Vol. 24 (2004), No. 9

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SSEPTEMBEREPTEMBER 2004 V2004 VOLUMEOLUME 24 N24 NUMBERUMBER 99

THE NEWSLETTER OF THE

September’s Guest Speaker:

BOB DUERR:“SNAKES AND FLOWERS”A PERSON ALL BABY-BOOMERS WILL REMEMBER,YOU WILL WANT TO BE HERE FOR THIS

INSIDE:RRAREARE FOSSILFOSSIL FOUNDFOUND ININ NNORTHORTH DDAKOTAKOTAA VVALLEYALLEYA STORY OF 15-20 FOOT-LONG ANCIENT TURTLES BY DAN GUNDERSON

HHERPERP SSURURVEYVEY WWRAPRAP-U-UPP BY RANDY BLASUS

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

The Minnesota HerpetologicalS o c i e t yMHS Webpage: http://www.mnherpsoc.orgMHS Group Email: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/mnherpsocMHS Voice Mail: 612.624.7065

Board of DirectorsPresidentRandy Blasus

Vice PresidentTony Gamble

Recording SecretaryBarb Buzicky

Membership SecretaryNancy Haig

TreasurerLiz Bosman

Newsletter EditorBill Moss

Members at LargeHeather Clayton

Nancy Hakomaki

Mike Bush

Jodi L. Aherns

CommitteesAdoptionSarah Richard

EducationJan Larson

LibraryBeth Girard

WebmasterAnke Reinders

[email protected]

Herp Assistance

AmphibiansGreg Kvanbek John Meltzer

ChameleonsVern & Laurie Grassel

Crocodilians Jeff Lang Bill Moss

LizardsNancy Haig

Large Boas, PythonsTina Cisewski

Other SnakesJeff Leclere John Meltzer

Aquatic TurtlesJohn Levell John Moriarty

Terrestrial TurtlesFred Bosman John Levell

The Purpose of the Minnesota Herpetological Society is to:• 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. TheMinnesota Herpetological Society Newsletter is published monthly to provide its memberswith information concerning the society’s activities and a media for exchanging informa-tion, opinions and resources.

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

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

-or-The Minnesota Herpetological Society Bill MossAttn: Newsletter Editor 75 Geranium Ave EastBell museum of Natural History Saint Paul, MN 5511710 Church St. SE. -or-Minneapolis, MN 55455.0104 [email protected]

Copyright 2004, 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 MHS Newsletter citing: volume, number and date.

The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society September 2004 Volume 24 Number 9

The Vice-presidents reportBy Tony Gamble

Friday, September 10th, 2004, 7:00 PM

Program:Snakes and Flowers

Guest Speaker:Bob Duerr

Any Minnesotan over the age of 35 will tell you thatthere has only been one real snake man on television:Bob Duerr. Decadesbefore Steve Irwin or MarkO’Shea landed cushy jobson cable Bob was enter-taining and educatingyoung people aboutamphibians and reptiles.From the early 1960sthrough the mid 1970sBob’s appearances onlocal children’s televisionprograms like CaseyJones inspired a genera-tion of young Minnesotansto appreciate scaly crittersand “be kind to snakes”. Bob’s entry in televisionwas an offshoot of his jobsas zookeeper at St. Paul’sComo zoo. Bob startedworking at Como in 1959and was, in manyrespects, the zoo’s publicface. In addition to rep-tiles, Bob cared for manyother animals. Gorillas,deer, and wolves wereamong the critters heworked with. Bob wasvery devoted to his job and often took young and sick

animals home to provide round the clock care. Thisoccasionally led to problems. The landlord was calledon one occasion when downstairs neighbors com-plained about the noise in Bob’s apartment. The land-lord, expecting Bob was having too many friends over,was surprised at what he found. Bob, of course,explained that baby elephants need round the clockattention but the landlord was adamant that the ele-phant leave. The need for more help with young ani-mals, in part, inspired Bob and others to form theComo zoo docents, an organization of zoo volunteers.After leaving the zoo in 1972, Bob went to work as anaturalist at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Itwas there that he and filmmaker Tom Ramsay madethe film, “Snakes and Flowers”. The film introducedeach of Minnesota’s snake species and provided nat-

