NEWSLETTER OF THE

MINNESOTA

HERPETOLOGICAL

SOCIETY

SEPTEMBER 1995 VOLUME XV NUMBER 9 BELL MUSEUM OF NATURAL mSTORY 10 CHURCH STREET SOUTH EAST MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55455-0104

1 Do you ever have a question about one of your herps and wonder who might be able to provide an answer? Most people who keep pets of any kind have been is this situation at one time or another. A group of MHS members has volunteered to provide assistance. Listed below are the people and their specialties. Please be reasonable about the time of day and how frequently you call.

Large pythons and constrictors Terrestrial turtles and tortoises Glen (Jake) Jacobsen 757-8268 John Moriarty 647-1334 Karl Hermann 730-6265 Ann Porwoll 489-7853

Glen (Jake) Jacobsen 757-8268 Other Snakes

John Meltzer 263-7880 Aquatic Turtles John or Connie Levell 374-5422 Gary Ash 753-0218 Jeff LeClere 488-6388 John Levell 374-5422

Amphibians Minnesota Herps John Meltzer 263-7880 John Moriary 647-1334 Greg K vanbek 533-7723 Greg Kvanbek 533-7723

Lizards Jeff LeClere 488-6388

434-8684 Crocodilians Nancy Haig Bill Moss 488-1383 Jeff Lang (701) 772-0227

Adoption Contact Education Contact Sean Hewitt 935-5845 Glen (Jake) Jacobsen 757-8268

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; to educate the membership and the general public in the ecological role of reptiles and amphibians; and to promote the study and conservation of reptiles and amphibians.

MHS VOICE MAIL PHONE NUMBER: 624 - 7065

MHS BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY RECORDING SECRETARY TREASURER NEWSLETTER EDITOR MEMBER-AT-LARGE MEMBER-AT-LARGE MEMBER-AT-LARGE MEMBER-AT-LARGE MEMBER-AT-LARGE

Bill Moss Greg Kvanbek George Richard Randy Blasus Marilyn Brooks John Levell Gary Ash Dan Bergquist Barbara Radanke James Rea Siri Rea

SNAKEBITE EMERGENCY

HENNEPIN REGIONAL POISON CENTER

MINNESOTA POISON CONTROL SYSTEM LOCAL OUT OF STATE

(612) 347-3141

(612) 221-2113 (800) 222-1222

(612) 488-1383 (612) 533-7723 (612) 623-7620 (612) 925-4237 (612) 925-4237 (612) 374-5422 (612) 753-0218 (612) 624-7065 (612) 291-1132 (612) 457-8107 (612) 457-4636

Copyright Minnesota Herpetological Society. The contents of this newsletter may be reproduced for inclusion in the newsletters of other herpetological societies provided that the material is reproduced without change and proper credits are given to the MHS Newsletter, citing, volume, number, and date.

MHS Newsletter Voillme XV Number 9

MHS Rodent Sales

Mice: pinkies $6.00 dozen fuzzies $6.00 dozen adults $9.00 dozen

Rats: pups $10.00 dozen adults $12.00 six

$24.00 dozen

For pickup at monthly meetings only. Orders must be placed at least one week in advance of date of meeting at which frozen rodents are to be delivered. Place orders with Terry Scheiber (612) 440-7482.

ANIMALIA EXOTICA, INC

Breed ... Owned & Operoted

Handfed Baby Birds Reptiles, Other Exotics

882·0337 1939 W. Burnsville Pl<wy

Burnsville, MN 55337

For Sale or Petting Zoos Parties or Promotions

ANIMALS OF WALTON'S HOLLOW Exotic & Farm Animals

Bill & Jean Walton 5425 Peterson Road

White Bear Lake, MN 55127-6713

(612)426-8163

SECORD'S EXOTIC ANIMAL HOUSE BILLY SECORD - (612)920-1987

LARGEST PRODUCER OR SMALL EXOTIC MAMMALS IN MINNESOTA!

HEDGEHOGS, DUPRAS IS, ZEBRA MICE, PYGMY MICE, GIANT AFRICAN POUCHED RATS, JIRDS, MOUSE LEMURS, BRUSH-TAILED KANGAROOS, AND MUCH, MUCH MORE! - U.S.D.A LICENSED

16

MHS Merchandise

MHS offers an assortment of herp related sales items including; books, magazines, posters, t -shirl~, notecards, buttons, stickers, decals, and patches. Look for the merchandise sales area at the far right side of the meeting room. Transactions can be handled before the meeting, during tbe break, or after the meeting as time permits. Selected items also available for purchase by mail order (see below).

MHS Painted Turtle Logo (blue on white)

stickers, decals, and patches $1.50 each postpaid

Treefrog Notecards

(above design on light green stock) $3.00 per package postpaid

All proceeds from MHS rodent and merchandise sales go toward the operating costs of the society such as; speaker fees, library purchases, charitable donations, etc_ The MHS is a completely volunteer run, non-profit organization.

MRS Newsletter Volume XV Number 9

Classified Ads

1.0.0 = male. 0.1.0 = female. 0.0.1 = unsexed c.b. = captive bred, o.h.o. = or best offer

For Sale

Mice and Rats. Call Little Critters (612) 421-0097

1995 c.b. Boids; Hog Island Boas from exceptional adults, $325. Brazilian Rainbow Boas from iridescent orange adults, $225. Colombian Rainbow Boas from iridescent, high contrast adults, $75. Unrelated pairs available. Can deliver to Twin Cities. Call Mark Wendling (319) 857-4787.

HERP CLASSIFIED (formerly Fauna Classifieds). Monthly classified for herpetofauna, food, supplies, literature, societies, much more .... Excellent infonnation source, worldwide circulation, pub!, since 1983. Send .32 stamp for sample. $14/year, $26/2 years, 1st class. MClVisa. Great Valley Serpentarium, 2379 Maggio Circle, Unit C Lodi, CA 95240, (209) 369-7737, Fax (209) 369-7737.

1995 HERPETOLOGICAL DIRECTORY. Valuable info source containing private & commercial breeders, wholesalers, foreign exporters, US/foreign societies, food sources, supplies, publications, more ..... $15. MClVisa. Great Valley Serpentarium, 2379 Maggio Circie, Unit C Ladi, CA 95240, (209) 369-7737, Fax (209) 369-7737.

Solomon Island Boas, Candoia carinata paulsoni, c.b. subadults, feeding well on dead mice, $75-175. Neonates born 114/95. Call Steph Porter (612) 690-2589.

95 Hatchlings Albino N. Pines $95, Hetero N. Pines $45, Corns $15, Fox Snakes $15, W. Hognose $35. Surplus Stock l.l Cape Baja Gophers $165 pr., 0.1 Albino Speckled King $50, 1.0 Leucistic Texas Rat $75, 1.1 Corns (proven Breeders) $85 pr., 1.0 Albino patternless Yellow Rat $50. Asst. Aquariums and accessories $5 -$40. Dav (612) 550-9855.

1994 C.B. SNAKES Baird's Rat Snake $40. Normal Corn Snake $20. "Okeetee" Corn $25. Call: The Exotic Dead Corner (612) 545-5127.

GREAT V ALLEY SERPENT ARIUM, a private museum and breeding facility offering a wide selection of c.b. colubrids, boids and lizards. Open to the public. Write or fax for free price-list. Great Valley Serpentarium, 2379 Maggio Circle, Unit C Lodi, CA 95240, (209) 369-7737, Fax (209) 369-7737.

Wanted

ALL THE SHED SNAKE SKINS IN THE WORLD, Always, to use at hands-on programs to give to kids. Bob Duerr (612) 541-0362.

15

Herp related news clippings. original articles, artwork, cartoons, etc. for publication in the MHS Newsletter. Authors and artists will receive compensation in the form of volunteer hrs, good towards one "priceless" MHS coffee mug. Send submissions to: MN Herp. Soc./ Editor, c/o Bell Museum of Natural History, 10 Church St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455-0104.

Miscellaneous

BREEDING INVENTORY SUR VEY: Everyone keeping live reptiles and amphibians is asked to contribute to this annual report. Please submit the following info current Jan. 1st of each year: (I) Inventory of collection, list numbers and sex, (2) list of all species bred during the previous year, (3) any longevity records, (4) please print clearly; your name, address and telephone number as you want them listed, (5) please do respond. Send info to: Frank Slavens, P.O. Box 30744, Seattle, WA 98103. Fax: (206) 546-2912.

