Vol. 29 (2009), No. 1

M I N N E S O T A

H E R P E T O L O G I C A L S O C I E T Y

January 2009 Volume 29 Number 1

� e Purpose of the Minnesota Herpetological Society is to:

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

• Educate the members and the general public in the ecological role of reptiles and amphibians;

• Promote the study and conservation of reptiles and amphibians.

� e Minnesota Herpetological Society is a non-profi t, tax-exempt organization. Membership is open Newsletter is published monthly to provide its members with information concerning the society’sto all individuals with an interest in amphibians and reptiles. � e Minnesota Herpetological Society activities and a media for exchanging information, opinions and resources.

General Meetings are held at Borlaug Hall, Room 335 on the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota on the fi rst Friday of each month (unless there is a holiday confl ict). � e meeting starts at 7:00pm and lasts about three hours. Please check the MHS Voice mail for changes in schedules or cancellations.

Ads or Notices must be submitted no later than the night of the General Meeting to be included in the next issue. Longer Articles will be printed as time and space allows and should be in electronic File format if pos-sible. See Inside back cover for ad rates.

Submissions may be sent to:� e Minnesota Herpetological SocietyAttn: Newsletter EditorBell Museum of Natural History10 Church St. SE.Minneapolis, MN 55455.0104Please send email to [email protected]

MHS VOICE MAIL: 612.624.7065

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MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY JANUARY 2009 VOLUME 29 NUMBER 1President

Jennifer Hensley

Vice- President David Dewitt

Treasurer Nancy [email protected] Membership Secretary Ellen Heck

Recording Secretary Jenna Rypka-Hauer

News Letter Editor James Soos

MEMBERS AT LARGEJeff LeClere Kathy Claugherty

Chris Smith

Heather Clayton

COMMITTEES

Adoption Sara Richard

Education Jan Larson

Library Carmelita Pfar

WebmasterAnke Reinders

1

Cover Animal Green Tree Python by Jim Soos

© Copyright Minnesota Herpetological Society 2009. Contents may be reproduced

for non-profi t use provided that all material is reproduced without Change and proper

credit is given authors and the Minnesota Herpetological Society Newsletter citing:

volume, number and date.

2

THE NEWS LETTER OF THE MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY JANUARY 2009 VOLUME 29 NUMBER 1

MHS Members!

I hope this letter fi nds you after having a very Happy Holiday Season. I want to be among the fi rst to wish you a very Happy

New Year. Things are getting exciting. I can not begin to tell you how much I am looking forward to the next year. Dave has

lined up some awesome speakers for this year. I will let him tell you all about them.

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

the more people we meet and educate.

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

Jennifer

A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT.

A few words form the Vice President. I’m hoping everyone had a wonderful holiday this year. I am also wishing you and yours

a happy and prosperous New Year. Looking back I think we had a good year for the MHS. I am looking forward to serving you

again in 2009 I feel good about the speakers were going to have in the upcoming year. I’m hoping to keep the monthly meet-

ings interesting. If you have any ideas or input to make our meetings better contact me or any board member with your sugges-

tions.

Our December speaker Joe Wasilewski , Had a good time up here. He was the fi rst to admit he is a freeze baby and didn’t really

care for the cold. so ice fi shing wasn’t on his list of things to do. Joe was impressed with your knowledge of the subjects he pre-

sented. He also expressed a interest in returning to speak in the future. So keep up the good work by supporting your society.

THANK YOU SINCERELY DAVE DEWITT

OUT OF THE OFFICE WITH THE VICE PRESIDENT.

Well folks as you can see some changes have occurred to the newsletter this up coming year. We are now running with a color

cover. So I am looking for Photo Covers, Photos of the month and Artwork, such as Cartoons. If they are sent to me with your

name, phone number and mailing address. I can give them back to you at the following meeting or mail them to you if requested.

Or email them to [email protected]

Please let me know what you think of the newsletter by dropping me an email or just come up to talk to me at a MHS meeting. I

thank you for your time and stay warm this winter.

