vol. 25 (2005), no. 1

JJANUARANUARYY 2005 V2005 VOLUMEOLUME 25 N25 NUMBERUMBER 11

TTHHEE NNEEWWSSLLEETTTTEERR OOFF TTHHEE

January Guest Speaker:

BRAD SHAFFER

PLEISTOCENE EFFECTS ON AMPHIBIAN AND

REPTILE DISTRIBUTIONS IN NORTH AMERICA

Featured Article:

EXOTIC VENOMOUS SNAKEBITES IN THE USA ATTHE MILENIA CROSSOVERBY DAN KEYLERW

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

The Minnesota Herpetological

S o c i e t yMHS Webpage: http://www.mnherpsoc.orgMHS Group Email: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/mnherpsocVoice Mail: 612.624.7065

Board of DirectorsPresidentRandy Blasus

Vice PresidentSean Hewitt

Recording SecretaryBarb Buzicky

Membership SecretaryNancy Haig

TreasurerMarilyn Blasus

Newsletter EditorAsra Halvorson

Members at LargeTony Gamble

Fred Bosmabn

Mike Bush

Jodi L. Aherns

CommitteesAdoptionSarah Richard

EducationJan Larson

LibraryBeth Girard

WebmasterAnke Reinders

[email protected]

Copyright 2005, Minnesota Herpetological Society. Except where noted, contents may be reproducedfor non-profit, non-commercial use only. All material must be reproduced without change. Proper

credit will be given including the author/photographer and the MHS Newsletter citing: volume, number

The Purpose of the Minnesota Herpetological Society is to:

• Further the education of the membership and the general public in care and captive propagation of reptiles and amphibians;• Educate the members and the general public in the ecological role of reptiles and amphibians;• Promote the study and conservation of reptiles and amphibians.

The Minnesota Herpetological Society is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization. Membership isopen to all individuals with an interest in amphibians and reptiles. The Minnesota HerpetologicalSociety Newsletter is published monthly to provide its members with information concerning thesociety’s activities and a media for exchanging information, opinions and resources.

General Meetings are held at Borlaug Hall, Room 335 on the St. Paul Campus of the Universityof Minnesota, on the first Friday of each month (unless there is a holidayconflict). The meeting starts at 7:00pm and lasts about three hours. Please check the MHS Voicemail for changes in schedules or cancellations.

Submissions to the NewsletterAds or Notices must be submitted no later than the night of the General Meeting to be included inthe next issue. Longer articles will be printed as time and space allows and should be in electron-ic file format if possible. See inside back cover for ad rates.Submissions may be sent to:

The Minnesota Herpetological SocietyAttn: Newsletter EditorBell museum of Natural History10 Church St. SE.

Minneapolis, MN 55455.0104

The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society January 2005 Volume 25 Number 1

The Vice-presidentsreportBy Tony Gamble

Meeting Date:Friday, January 7th, 2005, 7:00 PM

Program:Pleistocene effects on Amphibianand Reptile distributions in NorthAmerica Guest Speaker: Brad Shaffer

The distributions of amphibiansand reptiles are, to many of us,simply lines on a map but modernspecies distributions are the resultof current environmental conditionsas well as past geologic and cli-matic processes. The most recent,dramatic changes in climateoccurred during the Pleistocene,the period that lasted from 1.8 mil-lion years ago to 11,000 years ago.The Pleistocene was characterizedby alternating cycles of cooling andwarming. Glaciers and changingsea levels, as well as changes inprecipitation, altered species distri-butions, the effects of which can beobserved today. One method to

study the effects of past climatechange and its impact on speciesdistribution is to search for com-

mon patterns in the distributions ofseveral species. Concordant distri-butions among species suggest acommon mechanism caused thepattern.

January’s speaker, Brad Shaffer,

will discuss the patterns andprocesses that have effectedamphibian and reptile distributionsin North America. Dr. Shaffer willtalk about his ongoing researchregarding climate change duringthe Pleistocene and its effects onseveral turtle, frog, and salaman-der species. This will be an excit-ing talk that will help us understandnot only where herp species aredistributed but how such distribu-tions come about.

Brad Shaffer is professor in theSection of Evolution and Ecologyand Director of the Center forPopulation Biology at theUniversity of California, Davis. Hisresearch interests include turtleand tortoise systematics, conser-vation genetics of endangeredCalifornia amphibians and reptiles,and Ambystomatid salamanders.