SEA TURTLE SURVIVAL LEAGUE, announces its' line of eco-promoting sea turtle merchandise, for a free catalog write: Sea Turtle Survival League, P.O. Box 2866, Gainesville, FL 32602-2866 or call (800) 678-7853.

Will find or provide "homes" for any and all unwanted venomous snakes. For more info contact: The Exotic Dead Comer (612) 545-5127.

JOHN & RUTH MELTZER (612) 263-7880

WE HAVE A GREAT SELECTION OF CAFTIVE BRED

HERPS.

CALL FORA COMPLETE LISTING!

RPENT'S TALE NATURAL HISTORY BOOK DISTRIBUTORS

ERIC THISS (612) 470-5008

FAX (612) 470-5013

464 SeGOnd Street. Excelsior, MN 5533t

MRS Newsletter VolUlne XV Number 9

Board Meeting Highlights By Randy Blasus, Recording Secretary

The monthly meeting of the MHS Board of Directors was conducted on September 9th at Sirl Rea's home. A quorum was present. The board took the following action:

There will now be an emergency contact number available on the voice-mail system for those cases where MHS needs to respond immediately.

It was decided to go ahead and set up with the State to participate in the Adopt-A- Highway program. We will be cleaning the area near Hugo.

Other subjects discussed were: Setting up to paint the Washington Ave Bridge, a new membership high of approximately 262 and our ad policy.

Presented and accepted were: Treasurer's Report, Membership Report and Board Meeting Minutes.

September Refreshments

For bringing refreshments to the previous MHS meeting the society says Thank You to:

Dick Palmatin Assorted Danish Rolls

As always, we need as many people as possible to donate items in order to keep the refreshments successful. Please do not hesitate to bring an item, as it is always most sincerely appreciated. Thank you. Nanette Jimerson - Refreshment Chairperson.

14

Treasurer's Report Prepared by Marilyn Brooks, MHS Treasurer

Beginning Checkbook Balance: 52,378.13

Income: Membership Raffle Sales Donation Library Fines Other

Total Income:

Expense: Newsletter Mise PrintIPost Program Library Books Supplies Refreshments Other

Total Expense:

Net IncomefLoss:

295.00 87.25

536.50 98.81

6.00 101.50

453.00

50.00

15.00 100.66

1,125.06

618.00

507.06

Ending Checkbook Balance: 2,885.13

1,270.00 1,615.19

Dedicated Funds: Funds Available:

September Raffle Donors

J.P. & Connie Levell Ann Porwell

Barney Oldfield Tbersea Kollander Alan Kwong

Assorted Magazines Book, T-shirt, stamps, frog whistle, frog woodcut Cage top, SSAR Publ. Zookies, frog Nice big Cage

Revenue generated by rafj']e ticket sales help finance a variety of society functions, including the MHS Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Fund, Congratulations to all the winners, and thanks to everyone who donated items and/or purchased raffle tickets.

REPTILES AMPHIBIANS

I

CAGES SUPPLIES

COLD PETS ,-' FOR COOL PEOPLE

12601 Chowen Ave. So. Burnsville, MN (612) 894·2305

MHS News/elter Volume xv Number 9

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Oct. 14·15, 1995 2nd Annual Komodo Dragon Celebration. U.S. National Zoo· Washington, D.C. For more info Contact: Trooper Walsh. Dept. of Herpetology, U.S. Nati. Zoo, Washington, D.C. 20008.

Oct. 19·20, 1995 Help Build the World's Longest LEGO Snake! LEGO Imagination Center at the Mall of America, 60 E. Broadway, Bloomington, MN. Free 10:00 a.m .. 5:00 p.m. For more info see announcement below or call (612) 431·9257

Oct. 20·22, 1995 Midwest Herpetological Symposium. Clarion Hotel O'Hare. Rosemont. IL. Contact: Chicago Herp. Soc .. Midwest Symposium, 2060 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL 60614 (312) 281·1800.

Oct. 26.29, 1995 2nd Annual Meeting of the Association of Reptile and Amphibian Veterinarians. Sacramento, CA. For more info Contact: Wilbur Amand, VMD, P.O. Box 605, Chester Heights, PA 19017.

Oct, 29, 1995 MHS "Hands On" at the Bell Museum's Annual "Halloween Haunts" Program. Bell Museum of Natural History, 10 Church St. SE, Minneapolis, MN. 55455·0104. Plan on attending this fun event in which the exhibitors wear Halloween costumes. 1:00·4:00 p.m. For more info Contact: Sean Hewitt (612) 935·5845.

Nov. 5, 1995 22nd Annual Meeting of the Kansas Herpetological Society. Lawerence, Kansas. For more info Contact: David Reber, KHS, 1097 E. 1400 Rd., Lawerence, KS 66046·9633, (913) 843·2205.

Nov. 17·18, 1995 Texas Herpetological Society Annual Fall Symposium. El Paso, Texas. For more info Contact: Dave Hibbitts (817) 461·5238.

Dec. 2, 1995 Annual MHS Holiday "Pot Luck" Banquet. University of MN St. Paul Campus Student Union Center· Terrace Cafe. 6:30· 10:30 p.m. Cost S5.00 per person. For more info see insert in next month's MHS newsletter or call: Marilyn Brooks (612) 925·4237.

Apr. 13, 1996 Annual All Florida Herpetological Conference. Gainesville, FL. Rietz Union, University Campus, University of Florida. For mor info Contact: Dr. David Auth (904) 392·1721.

ANNOUCEMENT

One for the Record Books?

The LEGO Imagination Center and the Minnesota Zoo are asking kids to come out and work together to build the world's longest LEGO snake!

As part of Mall of America's Ecommunity event, kids can come out to the LEGO Imagination Center any time between 10:00 and 5:00 on Thursday, Oct 19 and Friday, Oct. 20 (MEA Weekend), and help construct the LEGO snake. A "professional" LEGO model builder will build a big, beautiful head for the snake which the kids can build onto. There'll be zillions of LEGO bricks to work with, so the snake could tum out to be over 300 feet long!

The MN Zoo will host lots of live demonstrations with real snakes at the LEGO Imagination Center throughout the event, and a snake expert will be on hand to answer any questions. This exciting LEGO building event is completely free!

School's Out· so come and enjoy this free building and learning experience.

Questions? Call Special Events Manager Sharon Foster at (612) 431·9257

13

10 enhance the life span of your animals and promotes good color

development and Increased activity levels. OUr AquatlcTurUa OIet Is designed

specifically for an aquatic situation and features a Ion9 float time,excellent acceptabllitj, and balanced nutrition for optimum growth ..

MHS Newsletter Volume XV Number 9

MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL

SOCIETY

BELL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 10 CHURCH STREET SE • MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55455-0 I 04

(612) 624-7065 ........................................................................................................................................ August 28, 1995

Ms. Kathryn Roberts Minnesota Zoo 13000 Zoo Blvd. Apple Valley, MN 55124

Dear Ms. Roberts,

I am pleased to see the recent addition of the Komodo monitors to the Minnesota Zoo. I had the opportunity to see the display on the opening weekend although as I'm sure you know, the viewing could have been better due to the large crowds. I hope this is the beginning of a renewed effort to display a variety of reptiles at the Minnesota Zoo.

I must, however, take issue with the advertising campaign adopted by the Minnesota Zoo. I my opinion it is unjustified to portray these animals as predators of humans for the purpose of exciting the public. According to Walter Auffenberg in his papers and subsequent book on the Komodo monitor, it is an extremely rare occurrence where humans have been taken. The membership of the Minnesota Herpetological Society was very disturbed by this advertisement and very vocal about it at our meeting of August 4. We feel that since the zoo doesn't portray it's tigers or other predatory animals as predators of humans. even though many are more dangerous and have caused more damage to human populations, the monitors should have been treated with the same respect. The Minnesota Zoo should be more sensitive to the already negative attitudes and public image of reptiles.

The Minnesota Herpetological Society works hard to educate the public about the role of the reptile in the ecological balance of nature. There is still a prevailing image of the reptile as loathsome animals who are simply hangers-on from eons past. These types of stereotypes are difficult to overcome.

