Vol. 32 (2012), No. 1

MinnesotaHerpetologicalSociety

January 2012 Volume 32

the newsletter of the

Number 1

C o n t e n t s

Upcoming Speaker: Enormous Personality in a Small PackageRecap: Women in HerpetologyFeature: Successful Russian Tortoise Husbandry in The Upper Midwest

B O A R D O F D I R E C T O R S

PresidentChristopher E Smith [email protected]

Vice PresidentDav Kaufman [email protected]

Recording SecretaryEllen Heck [email protected]

Membership SecretaryHeather Clayton 612.886.7175 [email protected]

TreasurerNancy Haig [email protected]

Newsletter EditorChristopher Rueber [email protected]

Members at LargeJeff LeClere [email protected]

Kat Rorvig [email protected]

Beth Girard [email protected]

Peter [email protected]

C O M M I T T E E S

AdoptionSarah Richard [email protected]

EducationJan Larson [email protected]

LibraryNancy Haig [email protected]

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.

TheMinnesotaHerpetologicalSocietyisanon-profit,tax-exemptorganiza-tion. 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 activitiesandamediaforexchanginginformation,opinionsandresources.

GeneralMeetingsareheldatBorlaugHall,Room335ontheSt.PaulCam-pusoftheUniversityofMinnesota,onthefirstFridayofeachmonth(unlessthereisaholidayconflict).Themeetingstartsat7:00pmandlastsaboutthree hours. Please check the MHS Voice mail for changes in schedules or cancellations.

SUBMISSIONS TO THE NEWSLETTER

Ads or Notices must be submitted no later than the night of the General Meetingtobeincludedinthenextissue.Longerarticleswillbeprintedastimeandspaceallowsandshouldbeinelec-tronicfileformatifpossible.See inside back cover for ad rates. Submissions may be sent to:

The Minnesota Herpetological Society -or- [email protected]: Newsletter EditorBell Museum of Natural History10ChurchStSEMinneapolis,MN55455-0104

Stay informed! Join us on our forums!And,youcanstillleaveusaVoice Mail:612.326.6516

SNAKE BITE EMERGENCY

HENNEPIN REGIONAL POISON CENTER 800-222-1222

©Copyright2012,MinnesotaHerpetologicalSociety.Exceptwherenoted,contentsmayberepro-ducedfornon-profit,non-commercialuseonly.Allmaterialmustbereproducedwithoutchange.Proper credit will be given including the author/photographer and the Minnesota Herpetological SocietyNewsletterciting:volume,numberanddate.

BellMuseumofNaturalHistory,10ChurchStreetSoutheast,Minneapolis,Minnesota,55455-0104

January 2012 Volume 32 Number 1

CoverPhotofoundonvaranus.nl,asiteforsharinginformationaboutmonitorlizards

The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society January 2012 Volume 32 Number 1

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By Sonja Koolmo

The speaker for the MHS for the month of January willbeJoeyMuggleston.Joeyhasbeenaroundexoticanimals since before he could walk; so it was natural for him to start keeping a variety of pets as soon as he could.The“nosnake”(ormorespecifically,nomam-maleatingreptiles)ruleinhishomehelpedguidehisearlypassionforlizards.Hisfirstlizardwasagoldtegu(Tupinambisteguixin)soldtohimasaswift(Sce-

loporus).Thisteguhelpedsparkaninterestthatcon-tinues today. After seeing the glossy photos in Robert Sprackland’sbookGiantLizards,monitorsquicklybecametheprimaryfocusofJoey’slizardcollection.TodateJoeyhaskeptover13speciesofmonitors.Currentlyheisworkingwithafewspeciesofdwarfmonitors to increase the numbers and interest of these more apartment-friendly versions of the giants. He is also working with a group of the larger and relatively unknown Varanus yuwonoi.

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

Joey Muggleston presents...

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

By Ellen Heck

ThespeakerforDecemberwasCindySteinle,speaking on the emerging roles of women in the rep-tile community. She has been the site coordinator at Kingsnake.com for the last two years. Although herp-ingisgenerallyconsideredtobeamaleoccupation,approximatelyhalfthemembersonKingsnake.com,arguablythelargestsitededicatedtoallthingsherp,are women.

