNNEAPOLIS, MN 55455-0104

Next Meeting:

Friday - October 5th - 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