Upcoming Meetings:

Friday, February 4th, 2005- KristiCurry-Rogers

Friday, March 4th, 2005 – GreatWhite Snake Sale

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Cricket frog (Acris crepitans)

Tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum)

From the Editor

Well, this is my final issue of thenewsletter. My feelings are mixedabout giving this job up. On theone hand, being the Editor afford-ed me the opportunity to satisfy acreative itch and to that end, it hasbeen a very enjoyable experience.On the other hand, being the Editoris a lot of work and requires a fairamount of time each month - timethat is becoming increasingly diffi-cult to find. The experience gaveme more respect for the job theEditors before me did.

As I pass the responcibility to yournext Editor, Asra Halvorson, I hopethat you will support her in any wayyou can. For me, the majority oftime I spent each month wassearching for and preparing con-tent and supplimental graphics.You can make the job of Editor amuch more enjoyable one if youjust make a commitment to con-tribute just one thing to thenewsletter next year. Don’t wait forthe next person to do it. You allhave experiences and knowledgethat you can share. Original con-tent by MHS members is alwaysspecial and of great value to theMHS. It also shows other societiesthat exchange newsletters with usthat we are active on every front.

To wrap things up, the article con-test that we ran during 2004 will bejudged during the month ofFebruary, with the winner beingannounced at the March meeting.Watch the February newsletter fordetails about how you can vote.

Your former Newsletter EditorBillCover: Banded Rock Rattlesnake

Copyright 1996 Glenn McCrea

New MHS OccasionalPaper

Occasional Paper Number 6 - ABibliography of MinnesotaHerpetology through 2003 by JohnMoriarty is know available fromMHS.

The bibliography includes 881 cita-tions of articles published onMinnesota Herps or Published inMinnesota on herps in general.The bibliography is available online at the MHS website. A limitednumber of Occasion Papers will beprinted and available at MHS meet-ings. The price has not yet beenset.

December Raffle Donors Thanks to the following people forgenerously donating to the month-ly raffle:

Randy and Marilyn BlasusVideos and socks

Dave AslesonReptile Magazines

Dan Monson (Blue Lagoon)Book, Bag, Toys

Aaron and Jim HeitCage, Gecko food

Liam and Richard BonkPlants

Allen and Anita SalzbergIguana Sculpture

KnudsonsCage

By Board decision, all proceedsfrom the raffle were donated toHerpDigest to support its continu-ing operation.

Notice To All MHSCommittee Chairs:Volunteer Hours Due

All Chairs are required to compileall volunteer hours, listed by mem-ber, for 2004 and present them tothe President in the beginning ofJanuary 2005 in order to arrangefor volunteer awards and tabulatethis years total hours of service toMHS’s mission. If you have anyquestions, please contact the pres-ident. Thank you. REBlasus

2005 MHS Photo Contest

The annual MHS photo contest iscoming up in just a couple ofmonths so start getting thosefavorite photos ready.

The rules:You may submit up to (5) entriestotal. The catagories are:

Herps with PeopleHerps in a Natural SettingMiscellaneous Herps (includesanything herp related that doesn’tfit in the other two catagories - thiscan include digital enhancements)Kids 16 and under - any medium.Art - any medium.Prizes are (for each catagory:1st place - $15 in MHS credits2nd place - $10 in MHS credits3rd place - $5 in MHS creditsThere must be more than one per-son entered in any catagory forprizes to be awarded.One entry from the three photocatagories will be voted as“Peoples Choice” and will beawarded $15 MHS credits and willkeep the engraved traveling trophy for one year.The photos must be no larger that8”x10”. If matted, the total mat sizecan be no larger than 11”x14”

The photos are due by theFebruary meeting (unless otherarraignments are made), the artwork may be brought to the Marchmeeting but the Photo ContestChair must be informed of it by theFebruary meeting.The Photo Contest Chair person

is Amanda Jaeger.


News, Notes & Announcements


December Speaker Review

December 3, 2004By Barbara Buzicky, Recording Secretary

Guest Speaker: Allen Salzberg

Program: The Net and Herps, Past, Present andFuture, The Good and the Bad

Allen Salzberg is from New York, and he created andpublishes the online newsletter called HerpDigest.This newsletter contains Herp related news and otherinteresting articles. He also is a member of the NewYork Turtle and Tortoise society or http//www.nytts.org.The internet information highway has really taken offover the last five years or so to become so mind bog-gling that you can go into information overload. Allensays that there have been many changes in how infor-mation is relayed due to the many websites. Forexample, kingsnake.com supplies many links tobreeders, information, new findings, hobbyists, andcommercial breeders. There are also many links tobuy supplies, publications, art, clothing, gifts, and jew-elry in the herp way of course. There are sites usedfor importers and exporters of reptiles. Some of thosesites used to be free, but now they are chargingaround $150 and up for one year to have your site list-ed.

