vol. 32 (2012), no. 2
DESCRIPTION
Minnesota Herpetological Society NewsletterTRANSCRIPT
MinnesotaHerpetologicalSociety
February 2012 Volume 32
the newsletter of the
Number 2
C o n t e n t s
Upcoming Speaker: The Complete Carpet Python
B O A R D O F D I R E C T O R S
PresidentChristopher E Smith [email protected]
Vice PresidentDāv Kaufman [email protected]
Recording SecretaryEllen Heck [email protected]
Membership SecretaryHeather Clayton 612.886.7175 [email protected]
TreasurerNancy Haig [email protected]
Newsletter EditorChristopher Rueber [email protected]
Members at LargeJeff LeClere [email protected]
Kat Rorvig [email protected]
Beth Girard [email protected]
Peter [email protected]
C O M M I T T E E S
AdoptionSarah Richard [email protected]
EducationJan Larson [email protected]
LibraryNancy Haig [email protected]
THE PURPOSE OF THE MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY IS TO
• Further the education of the membership and the general public in care and captive propagation of reptiles and amphibians;
• Educate the members and the general public in the ecological role of reptiles and amphibians;
• Promote the study and conservation of reptiles and amphibians.
TheMinnesotaHerpetologicalSocietyisanon-profit,tax-exemptorganiza-tion. Membership is open to all individuals with an interest in amphibians and reptiles. The Minnesota Herpetological Society Newsletter is published monthly to provide its members with information concerning the society’s activitiesandamediaforexchanginginformation,opinionsandresources.
GeneralMeetingsareheldatBorlaugHall,Room335ontheSt.PaulCam-pusoftheUniversityofMinnesota,onthefirstFridayofeachmonth(unlessthereisaholidayconflict).Themeetingstartsat7:00pmandlastsaboutthree hours. Please check the MHS Voice mail for changes in schedules or cancellations.
SUBMISSIONS TO THE NEWSLETTER
Ads or Notices must be submitted no later than the night of the General Meetingtobeincludedinthenextissue.Longerarticleswillbeprintedastimeandspaceallowsandshouldbeinelec-tronicfileformatifpossible.See inside back cover for ad rates. Submissions may be sent to:
The Minnesota Herpetological Society -or- [email protected]: Newsletter EditorBell Museum of Natural History10ChurchStSEMinneapolis,MN55455-0104
Stay informed! Join us on our forums!And,youcanstillleaveusaVoice Mail:612.326.6516
SNAKE BITE EMERGENCY
HENNEPIN REGIONAL POISON CENTER 800-222-1222
©Copyright2012,MinnesotaHerpetologicalSociety.Exceptwherenoted,contentsmayberepro-ducedfornon-profit,non-commercialuseonly.Allmaterialmustbereproducedwithoutchange.Proper credit will be given including the author/photographer and the Minnesota Herpetological SocietyNewsletterciting:volume,numberanddate.
BellMuseumofNaturalHistory,10ChurchStreetSoutheast,Minneapolis,Minnesota,55455-0104
February 2012 Volume 32 Number 2
Cover Photo Credit: Stewart MacdonaldFoundonFlickr.Reproducedwithpermission.
The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society February 2012 Volume 32 Number 2
3
By Dāv Kaufman
Nick Mutton’s passion for pythons began in the early90swhenheobtainedayoungPythonre-ticulatus,Thatanimalwasjustthefirstofmanythatfollowed as his interest became an obsession. That fascinationsoonextendedbeyondjustkeepingpy-thons as he took a strong interest in the evolutionary biology and natural history of this group of animals.Forthelast15yearshehasmaintainedalarge
collection of pythons and boas He is also a world travelerexploringandherpinginCentralAmerica(Belize,Guatemala),SoutheastAsia(Thailand,Cam-bodia),AustraliaaswellasthePeruvianAmazon.
Todayhiscollectioncontainsmorethan20speciesandhenowworkswithreptilesfulltime,leavinghisjobandbecomingafulltimebreederin2006.HislongtermfocushasprimarilybeenonIndo-Australianpythons,mainlymaintainingandbreedingthecarpetpythoncomplex(Moreliaspilota).Hehasspentconsiderabletimeresearch-ing the various bloodlines that he works with in an effort to maintain genetically diverse groups of pure specimens,somethingthatisparticularlydifficultwithspilotacomplex.Heistheco-authorofthere-centlyreleased“ThecompleteCarpetPython”(EcoPublishing)andcurrentlylivesinEasternWashing-ton State.
February General Meeting Presentation - Friday, February 3rd - Starting at 7 P.M.University of MN - St. Paul Campus, Borlaug Hall, Room 335
Nick Mutton presents on...
The Complete Carpet Python
By Ellen Heck
Themeetingwascalledtoorderat6:10pmatthe St. Paul Student Union. Ellen read the min-utes. Several corrections were made. Motion to accept the minutes as corrected: Matt; 2nd: Heather. Motion passed.