Please advise your marketing people to be more sensitive to this important segment of the animal kingdom.

Sincerely, ~ c---'" . ~ '\) ~ ~

Bill Moss President Minnesota Herpetological Society

12

MRS Newsletter Volume XV Number 9

Medicinal Value of Reptiles and Amphibians

A Transcription of a Speech Presented at the

National Wildlife Federation's Endangered Species Act Press Conference

Minneapolis - St. Panl International Airport April 4, 1994

By Dr. Daniel E. Keyler

You've just heard about the medicinal value of the world's flora, but I would now like to mention the counterpart of flora - fauna. Animal species of this world may be of value to physical human health in two ways: (1) they may serve as biological markers as to the status of our environment, and (2) tbe different chemicals, toxins, and unusual secretions of these creatures may yield natural pbarmaceuticals. Althougb these are somewbat selfish reasons for wanting to protect endangered species, they are definite assets which can be coupled with esthetic values.

Commonly, when people think of endangered species, and tbeir potential medical uses, tbe images of more high profile animals come to mind - such as tiger bone and rbino born - potions used in traditional and sbamanistic medicine. But what about species that many humans tend to think of as creepy, crawly, ugly, and consequently of no use? Animals that don't bave that positively-cbarged image. For example, amphibians and reptiles; the snakes, frogs, newts and related creatures. During the past decade ampbibian populations of the world bave decliued at an alarming rate. This decline bas not been due to just babitat loss, but also to significant fluctuations in air and water qUality. Thus, buman health may not be iImnune to such environmental cbanges.

And what about the potential for pharmaceuticals from these close to tbe ground life forms? Preliminary buman trails in Houston, Texas have used a neurotropin from cobra venom (Naja naja kaouthia) to treat Alzbeimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Venom from tbe South American pit viper Bothrops jammea was the original source of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, a class of drugs very effective in the treatment of high blood pressure. Frogs of the world such as the Dart-poison Frogs, Dendrobates sp., produce unique toxius (batrachitoxins) which bave helped mcdical researchers understand the mecbanisms of cardiac conduction, and the African Clawed Frogs, Xenopus sp .• which have skin secretions which prevent them from acquiring infections (megainins) - natural antibiotics.

These are just a few examples of exotic global species which are of medicinal value, but wbat about species closer to home rigbt bere in the U.S.A.? In the United States, species of rattlesnakes (all of which are under a variety of stresses for their survival) possess different clotting and anticoagulating enzymes, as well as the Southern Copperbead, Agkistrodon contortrix cO/uortrix, (fibrolase). These enzymes may

. be used to someday treat a variety of bleeding disorders.

11

And this little guy bebind me (Editor's Note: In reference to a NWF poster) - the Houston Toad, Blljo hOllstonensis, is so rare it's found in only small pockets of nine counties in Texas. Tbis toad is representative of the genus Bujo, tbe toads. In general, toad venoms contain a variety of compounds known as biogenic amines (adrenaline-like chemicals) and cardioactive steroids (bufotatin) similar to digitalis (a plant derived drug), the most commonly used beart medication in America's elderly population.

So what is so important about these animals? Unfortunately, humans are still not as creative as nature. We can synthesize new drugs once we have an original template (in this case the toxins from amphibians and reptiles), but once we lose our source of templates we've not only reduced the biodiversity of our world, but forever lost the opportunity to develop new pharmaceuticals originally derived from nature. I think we should all consider reptile and amphibian species as some of the world's most creative pharmaceutical chemists. Let us protect these animals and renew the Endangered Species Act.

Editor's Note: Dr. Dan Keyler is a Toxicologist with the Hennepin County Medical Center and is a long time member of tbe MHS, as well as a frequent contributor to this newsletter. In addition to his interest in the medicinal properties of amphibians and reptiles, Dr. Keyler is one of this country's foremost autborities on venomous snakes and the proper treaunent of their bites. Dan is also extremely interested in the conservation of Timber Rattlesnakes, Crotalus horridIls, particularly here in Minnesota. 00

MHS Newsletter Volume XV Number 9

available commercially, so Racers must be obtained from the wild. This does not help the snakes' ecosystem in any way, and too many Racers taken from a single location can be devastating.

I have worked with several Racers that were taken from a plot of land that was being bulldozed at tbe time of capture. Today, that prairie is a children's playground with absolutely no habitat left for the Racers (or any herps). In this group of snakes, some were relatively easy to work with; many were not; but they came around through various methods. A basic cage with newsprint or Astroturf works best. Large Racers will destroy elaborate cages, hatchlings and juveniles will do very well in them. One would think that a very large cage for a large active snake would be superb, and indeed; a few did enjoy and thrive in tbis setup, but the majority were nervous. When someone approacbed the cage, they would flee hitting the sides of tbe enclosure. Tbese also tended to bave tbe worst nose rubbing problems. When they were moved to a smaller cage, tbey seemed to feel much more secure. Hide boxes were used in both cage setups. In the smaller cage, they no longer fled when approached. Other cage basics include an untippable water disb, a stable bide box, and maybe a few rocks or branches will complete the cage design. Tbese snakes MUST be kept singly! Ventral beat will suffice, but an overbead basking light placed on one side of the cage is a better choice. Tbe temperature sbould be in tbe upper 80's and into the 90's during tbe day, letting it drop into the 60's or70's at night. As with a couple other species of Minnesota's snakes, Racers seem to eat better and accept a wider variety of food items at wanner temperatures. If I were to recommend a Vita-Lite or other UV Iigbting for any of Minnesota's snake species, this would be the one. They do not appear to require it, but it certainly does not hurt to bave it. This type of Iigbting seems to intensify their blue coloration.

Feeding is big problem with keeping these snakes. The fIrst thing you should do is bave the Racer dewormed because it will have tbem. A veterinarian will be able to perform this task for you if you are unable. Next, try offering frozen thawed ntice before anything else. A couple specimens have eaten these for me right from the start, especially pinkies. Tom Jessen also had a juvenile that consumed pinkies right away without any scenting techniques being used (Jessen, pers. comm.). They may do better with live food because they are so visual in capturing prey, but feeding live mice is messy because the snakes may throw and shake the mouse about the cage and smear blood everyWhere, and dangerous because the snake is likely to be bitten in the process. Most Racers will eat frogs live or dead, but they are parasitized (unless frozen which will reduce the parasite load) and pass quickly through tbeir system. They are known to eat Leopard Frogs, Raila pipiens, and Wood Frogs, Raila sylvatica, (Lydon, pers. comm.), and Have induced specimens to consume ntice scented with these and Bullfrogs, Rana catesbeialla, Green Frogs, Rana clamitalls, and Gray Treefrogs, Hyla versicolor. Fish may be eaten by some, but they are better used as a treat for those who will eat them. Many of the adults I had captured excreted nothing

10

but grasshopper exoskeletons in their fIrst couple bowel movements. Some ate these when I tried them but only at temperatures higher than 90 degrees F. Lastly, for those refusing everything (especially very young Racers), other snakes work very well. You do not have to feed other living snakes to them. Frozen thawed snakes will often work. Road kills that are not too mangled can be fed after being frozen for a few days. Or keep one and use it to scent pinkies. You may also keep a shed skin and stuff it with pinkies. Another method that has worked tbe best is having a snake musk on a pinkie (Garter Snakes work really well for this) and offering it to the Racer. Many Racers will eventually switch to plain unscented frozen and thawed ntice. Usually, once a Racer has started feeding it will continue to eat well without skipping, but it may take awbile before it will eat in front of you. Covering the cage will reduce this problem.

Breeding is assumed to be accomplished in tbe same manner as other snakes, but tbeir nervous disposition makes this a diffIcult task. At any rate, for captives, especially those not feeding well, hibernation in a dry, cool room (40's - 50's F.) for tbree to four months is recommended. For breeding, place the pair together after hibernation. Watch them closely as one may eat the otber even if they are the same size! The female will become noticeably distended with eggs if breeding is successful. Keep the eggs wann and humid but not wet. They will hatch in 50 to 60 days if kept at 82 to 85 degrees F. You will bave problems feeding some of the young. Try small frogs, lizards, and snakes, or scent with tbese. Those not feeding should be released wbere the parents were caught. Those that feed should make satisfactory captives and may well be less nervous or vicious than the parents.