Jim Soos

MHS Newsletter Editor

A WORD FROM THE NEWSLETTER EDITOR


THE MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY

UP COMING EVENTS PAGE

Friday, January 9, 2009

Room 335 Borlaug Hall,

U of M St. Paul Campus

Next Meeting:

Two Speakers:

Marc Bailey: Ball Pythons & Marc Bailey Reptiles and Rodents

Andrew Wyatt: The United States Association of Reptile Keepers (USARK)

Andrew is co-founder and president of USARK

March: Matt Edgar Ven:

Snake Curator of the St. Louis Zoo.

Friday, March 6 2009



April: White Snake Sale. Do not forget the Photo Contest. details to come in the next few months.Friday, April 3 2009Room 335 Borlaug Hall,U of M St. Paul Campus

Future Speakers:

Febuary: John Moriarty

Friday, Febuary 6 2009



3


NEW 2009 ELECTED BOARD MEMBERS

President Jennifer Hensley

Vice- President David Dewitt Treasurer Nancy Haig

Membership Secretary Ellen Heck

Recording Secretary Jenna Rypka-Hauer

Newsletter Editor James Soos

MEMBERS AT LARGE

Jeff LeClere

Kathy Claugherty

Chris Smith

Heather Clayton

The Speaker for December was Joe Wasilewski. Joe has

spent 35 years as a wildlife biologist and is employed by

Florida Power at the Turkey Point nuclear facility. Two

of his main herpetological interests are iguanas (which

he talked about Saturday at the banquet) and crocodiles,

which were the subject of his talk Friday.

American crocodiles are found in the new world from

Florida down through Central America to the northern

parts of South America, and throughout the Caribbean.

The population of American crocodiles in the US was

estimated at about 2000 in 1900. This declined until they

hit a low point of 225, give or take about 75 animals,

in 1972. Thanks to conservation efforts, this number is

back up to about 2000 today. In fact, the crocodile has

been down-graded from “endangered” to “threatened”.

All of the crocs in the US are found in Florida. As of

2005, approximately 400, or 20%, lived in the canals of

the nuclear plant.

The plant and its surrounding canal system cover an

area roughly 5 miles long, 2 miles wide and cover

about 3,300 acres. On one side is Biscayne Bay and the

National Park that preserves it. On the other side, the

facility touches on the Everglades. The plant became op-

erational in 1972, just as the crocs were hitting their low

point. The fi rst croc was spotted in the facility in 1976.

In 1978, when digging in the canals, a back hoe turned

up a nest. Since then, the plant has made a serious com-

mitment to helping preserve this and other endangered

species found on the site. These include several species

of snake, birds and at several sites, manatees.

At Turkey Point, in 1988 when Joe fi rst started working

with them, they catalogued 19 animals. This had risen

to 40 in 1990 and to 400 in 2005. Last year they found

28 nests, marking and releasing over 500 hatchlings.

Worldwide, the survival rate for hatchlings is 5-7%. At

the plant, it is about 10%. The largest is a 13’ male,

although in general the population there is a fairly young

one.

For several reasons, the area around the nuclear plant is

ideal for crocodiles. Water temperature does not seem to

be one of them, except indirectly. Most of the canal sys-

tem consists of berms of land divided by deep channels.

The water is about 1 meter close to shore, but drops off

sharply and abruptly to 6 meters further out. The com-

bination is perfect for crocodile courtship and mating.

This starts happening in February, when the crocs start

“recruiting”. They come in from surrounding areas and

start to pair off.

It is also the time of year when the males start fi ghting.

Some confrontations are all bluff and end peacefully, but

many result in severe injuries or even death for the combatants. Joe

showed one photo of a male that survived, but is missing the front

half of his lower jaw. Scars are numerous and several are missing

eyes. When amenable, the female raises her head at a 45° angle. The

male will almost gently approach her.

When ready to lay, the female will go up onto the shore and dig out

a nest. Nests are generally easy to spot, as the female leaves distinct

marks getting up onto shore. Crocodiles are very fussy about the

substrate they use, to the point where many animals will nest in a

very small area, if that is the only spot they can fi nd. Fortunately, at

Turkey Point, there is a fair amount of spots for them to choose from.