Women and snakes have been linked historically formillennium,includingMinoanandEgyptiansnakegoddesses,EveandtheappleandeventheGreekgor-gon.Giventhatinmostcasesthewomeninquestionwereatleastpartiallynaked,theconnectionbetweensexandsnakeswasmade.Thiswascontinuedintothe19thand20thcenturieswhenthemostpopularsideshow attraction at a circus or carnival was a scant-ily-clad woman holding a large snake. These “harlot herpers”weresomeofthefirstpublicfemaleherpers.

The very early female herptelogists faced more than gender discrimination in the pursuit of their chosen careers.Ingeneral,duringthisperiod,womensim-ply did not have careers. They were not allowed to voteortodrive,andmostdidnotpursueanykind

ofhighereducation.Intheearly20thcenturytherewerealsotwoworldwars,pandemicsandaglobaldepression to deal with.

GraceOliveWiley(1883-1948)wasanearlyher-petologist who actually started in entomology at the University of Kansa before starting to observe and collectrattlesnakesinher30’s.AfteractingascuratorattheMinneapolisPublicLibrary,shebecamecuratorofreptilesattheBrookfieldZoo.Gracewasthefirstperson known to have successfully bred rattlesnakes incaptivity,butsomeofhermethodsweredisputed.She argued that venomous snakes were harmless if trained not to bite and was known for her practice of free-handling them with her bare hands. She was handling a cobra for an interview when it bit her. She was taken to a hospital but her only vial of anti-venom wasbroken,soshediedseveralhourslateratage64.Despitethis,oneofhergoalswasonestillsharedbymany today – to change the public perception of rep-tilesingeneralandsnakesinparticular.Sheisquoted“The fear of snakes is cultivated. We are not born withit.Childrenlovesnakesasnaturallyastheylovedogs and cats. Don’t be afraid of a reptile’s tongue. The only animal that can hurt you with its tongue is the human being.

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

Women in Herpetology...


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BertaLutz(1894-1976)wasanotherearlyleaderinthecauseofwomen,andnotjustasthefieldofherpe-tology.BorninBrazil,shestudiedattheSorbonneinParis.UponreturningtoBrazil,shedevotedherselftothestudyofamphibians,particularlythepoisondartfrogs. She was hired by the Museu Nacional do Rio deJaneiro,despitethefactthat,atthetime,womenwerenotallowedinthepublicoffices.Thisleadtoher involvement in the women rights movement and theeventualgrantingofthevotetowomeninBrazil.She was also involved in children’s and labor rights and was one of four women who signed the United NationsCharterin1945.

AliceMiddletonBoring(1883-1955)wasbornandeducatedintheUnitedStatesbutspent27yearswork-ingandteachinginChina.Unfortunately,those27yearscoveredcivilwar,revolutionandWWII.Dur-ingtheJapaneseinvasionandoccupation,shewasinterned in a concentrations camp. Despite these distractions,shecontinuedtopublishpapersonthetaxonomyoftheChinesereptilesandamphibians.

MadgeMinton(1924-2004)wasthewifeandassis-tant to her husband Sherman. In addition to working withherhusband,shewasalsoaWASPduringWWII,and regularly ferried new planes from the factories that produced them to the air bases where they were needed.Althoughnotaswell-knownasherhusband,the coluber karelini mintonorum was named for her.

DorisMableCochran(1898-1968)wasthefirstfemalecuratoroftheDi-vision of Herpetology at the United StatesNationalMuseum.Likemostwomenofherera,shewasinvolvedintheeventoftheday,workinginthe war department while an un-dergradstudent,puttingtogetherpamphlets for the military on the identificationofvenomousreptiles.She also studied art and illustrated her own works as well as the works of others. She was only the second person named as a distinguished fellow of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists.

Myrna Watanabe started study-ingfishbutcouldn’tswim,soshe

switched over to reptiles. While working with alliga-tors,shewasgenerallyaskedtodothesexing,asshehadthesmallestfingers.Forthosewhodon’tknow,thegenerallyusedmethodtosexalligatorsinvolvesinsertingafingerintothecloaca.Themethodwasde-velopedbyPeterBrazaitisattheBronxZoo,towhomshe is now married. Despite being in a more “enlight-ened”era,Myrnahadgreatdifficultyingettinggrantsforherresearch,andwasnearlybarredfromenteringChina,simplybecauseofhergender.Publishingwasalso problematical; she would have to “co-author” papersandarticleswithaman,sohisnamecouldbelistedfirst,justtobepublished.Shealsohadahard time getting Peter to hire a female reptile keeper. However,asitturnedout,thefemalekeeperstendtowork more safely than their male counterparts. This is (ingeneral)becausewomenjustgoin,dothejobandgetout.Themen,evenwithtraining,haveatendencyto show off and take unnecessary risks and shortcuts.