Literature Cited:

Breckenridge, Walter J. 1944. Reptiles and Amphibians of Minnesota. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN.

Conant, Roger and Collins, Joseph T. 1991. A Field Guide to Reptiles alld Amphibians of Eastern and Central Nm1h America, 3rd edition. Houghton Mifflin, Boston, MA.

Jessen, Tom. 1993. Fox Snake Hibernatioll Dell in Blue Earth Coumy. Minn. Herp. Soc. News. 13 (5): 11-14.

Oldfield, B. L. and Moriarty, John J. 1994. Amphibians and Reptiles Native to Minnesota. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN.

Rossi, John V. 1992. Sllakes oflhe United States alld Canada, Keeping Them Healthy in Captivity, Vol. 1: Eastern Area. Krieger Publishing Co., Malabar, FL.

Vogt, Richard Carl. 1981. Natural Histmy of the Amphibians and Reptiles of Wisconsin. Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, WI.

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MRS Newsletter Volume XV Number 9

Snakes of Minnesota by Jeff LeClere

Eastern Yellowbellied Racer Coluber constrictor flaviventris

Description: This is a large Minnesota species measuring between 23 and 50 inches in length (Conant and Collins, 1991). Adults are a plain blue, bluish black, or light brown. The blue is most prominent on the lateral scales just before the ventral scales. There are no head or dorsal markings. The under surface is dirty white or porcelain with no markings. The throat and neck are bright yellow and the chin and upper labials may be yellow or white. The young look very different having a white or gray ground color with black, brown, or reddish blotches and their bellies are white with small brown or reddish spots. They lose these markings and develop adult coloration in two to three years. Racers have smooth scales and divided anal plates.

Subspecies: Of the many subspecies of Racers in the United States only one, the Eastern Yellowbellied Racer, Coluber constrictor f/aviventris, is found in Minnesota according to both Breckenridge (1944), and Oldfield and Moriarty (1994). It should be noted that some authorities including; Conant and Collins (1991) and Vogt (1981), list Coluber cOllstrictor foxi as the subspecies occurring in this portion of the United States. In either case, this serpent is commonly referred to as the Blue Racer in many midwestern states, including Minnesota.

Range: The Racer, like most of Minnesota's large snakes, follows the Mississippi River Valley. A few western records indicate its presence in the Minnesota River Valley as well, and more searching may turn up more records in this area.

Habitat: The Racer is a snake of open, prairie areas. Open fields, woodland edges and goat prairies are common haunts. Racers hibernate in any structure that takes them underground below the frost line, including rock crevices where they may hibernate with Black Rat Snakes, Garter Snakes, Timber Rattlesnakes, Milk Snakes, Bullsnakes, Fox Snakes, and other Racers.

Habits: Racers are true to their name, they are very fast and are mere ripples in the grass to most who encounter it. They are active during the day, even in hot weather. They are one of the most visually oriented of Minnesota's snakes and hunt primarily by sight, moving or scanning the area with their head held high. Their slender bodies move them quickly yet quietly through the brush and they are usually able to chase down and catch their prey. When the prey is captured, it is held in their strong jaws and swallowed alive. These snakes are not constrictors, even though their scientific name would imply otherwise. Large prey items are shaken violently from side to side much as lizards (particularly monitors) do with struggling victims. They also take a loop or two of their body and use it to press the prey to the ground, often chewing on the victim's head. Larger prey, such as mice, may be killed in this manner. When encountered in the wild,

9

Racers will flee with surprising speed and agility. They seem to have a certain underground retreat in which to hide, for many Racers will slither TOWARD an intruder only to zip past them and into a burrow. They may also take to the water or climb a small bush with equal speed. When cornered, or in the case of extremely belligerent specimens, they may coil and strike, releasing a short hiss. Some may also vibrate their tails producing a buzzing sound. Although these snakes are often described as vicious when caught or handled (often biting and ripping the teeth througb the flesh or chewing repeatedly), many specimens found on the Kasota Prairie demonstrated extremely docile behavior on more than one occasion (Jessen, 1990, LeClere and Lydon pers. obs.). Most are vicious, however, and must be handled with care. On cooler, rainy days Racers may be found hiding beneath rocks, boards, tin and other debris. Racers hibernate from late October to late April. They mate in spring and females will lay 6 to 25 eggs (Vog~ 1981) in sand, loose earth, or rotting logs or vegetation. Racers are 8 to 14 inches at hatching and mature at two to three years (Oldfield and Moriarty, 1994).

Food: Racers are dietary generalists and will consume most any other living thing they can. They have the broadest diet of any Minnesota snake species with the Common Garter Snake, Thamnophis sirtalis sp., as a close second. The diet of Racers includes; rodents, lizards, snakes, fish, frogs, toads, salamanders, insects, birds, reptile eggs, bird eggs, and any other small animals. As stated before, these snakes do not constrict their prey, but swallow it alive or kill it with brute force. Racers have been noted consuming other snakes in the wild. One was found consuming a juvenile Fox Snake, E/aphe vulpilUl, (Jessen, 1993), and another was caught with a half­swallowed Red-sided Garter Snake, ThamllOphis sinalis parietalis. When picked up, the Racer regurgitated the Garter Snake. The Garter Snake was covered with saliva but slithered away apparently unharmed (Lydon, pers. comm.). A diet such as this allows it to cohabitate with many other snake species (often these species appear on the Racer's menu) consuming other animals that are not regularly eaten by the other snake species.

Care: Racers make poor captives as a general rule, and specimens that do well can probably be credited to individual tractability rather than tactics employed by the keeper. There are a few basic Racer rules that will help make the snake more complacent.

Qualities that make Racers undesirable are its general disposition and poor feeding habits. Racers are very nervous snakes and little disturbances can be a big deal for them. For a snake that has such a wide spectrum of prey items, they usually refuse most of them and many refuse all food in captivity. They can not be handled for prolonged periods with any certainty of not being bitten, even the "docile'" ones. Captive bred specimens are not

MRS Newsletter Volume XV Number 9

General Meeting Review By Randy Blasus Recording Secretary

Our speaker for the September meeting was Alvaro Garcia. He is a Veterinarian and lifelong reptile enthusiast who spoke to us about Uruguay, his native land.

The country of Uruguay is bordered on one side by the Atlantic Ocean and the other by the Uruguay River. It is the second smallest country in South America with half of its population of three and one­half million people living in the capital city, Montevideo. This country is not what you would expect from one that is south of the U.S. border. There are no lush jungles, in fact it is mostly prairie and lowland marshes interspersed with small mountains. The tallest mountain is only 1700 feet, though.

Their seasons are the opposite of those here in Minnesota. Our summer equates to their winter. The variability of their seasonal temperatures in Uruguay, however is no match for our home. The average high temperature in the summer is 72 degrees Fahrenheit and the low in winter is around the lower 50's.

To begin, Alvaro described his fIrst experience catching herps. It seems from his description that the fear of being bitten is universal. The fIrst snake that he ever grabbed was swung around by the tail to prevent it from gaining purchase on it's captor. This same animal he later kept for four years.

Some of the animals generally considered to be representative of South America were not extensively covered, for the simple reason that they do not occur in Uruguay. Two of these species would be the Chaco Tortoise, Geochelone chi/ensis, and the Boa, Boa constrictor occidentalis.

Of the animals that do occur in Uruguay, Rattlesnakes, Crotalus durissus terrific us., are probably the most rare of the venomous species, having not been recorded from the country in several years. Elapids and vipers such as the Coral Snake, Micrurusjrontalis, and two species of Lance-heads or Fer-de-Lance, Bothrops aitemallIs and Bothrops neuwiedi, are more common. There are many species of non-venomous and mildly venomous species of snakes as well. Some of the rear-fanged venomous species are so small that their size alone removes them from being a danger to man, as they cannot effectively bite anything so large as a human. One of the more interesting rear-fanged species is the

7

Mussurana, Ckelia ckelia, which is almost universally admired by the inhabitants of South America for it's preference for other snakes, including dangerously venomous species, as a dietary item.