His concern resulting from the huge growth of her-petological information hitting the internet is the accu-racy of it. He says that a person has to be carefulabout what is read and the source. So, it’s best to goto sites that are reliable such as societies, govern-ment, and animal conservation locations. Allen saysthat a society’s website is very important, as it needsto be properly arranged as they depend on sales tokeep them going. Sale areas need to be easy tolocate and usually a first selection on the site. Further,he recommends that major retail sites be reviewedand used as a model for a society website, due to theirretail success such as sites like The Gap andVictoria’s Secret, just to name a few. He also says thatpeople wait for downloads longer for pornographicsites than they would for any other site. What this is saying, is to

get the most information arranged in a manner thatsaves time, and items can be located quickly espe-cially the retail or sales section on a society’s site.

Overall, Allen says that all organizations have to behighly commercialized these days in retail in order tosurvive through sales of their products that are mar-keted to the public. He also says that people whohave Broadband are more likely to buy directly off theinternet than people who have a dial-up version setup.They also donate more money to worthy causes. Thereason for this logic is the people who haveBroadband have more money. He says that the inter-net or any other organization or business must followthe money for survival.

MHS has donated the monthly raffle proceeds toAllen’s publication, The HerpDigest.

Added Note from the Recording Secretary: tolocate many more sites on the internet go into

google.com and type in herpetological society.


The most comprehensive review of venomous

snakebite in the United States, in the mid-20th centu-ry, was achieved by Dr. Henry (Mac) Parrish (Parrish,1963). Given the limited number of exotic snakes inthe USA at the time he even documented a rhinocer-os viper (Bitis nasicornis) bite in Minnesota (Parrish,1965).

Nationally, the concern with venomous exoticspecies initially hit the “radar screen” with the publica-tion of, “The Underground Zoo – The Problem ofExotic Venomous Snakes in Private Possession in theUnited States” (Trestrail, 1982). From 1976-1980 onlyseven exotic envenomations for the entire US werereported to poison centers. Five involved cobras, onehaving resulted in a fatality. Russell in 1990 suggest-ed that imported snakes kept by schools, zoos, andboth amateur and professional collections wereresponsible for 15 bites a year (Russell, 1990). One ofthe few states to ever have reported bites by exoticspecies was Utah, which had four different researchlab professionals envenomated by exotic species1985-89 (Plowman, 1995).

These reports were a foreshadowing to anincreasing trend: an increase in interest, importation,and propagation of exotic venomous species by agrowing number of amateur herpetologists and her-petoculturists, with a resulting increase in the interestsof how to treat venomous snakebites (Norris & Minton1995, Lichtenhan 1995). In Florida alone there were12 exotic venomous snakebites documented during1994 (Ruskosky 1996). The popularity of many exoticvenomous species is reflected in special interest andhobbyist magazines (Bartlett 1995). Interestingly, thecobra has been reported to be the most common andquintessential species of deadly exotic snake main-tained by amateur collectors (Minton 1996).

Toxic Exposure Surveillance System data for2002, indicate that rattlesnakes still account for the

majority of venomous snakebites (1175 bites), withcopperheads being second (889), cottonmouths third(173) and interestingly, exotics fourth (125) outnum-bering coral snakes (88) (Watson 2003). These num-bers are similar compared to Russell’s 1990 reportwhich also ranked rattlesnakes at the top (60%), cop-perheads second (30%), cottonmouths third (9%),coral snakes fourth (1%), but listed exotic bites to beabout 15 annually (<0.1%) (Russell, 1990). Thus, itappears that there is a shift towards more instances ofexotic venomous snakebites in the USA during closingdecade of the 20th century, and suggests that moreexotics were being maintained in home collections.