ural history informationand anecdotes. The filmalso projected the imageof snakes as an importantpart of nature and notsomething to be feared ordestroyed. Bob is also well known tovisitors to the MinnesotaState Fair. Since 1967 hehas operated the snakezoo, delighting thousandsof people with glimpses ofsnakes from Minnesotaand around the world. Bob will show “Snakesand Flowers” at theSeptember meeting andwill talk about his days atComo zoo, the ScienceMuseum, and othersnakey adventures. Bobis a great public speakerwith plenty of tales to tell.This will be a fun meeting!Note: The Septembermeeting will be on thesecond Friday because of

the Labor Day holiday.

Upcoming Meetings: Friday, October 1st, 2004 - TBAMHS’s Tom Bliese at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival photo by Bill Moss

Bob Duerr


News, Notes & Announcements

Raffle Donors - AugustA special thanks to he followingpeople for donating to the MHSraffle

Marylin Blasus

Vern and Laurie Grassel“Stuffed” snake and lizard

Brian and Heather Ingbretson“Hatching snakes”, Biomite and Nomite

Critter of the MonthThe following people brought ani-mals to the August meeting:

Beth GirardDiploda

John MoriartyWood Turtles

Tony GambleStink Pot Turtle

NOTICENOTICE OFOF ELECTIONELECTION

The membership of the MinnesotaHerpetological Society is herebynotified that the annual meeting,including elections for the 2005Board of Directors will take placeat the November, 2004 GeneralMembership meeting.

Date: November 5,2004Time: 7:00 PMWhere: Room 335, Borloug Hall,U of MN - St. Paul CampusWho: All current MHS members ingood standing.

Adoption Report - Augustby Sarah Richard, Adoption Chair

Following is a list of animals thatcame up for adoption. All but oneIguana went home with people. TheIguana is desperately looking for ahome. Unfortunately, my fosters arefull up and people have begun toavert their eyes and duck aroundcorners when they see me coming.(Hope it's that I am harassing themabout Iguanas/boas/RES etc. andnot my breath) But seriously folks, ifyou know of anyone who wouldmake a good caretaker for anIguana, have them contact LizRedmond or Jamie Pajak as wehave close to 20 Igs in foster andseem to have saturated the society.

Thanks in advance for any help you

ReminderAs was previously announced, as a way of increasing the participationof the membership in the content of our newletter, we are giving a cer-tificate for a sitting and an 11” x 14” Heritage print at Benda Photography(who actually encourage you to bring your herps! - see ad in thisnewsletter) This package, valued at $283, will go to the author of thearticle that the editor and a team of people yet to be determined, deemthe best of 2004. The subject can be anything herp related - caresheets, human interest, natural his-tory, short story, let your imagina-tion run wild. Keep in mind thatthere is limited space in thenewsletter so if you wait till the lastminute, we may not be able to runthe piece. The contest is closedeffective the November 2004newletter.

Lets get those pens and pencilsdusted off and get to work!

can give us.

Bearded Dragon (2)Blue Tongue SkinkIguana(2) Gulf Coast Box (2)Ornate mRussian Tort mRESBoaSpectacled Caiman FAmerican Alligator M


Minnesota Herpers inGeorgia

It is true you don’t know how goodyou have it till it’s gone. Well, theMHS isn’t gone, we are but we suremiss the society. Last Fall Toni andPaul Vetrone moved from northernMinnesota ton o r t h e r nGeorgia in pur-suit of biggerand betterthings. Sincemoving herewe’ve discov-ered thatGeorgia has aherp societybut nowherenear as activeand profes-sional as MN.The upside isthe weather.Our turtles andsome of ourt o r t o i s e sspend the yearoutdoors withall the wonder-ful sunshine.We have aB&W Tegu,Veiled Chameleon, Collared Lizard,and Bearded Dragon that are allreaping the benefits of natural sun-light for so many months of the year.We have formed North GeorgiaHerpetological Resources LLC toprovide educational programs to thepublic. We are located about 50miles north of Atlanta. “Casper”, ourfirst MHS adoption , is a 14 foot, 85pound albino Burmese Python, andone of our star attractions. It is amaz-ing the number of “city” people whocome north to enjoy the outdoorsand know very little about wildlife.Snakes in particular due to the num-