There are also found here a good number of freshwater aquatic turtles in Uruguay. One common species is the South American Snake-Necked Turtle, Rydromedusa tectifera. Other freshwater turtles in the country include; Geoffroy's Sideneck, Phrynops geoffroanus, Hilaire's Sideneck, Phrynops hi/arii, the Spiny-neck Turtle, Acanthochelys (Platemys) spixii, and the more typical (from the standpoint of those of us from North America anyway) South American Slider, Trackemys scripta dorbigni .

Uruguay also has at least one species of Caiman; the Broad-snouted Caiman, Caiman iatirostris, and several species of lizards in the Teiidae family. A familiar one is the Black and White Tegu, Tupinambis tegllixin. Several other lizard species occur in Uruguay of which one is legless.

Of the Amphibians, Amphiumas are seen during periods of flooding. These are so numerous at this time, that Alvaro has seen up to one hundred in a day. Horned frogs, Ceratopltrys ornata are also noticeable seasonally near the coast and along the border of Brazil. The Horned Frogs found in the pet trade are mostly from Argentina, however. The last species noted was a marine animal. The Green Sea Turtle, Cltelonia mydas, is seen nesting on Uruguay's beaches, unfortunately, in no great numbers.

It was interesting to note that several animals closely resembled those native to the United States. Some only superficially as their anatomy and physiology differ while their coloration or pattern looks familiar. Others, such as the South American version of the Hognose Snake; the False Jararaca, Lystropltis sp., not only appear similar, but are also anuran feeding specialists and perform the same death faking act as well.

Alvaro gave us an interesting glimpse into a land most of us will never personally visit. A world away in ctimate and species, yet related to our own. 000000

MHS Newsletter Volume XV Number 9

ECOVIEWS

WHY WOULD ANYONE STUDY COTTONMOUTHS? by Whit Gibbons

Why do no moose, redwood trees, or sidewinder rattlesnakes live in Florida or Alabama? Why are no alligators, wild azaleas, or annadillos in Michigan or Montana? As University of Georgia graduate student John Lee says, you don't have to be an ecologist to give an answer: the weather gets too hot, cold, dry, wet, or too something else. Sometimes the guessing looks easy.

Thus, to explain why few snakes are seen during the winter, we say it gets too cold. But guess what. Some snakes, sucb as the cottonmouth, or water moccasin, do come out in the winter. Explaining why an animal does something, like why a reptile emerges on a cold day, can be harder than saying why it does not.

On a south-facing hillside alongside the Savannah River swamp, if the air is still and the temperature between freezing and 50 degrees, one can often see rust-colored cottonmouths coiled in the leaves. John Lee intends to find out why.

He has the perfect place to work, on the Deparbnent of Energy's Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The protected nature of the large tract of land and the diversity of natural babitats make the site ideal for ecological researcb.

I asked John bow his research related to general environmental concerns: "Eacb year more and more species decline in numbers. As it becomes increasingly difficult to show our children native animals in the wild, talk of conservation becomes more common. But to conserve a species, we must understand wbat components of its environment are critical for its survival.1t

A common way to gain scientific knowledge and understanding about rare or endangered species is to study less threatened hut related ones. Knowledge from sucb studies can then be synthesized to identify ecological patterns.

As John says, "When we discover patterns among common species, we can apply them to rarer species so we, as stewards of the land, can ensure their survival in the natural state. Seeing wild animals in the woods and streams can light the spark of wonder in us all. We must guarantee that future generations can savor that wonder not just gaze on creatures like the extinct passenger pigeon and Carolina parakeet preserved in a museum."

John's research on winter ecology of cottonmouths can be applied to cold weather responses of other reptiles. "Being cold-blooded, snakes need a certain amount of heat to move, eat, and go about other snake business," John says. "During the winter cold, snakes and most other

8

reptiles cannot remain active enough to do all this, so they snuggle into a hole until spring. Snakes do not eat during winter, so they rely on the food energy stored in their bodies in the form of fat."

Winter is a dangerous time for a reptile. If the animal freezes, ice crystals can burst body cells. A cold, sluggish snake may be unable to escape from a predator that digs it up. But there is also a cost to being warm. If a snake stays too wann, it uses up stored fat and starves to death before spring.

So why do cottonmouths coil up in the winter sun, wanning their bodies and using precious stored food faster than they would down in the cool ground? If such behavior did more hann than good, these basking snakes would not survive long enough to mate and pass the genes for this behavior to their young. The behavior presumably serves some useful function, but so far, nobody knows what that might be.

Last summer, John placed small radio transmitters into 20 cottonmouths. He returned 8 to the swamp and put 12 in an outdoor enclosure. A transmitter reveals not only the location of each animal but also its body temperature. Computerized data collecting systems are set up in the swamp and the enclosure to monitor the weather as well as temperatures underground and those of the snakes. Temperatures of the snakes and their dens are recorded every fifteen minutes. In this way John can determine the temperatures snakes are chOOSing from those available to them. He will also know how often they are able to reach their preferred body temperatures. Why they choose to be at a certain temperature remains a mystery, but merely knowing the temperatures reptiles select in the wild advances ecological knowledge. As John puts all his fmdings together, the knowledge may bring us closer to understanding the relationships between animals and their environments.

Editor's Note: Dr. J. Whitfield Gibbons is professor of ecology at the University of Georgia and is the division head at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory in Aiken, South Carolina. Probably best known for his books including; Their Blood Runs Cold, The Life History and Ecology of the Slider Turtle and Keeping all the Pieces among others, Dr. Gibbons also writes a weekly syndicated column for the New York Times Regional News. The preceding article is one instalhnent of this column and bas been provided for publication in the MHS Newsletter through the kindness of Dr. Gibbons. 0000000000000000000

11th Annual

Midwest Herpetological Symposium Hosted by the Chicago Herpetological Society

October 20 " 22, 1995 Rosemont Illinois

Registration Form

To register: please complete this form and mail it with payment to Chicago Herpetological Society, 1995 Midwest Symposium, 2,oE,o N Clark Street, Chicago IL 60614. Make check or money order payable to CHS.

Name ____________________________________________________________________ __

Address ______________________________ _

City ______________ State ______ ,Zip Code, ___________ _

Phone numbers Day Evening __________________________ _

Local Herp ClubjSociety _________________________ _

No. of Persons Event Price Total Please list names on a

separate sheet

Symposium $50

Symposium $55 (after October 1)

Banquet $22

Banquet (after October 1)

$25

Total

Check here for vendor information Yes, send information

• "Dry Goods Store' (Open all weekend. Friday night, open to the public.)

• "Captive Bred Herp Sale" (Captive bred animals only. Friday night only. Open to the public.)

Hotel Registrations:

CHS has reserved a block of rooms at the O'Hare Clarion Hotel, 6810 N. Mannheim Road, Rosemont, IL 60018. You can reach the hotel directly by calling 708/297-8464. Do NOT SEND HOTEL REGISTRATION TO CHS. When making reservations, please indicate that you are a Midwest Herpetological Symposium attendee. You should receive a rate of $65 for a single and $75 for a double. The O'Hare Clarion Hotel is located 5 minutes from Chicago's O'Hare Airport and provides free shuttle service 24 hours a day. It is also easily accessible from all major highways.

Rooms will be held for us only until October 1, 1995. After that they are released for general use, so it is strongly recommended that you make your reservations early.

