VOLUME II

MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY

NEWSLETTER

MAY MEETING

Thursday, May 6, 1982 7:00 PM Room 225~ Smith Hall

University of Minnesota

NUMBER 4

The May meeting will be on a subject we haven't touched on yet in our programs. It will be presented by Daryl Karns of the Bell Museum staff and will be on preservation techniques (pickling) and basic taxonomy. Many of us are really weak in these areas, and this program should be of real benefit to us. Many dead specimens have probably gone into the garbage when they could (and should) have been preserved and possibly given to an institution such as the Bell Museum. Come and find out how to do it the right way!

HELP! A HAPLESS HERP NEEDS A HAPPY HOME! As announced in the last Newsletter, MHS will have available from time to time herps in need of a home. There will be no charge for these animals, and the criteria for adoption were given in thelast Newsletter. We have our first herp under this program! IILucifer" is a real nice Burmese Python, female, and approximately 10 feet in length. She is reported to be slightly cantankerous, but is handleable. She will be at the May meeting seeking a home. If you are interested, remember you must be at the meeting. If there are several parties wanting her, the Board of Direc­tors will decide where she goes. Even if you aren't interested, come and meet her!

The April meetin~ was really an interesting one. MHS President Del Jones presented an excellent slide travelogue through South Carolina and the Oke­fenokee Swamp. This trip was taken while he was a member of the Mass. Herp Society, and it should be po~nted out that it was a photo safari, and not a collecting trip. The program included some common and some not so common herps. All in all it was a neat show!

The MHS membership is now up to 86! This reflects total memberships, and not total members. With the new Family Membership, the actual number of members will be greater than the number of memberships.

The attendance at the April meeting was 38.

Again we have cartoons from Fran Frisch. Thanks from MHS!

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PRESIDENT'S CORNER

MHS Members,

Some thoughts on MHS's first year.

The first glimmer of hope for a Minnesota Herp Society came when I was in­vited to speak at the symposium IIEcology of Reptiles and Amphibians in Minn­esota ll

• The requested topic was IIWanted: A Minnesota Herpetological Society". The invitation to speak came in December of 1980 for the March 1981 symposium, so the next three months were spent preparing for the presentation.

Herp societies in nearby states were contacted in a survey to gather as many different ideas for a new society as possible. This information was used as the basis for my presentation at the symposium.

At the end of the symposium I was sure than MHS would never see the light of day; I had collected a grand total of five applications for the new group. There were promises of more to come through the mail, however I wasn't opti­mistic. They did arrive, though, and an organizing meeting was held on 10 April in the Bell Museum.

The intrepid band that met there only numbered 16, but they took on the or­ganizing tasks with an enthusiasm that bordered on frightening. By the 1st of May~ the first official meeting of MHS, the committee had:

*Written a constitution and bylaws for the society *Located our present meeting location *Arranged for the Bell Museum to be used for the MHS mailing address *Made arrangements for a supply of food animals *Spent over $170.00 in postage getting the word out about MHS - with

no funds to our name! *Arranged for a speaker *Assembled a slate of interim officers to serve until the annual meeting

in March A considerable effort to accomplish in three weeks!

Since May the society has started the library, paid off the postage bill, inaugurated refreshments after meetings, and maintained an excellent variety of programs.

The continuation of this progress is of course dependent upon the membership of MHS. Your Board of Directors welcomes, yes even solicits, suggestions and criticisms on how the society should proceedo Speak up and be heard!

March of 1981 seems like a long time ago and a lot of work, but I have to admit lIve enjoyed most of it and have met a lot of terrific people in the process.

Del Jones President

You will find as part of this Newsletter the letters that were prepared by the MHS Board as reported last month. Along this line, if you still have any petitions to turn in, please do it yesterday! We need them now!

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The first IIHerp Hintsll, our new meeting feature at the April meeting produced two contributionso They were both of general interest~ and it is hoped that this will become a popular feature

Jim Gerholdt reported on a large abcess on the head of a Three Toed Box Turtle. The abcess was incised and cleaned, andla ~Ug~ plug of cheesey material was removed. The ear canals were apparent y lnvolved and the abcess had followed the path of least resistance. The wound was treated with Hydro­gen Peroxide and later with Gentocin ointment~ and the turtle recovered very quickly"

Fred Bosman reported on a Common Boa that had gone off feed, developed a loose stool, rapid weight loss, and died. Necropsy revealed the presence of Arizona and Salmonella. This could have come from feed chicks. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

PHANTASTIC PHENOLOGICAL PHINDS!