A number of women have worked and founded businesses with husbands who are also herpers. Pat BartlettwasasouthernbellefromGeorgia,beforemovingtoNewMexicoandbecomingfascinatedwiththedesertandtheanimalslivingthere.Herfirstsnakewasagravidgartersnakefromhersister,althoughapparently it was his dog that convinced her to marry DickBartlett.KathyLoveisanativeofWisconsin,where she also started on the local garter snakes beforebeingmentoredbyJoeLaszlo.SheofcourseoperatesCornUtopiaandisoneoftheforemostcorn


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snakebreeders,aswellasbeingtheco-authorofCornSnakes:TheComprehensiveOwner’sGuidewithhus-band Bill.

Tracy Barker met her husband Dave at a symposium where they were both presenting papers. She was the only female presenter and spent her time talking with the men while most of the wives chatted at other tables. They own and operate Vida Preciosa Interna-tional,butshestillfindspeopletendtoaskDavethemoretechnicalquestionsandtreatherasmoreofanadjunct,ratherthananexpert.ColletteSutherlandwastoldgrowingupthatifshewantedahusband,she would have to get rid of the snakes. Today she is co-owner with her husband of The Snake Keeper and assisted with the formation of USARK. Her advice is “Learn,standupandbevocal.Makethemtakeyouas seriously as yourself.”

ThenextgenerationCindytalkedaboutincludedAmanda Talaba. She was going to be a vet but then volunteeredatalocalzoo.Despitefrequentlybe-ingtakenforadizzyblond,sheiscurrentlyinvolvedinmolecularlabresearch.MarisaTellezisaformerbeautyqueenwhonowspendshertimewrestlingwith crocodiles. It is not just a hobby; she is studying

the ecological relationship between crocodilians and their parasites. She says the hardest part of her job is findingasupportiveboyfriend,althoughitdoestendtoscareoffthe“icky”types.Asshesays,“Thisismylifestyle.Iftheycan’tkeepup,theydon’tneedtobethere”. This has paid off; her current boyfriend works with venomous.

Desiree Wong is a software engineer by trade and started with herps as a hobbyist. Through John and Sandy Binns she became involved with the Interna-tionalReptileConservationFoundation.Shealsowastoldbyherfatherthatinordertofindagoodhus-band,shewouldneedtogetridofthereptiles(sheisengagedtoareptilebreeder).Cindyherselfstartedwith reptiles when she inherited dying iguana from ex-boyfriend.SincethenshehasbeeninvolvedinSmall Scale Reptile Rescue as well as the International ReptileConservationFoundation,isaboardmemberoftheChicagoHerpSociety–currentlyvice-president– runs Kingsnake.com and works in reptile education. Ofthefirstgenerationfemaleherpers,shewouldmostlike to sit down and have a beer with Grace Olive Wiley,Xanthedinosaurpuppy(iguana),JeffBarringer,Kim Foose and a bottle of vodka.

By Ernie Johnson

If you were to pick a Tortoise best designed to survive and thriveintheupperMidwestandPlainsstates,it’stheRussianTortoise.

Our environment lets you keep them out-side5,andsometimes6monthsoftheyear,hibernatefor2-3months,andliveinahouseboundpenforonly3-4months.

With10yearsundermybeltwiththisspecieshere in Minnesota I want to share with you the hi-level principles of what works for this hardy,active,andanimatedspecies.

A Nearly Inexhaustible Food Supply in Your Own Backyard

Nature in this part of the world provides a veritable smorgas-bordofhighqualityfoodforaRussianTortoise.

Thisisanexampleofwhatmyherdgetsonaregularbasisduringtheir5-6monthsoutside.

Dandelionleavesandflowers,Plantainleaves,thistleleaves(yes,eventhenastyonesyouneedacharcoalmitttohold),hibiscusleavesandflowers(wehave4smalltree’swemoveinandoutasweatherallows),mallowleaves,raspberryleaves,sweetWilliam,creepingCharley,crabgrass,androseleaves and petals.

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

Ialsohaveplantedweedsinthepen4-6weeks before I put them outside in early May inordertoprovidethemwithgraze–andtypically this lasts only a week.

Whenthey’reoutsideIfeedthemsamewhenthey’reindoors,3-4timesaweekwiththeamountoffoodbeingnomorethan a good handful of greens per tortoise.