11th Annual . , tolo".,ca Midwast Harp~ ~

sympOSiUm 9S octobar 20-22, 19

Nationally Recognized Speakers

Walter AulTenberg, Ph.D. Florida State Museum

Department of Natural Science Gainsville, Florida

Michael Corn, Ph.D. Professor of Biology & Dean of Students

College of Lake County Grayslake, fllinois

Gary Fogel Chicago Herpetological Society

Chicago, fllinois

Feu d

CA?TIVE RREl> HER? SALE

BANQUET

Carl H. Ernst, Ph.D. Professor of Zoology

George Mason University Fairfax, Virginia

Winston Card Senior Keeper

Department of Herpetology Dallas Zoo

Neil Ford, Ph.D. Professor of Biology University of Texas

Tyler, Texas

Sandra Barnett Senior Herpetologist National Aquarium Baltimore, Maryland

Stephen Barten, DVM Vernon Hills Animal Hospital

Vernon Hills, fllinois

J!on Hotel O'Hare 6810 N Mannheim Rd. Rosemont, Illinois 60018

24 Hour Free Shuttle Service to O'Hare Airport Plenty of Free Parking Indoor and Outdoor pools Convenient to everything Chicago has to offer

Clarion International

AUCTION Featuring Many One-of-a-Kind Items

Quality Inn at O'Hare t r--~~~~~ ROSEMONT N

Ice Breakers Continental Breakfast

Hospitality Suite . . Sunday Morning Workshops

NATIONAL . HERPETOLOGICAL ALLIANCE

ANNUAL MEETING

CHICAGO ~";.""'r-f r~l""'~'k£""-""'--~ NNeOyev~_ O'HARE ~ ~

INTERNATIONAL ~ AIRPORT ~

~ ~

Hosted by the Chicago Herpetological Society

MHS Newsletter Volume XV Number 9

junk frogs seem to like. To prevent overzealous trash­baulers from removing tbem, eacb is stamped: "University of Sydney Field Trial Do Not Disturb."

So far, the frogs bave mostly shunned the customized ponds. But they did move into the demolition site of a fanner slaughterhouse slated to be tbe Games' money-making commercial bub.

"Tbat kind of behavior started putting the development people offside and giving the frog a bad name," Ms. McCallum says. After some soul-searcbing, her team decided the brick pit, where the frogs were breeding, was the critical babitat, and work on the commercial site could go ahead, carefully. But the law is on tbe frog's side, and the Olympic authority still is waiting for scientists to figure out if tbere are grounds for an exception to the tough endangered-species rules.

Green Genes Even if they get a green light, says Ms.

McCallum, "no frog on tbis site will just be squasbed." Scientists will try to relocate them before the bulldozers roll. So far, tbe only known death bappened last Christmas, wben a frog somehow got into the site offices during the holiday break. "We came back and there it was, all dried out on the floor," says Ms. McCallum. "It was obviously a suicide." Even that frog didn't die in vain. Its corpse was rusbed to the Australian Museum for genetic research.

To keep track of the frogs, and keep them out of barm's way, scientists are fitting each frog with a tiny transponder. Placing the transponder was a puzzle in itself. "They don't have a waist, so you can't strap it on them, and their skin is too sensitive for anything external," Ms. Sanders explains.

After consultation witb animal ethicists, Micbelle Christy, a tenestrial ecologist, bas devised a way to inject minute transponders into tbe air pockets on the frogs' sides. Placing tbe first transponder, Ms. Christy admits to nerves. "You're holding one of only 1,000 frogs in your band and you're jabbing it with a huge needle," she says.

So far, she has tagged only 36 frogs out of an estimated 300 on the site. That's because finding them isn't easy. The best time has turned out to be around 2 a.m. in the middle of electric stonns. The reason: Warm, wet nights spur the frogs to hop about and mate.

The scientists will only deem tbeir work successful if a large population of frogs can be lured into a new pond and breed there successfully for two seasons. "Otherwise," says Ms. McCallum, "we can't touch the brick pit." And that willliteially leave a big hole in Sydney's meticulously planned Olympic park.

But Ms. Sanders, for one, hasn't got a problem with thal. "Don't think of it as a pit," she says. "Think of it as the Green and Golden Bell Frog theme park."

Editor's Note: Written by Geraldine Brooks, the preceding article on the Green and Golden Bell Frog. Litoria at/rea, originally appeared on page one of the Aug. 2, 1995 edition of the Wall Street Journal. JPL

6

Komodo Feasts on Friendly Flamingo

A sociable flamingo dropped in to visit the Minnesota Zoo's Komodo dragons, Maureen and Doni, this past weekend and stayed for dinner -- as the main course.

All that remained was "a leg and some pink feathers," said zoo spokeswoman Jackie Northard. "It was probably not a Disney outcome, but Maureen did get a meal out of it. It

On the brighter side, Maureen's pink appetizer Friday night indicates that her finicky appetite is improving. Keeper's had treated her for tapewonns, which sbe bad upon arrival from Indonesia in June. She hadn't shown much interest in tbe live rats, or dead mice, chicken or quail she'd been offered.

"Sbe bad been a picky eater, so this could be a good sign that her appetite is returning at the cost of the flamingo flock," Northard said. The size of the flock is about right sbe said, but if the opportunity arises, the zoo may replace the bird, wbicb could cost up to $1,000.

The 20-bird flamingo flock lives on the gibbon island near tbe dragons' home in the tropics building.

On Saturday morning, bird curator Jimmy Pichner discovered the leftovers of the long-legged fowl, wbich weighed about 3 pounds. Maureen is about 55 pounds and 5 feet long.

"Flamingos are a very social animal," Nortbard said. The escape their own exhibit once or twice a year after their clipped feathers grow back. They bave been found along the tropics trails or wandering around the aviary, she said.

"We have mixed, fairly open exhibits," Nortbard said. "The idea is to emulate the natural habitat so the animals perfonn their natural behaviors. Maureen is only doing what came naturally for her, hunting and devouring. Fortunately, it doesn't happen too often." Workers keep a vigilant eye on Maureen, in case she lays and buries ber eggs. "Tbey (Doni and Maureen) would devour the eggs or young if they found them," Northard said.

If eggs are laid, a wary keeper will retrieve while tbe ornery parents are in a holding pen. About 18 U.S. zoos have Komodo offspring, incubated, hatched and hand­raised by the few zoos with mating pairs of the giant lizards. So far the Komodos bave taken no special interest in their keepers. "There are no missing keepers," Northard said. "They prefer not to get any closer than they bave to."

Editor's Note: The preceding article, written by Jim Adams, originally appeared on the last page of the MetroiRegion section of the Sept. 13, 1995 edition of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and is reprinted here by pennission. ConSidering the zoo's advertising deparunent's apparent preference for the sensational, perhaps the Minnesota Zoo should consider adding the following to their Komodo Dragon exhibit T.V. commercial: Dragons 1 ·Flamingos O. JPL

A Rare Frog Turns Into Green Monster For Aussie Olympics

It Moves into Site Rubble, Bogging Things Down; Oh, the Stormy Sex Scenes.

SYDNEY, Australia -- With the toe of her rubber boot. Barbara Sanders probes an oil-slicked mud puddle. A tiny frog, no bigger than a thumb, stirs in the slime.

As habitats go, this one's a pit: an abandoned brick quarry so desolate, trash-filled and foul that it was used as the location for the post-bolocaust desert outpost, Bartertown, in the Mad Max movie "Beyond Thunderdome."

But the real borror story began when Mel Gibson moved out and the Green and Golden Ben Frog moved in. The tiny amphibian is an endangered species so rare here in the state of New South Wales that molesting one draws a penalty of up to two years in jail and a fme of about $150,000.

Alarm Bells Tbat's bad news for Sydney, which is trying to

build an Olympic Games complex in and around the pit. Not just any Olympics complex, either, but one touted as an envirolllUental showpiece. The year 2000 Sunuuer Games are supposed to be a model of site regeneration and ecological sensitivity, wbere spectators will arrive by public transportation and eat snacks from edible plates. Athletes will be housed in a village with passive-solar design and gray-water recycling. Stadiums will be constructed with materials salvaged from demolished buildings.

Thus, mashing an endangered species under bulldozers is a little out of place in this green utopia. The frog bas already caused the relocation of a tennis center and a baseball park and is complicating work all over the almost 2,000 acre site.

To make matters worse, tbe frog's distinctive green and gold stripes happen to be Australia's national sporting colors, wbich has given tbe frog a small but entbusiastic fan club pushing to have it named official Olympic mascot. So far, Australia's famous furry marsupials are front-runners for tbe honor. But Ms. Sanders, the site biologis~ tbinks the amphibians have Olympian qualities: "The frogs are good at long-jumping and bigb-jumping ... What's tbe alternative? A koala that sleeps all day?" Worse, many koalas suffer from venereal diseases and seem to get higb from their diet of gum leaves. "I suppose," sigbs Ms. Sanders, reconsidering, "that gives them something in common witb a lot of famous atbletes."