Not to be left out of any discussion concerningvenomous snakes is the fact that venomoussnakebites can result in death. Between 1979 and1998 data compiled from medical examiner reports tothe National Vital Statistics System reveal that 97 ven-omous snakebite deaths in the United States. Thegreatest number of deaths occurred in Texas with 17,Florida with 14, and Georgia with 12. Males account-ed for 76 (78%) of the fatalities, and females 21 (22%).This information demonstrates that the risk of dyingfrom venomous snakebite is quite low, but that thepossibility of death from a venomous snakebite isquite real.

When exotic envenomations have occurredthey have usually imposed a demand on Zoos to pro-vide an appropriate imported antivenom. This has cre-ated a problem in providing timely and appropriatemedical treatment in addition to economic concerns.

The following are a representative sampling ofrecent exotic snakebite cases from the upper Midwest.Amazingly, these cases suggest that the availability ofexotic venomous snakes, and the carelessness ofthose who keep exotic venomous snakes in the USAis a concern not likely to go away anytime soon.

2001, 13 September, 0006 hrs: Milwaukee,Wisconsin. A 37-year-old male was found uncon-scious, and comatose, on the floor of his northernMilwaukee home by his wife. He kept 16 cobras athome: Egyptian (Naja haje), Indian (Naja naja naja),and King cobras (Ophiophagus hanna). He wasbelieved to possibly have been bitten by any of them.Two bites were observed: one on the upper arm, andone on the lower arm. The patient went into respira-tory arrest and was intubated prior to transport to thehospital. Antivenoms available from the MilwaukeeZoo were South African Polyvalent and Thai RedCross King Cobra monovalent. His wife finally con-

EXOTIC VENOMOUS SNAKEBITES INTHE USA AT THE MILENIACROSSOVER

Daniel E. Keyler, Dept. of Medicine, Div. of ClinicalPharmacology & Toxicology, Hennepin CountyMedical Center, Minneapolis Medical ResearchFoundation, University of Minnesota, Mpls., MN55415


firmed that the King cobra was not involved and 4 vialsof SAIMR polyvalent were given at 2:30 a.m. , and 2more at 6:30 a.m. At 10:00 a.m. the patient opened hiseyes, and at 11:30 a.m. he pulled his endotrachealtube out. He then explained that he was letting hiscobras deliberately bite him in order to build up immu-nity to their bites! Furthermore, he met with his familydoctor and explained why he had been letting hiscobras bite him, and the doctor was quoted in thenewspaper as saying that his method must haveworked because he lived!

2002, 2 April 1900 hrs: Kirkwood, just south ofSt. Louis, Missouri. A 41-year-old male was bitten onthe right index finger by a rhinoceros viper (Bitis nasi-cornis) at 6:45 p.m. 45 min later he had swelling of thefinger, hand and wrist area, with intense pain. He hada history of seven previous venomous bites (Malayanpit-viper (Callosalasma rhodostoma), Mojave rat-tlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus) other US pit-vipers, anda Gila bite for which he had been treated with snakeantivenom). South African Polyvalent Antivenom wasobtained from the zoo, and was administered withoutany problems. However, another problem arose, asthe patient’s wife showed up in the ICU, but did notknow her husband ever had any venomous snakes.She then learned that the snakes were kept at his “girl-friends house,” which she also did not know about.Shortly thereafter the girlfriend showed up, a fistfightbroke out, and the sheriff’s department summoned.The patient was just lying there in bed with his bittenfinger pointing skyward. The ICU doctor mentionedthat snakebite was the least of this guy’s worries ashis wife would probably “take him out in the woods andblow his head off. “ The patient then signed out of thehospital against medical advice, and left the state toavoid his wife! 2002, 26 May 1315 hrs: St. Louis,Missouri. Another Bitis nasicornis bite! The adult malevictim mentioned in the previous case was being air-lifted to a St. Louis trauma center. He was reported tohave respiratory problems (probably due to allergiccomplications related to his previous envenomationhistory). Again, South African Polyvalent Antivenomwas considered, but fortunately not deemed neces-sary as his symptoms were managed with supportivecare. Several months later I learned that the originalrhino bite had caused his right index finger to necrosedue to his lack of follow-up medical care. The finger

was amputated. This case is a candidate for the“Jerry Srpinger Show.”

