THE MONITOR NEWSLETTER OF THE HOOSIER HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY A non-profit organization dedicated to the education of its membership and the conservation of all amphibians and reptiles Volume 28 Number 2 February 2017 Hoosier Herpetological Society HHS Monthly Meeting February 15th at 7:00 P.M. Holliday Park Nature Center Guest Speaker: Kristen Wiley, Kentucky Reptile Zoo Topic: Working with the Lancehead Viper in St. Lucia The Hoosier Herpetological Society is proud to announce that February's guest speaker is Kristen Wiley from the Kentucky Reptile Zoo in Slade, Kentucky. She and her husband Jim Harrison are two of the most experienced experts on venomous snakes. The Kentucky Reptile Zoo has over 1600 venomous snakes which they "milk" every two weeks and send venom to various hospitals and labs for research on a variety of projects. They have also appeared on several television specials and worked with training other herpetologists who work with venomous species. They traveled to St. Lucia this past winter to train members of their forestry department on the safe handling of their lancehead vipers. Does Indiana have a State Reptile? Not yet. We hope to change that. If you agree that we need a state reptile, please go to the HHS site and sign the petition. You may also sign petitions at meetings and other functions. Help us introduce the KIRTLAND'S SNAKE (Clonophis kirtlandii) as our official state reptile. www.hoosierherpsoc.org President’s message Jim Horton As I stated at the Christmas party and the January meeting; my first order of business is to upgrade our website with pics of all Indiana herps and a new herp ID section. At our last board meeting we decided to work on our website. We felt that the site should be user-friendly and easy to navigate. Many outdoor enthusiasts utilize their smart phones while in the field. Barbara Filtri has already adjusted the site to a more phone-friendly configuration. I’ve been working on range maps for every species in the state. Barbara will add these on an ID page. This will make identification easier for anyone. We hope you like it! Pease contact Barbara or me with your comments or concerns. Later this month, we have our first live herp display at Garfield Park Conservatory, February 25,10AM-2PM. Hope to see some of you there with your favorite herps and your knowledge of them. Early next month is another similar HHS program at the Eagle Library. This live exhibit is March 4 from 1PM to 4PM. Please bring clean enclosures with information labels describing the occupants. This month, we welcome our friends, Jim Harrison and Kristen Wiley from the Kentucky Reptile Zoo. This is always a good show. HHS member, Sammy Stark will be showing his bearded dragon for the Herp of the Month. Come support your Hoosier Herpetological Society. See you there! by Ed Ferrer Large snakes have always drawn the interest of the their ability to adequately care for it. And then what do public one way or another. During the 1960's and they do? Hopefully they find an experienced person or 1970's these large constrictors became more popular as organization to take the now unwanted pet and give it a pets and exhibits. The trade of the Indian python, python new home. This is exactly why the buying of any pet molurus molurus, was seriously restricted by the should be first be the subject of thorough research before Endangered Species Act in 1973 and the CITIES act in making such an important purchase. 1975. But there was still a large demand so a subspecies, the Burmese python, Python molurus bivittatus, became a popular choice for snake hobbyists who wanted a large snake. It was more docile than other large snakes available such as the African rock python, Python sebae, or the reticulated python, Malayopython reticulatus, which at that time were mostly available as wild caught individuals that were normally very aggressive. Burmese pythons were also easy to breed in captivity and their beautiful pattern of rich brown blotches on a milky white background made it an instant favorite and their popularity increased in the exotic pet trade in the early Burmese python – source: www.nature.org 1980's. Then the first albino Burmese pythons made their appearance and these yellow and white beauties Anyone who has even a passing interest in exotic pets caused a explosion of interest through the has heard of the problem of Burmese python taking over herpetoculture. Since then there has been other color the Everglades and possibly invading other parts of our morphs that added to the interest of these snakes. Of country. There have been some Burmese pythons that course, the size of an adult Burmese python could have been found in the Everglades since the 1990's but it become a problem if a person bought a cute two foot wasn't until a 2005 photo showing a dead Burmese baby as an impulse purchase and wasn't really prepared python with a 6-foot long alligator that seemingly for the needs of a snake that would end up 10 to 15 feet exploded from it belly that concern about the Burm's long. Many keepers find that their snake has outgrown presence in the Everglades swamp reached panic proportions. A more scientific study of the scene reached University found that of the 156 pythons of all sizes that a different conclusion. The scientists found the cause of were sampled were very closely related" Only four gator's death was from large conical shaped teeth marks specimens showed a genetic profile different from the that were made from a large alligator, probably a large rest. It is logical to assume that the rest came from one bull alligator that was protecting its territory by killing single introduction (the missing 700 pythons from the the smaller 'gator. The snake's head and front part of its destroyed facility) instead of being released from pet body were never found. It seems reasonable to believe owners. that the same bull alligator came upon the python who was trying to swallow the gator. When snakes are Because of all the misleading or downright false feeding they are extremely vulnerable to attack and it propaganda spread by the Humane Society of the United was probably attacked by the huge gator causing the States (HSUS) (not to be confused with your local gruesome scene. From this incident grew a media circus humane societies) and others in 2012 the federal that had the public convinced that the Everglades were government under the Lacey Act banned interstate being overrun by huge pythons that were taking over the transportation of Burmese pythons and a few other large swamp. snakes across state lines. Does this affect the pythons in Florida? No! What it does it cripples the exotic pet trade Adding to the media circus was "an infamous (and because most of the sales of these animals comes from flawed) study funded by the federal government and reptile shows where dealers travel from state to state or embraced and distributed under the auspices of the U.S. from interstate mail order sales. So now one of the top Geological Survey, predicting that Burmese pythons five popular snake species is hardly seen for sale because would eventually colonize most of the south-eastern of these unreasonable restrictions. (It is my opinion that U.S. , from Washington, DC all the way through most that was the HSUS's intent all along.) It also makes it of Texas and as far north as San Francisco." This just unlawful for a person who owns one and is transferred to doesn't stand up to science. To test the ability of another state for his job to take his pet python. That is Burmese pythons to survive outside of the tropical just unfair! Everglades, two facilities have experimented with keeping Burmese pythons through the winter outside of Burmese pythons will be a part of the southern Florida Southern Florida. One was in Gainesville, in northern ecosystem just as there are Nile monitors, green iguanas, Florida and the other in South Carolina. In both cases the feral pigs, birds and other exotic wildlife that have found snakes were provided with heated hide boxes or shelters a home there. But lets remember according to the law of and food. All the pythons either died or had to be survival in nature only a small percentage of these euthanized due to health problems from the colder pythons grow to become large adults. A majority winter temperatures. These results show that Burmese become food for other predators like raccoons, birds of pythons were not genetically capable of adapting to prey, herons, large fish just like baby alligators. Also, regions outside of southern Florida. Any person who has even in South Florida every few years there is a serious had kept these snakes knows that Burmese pythons are freeze that kills off 80-90 percent of these tropical sensitive to cool temperatures. animals. The restrictions of the Lacey Act regarding the Burmese python and other large snakes should be struck So the question was asked "How did the Burmese down. The Burmese problem is a south Florida problem python get established in the Everglades?" The press and should be dealt with like any other similar local wild assumed that they came there because distressed pet life situation. In Indiana we have too many white tail owners dumped their unwanted 'Burms into the swamps. deer. We have hunting season to keep the numbers at the Maybe a few came there by that method but that doesn't correct level.