OneofthefeedingsI’veincorporatedoverthelastfewyears,inordertoincreasetheircalciumintake,isZooMedNatu-ralGrasslandTortoisefood.YoucanfinditatanyPetcoorPetSmart.

Successful Russian Tortoise Husbandry in The Upper Midwest


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WhatIdoissoakinwarmwater6-10pelletspertortoise,then once soaked I take a fork and make a mashtowhichImixin½teaspoonpureCal-ciumCarbonatepowder.

They eagerly eat it and I know their getting added calcium beyond what they get in their weed diet. Minnesota doesn’t have large limestonedepositsbelowoursoil(unliketheMediterranean)soaddedcalciumisimpor-tant for this species.

Outdoor Pen Requirements

The picture below is one of the two outdoor pens for our RussianTortoises.It’sbeforeIattachedthetops,soyoucanget an idea of the landscaping.

This pen is 6 feet wide by 16 feet long and can easily house 3-4Tortoises.Ikeepmymalesseparatedfromthefemalesbecausetheaggressiveandpotentiallyhazardousmatingbehavior visited on the females.

Ifyoudokeepthemtogether,makesureit’sa very large pen and the females have hid-ing areas where they can get away from the males.

Thetotalcostforthewood,screws,locks,plants,andchickenwireforthetopswasaround$150andasIwritethisthepenbe-lowisnow10yearsoldandstillcompletelyfunctional.

Idonothaveawaterbowlinthepens,butIdosoakthemtwice a week when they’re outside to make sure they stay hydrated and to inspect them for any issues. The indoor pen has a water bowl which they drink from on a regular basis.

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

Here’s the same pen with the tops attached. I secure them with locks on each side in order to keep out any curious neighbor children andmoreimportantly,anyRaccoonsandourdogs.

What do you do when it rains? I purchased someinexpensivePVCtubesatHomeDepotandtheyfitinsidethechickenwireholesofthetop.ThenIpullacrosseitheralargetarpor3-5milplas-tic sheeting which I secure with bricks to pull it tight.

The Tortoise stay dry and you have peace of mind. This ar-rangement also works as the temperature in mid to late September come into play. Pulling the plastic cover at night keeps the surface tempabove45degreesevenwhenitgetstohigh30’satnight.

Mid to late September is also when mine start winding down as the lower amount of sunshineanddaytimetempsinthe60’skicksin their natural desire to hibernate.

Indoor Pen Requirements

ForanindoorpenIsuggestaminimumof3feetby6feetforeitheroneortwoRussians.Theseareactive,curioustortoisesthatneedexercisetokeepthemhealthyandfromgettingfat.

Thepicturesshowoneofourindoor3x6indoorpens.ThebulbsareaUVB(mandatoryfortheseguys)and2-100watt“hot spot” bulbs. All of these are run off a timer which I set toequalthenaturalamountofdaylighttokeepthemintune

with the yearlylight/dark cycle.

Largerocksworkverywellassitebreaksandsmaller ones are perfect for them to climb over–afavoriteactivity.Creatinghidesusinglarge long rocks is easy as you can see below. The two hides they’ve dug out under the two flatrocksgivethemthesafetytheyneedtoacclimate from the wild successfully.

ForthesubstrateIusea50/50combinationofplaysandandtopsoil.Youdon’tseeitinthesepictures,butIusea6inch,1inchdeeppotteryflowpotbaseastheirwaterbowl.It’ssunk into the substrate so they can easily drink or soak them-selves. I end up changing the water on a daily basis.

Turnipgreens,cactuspads(yourlocalCubFoodscarriesthem),endive,organicRomainelettuce,andcollardgreensarethedietminegetwhenthey’reindoors,alongwiththeZooMedNaturalGrasslandTortoisefood.Alloftheseare

supplemented weekly with the calcium car-bonate.

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

I also put in a handful of dried Timothy hay eachweek,whichyoucangetatanyPetcoor

Petsmart,whichtheyeatovertimeandisanexcellentsourceofaddedfibertotheirdiet.


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Istopminefromeatinganythingfor3weekspriortothedayI move them into my small hibernation refrigerator. This tim-ing allows them to completely purge their digestive track of any food. This is important because any food left in their gut orlowerGItractcanrot,evenat45degreesandpotentialkill your tortoise.

Secondismakingsureyouhavethemdrinktheirfillatleastonce(twiceisbetter)aweekforthose3weeksyoustoptheirfood intake. This ensures they’re fully hydrated during their 2-3month“sleep.”Withoutbeingproperlyhydratedyourisk kidney issues and urate concentration which can cause major issues when they come out of hibernation.