March 31-Tiger Salamander on the road in the morning in Scott Co. April 13-Chorus Frogs calling at the Minnesota Zoological Garden" April 16-Leopard Frog seen in the Beaver Pond at MZG. April 18-Plains Ge.rter Snake DOR near New ~Iarket II

Keep your eyes open and send in your very own phantastic phenological phinds! After the winter we just went through, anything should be of interest to all.

With spring finally here (knock on wood) it will soon be collecting time. again. Be aware of what is protected and what is not_and protect yourselves. If a herp is protected, leave it alone unless you have a permit. While the state of Minnesota does not protect any species of herp~ Wisconsin does! Here's the list:

ENDANGERED Wood Turtle Ornate Box Turtle Queen Snake

THREATENED

Western Ribbon Snake Northern Ribbon Snake Massasauga

Glass Lizard Blandingis Turtle Spotted Salamander Tremblay's Salamander Burns' Leopard Frog Pickerel Frog

These are all totally protected. If you plan to collect in Wisconsin, learn what these are and leave them alone!

MHS Directory

Delvin Jones Terry Odegaard Connie Delles Jim Gerholdt Fred Bosman John Dee Bruce Delles Karl Hermann

President Vice-President Secretary-Treasurer Newsletter Editor Member-at-Large Member-at-Large Member-at-Large Member-at-Large

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938-8555 544 ... 6406 938-1679 507-652-2996 476-0306 699-8859 938-1679 225-6784

The "Critter of the Month" for the May meeting will be lithe young of 1981". By this I mean any herp that was born or hatched anytime in 1981. Bring them to the meeting and show us their growth rates, etc.

The IICrittersll brought to the April meeting were: Asian Golden Skink Blue Tongued Skink Malayan Bent Toed Gecko Nile Monitor Timor Monitor Southern Alligator Lizard Western Chuckwalla

These were brought by: Fred and Liz Bosman Peter Corcoran Matt Cutler Bruce and Connie Delles Jim and Pam Gerholdt Terry Odegaard

Thanks from MHS! "1 think it was the sudden frost we had last night."

The main topics of conversation at the April Board meeting were our forth­coming picnic and the design for MHS T shirts& The picnic is scheduled for Sun­day, June 13, 1982 at high noon@ More details will follow. As for the T shirts, they will have our MHS logo on the front (shoulder) and a map of Minnesota with critters on the back. Member prices will be $6.00 if you pre order, and $7.00 after that. A sample will be on display at the May meeting, MHS thanks Fran Frisch for his efforts on this!

The MHS Library continues to grow with this latest donation!

Jeff Lang Common Indian Snakes-A Field Guide by Romulus Whitaker

Thanks from MHSI

The latest book purchased with MHS funds "Natural History of Amphibians and Reptiles in Wisconsin" by Richard Vogt is now in and will be available at the May meet i ng ..

Mike Powell, 4148 Whispering Oaks Drive East, Jacksonville, Florida~ is in­terested in swapping Florida herps for northern herps. His zip is 32211 and his phone 904-744-3791. If anyone is interested maybe a group shipment could be arranged. Let us know at the May meeting!

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HISTORY 1'0 S. • MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA 5.:5455-0104

March 22, 1982

The Honorable James 10 Oberstar U" 'S. H<Duse of Representatives Washington, D. D. 20515

Dear Sir:

The membership of the Minnesota Herpetological Society would like to

enlist your assistance and support in amending the Endangered Species Act

during its renewal process.

We feel that serious problems are inherent in the Act, and its related

laws, as they are now written and interpreted. They are specifically:

10 Insufficient emphasis is being placed on preserving the

habitat of the endangered species in question.

2" The captive propagation of endangered species is severely

hindered@

To correct these deficiencies in the law, we believe that the following

changes are required.

1. Place greater emphasis on habitat protection and preservation

for endangered species. Without the appropriate habitat, no

animal will survive in the wild.

2. For captive born wildlife, all restrictions should be removed

on the sale, trade, transportation exportation or possession;

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a positive step to encourage captive propagation.

J. A general amnesty for all animals presently in captivity.

This will resolve the uncertain status of many animals

presently in captivity.

4. A concise workable set of requirements to establish the

legality of captive animals in the future. Needed to elimi-

nate the time consuming and often repetitive task of

establishing "legality".

5. A policy of treating these wild animals as a managed resource.

This is required to prevent the usual cycle of no restrictions

on the taking of wild animals until they are endangeFed and

then totally banning the collecting or possession of them.