2002, July 13, 1503 hrs: Duluth, Minnesota. A43-year-old male was bitten twice at the base of hisright index finger by his Egyptian Cobra (Naja haja)while removing it barehanded from its cage. He thenwalked down to the neighborhood bar, ordered a beer,and told the bartender that a cobra had bitten him. Itwas 10:30,a.m. Saturday morning! The bartendercalled for an ambulance. In the ER he had a swollenfinger, swelling to his elbow, ptosis (drooping) of oneeyelid, drooling, and tightness in throat. His bloodalcohol level was .295! South African Polyvalentantivenom was flown up from the Milwaukee Zoo. Thepatient began showing signs of cardiotoxicity, andantivenom was started, but 30 minutes later thepatient’s blood pressure plummeted, he developed arash, and could not breathe. He was intubated, andgiven epinephrine and antihistamine. He remainedstable through the night. He had only received 1+ vialsof antivenom before it was discontinued. The next daythe patient’s condition was improved with decreasedfinger swelling, but he still had abnormal blood values.His endotracheal tube was removed mid-afternoon; hesat up in a wheelchair, and was stable. He was dis-charged five days later. He had no medical insurance,the police had killed the snake, and the unusedantivenom was returned to the Zoo.

2002, 2August 2, 0930 hrs: Detroit, Michigan.A 38-year-old male was bitten on the ankle whilecleaning the cage of his white-lipped pit viper(Trimeresurus albolabris), as he placed the snake onthe floor. The patient, originally from Florida, had con-tacted a Fireman/EMT friend in Florida who said thathe was going to send specific antivenom (Thai RedCross Green Pit viper AV). He arrived at the hospitalapproximately 1 hour after the bite. It was recom-mended to hold off on antivenom as venoms of thisgenus are usually sublethal to adults. However, it wasconfirmed that the victim’s request for antivenom fromFlorida was being fulfilled. There were never anyblood coagulation changes, and swelling neveradvanced above the knee. 5 vials of Green Pit viperAV were given per recommendation of a Florida fire-man.

2003, 11 April 1000 hrs: Menomonee Falls,Wisconsin. A 25 year old male, with no previous histo-


ry of venomous snake bite was bitten by a 5 ft.Western Green Mamba (Dendroaspis viridis) at 9;00a.m. while handling the snake with leather gloves.The bite penetrated the glove as evidenced by 2 fangpunctures with and a single drop of blood. The glovewas covered with venom. Despite the confirmed bitethe victim was asymptomatic 2 hours after the bite.South African Polyvalent Antivenom was available,and he was admitted to the hospital and monitoredovernight. He developed no symptoms whatsoeverand was discharged. Hopefully, he realized that hewas one very lucky guy.

2003, 3 August, evening (Fatality): Dayton,Ohio. A 48-year-old firefighter was bitten on the lefthand while closing the door of his 28 inch long (3pound) male Rhinoceros viper’s (Bitis nasicornis)cage on Sunday evening. He was known to havemaintained exotic venomous snakes for years andwas considered knowledgeable and experienced. Hewas driven to the hospital by his wife, but was uncon-scious on arrival. A chain of events plagued with anarray of mishaps resulted in his dying at 3:17 p.m.Monday 8/4, less than 24 hours after the bite.

2004, February: Tampa, Florida. A 35 yearold male, professional snake breeder, was bitten onthe left index finger, right thumb, right mid-forearm,and abdomen (that’s right – 4 separate bites) whilehandling a black mamba (Augusticeps polylepis) Hearrived at the community hospital 15 minutes afterbeing bitten, complaining of arm and leg pain associ-ated with numbness. He began twitching, sweating,and became combative. He had a respiratory arrestand was placed on a ventilator. He was treated with 15vials of South African Polyvalent Antivenom. He hadmultiple hemorrhagic complications during his hospitalcourse, and had necrosis of his bite wounds. After 17days of hospitalization he was discharged. This caseclearly demonstrates the potential severity of blackmamba bites despite rapid and appropriate medicalattention.

2004, 8 April, 0230 hrs: St. Louis, Missouri. Amale in his 20s was bitten by a monocled cobra (Najanaja kouthia) on his left index finger, through a glove,resulting in a single fang puncture. 4 hours after thebite the patient was anxious had slight ptosis (droopyeyelids), and some respiratory distress. It was difficultto know if some symptoms were anxiety related or a

venom effect. South African Polyvalent Antivenom,which may have provided some para-specific cover-age, was considered because the specific Thai RedCross Naja naja kouthia antivenom was not availableanywhere in the region. 1/2 hour after antivenom ther-apy was begun the patient began to develop urticaria(hives), dyspnia (labored breathing), and was agitat-ed. Antivenom was discontinued and supportive careprovided. Later the next day his finger was sore andslightly swollen, and he was still quite anxious, but oth-erwise ok. At the time of discharge he admitted hehad been bitten 2 months earlier by an Egyptian viper,and that he was not sure of it’s exact name!