ber of venomous species in Georgiareally take a beating – the attitude of“the only good snake is a deadsnake” is sadly too prevalent. Wealso discovered the Georgia laws tobe a bit difficult for herpers – nonative species regardless of origin.That means no corn snakes (even

obvious CBmorphs), blackrat snakes,e a s t e r nk i n g s n a k e s ,eastern gartersnakes, east-ern box turtlesincluding threetoeds, butnative ven-omous snakesare okay, gofigure? Thereis an exceptionfor someaquatic turtlesbut not all. Thelaws certainlyhamper thebudding herp-er and aresurely ignoredin some cases.We hope tohelp changethat and have

a lot of fun in the meantime. We arekeeping our MHS membership cur-rent and look forward to receiving thenewsletter monthly. Visit us atwww.ngaherps.com or e-mail us [email protected].

Paul & Toni VetroneDahlonega, GA

Foreign Frogs Frighten SanFran

(CBS) By all appearances it is a tranquilhaven, reports CBS News CorrespondentJohn Blackstone. But lurking just beneath the calm surface

of the lily pond in San Francisco's GoldenGate Park is a feared foreign amphibian:the African Clawed Frog. The African Clawed Frog is kept as a pet

in some states but it is banned in Californiabecause it competes with and consumesnative species. "They are really hard to pick up because

they're very slippery," said Ken Howell,Asst. Curator, California Academy ofSciences. "And if you look at the back youand see the claws -- the three claws onthe back there."

Nobody knows how the outlawedamphibians got into the lily pond but theyhave reproduced wildly threatening towipe out most everything else. "These are very aggressive and invasive

frogs - they will eat anything they can gettheir mouth around," said Eric Mills, withAction for Animals. Aplan to kill or capture the frogs by drain-

ing the pond was cancelled by theCalifornia Department of Fish and Game.Some call that a foul up -- it's fueling fearsthe forbidden frogs could flourish far andwide. But officials say they are still looking for a

way to wipe out a creature that after mil-lions of years of evolution is almost inde-structible.

"You can't poison these frogs. You can'tblow them up. There's no way to get rid ofthem,'' says Rob Floerke, RegionalManager of the California Department ofFish and Game.

"It’s extremely difficult," said Floerke."And then, if you left two, you would beback in the same place again." So the interlopers of the lily pond won't be

gone anytime soon. When it comes to sur-vival, these frogs have legs. §

Paul and Toni were married at the Ren Fest in 2002


In a dry riverbed in eastern North Dakota, peopleon their hands and knees carefully uncover rarebones. This river valley was gouged from the earth10,000 years ago by water from melting glaciers.In the bed of an ancient ocean, scientists found agiant sea turtle. The discovery is from a time andplace far removed from the North Dakota wheatfields.

Cooperstown, N.D. — Paleontologist John Hogansonloves coming to this dry river bed.

"Where we're standing is the bed of the ocean -- wouldhave been the bed of the ocean 75 million years ago,"says Hoganson, who works for the North DakotaGeological Survey.

Dusty green sage plants dot the landscape, along witha scattering of cactus. A young red tail hawk circleslazily above. Under the thin layer of gray clay lie treas-ures from another time.

"Coming out here for me -- and I've been doing this for20 years -- it's always a thrill to go to a place where

you can think back that 75 million years ago thiswould have been the bottom of the ocean, withsharks swimming in here and these huge tur-tles," says John Hoganson.

A rough circle about 40 feet in diameter is ropedoff, and lots of small pink flags are stuck in theground, each marking the spot where a piece ofbone was found on the surface.

Eight people using a variety of hand tools arecarefully removing dirt from a small area. A mid-dle-aged man with broad shoulders and a sun-burned neck lies on his stomach. He's intentlyunearthing a small bone with a dental pick.