No one noticed the frogs until 1993, when an ornitbologist studying the effects of development on the site's migrating birds heard the bell frog's distinctive duck­like croak among the cheeps and wbistles. "I think you could say we bad a mixed reaction" to the discovery, says Kim McCallum, manager of envirolllUentaI programs at the site. Ecologists were jubilant to find a bealthy breeding population of the rare frog; planners and builders

5

MHS Newsletter Volume XV Number 9

felt something like landlords who learn they have unknowingly signed a lease with litigious real-estate attorneys.

Green and golden bell frog

Initially, Ms. McCailum and her team thougbt it would be easy to create alternative frog babitats. Unlike many endangered species, the frogs are prolific breeders, laying about 5,000 eggs -- up to triple the output of tbe average frog. At one time, the ben frog was so conuuon tbat it was dissected in university biology classes. Tben, Sydney's urban sprawl began destroying mangrove swamp habitat, and the frog with it. Today, perhaps 1,000 of the ampbibians live in tbe wilds of New Soutb Wales.

The Olympic site is fringed with remnant mangrove stands, "so we tbought we could build alternative ponds and make some corridors so tbe frogs could get tbere safely," Ms. McCallum says. Site engineers set to work on about 20 ponds and "toad tunnels," complete with tiny safety fences tbat direct the frogs to culverts that run under the roads.

Pit Stop Almost two years later, tbe scientists -- "every

frog person in Sydney, just abou~" says Ms. McCallUlll -- have discovered there is a bit more to it. Tbe frogs need ponds that don't connect with other waterways because a fisb, introduced into Sydney in 1925 to dine on mosquito larvae, likes to dine on bell frogs as well. And the depth of the brick pit seems to offer protection from predatory birds.

The frogs also have a taste for trasby decor. "You look under a nice rock and there's nothing there," says Ms. Sanders, examining the underside of a rusty chassis. "Then you pick up a piece of rotten old plastic and tbere's five frogs going 'Hey, put it back.' It's a problem, because you can't exactly leave old car tires dumped around the site."

Instead, scientists are working on wbat tbey bave dubbed "designer rubbish" -- slightly less unsigbtly sbelters emulating the nonporous characteristics of the

MHS Newsletter Volume XV Number 9

Trade Raids Are Decimating Vietnam's Freshwater Turtles

Collection and sale of wild turtles and tortoises is a thriving and highly organizcd business in Vietnam, one that could seriously threaten the survival of some species, according to an ICUN study conducted with TRAFFIC, an international network that tracks wildlife trade around the world. The study was funded in part by the National Wildlife Federation.

Some 90 percent of the animals go to China, where tortoises and turtles are used for food and in tonics. In traditional Chinese medicine, turtle and tortoise products are used to treat a variety of ailments including tumors, infected pancreas, lumbago, weak voice and nocturnal sweats.

The researchers estimate that at least 200,000 turtles -- and possibly several times more -- worth a ntinimum of $1 million are traded every year in Vietnam. All but 4 of the 21 known species of freshwater turtles, as well as two species of land tortoises, have been observed in trade, the report notes.

"For some of these species, even low levels of exploitation could pose a serious problem for long-term survival, It say the authors.

IUCN has recommended that the Vietnamese government consider legislation to protect turtle species most vulnerable to overexploitation and to seek listing of some species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) as a means of controlling international trade.

Editor's Note: The preceding article, author unknown, was originally published in the NWF Members at Work section of the Sept.lOct. 1995 issue of International Wildlife 25(5).

September Critter of the Month

Greg Kvanbeck Golden Tegu Tupinambis nigropunctatus

John P. Levell Diamondback Terrapin Malaclemys terrapin J apanese Wood Turtle Mauremysjaponica

Julie Peterson Com Snake Elaphe guttata

Sean Hewitt Jackson's Chameleon Chamaeleo jacksoni

Michael Gaunt Amazon Tree Boa Coraillls enydris

Jake Jacobsen Uromastix Uromastyx aegypticus

Gordon Merck Bullsnake Pitllophis calenifer sayi Redbelly Snake Storeria occipitomaculata

Mike & Nick Petkovich Painted Turtle (Embryo) Chrysemys picla bellii

4

Malaysia 23-foot Python Kills Man, Tries to Swallow Him

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (AP) -- A 23-foot python squeezed a rubber plantation worker to death and tried to swallow him, officials said today.

The reptile was the longest python sighted in Malaysia, said zoologist Khiew Bong Heng of the University of Malay. He said it was the first time a python had attacked a human in the country, although the reptiles are known to swallow goats, cows and other animals.

E. Neng Chuan, a 29-year-old rubber tapper, had gone into the woods behind his home to switch off a water pump at about 9 p.m. when he was attacked by the python, district police chief Mohamed Mokhtar Ahmad said.

The python was shot and killed by police, who said the python weighed 308 pounds and was 10 inches in diameter.

Editor's Note: Despite it's questionable accuracy, the preceding article did appear in the Sept. 7, 1995 edition of the St. Cloud Times. One question however; Are Cows an Untapped Food Source for Captive Pythons?

MHS Adopts a Highway

As a result of the survey of the membership taken at the September MHS meeting, the Society will participate in tbe program to keep our State's higbways clean. Preference was expressed for a site on Highway 35 near Hugo. This is an excellent opportunity for almost every member to get involved with an MHS project and eam volunteer hours good toward one "priceless" MHS coffee mug. Unfortunately, due to MN Dept. of Transportation (MNIDOT) rules, children under 12 years of age may not participate in this program.

The first clean-up is scheduled for Saturday, October 7 at 1:00 p.m., whicb is the day after the general

meeting. See Karin Rea, MHS Librarian, during October's meeting for a bandout with a map of the

location. The MNIDOT will erect a sign crediting our Society, so let's do a good job. Thanks, James Rea.

MRS Newsletter I'olume XI' Number 9

NEWS AND NOTES

Deformed Frogs Prompt Investigation

Students found large numbers of them in Henderson.

The fIrst trag, 12-year-old Guthrie Swenson said Thursday, had "a back lcg all twisted and weird. We thought that someone had stepped on it or mishandled it."

Then he and nine fellow students discovered other odd-looking frogs while on a school nature tour of a small marsh near Henderson, MN.

"Some had two front legs but only one back leg," Swenson said. "Some had three back legs; some had four. A few had only one eye. And one frog had a back leg that was nonnal length but was webbed the whole length. It was pretty weird."

It was extremely weird. Since Aug. 8, when the students at the Minnesota New Country School in LeSueur, Minn., made their discovery, more than 200 deformed frogs have been captured near Henderson, about 55 miles southwest of Minneapolis.

Environmental officials say they have never seen such a phenomenon in Minnesota, and they've begun an investigation to determine what caused the deformities.

"I've talked to people across the country who've dealt with major cases of frog deformity," said Judy Helgen, a research scientist at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). "the highest percentage of deformities they ever saw was 15 percent.

"We're seeing at least 30 to 40 percent of the frog population (in the small marsh) that's deformed. Those kinds of numbers elevate this case way beyond extraordinary. It

Scientists have warned for two decades that populations of frogs and other amphibians are declining worldwide, suggesting that they are victims of unknown environmental problems. Amphibians are considered earlier indicators of ecological degradation, largely because they are highly vulnerable to toxins.

But that worldwide phenomenon could be unrelated to the deformed frogs found near Henderson, Helgen said. She is consulting with other scientists, including herpetologists -- experts on amphibians and reptiles -- and specialists in genetics. The investigation will include laboratory tests on 194 deformed frogs that are being preserved on dry ice or formaldehyde.

All are leopard frogs, the most common and widespread frog species in Minnesota, and all apparently evolved from eggs laid in May. All but a handful of the frogs came from a small marsh just across the Minnesota River from Henderson. The others came from a nearby wetland.

Helgen and other researchers said there are several possible reasons for the deformities. One is that a single or several pregnant female frogs ate or otherwise came

3

onto the young frogs, causing the defonnities. Another possibility is that the defonnities

occurred when the young trogs consumed Or absorbed the contaminant while in their tadpole stage.

A third possibility is that the defonnities are, in fact, mutations. A female leopard frog can lay hundreds of eggs, and all of the deformed frogs may have come from a single set of parents. Because of a change in its chromosomes or genes, a mutated frog has heritable characteristics different from those of its parents. A three­legged frog, for example, might have a perfectly normal set of parents.