Some of the animals only come into the site to mate and make the

nests, and spend the rest of the year elsewhere. Joe and FPL recently

constructed an area geared towards being an ideal nesting spot, with

substrate mixed the way the crocs seem to prefer and small hatchling

and juvenile ponds surrounding the area.

4

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oos

Continued on page 7

JOE WASILEWSKI SPEAKS

5


First, I wanted to say that I really enjoyed speaking at

your meeting in October. I learned so much from Kathy

Love’s corn snake presentation. Jim Soos asked me

if I would be interested in contributing articles for the

newsletter. I hope that you will fi nd these articles to be

informative and helpful. If there are any specifi c topics

you would like addressed you can reach me be e-mail at

[email protected]

This month I would like to provide information about

a disease that can affect captive collections of boas and

pythons. Inclusion body disease (IBD) is an important

viral disease to be aware of because it is responsible

for high mortalities and there is no treatment available.

To complicate matters, the mode of transmission is not

known. It is thought to be transmitted via oral or respira-

tory secretions. The snake mite may be a possible vector

as well.

Although there are no clinical signs specifi c to IBD,

any boid snake exhibiting neurological signs should be

a suspect for IBD. These neurological signs include

head tremors, stargazing, and lethargy. It is important to

remember that there other diseases that can cause these

signs as well. Clinical signs typically progress to anorex-

ia, dehydration, and severe incoordination. There is no

treatment or remission of IBD. All infected snakes will

die. The incubation is unknown, although some snakes

with confi rmed IBD will not exhibit signs for months

after infection. Because of this a strict quarantine for a

minimum of 6 months is recommended for all boas and

pythons.

Unfortunately, there is no defi nitive diagnosis of IBD in an

alive snake. Biopsies can be collected and the disease may

be seen histopathologically, but a negative result does not

rule out IBD. Although there are some labs working on a

blood test (serology) for the virus, at this time there is no

test available. Post mortem (after death) diagnosis is based

on histopathology, virus isolation, and electron microsco-

py. Because the disease is not well understood it is recom-

mended to send samples to labs with specifi c experience in

diagnosing the virus.

There is no treatment for IBD so prevention and control

are important. The snake’s history including where it

came from and potential exposure to other snakes should

be known. It is recommended that during quarantine a

full exam and bloodwork be performed to rule out any

abnormalities that should be addressed. Dilute bleach is an

effective disinfectant to prevent spread of IBD as well as

many other reptile diseases.

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

She is also the consulting veterinarian for Underwater

Adventures at Mall of America. She has a special interest

in reptile medicine and surgery.

Sources: Veterinary Information Network (VIN) – rep-

tile medicine

Schumacher, Juergen, “Inclusion Body Disease Virus”,

Reptile Medicine and Surgery, 2nd edition, Mader. 2006.

REPTILE CARE WITH DR. AMY KIZER


6

One of the things people often wonder about is how I

can travel to do my reptile shows when I the weather is

extremely hot or cold.

The answer is simple. I just make sure that the reptile’s

temperature is comfortable for them.

This can be achieved in a number of ways. Of course

using a vehicle that is properly maintained so that the

chance of a breakdown on the road is minimal is the fi rst

consideration. But cars do breakdown and precautions

can be taken. In the winter, chemical heat packs used

by campers and hunters can be part of a survival pack

that can also include blankets and a sleeping bag. These

should be kept in a warm house until the car is preheated,

as should the reptiles.

A summer survival pack should include towels, several

jugs of water, and a cooler of ice.

Traveling with reptiles and amphibians have two advan-

tages over traveling with mammals or birds. First, they

are happy to be confi ned in a small space as they would

be in their hide box at home. And secondly, they have

a much smaller oxygen requirement than their warm

blooded counterparts and can travel in containers with

very little ventilation, therefore keeping a relatively stable

temperature in the container. And, then too, they don’t

have to be fed on a daily basis as a bird or mammal does.