Peter Mack is a tow truck driver and amateur

rock hound, who has been coming to this valleyfor 30 years to look for arrowheads and fossils.It was here last summer that he stumbled across

The sea turtles were 15-20 feet long, with five to six foot flip-pers and a rubbery shell. (MPR Photo/Dan Gunderson)

"Coming out here for me, and I've been doing this for 20years, it's always a thrill to go to a place where you canthink back that 75 million years ago this would have beenthe bottom of the ocean with sharks swimming in here andthese huge turtles," says John Hoganson. (MPR Photo/DanGunderson)

RARE FOSSIL FOUND IN NORTH DAKOTA VALLEYby Dan Gunderson, Minnesota Public RadioJuly 22, 2004

an interesting bone. He wasn't sure what it was,but he knew it was important because he'd neverseen anything like it before.

"I got kind of excited -- probably a little over-excited. It's pretty exciting you know, not findingmuch for 30 years and then stumbling across

something like this. It's pretty good," says Mack.

Peter Mack's rare find was the jawbone of anArchelon, a giant sea turtle that lived in a shal-low sea covering all of North Dakota 75 millionyears ago. The sea turtles were 15-20 feet long,with five to six-foot flippers and a rubbery shell.

Part of a flipper is partially uncovered, andthere's also a flat curved bone about three feetlong that may be a rib.

Jim Daly is digging a trench around the bone soit can be encased in plaster to keep it safe whileit's hauled to the laboratory in Bismarck, NorthDakota. Daly is a retired police officer from LittleCanada, Minnesota. He's been on several fossildigs in North Dakota, and Daly is willing to put inlong days in the scorching sun for a simple rea-son.

"Being the first human to see something that's 75million years old," says Daly. "I picked up fossilswhen I was young. I've just always been inter-ested in them. Now I have time to go on the digs.I tell people -- other people sit home and watchDiscovery Channel. We get to do it."

Paleontologist John Hoganson depends on vol-unteers like Jim Daly, because he has a smallstaff and can't afford to hire enough profession-als for large excavations.

This is painstaking work, because these bones

are fragile and could easily crumble if not han-dled properly. Progress is measured in fractionsof an inch.

Hoganson has been digging for fossils in NorthDakota for more than 20 years, but still gets athrill from seeing ancient bones emerge from theearth.

"There's nothing quite l ike finding aTyrannosaurus Rex tooth lying on the surface ofthe earth, or a turtle jaw, or these kind of things,"Hoganson says. "Most of the people who comeand work with me here -- most of them are vol-unteers, and they always talk about, 'Wow, I'mthe first person to have seen this bone in 75 mil-lion years.' There's something about that, yeah."

It will likely take most of the summer to see justhow much of the Archelon skeleton is buriedhere. Only a few Archelon fossils have been dis-covered around the world. The most completeArchelon was found in South Dakota in the1970s. John Hoganson hopes the North Dakotafind will help scientists develop a better pictureof life under the sea 75 million years ago.

submitted by Nancy Hakomaki§

Dusty green sage plants dot the landscape along with ascattering of cactus. (MPR Photo/Dan Gunderson

“... Other people sit home and watch DiscoveryChannel, but we get to do it.”- Amateur paleontologist Jim Daly


The 2004 MHS Herp Survey in Upper Sioux AgencyState Parkby Randy Blasus

Weather provides an all encompassing, uncontrollable as well as barelypredictable phenomena that often is the determining factor in the successof many pursuits. So it was with the 2004 Survey. This year it actually pro-vided to the betterment of the task at hand. Almost perfect, warm andsunny days were followed by cool evenings allowing herps to thermoreg-ulate and participants to sleep well.

This field trip also proved to be one of the richest trips to date. Over 200herps of 11 species/subspecies were recorded. A good number of thesewere Prairie Skinks (Eumeces septentrionalis) and Gartersnakes(Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis, T.S. parietalis and T. radix.). The garters werenumerous on the prairie fields with notably large specimens on top of thebluff that were chasing and consuming equally large Leopard frogs (Ranapipiens). The skinks were found under rocks and all over the grassy hill-sides. Two notable specimens were secured for photographs included anice sized male in breeding colors (orange Jowls) and a sausage-likegravid female.