Fortherefrigerator(whichisasmallCollegedormroomtype),Iusedeepplasticshoeboxesfilledwith2-3inchesoftopsoiland3-4inchesofshreddedpapertowelsontop.Theydig into this and eventually settle into a corner and slowly go to sleep.

IneachshoeboxIhaveuseadigitalthermometerwithaprobe and wire that I can attached to the outside of the Fridgeinordertomonitortheactualtempintheshoebox.

I turn on the fridge a week prior to them going in so I can stabilizethetempintheshoeboxesat43-45degrees.

Oncethey’renaturallysloweddown,you’vestoppedthemfromeatingfor3weeks,andsoakedthemtwiceaweekforthose3weekstomakesurethey’rehydrated,youcanliter-allyplopthemina45degreerefrigeratorandletthemsleep.

I check them each week to make sure everything is normal andhaveafter10hibernationseasonshaveneverhadtopullone up early due to any issues.

I’ll close by saying that once you get them healthy and cleanedofanyparasitesfoundduringyourinitialvetvisit,(thisassumeswildcaught,notcaptivebred)theseareex-tremely hardy tortoises. They can handle temps to the low 40’s(aslongasit’sdry)andupto100degreesaswell.

They are a highly personable and enjoyable species to work withandonceyougetthehusbandryright,along-termcompanion.

Enjoy!


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Treasurer’s Report for Nov 2011Prepared by Nancy Haig

Beginning Balance $21,321.43

Income:Membership $280.00

Raffle $63.00

Adoption $105.00

RodentSales $470.00

RenfestDonations $2,848.50

Banquet $105.00

Total Income $3,871.50

Expense:Program $50.00

RodentCost $678.85

adopt/Vet $60.00

Newsletter $511.86

Midwest $5,183.46

Supplies $21.72

Postage $100.00

Library $72.00

Total Expense $6,603.93

Cash Increase/Decrease -$2,732.43

Ending Balance $18,589.00

Placement of cash holdings CheckingAccount $18,589.00

TCF/Paypal $2,432.09

Paypal $336.96

Cashonhand $175.00

Total $21,532.05

Notes: Midwest breakdown will be in the year end report

December Adoption ReportPostedbySarahRichard,EditedbyChrisRueber

ThereweretwoFireBellyToads,threeRussianTortoises,threeBeardedDragons,aDayGecko,aLeopardGecko,a

BurmesePython,aBallPythonandaCornSnake.

A Message from theMidwest Symposium Coordinators

The Minnesota Herpetological Society would like to thank Great Harvest Breads for their generous donationofScones,BreadsandMuffinsgiventoshare at the Midwest Herpetological Symposium. We would also like to thank Surley Brewing for thedonationofitemsfortheraffleandqualitybeer which was shared in our hospitality suite.Thankyou,LizBosman

The Midwest Herpetological Symposium com-mitteewouldliketothankthefollowingCoordi-nators for their contribution of time and talents: DanKeyler-Speakerlineup,HeatherClayton-Vendorline-up,SallyBrewer-Graphics,AnnPorwoll- T-shirts & bag printing and promotional items,EllenHeck-snakebags,Fred&LizBos-man-HospitalitySuite,JohnMorairty-Auctioneer,BethGirard&JimGerholdtfortheirexceptionallive animal display of native MN herps. We would also like to thank the MHS members who stepped up and helped out during the Sympo-siumweekend,SkylerBouley-allaroundvolun-teerparexcellence,SarahRichard,ChrisSmith,EricaHoaglund,JanAndreasen,JacobMee,NinaKatayama,andTerryOdegaard.AswellasBillMoss and Nancy Hakomaki for their Renfest trib-ute Friday night and Beer wenches Heather and Christa.

[email protected]

Advertising CostsSize Cost Business Card Sized $5/month or $55/year*1/4 Page $10/month or $110/year*1/2 Page $20/month or $220/year*Full Page $40/month or $440/year*

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

NextMeeting:Friday - January 6th - 7:00 pmRoom335BorlaugHall,UofMSt.PaulCampus

MHS Voice Mail:612.326.6516

MHS Web Page:www.mnherpsoc.com

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MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETYBELLMUSEUMOFNATURALHISTORY10CHURCHSTREETSEMINNNEAPOLIS,MN55455-0104

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Vol. 32 (2012), No. 1

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