Please give us the opportunity to discuss our concerns and beliefs with

your staff members who have the responsibility for carrying out administrative

policies and enforcing the law. We believe such a forum would be constructive

and would lead to benefits for animals, our primary concern, and for the people

who get involved with wildlife through science, hobbies, commerce, government,

nature--the whole gambit--and ranging from active to passive involvement. We

want to take part in these discussions and urge you to make it possible for us

to do so.

Enclosed is additional information explaining our concerns in greater

detail and the reasons for our recommended changes in the law.

DJ/cd ccs The Minnesota Delegation

Sincerely, ~~ 4~ ( ... )

A-I . .t.~I::;;~ '~ Delvin Jone~~resident Minnesota Herpetological Society

All United States Herpetological Societies

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MUSEUM NATURAL HISTORY 10 CHURCH S. • MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA 55455-0104

The Honorable Dave Durenberger 5.50 East Butler Square lo6th Street North Minneapolis, MN 5.5403

Dear Senator:

March 22, 1982

We, the members of the Minnesota Herpetological Society, are writing to

you to seek your assistance and support in amending the wildlife laws to assure

the survival of a number of species which are being lost because of certain

prohibitions in the current laws.

Ironically, the very laws to protect the endangered species of the earth

are contributing to their extinction rather than assuring survival. Many

species are not protected that should be, while species in no danger are

protected"

We would like our concerns to be heard at hearings when our current laws

are reviewed before continuance e Please inform us regarding the time and

place of these hearings. Also, please help assure our place on the agenda,

if you are willing.

Also, we would very much appreciate receiving a list if there are appro-

priate committees and memberships in both the House and the Senate we should

contact. We want to contact relevant individuals and/or their staff members

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to make appointments to sit down and layout our constructive suggestions

on much-needed modifications and refinements of the existing laws.

We would appreciate the opportunity to sit down and talk with you

and/or a member of your staff as soon as possible, We'll call your

Minnesota office soon to set up an appointment.

Thank you for your attention to this letter and we look forward to

working with you in the months to come.

Sincerely,

K1-·~('1 - ~ JI - --~ r/ Delvin Jones;-President Minnesota Herpetological Society

DJ/cd

cc: The Minnesota Delegation All United States Herpetological Societies

I JUST LOVE MY MHS T SHIRT

BREEDI NOTES

Breedings from April AAZPA Newsletter

National Zoological Park 4 Oriental Fire Bellied Toad 3 Yarrow's Spiny Lizard 3 Giant Day Gecko 1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa

St. Catherine1s Survival Center (South Carolina) 2 Radiated Tortoise

New York Zoological Park 5 Bog Turtle

13 Common Anaconda

Los Angeles Zoo 4 Leopard Tortoise

12 Gray Rat Snake 11 Urutu

San Antonio Zoological Gardens 1 Cuban Anole

10 African Spurred Tortoise

Philadelphia Zoological Garden 15 Carolina Pygmy Rattlesnake

\' _. - .----~-

A prlhCe 'If I ever So.w one /1

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MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY DELICATESSEN

REMEMBER-After each meeting we will have available our featured take-out items.

507-652-2996

FRESH FROZEN MICE-$3.00 per dozen

FRESH FROZEN RATS-JUMBO SIZE-$1.50

NEWSLETTER OEADLINE

The deadline for sub­mitting ads, etc., is the 15th of the month. Please send to me:

Jim Gerholdt P.O .. Box 86 Webster, MN 55088

Remember, if you want rats or mice, they are available by reservation only. Please let Bruce or Connie know your needs.a few days in advance.

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MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY BELL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 10 CHURCH STREET MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA 55455-0104

The Minnesota Herpetological Society is a group that is interested in reptiles and amphibians. We are seeking new members. As a member you will receive monthly informative newsletters and can attend monthly meetings which are high­lighted with guest speakers covering a wide scope of subjects important to all herpers.

Membership categories are: Individual Member-$7.50. Residents of Minnesota. Corresponding Member-$5.00. Out of state members. Family Membership-$10.00. Covers all members of a household.

So if you'd like to exchange information and ideas with others who share your interest, please send your membership fee to:

Minnesota Herpetological Society Bell Museum of Natural History 10 Church Street Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455-0104

Name ---------------------------- specific interest in Herpetology?

Adres --~----------------------

Home Phone # ---------------------Make all checks payable to: Minnesota Herpetological Society