It’s also a good idea to schedule their feeding prior to a

trip in such a way that the chances of defecating in the

container is minimal. The same goes for watering.

Styrofoam tropical fi sh boxes with a few pencil holes

work well for containers. The herp should be in a smaller

container within the box. Plastic shoeboxes work well

for this with plenty of paper towels inside to give the herp

something to hold onto. The paper towels should be com-

pletely dry except for amphibians and soft-shelled turtles

where it can be moist but not soggy. Live moss works

even better for amphibians. With few exceptions, there

should be just one animal per container. Snakes, other

than juveniles should be in snake bags within the contain-

er. A hot water bottle (or plastic cola bottle), fi lled with

hot water wrapped in a towel can be added for warmth.

Check the temperature every half hour or so while travel-

ing so that adjustments can be made if necessary. And if

you haven’t traveled with live reptiles before it’s a good

idea to take a dry run and check the temps so you’ll be

confi dent with a live cargo.

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

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

If you are going somewhere in the cold of winter, and are just

bringing one or two small reptiles, simply tuck the small container

inside your shirt under your loose winter coat and, “Voila!” Instant

warm critter!

Some reptile species, and even certain individuals among one

species, take to boxing and traveling better than others. If a snake

is constantly trying to prowl when it’s boxed up changes must be

made. I don’t bring kingsnkes where a corn snake might catch its

scent because corn snakes have a fear of kingsnake scent and will

do anything to escape it.

One winter I went on a tour that included over two hundred school

programs and the large snake that season was an extremely iri-

descent male burmese python named Rainbow. From September

through January he seemed perfectly content to be taken out on

stage and held by several students, (good exercise for Rainbow),

boxed up, and again taken out in the motel in the evening. He fed

on weekends, and never tried to push out of his box. But come

February, that all changed. He prowled constantly when out of

the box, and pushed to get out, when in the box. He wouldn’t eat

either. Then it dawned on me that my other adult male burmese

pythons acted that way back at home in February too! It’s the

mating season normal behavior. He was taken home and replaced

with a female in my program. End of problem!

In the summer, of course, the concern is too much heat. An air

conditioned car solves that problem, right? Wrong!

The sun shining in on a box can still overheat the box and should

be shaded. Again, check the temperature with a thermometer

frequently. Here a plastic bottle fi lled with ice water and wrapped

in a towel will help keep things cool.

On a trip across the Arizona desert with a car full of herps the air

conditioning quit working. The temperature was one hundred ten

degrees F. Time to panic? No! This is where the towels and water

jugs come in. The boxes were placed on a wet towel and more

wet towels were draped over the boxes. The towels had to be re-

wetted every 20 minutes or so, but the rapid evaporation in the dry

Arizona heat cooled the boxes so the inside stayed at 75 degrees.

I also use this wet towel method to cool the boxes when doing an

outdoor reptile show in the summer.

When traveling with amphibians in the summer, I always have a

cooler of ice along. Check the containers frequently and add ice

if needed.

One last hint. If your air conditioning at home breaks down on a

very hot day, put a plastic bucket of ice and water in the cage. The

snake will coil around the bucket to cool off. It works!

TRAVELING WITH HERPSBy Terry Odegaard

THE HERPER’S CORNER


We had a nice well rounded Adoption this month.

Thanks to all my helpers, once again we found homes

for all the critters. It amuses me that 11 animals should

feel like a light month, but it does.

December Intake:

2 Leopard Tortoise (female)

2 Margenated Tortoise (male)

2 Sulcatas (small)

1 Box turtle (eastern?) with a bad jaw

1 Red Eared Slider

1 Ball Python

1 Boa, lrg

1 Tegu (black and white)

These 23 animals came in at the November meeting and

were all placed.