Of particular interest to most members were the Fox snakes (Elaphevulpina) captured. Several adult Fox Snakes were seen and captured forthe later photo session. Most were found in an aggregation near a favoritehiding spot while others were found hidden under man made objects or outin the middle of a field. A handful of juveniles fox snakes were rescuedfrom a manhole on the property with the aid of a snake hook attached toa long stick.

Amphibians were found in small numbers other than the Leopard frogs. Asolitary Chorus Frog (Pseudacris triseriata) was heard calling on one ofthe cool evenings. A somewhat larger chorus of Cope’s Gray Treefrogs(Hyla chrysoscelis) called from a swamp. Over a dozen Tiger Salamander(Ambystoma t. tigrinum) juveniles were likewise rescued from a manholecover with a net and pole setup.

While the fields were not totally overgrown, some were quite filled withvegetation and were difficult to herp. The rivers, however, were inacces-sible. Both the Minnesota and the Yellow medicine rivers which border thenorth and east edges of the park, respectively, were swollen with waterleaving few if any beaches or other perches above water for turtle obser-vation. It also made trapping a futile effort. Turtles were instead observedfrom the relative safety of shore.

The paucity of basking areas also served to concentrate those cheloniansso inclined to pack close together in order to receive the benefit of thewarm sun. Continued observation only revealed Spiny Softshell Turtles(Apalone spinifera) and a few False Map Turtles (Graptemys p. pseudo-geographica) to brave these perches. One lucky (?) softshell was caughtby a fisherman who generously (?) offered to sell it to a MHS member.Fortunately, they were convinced to pass the turtle to said member who


Plains Garter Snake

Blake Sheldon, Randy Blasus, LiamBonk, and Richard Bonk rescuing

Red-sided garter snake

Fox snake

Prairie skink

then released the animal.

Over the two days over twenty people par-ticipated in this survey including eager parkpersonnel, (who enthusiastically welcomedand helped us), a couple of local peopleand MHS members. The evenings werespent swapping tales around the fire aspeople ate their hard earned fire roastedmeal before retiring to the cool serenity ofsleep. The days were action packed climb-ing goat prairie and walking fields as theclouds swept over trailing a fresh breeze.

Just before the final hurrah and end of thetrip, cameras were freed and the herpsdocumented by professional and amateuralike. Jim Gerholdt brought along hismobile set for those wishing a moreappeasing picture then that of movedgrass. Blake Sheldon also pulled out his600 mm lens for us as he shot pictures pro-viding evidence of the map turtle and fur-ther documentation of the softshells.

Persons of particular note for this weekendand who provided much needed assis-tance were as follows. Tom Jessen, whoassisted in coordinating and guiding thevolunteers and provided an invaluable ref-erence source. Jim Gerholdt, BlakeSheldon who helped with the photographicsession and provided documentation forthe survey report. To Marilyn, withoutwhom the survey would not have beennearly as much fun as she provided all thecamp necessities and was the major con-tributor in its coordination. Lastly, all thosewho chose this weekend to join us andhelp the MHS provide information valuableto the MNDNR and who made this week-end a success….A Hearty Thanks is given.

Stay alert for information about next year’ssurvey in your newsletter. Those withquestions or who would like to participateor have suggestions for future suchendeavors, please contact the author andCoordinator of the surveys Randy Blasus952-925-4237. Thank you.§


Marilyn Blasus educates parkvisitors during the survey

Liam Bonk carries rescued foxsnakes

Carmeleta and Dan Knutsonadmire a fox snake

Marilyn and Randy present an edu-cation program to the public

Tiger Salamander

Leopard Frog

Look familiar?Your President, Randy Blasus resue-ing snakes.


Minnesota HerpetologicalSociety Board Meeting ReviewAugust 7, 2004by Barb Buzicky, RecordingSecretary

Board Members Present:Randy Blasus, Bill Moss. BarbBuzicky,Tony Gamble, NancyHakomaki, Jodi Aherns, NancyHaigLiz BosmanNon-Board Members Present:Fred Bosman, M a r i l y nBlasus

Meeting was called to order at6:15 PM CDT at the Universityof Minnesota Student Center,Room 202.