2004, 20 April 1420 hrs: Milwaukee,Wisconsin. A 31-year-old male with no prior history ofvenomous snakebite was bitten on his right index fin-ger by an Eyelash viper (18”adult male Bothriechisshclegelii). 45 minutes after the bite he had swellingof the entire hand. He had 2 clean fang punctures,considerable pain, and swelling up to his elbow.Overall there had been quick progression from just fin-ger swelling and pain to his entire hand and mid-fore-arm. He had blood coagulation problems and wastreated with Wyeth (Crotalidae) Polyvalent Antivenom,without complications. He was discharged after 2days.

2004, 6 September (Fatality): North CollegeHill, Ohio. A 44-year-old female was bitten in herhome by an Urutu (Bothrops alternatus) while clean-ing its cage. Initially she was treated at a small hos-pital and later transferred to a University Hospital.Despite medical efforts she died, an agonal death, 5days following envenomation. A complicating factormay have been her delay in seeking medical attention!Interestingly the city of North College Hill has an ordi-nance against the keeping of dangerous animals.

2004, 10 October, 0700 hrs: Traverse City,Michigan. A 33-year-old local tattoo artist was bittenby a 4-foot puff adder (Bitis arietans) just above thumbon the right hand at 4:00 a.m. A single fang puncturewas present and there was swelling to his mid upperarm 3 hours after the bite. He had no history of previ-ous venomous snakebite and was treated with 5 vialsof South African Polyvalent Antivenom. The swellingsubsided as did his coagulation problems and he wasdischarged after 2 days of hospitalization.

In conclusion, it is obvious the interest in exot-


ic venomous snakes in our country is not likely todwindle anytime soon. Importantly, although most vic-tims of exotic venomous snakebite survive, when theydo occur they instill an acute intensity in medical per-sonnel. The economic costs are significant, and inrare instances the cost is the loss of human life.

LITERATURE CITED

1) Bartlett, D. 1995. Venomous snakes: controversialcaptives. Reptiles, 3:24-47.2) Lichtenhan, J.B. 1995. What reptile enthusiastsshould know about snakebite. Reptiles, 3: 74-85.3) Minton, S. A. 1996. Bites by non-native venomoussnakes in the United States. Wilderness andEnvironmental Medicine, 7:297-303.4) Norris, R. and S. Minton. 1995. Snake venom poi-soning: what the herpetologist needs to know. TheVivarium, 6:4-22.5) Parrish, H.M. 1963. Analysis of 460 VenomousAnimals in the United States. American Journal ofMedical Science, 245: 129.6) Parrish, H.M. 1965. Rarity of snakebites inMinnesota. Minnesota Medicine, 48: 1071-1076.7) Plowman, D.M., Reynolds, T.L. and S.M. Joyce.1995. Poisonous snakebite in Utah. Western Journalof Medicine, 163: 547-551.8) Rudolph, R, Neal, G.E., Williams, J.S. and A.P.

McMahan. 1995. Snakebite treatment at a southwest-ern regional referral center. Annals of Surgery: 61:767-772.9) Ruskosky, D. and T. Kunisaki. 1996. Epidemiologyof venomous bites and stings in Florida. Journal of theFlorida Medical Association, 83: 172-173.10) Russell, F.E. 1990. When a snake strikes.Emergency Medicine, 22: 21-43.11) Trestrail, J.H. 1982. The “underground zoo” – theproblem of exotic venomous snakes in private pos-session in the United States. Veterinary and HumanToxicology, Supplement, 24: 144-149.12) Watson, W.A., Litovitz, T.L., Rogers, G.C., Klein-Schwartz, W., Youniss, J., Rose, S.R., Borys, D. andMary E. May. 2003. 2002 Annual report of theAmerican Association of Poison Control Centers toxicexposure surveillance system. American Journal ofEmergency Medicine, 21: 353-421.