1 Bearded Dragon

1 Red Eared Slider

4 Frogs

7 Toads

1 Albino Burm lrg

4 Ball Pythons

2 Boas sml

3 Corn Snakes

Sarah Richard

Adoption Chair

Minnesota Herpetological Society

THE ADOPTION REPORT

The ponds are an important feature, and another reason

why the nuclear site is ideal for crocs. The environment

supports several types of water, from near fresh to 55

parts per thousand salination levels. This is important,

especially for the hatchlings. Crocs, thanks to a salt

gland on their tongue which excretes the excess salt,

can live in salt water. This only pertains to adults, how-

ever; hatchlings do not develop this gland for several

months. Therefore, the hatchlings must live in fresh or

near-fresh water for the fi rst months of their lives. Prior

to the nuclear facility being built, this meant that they

lived in and around the bay. They usually hatched out

in the rainy season, when the upper surface of the bay

has a much lower salination level.

There is an abundance and variety of wildlife in the fa-

cility. These means there is a lot of food for the crocs.

Bird life is particularly abundant. This includes spoon-

bills, fl amingos, loggerhead shrikes and white pelicans.

The pelicans are actually migrants from upper Mid-

west, where they are fairly common. They have only

recently, in the last 10 years or so, started to use the

plant area as a winter refuge. They quickly learned one

adaptation: in the North, they usually sleep at night on

the water, for protection from predators. In Florida,

they have learned that sleeping in the middle of the

canals is a very bad thing, unless their goal is to be a

crocodile’s dinner. So now they sleep on the berms

instead.

And in no small part, the security surrounding a nuclear

facility comes into play. Because of the threat of ter-

rorist attack, nuclear facilities are heavily guarded.

Joe mentioned M16’s. He didn’t elaborate, but in at

the Prairie Island facility here in Minnesota, there is a

“dead zone” surrounding the plant, with automated ma-

chine gun nests on the walls that guard it. This means

that poachers don’t have a chance at either animals or

nests. Motorized vehicles are restricted to authorized

vehicles only, so traffi c is minimal.

In fact, the main predator for the crocodiles, at least

the younger ones, are the larger crocs. Joe mentioned

tracking 8 microchips, originally implanted in hatch-

7

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Continued from page 4.ings, in the belly of one adult. 4 were from the nearby area, but the

other 4 were from a site 2 ½ miles away. So population control is

pretty much taking care of itself.

Joe’s site

http://www.natselections.com/

Two links to one of his favorite sites

http://www.iucn-isg.org/index.php

http://www.iucncsg.org/ph1/modules/Home/


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 com-

plimentary advertisements are subject to occasional omission.

Classifi ed Ads: All active members are allowed a classifi ed ad, run free of

charge as space permits. Ads may be run three consecutive months, after

which time they may be resubmitted. Corresponding members are allowed a

complimentary business card advertisement monthly as space permits. Due

to federal restrictions on non-profi t mailing permits, we arenot allowed to run

ads for travel, credit, or insurance agencies.

Submissions: All advertisements should be submitted to the MHS Editor,

Bell Museum of Natural History, 10 Church St. SE, Minneapolis, MN

55455. Deadline is the night of the General Meeting for inclusion in the next

newsletter. Make checks payable to: Minnesota Herpetological Society.

ADVERTISING POLICIES

GET YOUR MESSAGE TO

YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE

WITH A 1/4 PAGE AD.

$10 PER MONTH

$110 PER YEAR*

*12th month is free on a one year commitment

Business card $5/Month $55/Year*

1/4 Page $10/Month $110/Year*

1/2 Page $20/Month $220/Year*

Full Page $40/Month $440/Year*

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

MHS AD RATES

MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

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.

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Address

City, State, Zip,

Phone

Herp Related interests

Email List in MHS Directory?Yes No

Required check info. Drivers Lic # State DOB

Basic ($20/year)Active Memberships: Sustaining ($60/year) Contributing ($40/year)

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Photos of the Month.. This is a new segment starting every month. If you got some amaz-

ing color photos, please send them to [email protected]. I

will publish the best photos sent to me every month.

This Month’s Photos by Brad Bay-

Bell Museum of Natural History

10 Church Street SE

Minneapolis, MN 55455-0104

Friday, January 9 2009



MHS Voice Mail: 612.624.7065

MHS Web Page:www.mnherpsoc.org

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Vol. 29 (2009), No. 1

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Transcript of Vol. 29 (2009), No. 1