Minutes from the July 10, 2004,Board Meeting, were approvedwith changes.

Treasurer's Report for April,May, June, and July, 2004, wasapproved.

Membership Report for July,2004, was approved.General Meeting August 6,2004, had an attendance of 112.

President's Report:Randy continued his series onBoard Development, and therewere no questions on the lastsegment, Crisis Management.The next in the series isManaging Volunteer Programs.Randy read some informationfrom the Board handout.Volunteering is done by choice,without monetary reward, andfor the benefit of the community.

Vice President's Report:September Bob Duerr---Topic

TBA

Old Business:Newsletter Mailing Chair will beJim or Aaron Heit. TheIngebretson's will provide thetraining. The Board moved andapproved funds in the amount of$500 for a blue denimshirt with the MHS logo embroi-dered on it. Mission-Purposestatement-Nancy Haigresearched the topic and madeher findings known to theBoard. She did an excellentjob. Midwest update-the boardapproved up to $8000 forexpenses. There are 5 open-ings left for volunteers forchecking and cleaning the MHSexhibit in the DNR Building. PetExpo feedback-MHS was a hitwith people there last year.

New Business: The National WildlifeRehabilitation Assn is lookingfor people willing to volunteervideo equipment to them. MHSinsurance bill has come due,the Board moved and approved$1100 for the insurance bill.The Board voted to skip theBoard meeting in Septemberdue to the RenFest. TheOctober Board meeting will stillbe held on the 2nd of October.The Board approved funds forvet bills in the amount of $120.There will be no Board Meetingon September 11, 2004, due tothe RenFest. The next BoardMeeting will be on October 2,2004, at the St. Paul StudentCenter, Room 202.

Meeting adjourned at 8:20 PMCDT.

Alice Cooper's SnakeEats Too Much

HADDAM, Conn. - Alice thealbino python had a little toomuch to eat for dinner.

Just hours before its owner,rocker Alice Cooper, was totake the stage at a theater inWallingford last weekend, the8-foot-long snake ate a live ratand then swallowed a 12-by-14inch heating pad, wires and all,that had been left in its cage bymistake.

Before Saturday night's show,Cooper's roadies saw thesnake's unusually large bulgeand called at-risk snake helperAlison Sloan, who directedAlice to Higganum veterinarianRichard Jacobs.

"It was absolutely an emer-gency," Sloan told The HartfordCourant Thursday, noting thewires could have rupturedAlice's intestines or otherorgans with fatal results.

After sedating the python,Jacobs said he cut a 5-inchincision along a row of scalesand maneuvered the heatingpad out.

"That's an outrageous X-ray,"Jacobs said Thursday, lookingat the pre-op picture thatshowed the wires and contactsfrom the heating pad _ plus arodent. "It's probably the mostastonishing X-ray I've taken inmy career."(....cooper cont. page 11)

Huge Gathering Of GarterSnakes Baffles EvenExperts

Based on article by Dan Shapley,Poughkeepsie Journal, 8/8/04It wouldn't be strange for a pile ofwrithing snakes to cause a stiramong golfers on a golf course. Butwhen such a tangle stirs even theherpetologists who study reptiles,something is up. That's what is hap-pening during the past three weeksafter golfers at James Baird StatePark in LaGrange reported a ''treefull of snakes'' off the 18th fairway.It’s a large rosebush full of gartersnakes -- piled up, lying on thebranches, crawling through theleaves, and a few up in the tree justbehind it. It is not unusual forsnakes to get together. They gatherby the hundreds, sometimes thou-sands, to hibernate through the win-ter. And males will sometimes formhuge ''breeding balls'' in spring asthey vie to mate with a singlefemale. But it's too early to hiber-nate, and too late to breed now. Thegroup of garter snakes in LaGrangemystified herpetologists, amateurand professional who have tried tofigure out what was happening. Theverdict is still out, but the expertshave sett! led on two possibleexplanations: - The snakes havefound a good place to hibernate --with a ready food supply, so theyare sticking close by. - Or, femaleshave gathered together to give birth.