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Cane-Toad Invasion Killing off NorthernTerritory’s Goannas - Yellow-SpottedMonitor. (Toad’s Possible Future Effect onMitchell's and Merton's Water Monitors,Freshwater Crocodiles and Fly-River Turtles AlsoNoted) Canberra Times, based on an article by RosslynBeeby, Research, Conservation and Science Reporter, original printed 12/10/04

The University of Canberra ecologist Dr Sean Doodythinks that the recent spread of cane toads into theNorthern Territory has caused a massive decline in agoanna species found along the Daly River, south-west of Darwin. He said ''Just in the last year, there'sbeen a 77 per cent decline in yellow- spotted moni-tors”. During a recent research trip, he found popula-tions of the big yellow- spotted reptiles (also known insome areas of Australia as sand goannas) haddropped noticeably, particularly along riverbankswhere cane toads were numerous. He also found anumber of dead goannas. '' Goannas were still dyingwhen we left, so the figure could go even higher,'' hesaid. ''They often eat frogs, so they see these bigtoads hopping along the riverbank, run them down,eat them and die from the poison.''

Dr Doody had been studying pig- nosed turtles in theDaly River, and was able to confirm the goannadecline from a corresponding drop in turtle-egg preda-tion. ''We count the eggs, and the goannas normallytake up to 20 per cent. That's dropped to zero thisyear.''

He also found a cane toad in the stomach of a deadfreshwater crocodile. ''It's too early to speculate onhow crocodiles might be affected. ''We're only workingwith preliminary results, but it certainly doesn't lookgood for the goannas. ''The toads haven't bred to thestage where there will be lots of little toads along thewater's edge. That will take another year or two, andthen we could see similar impacts on other species.''Two other Daly River goannas, Mitchell's and Merton'swater monitors, feed on frogs found along the water'sedge and could be affected once the cane toadsincreased. (toads.......continued on page 12)


MHS HOLIDAY BANQUET

2004


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Speaker Review - Holiday BanquetDecember 4, 2004By Barbara Buzicky, Recording Secretary

Guest Speaker: Anita SalzbergProgram: Confessions of a Turtle Wife

Anita Salzberg is the wife of our speaker, AllenSalzberg, from last night’s General Meeting. She isalso a freelance copywriter and journalist. She haswritten several books on how to be a wife of a trueblue herper. She told us many funny stories about herexperiences. The earliest example was of their first date which was,of course, at the Bronx Zoo. Isn’t that where all firstdates begin? She also got involved with learningabout turtles from volunteering to help get turtles outof hibernation. This is where she learned about all the different species of turtles including wood turtles, boxturtles, pond turtles, snapping turtles, and many oth-ers.

The next stage that she entered regarding living withsomeone who loves amphibians and reptiles was tojoin the New York Turtle and Tortoise Club. In addi-tion, she would go to the turtle shows which was heldin downtown Manhattan during the summer at an ele-mentary school playground. She even arrived early tohelp set up. She told us numerous stories about allthe people and their turtles and tortoises. One of themwas the story about an eighty year old woman who raised a river turtle from a hatchling. Anita was sur-prised that this would have such an Interest at thistime of her life. People who came to the show werevery proud of their turtles as one woman alwaysdressed hers in a hat a different one for every show.

Anita read some excerpts from her book,“Confessions of a Turtle Wife,” and the audience gotmany laughs from her interpretations of humorous sit-uations. All in all, everyone including the speakershad a great time at the MHS Holiday Party. Both Anitaand Allen commented on how good the food was andhow much fun it was.

Other books by the Salzbergs:

When You Dream in Green by Allen and AnitaSalzberg.ISN#0-9753235-0-4

Confessions of a Turtle Wife by Anita Salzberg.Hats Off Books.Anita can be reached through her website:www.turtlewife.com.

Turtles by Anita Baskin-Salzberg & Allen Salzberg.This book isAn introduction for kids 8 to 12 available from theauthors [email protected].

CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems is working on a bio-logical-control method that involves splicing a gene toblock metamorphosis, preventing tadpoles turning intocane toads.

Meanwhile, the Northern Territory Government haslaunched a national competition to invent a cane-toadtrap. The competition has two categories - a winningtrap and a fail-proof method for attracting toads. Thewinner would receive $10,000 and an additional$5000 to market the toad trap. Dr Doody dismissedthe competition as ''a complete waste of time''.Northern Territory Parks staff had also voiced doubtsthat traps would solve the cane-toad crisis.

However, Brisbane's crows may prove to be a moreeffective deterrent. Dr Doody said the wily birdsappeared to have developed a method of killing andeating toads, without exposing themselves to thedeadly toxins. ''We're not sure yet how them kill thembut they seem to somehow turn the toad inside out toeat it.''

HerpDigest V5 #17

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