Helgen said she has tentatively ruled out the possibility of mutation for a simple reason: Several of the defonned frogs were found 3 to 4 miles from the small marsh and on the other side of the Minnesota River.

However! John Moriarty, one of the herpetologists contacted by Helgen, said a genetic mutation remains a possible cause of the deformities. Moriarty, a wildlife biologist with Hennepin Parks, said a single female could have laid eggs at both the marshes and passed on the defonnities to her offspring.

The marsh where most of the frogs were found is on land owned by Don Ney, a retired fanner. He has set aside much of his property as a nature preserve and wildlife refuge, and teachers from nearby schools regularly bring their students there for nature studies.

The 4 acre marsh, which includes a small pond, had been drained long ago to make way for crops, but Ney later worked with conservation offIcials to restore it.

Ney, who has lived on the farm for about 50 years, said he had never seen deformed frogs there before the recent discovery. He said that while pesticides were sprayed this year on nearby tracts of fannland, there has been no spraying very close to the wetland.

Still, chemical pesticides or other contaminants could have drifted onto the site or been carried there in runoff from nearby fIelds. Another possibility is that sediment in the wetland was contaminated long ago.

Helgen, the MPCA scientist, said it probably will require at least several months of tests to determine the probable cause of the deformities. Her agency got involved after being contacted by Cindy Reinitz, a teacher who led the stUdents' tour of the small marsh last month.

Helgen said there was a similar discovery, although it involved only three deformed trogs, in 1993, shortly after the large flood of that year. That discovery was in a marsh near Granite Fails, also in the Minnesota River watershed.

Editor's Note: The preceding article, written by Dean Rebuffoni, appeared on page I of the Sept. I, 1995 edition of the Mpls. Star Tribune and is reprinted here by permission. .

MRS Newsletter Volume XV Number 9

Upcoming Meeting Highlights

October Program: Herpin' South of the Border (Iowa) Guest Speaker: Jeff LeClere

Jeff LeClere has searched for amphibians and reptiles in the north woods of Minnesota, the sandhills of Nebraska, the river bottoms of Wisconsin, the Hint hills of Kansas, and probably a bunch of other places, too. But when he wants to do some serious herpin', Jeff LeClere goes to Iowa.

Before moving to Minnesota as a lad, Jeff lived in the Cedar Rapids, IA area, and he still has kin there. So, whenever his family goes to visit, Jeff goes to look for amphibians and reptiles (I suspect that many of us, being equally bored by family get-togethers, go herpin' instead of socializing). So Jeff has found some really neat stuff over the years, and he will have slides of most of tbe Iowa's amphibians and reptiles with many stories to go along with them. This past summer, Jeff herped with Dr. James Christiansen of Drake University for a couple of weeks, and they found some really good herps and saw some interesting habitat. Iowa bas quite a few species not found in Minnesota and a lot more than just cornfields.

I've been herping with Jeff on several occasions, and can attest to the fact that Jeff is one of the most focused herpers that I've ever met (okay, he's obsessed, possessed, I don't know). Jeff goes out to find herps, not to goof around. He makes me stop the car for every swamp, every piece of tin, every roadkill, and every fan belt. On one trip, Jeff collected several dead Fox Snakes, E/aphe vulpina, in the Minnesota River bottoms, and put them all in Gatorade bottles (empty at least). I think tbey are still in Jeffs freezer. I don't know what happened to the Garter Snakes.

I have also had the good fortune of looking for Four-toed Salamanders, Remidactylium scutatum, in northern Minnesota with Jeff recently (I guess Dav Lydon or Kaufman or whatever was with us too). We found a bunch of Blue-spotted Salamanders, Ambystoma laterale, Wood Frogs, Rona sylvatica, Spring Peepers, Pseudacris crepitans, American Toads, Bufa americanus, Green Frogs, Rona clamitans, -- and Jeff and I each found a Four­toed (l guess Dav found one too). The three of us had worked very hard that day, Hipping logs and debris, enduring extreme mosquitoes (ever see the Deep Woods Off commercial where the guy sticks his arm into a tent full of mosquitoes?) looking for these tiny, earthen colored, wormy looking salamanders. I don't know how many of them we aImosi stepped on, and I don't know how many of them were in the rotten logs we tore apart, that we just didn't see. Somehow we managed to fmd three specimens, all of which were released. We felt that this was history in the making, as Four-toeds were just discovered in Minnesota last fall (1994).

After that, Jeff needed to work on his car some because the muffler was loose. Jeff fixed this by placing a log in the road, and driving back and forth over it repeatedly until the muffler and tailpipe fell off. Dav and I helped out by Hipping logs alongside the road. We did find several Blue Spots while doing this. When Jeff

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finally got his car "fixed" and we were back on the road, we noticed that not only was the car very noisy, but it also shook pretty badly as well. When we mentioned this, Jeff got a little surly. "Car trouble is part of every good herpin' trip," I tried to tell Jeff. "This is the herpin' lifestyle," Dav explained. Anyway, we went out the next day and found some Red-backed Salamanders, Plethodon cinereus, which cheered Jeff up immensely. All of which has absolutely nothing to do with herping in Iowa, but I only mention it because it involves Jeff. I guess the point is, Jeff worked very hard that weekend, and on a previous weekend, to find one of Minnesota's most poorly known amphibians. Jeff is a true herper!

Jeff has been a guest speaker for our Society once before, several years ago (he talked about the perils of being a kid herper, or something like that). On that occasion he provided us with an hour of sheer entertainment, and is sure to do it again. Don't miss it. Greg

October Meeting

Location: Borlaug Hall, U of M St. Paul Campus Time: October 6, 1995 - 7:00 p.m.

General meetings of the MHS are usually held at Borlaug Hall on the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota (see map below). In addition to the scheduled speaker, monthly meetings also feature Critter of the Month, so remember to bring your animals and, if possible, a container to display them in. Other regular meeting activities include; Adoptions and the MRS Library.

UNIVERSITY OF IJINNESOTA- ST. PAUL CAMPUS

MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Newsletter Volume XV Number 9 September 1995

CONTENTS

Editorial........................... ................................................................. I Upcoming Meeting Highlights by Greg Kvanbeck.................................... 2 News and Notes.................................................................................. 3 Meeting Review by Randy Blasus.......................................................... 7 EcoViews Why Would Anyone Study Cottonmouths? by Dr. Whit Gibbons.. 8 Snakes of Minnesota Yellowbellied Racer by Jeff LeClere ............ " .. "......... 9 Medicinal Value of Reptiles aud Amphibians by Dr. Dan Keyler .... " ...... ".... II MHS President's Letter to the MN Zoo by Bill Moss................................. 12 Calendar of Events.............................................................................. 13 MHS Business................................................................................... 14 Classified Advertisements..................................................................... 15

What the Heck's a Midwest?

Now that busy month of August with all it's events is behind us (along with a fair portion of September as well), it is time for those of us attending the annual Midwest Herpetological Symposium to begin focusing our attention on our travel plans. This annual meeting with it's different locale each year, it's talks, captive bred swap meet, banquet aud auction, and zoo and private collection tours is easily one of the most auticipated events of the entire year for numerous MHS members, not the least of which is this editor. Of course, being held in Chicago (my home town) this year only serves to heighten my anticipation. As a fairly large percentage of the current MHS membership may be unfamiliar with the Midwest, it probably should be pointed out that the Minnesota Herpetological Society not only hosted the very first Midwest Symposium, having originated this event over 10 years ago, but has up to this time hosted a second one as well. In addition to being the founding creative force for this highly successful aunual get-together, the MHS has been the hauds down attendauce "champion" at virtually every Midwest Symposium ever held. In fact, not only has the percentage of MHS members attending each year's symposium exceeded that of auy other "visiting" society, often more MHS members are present thau are members of the host city's society. While it will probably be hard to out do the huge Chicago group in the attendance "sweepstakes" this year, I know for a fact that we'll definitely give them a run for their money. Oh yea, not being satisfied with having already hosted two Midwests, the MHS is currently formulating plans for a third MN symposium, probably two years from now. As for myself, I'm hoping to see every MHS member at both! JPL

Next Newsletter Deadline: October 6, 1995

Send all submissions to: MHS Editor

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