HerpDigest V4 #48


(....cooper cont. from page 10)

Sloan, director and owner ofAshleigh's Rain Forest in Essex,allowed Cooper to borrow a yellowanaconda for Saturday's show toreplace the python, which undu

lates onstage with Cooper duringhis performances.

Alice the snake was resting com-fortably at Jacobs' office Thursday.

Cooper was unavailable for com-ment.

Associated Press.

Submitted by Dav Kaufman

“Shelling” Or HowMuscantine, Iowa’s TurtleTrot Race Almost GotTorpedoed

based on article by Cynthia Beaudetteof the Muscatine Journal, 7/17/09 Muscatine, IA –The 31st AnnualTurtle Trot Race, was postponeddue to shelling. The GreaterMuscatine Chamber of Commerceand Industry, sponsor of the race,was told by Kons Scientific, a dis-tributor of turtles, that shelling is abiological condition occurring in thefour-inch red-eared slider turtlesthe Chamber planned to use for theevent. Jane Daufeldt, executivedirector of the Chamber ofCommerce, explained that shellingis a biological condition occurring inthe four-inch red-eared slider tur-tles that have been used for theevent. During shelling the turtleshells soften and expand to allowgrowth.

"Turtles are in a very fragile stateduring this process," said Daufeldt."And the supplier would not guar-antee delivery of live, healthy tur-tles.” Kons said they could orderthem, But Kons were almost 99.9percent sure they wouldn't be alivewhen they arrived at Muscatine.This hadn't been a problem for pastraces because the reunion, usuallyis held in August rather than Julyand by then the shelling processwas over. Daufeldt said a new sup-plier was located that will guaranteethe shipment of 150 live healthyfour-inch turtles in time or the July31, 2004 event.

HerpDigest V4 #45

visit www.midwestsymposium.org for more information and registration


Hosted By The

Friday Evening (ice breaker)

Speaker:

John HOllister - Herping in SW Texas

Saturday Speakers:

Dick Bartlett - Midwest Herping

Jay King - Chicken Frog

Jeff Briggle r- The Hellbender

Chris Tobaka - Asian Turtle

Karl Krumke - Asian Rat Snakes

Jonathan Losos - Anoles

Key Note Speaker

Saturday Evening: banqueVauction

Sunday: sales

Admission Rates:

$50.00 per person (before September 15, 2004 )

$60.00 per person (after September 15, 2004)

Banquet: $25.00 per person

T-Shirts: $10.00 (in advance, request size on order form)

Minnesota Herpetological Society Membership Application

Active Memberships: Sustaining ($60/year) Contributing ($30/year) Basic ($15/year)

Corresponding Memberships: Commercial ($25/year 2 Business Card Ads/year)

Required check info. Drivers Lic # State DOBPlease 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: MinnesotaHerpetological Society, Bell Museum of Natural History, 10 Church St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Please allow 6-8 weeksfor processing.

New

Renewal

Membership#

Type

Check #

Name

Address

City, State, Zip,

Phone Email List in MHS Directory? Yes No

Herp related interests

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$$1100 PPEERR MMOONNTTHH$$111100 PPEERR YYEEAARR**

Advertising Policies

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

Classified Ads: All active members are allowed a classified ad, run free of chargeas space permits. Ads may be ran three consecutive months, after which time theymay be resubmitted. Corresponding members are allowed a complimentary busi-ness card advertisement monthly as space permits. Due to federal restrictions onNon-profit mailing permits, we are not allowed to run ads for travel, credit or insur-ance agencies.

Submissions: All advertisements should be submitted to the MHS Editor, BellMuseum of Natural History, 10 Church St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Deadlineis the night of the General Meeting for inclusion in the next newsletter. Make checkspayable to: Minnesota Herpetological Society.

MHS AD RATESBusiness 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*

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

*12th month is free on a one year commitment

Vol. 24 (2004), No. 9

Documents

Transcript of Vol. 24 (2004), No. 9