VicePresident’sReportJoeyMuggglestonhasconfirmedforJanuary,
speaking on monitors; February will be Nick Mut-ton talking about carpet pythons and Mark Spa-teroinMarch.Allexpensesarenotinyetfortheyear but the total may be slightly over budget.
Symposium CommitteeAlthoughthenumbersarenotallin,weshould
comeoutalittleahead,althoughnotalot
RenFestCommitteeBrandySnyderDanakiandRaeJacobswereac-
cepted as the proposed new chairs.
Old Business
Online Newsletter: Chris S has posted a notice informing the membership of this option. The societiesandgroupsMHSdoesanexchangewithwill be contacted regarding their preference of electronic vs. paper.
Foster Committee: A notice and/or form can be postedonthememberforums,askingforfostervolunteers and what animals they are willing to take. The animals will need to be tracked and Sarah alerted as to what will be coming back each month.
New Business
ElectionResults:Theofficerpositionswereuncontested,sofor2012theofficerswillbeChrisSmithaspresident,DavKaufmanasvice-president,NancyHaigastreasurer,EllenHeck
Board Minutes for November 5, 2011
The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society February 2012 Volume 32 Number 2
4
asrecordingsecretary,HeatherClaytonasmem-bershipsecretaryandChrisRueberasnewslettereditor. The voting for member-at-large resulted in theelectionofBethGirard,JeffLeClere,KatRor-vig and Peter Tornquist. The amendment to the bylaws to put a term limit on the position of trea-surer was passed. Motion to accept the election results: Heather; 2nd: Chris S. Motion passed.
2012MeetingDates: The general meetings will beheldJanuary6th,February3rd,March2nd,April13th,May4th,June1st,July13th,August
3rd,September7th,October5th,November2ndandDecember7th.
Budget:Afterdiscussion,amotiontoacceptabudgetfor2012witha$7200deficit:Heather;2nd: Matt. Motion passed.
Library: Jessie Payne has agreed to be the new librarian.
Motiontoadjourn:Matt;2nd:Sonja.Meetingadjournedat9:30pm.
From the Editor
A recap from the January ‘12 meeting was not available due to a recording malfunction. The session recap for the previous month should return in the March Newsletter for the February Speaker.
The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society February 2012 Volume 32 Number 2
5
Moving forward – electronic newsletters
GreetingsMHSmembers,asthenewPresidentoftheMHS,IwantedtowriteaslightlymorepersonalnotediscussingamajorchangetotheMHSnewsletterthatisbeingimplementedfor2012.
StartingJanuary1st,2012,allnewandrenewingMHSmembershipsatthe$20(Basic),$40(Contributing),$60(Sustainable),and$25(Business)levelswillreceiveONLINE ONLY newsletters by default. Memberships expiringafterthefirstofJanuarywillbegrandfatheredinto the printed newsletter system at no additional cost untiltheir2012renewaldeadline.Themostrecent12onlinenewsletterswillbeviewable(tocurrentmem-bersonly)byloggingintotheMHS’swebsite.Allnews-letters older than 12 months will be viewable to the public.Wewillalsobesendingoutnoticesofavailabil-ity and a link to view the newsletter via e-mail starting inJanuary2012.
AsofJanuary1st,2012,anymembercanrequest to be moved to the online onlynewsletter system. This is encouraged!Pleasesendyourname(FirstandLast)and preferred email address to theMembership Secretary at:
Therearemanybenefitsforeachmember,andthesocietyasawhole,by shifting to an electronic version of thenewsletter.Thefirst,andhopefullythemostobvioustomembers,isthespeed at which newsletters will be-come available. As soon as our very hard-working
newslettereditor(ChristopherRue-ber)isfinishedputtingthenewslettertogether(whichisusuallyonly1-2weeksafterageneralmeeting),thenewsletter will be available online for members to view!
Anotherbenefitthatmembersshouldnotice right away is that the online version of the newsletter will be in full color! This will greatly improve
the look and feel of the newsletter.
The primary reason the Board of Directors feels this is thenextlogicalstepintheevolutionoftheMHSisthefact that switching to an online version of the newslet-terwillcutcosts(newsletterprintingisourgreatestexpense)andwillbemoreenvironmentallyfriendly.Another important cost-saving measure is the fact that wewillsavemoneyonpostage(pricesaresteadilyincreasing).
Irealizethatnoteveryonewillwantelectronic-onlyversionsofthenewsletter,soatthistime,wewillbeallowingmemberstoopt-inatanadditional$5ayearfee to receive print copies of the newsletter at the time oftheir2012renewal.
However,IenvisiontheMHSeliminatingtheprintedversion of the newsletter for members in the not so distant future. I encourage you to show your support during this time of transition and to sign-up for the onlineversionofthenewsletterevenbeforeyour2012expirationdate.
Happy New Year!
Chris
President’s Message
The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society February 2012 Volume 32 Number 2
6
Treasurer’s Report for Dec 2011Prepared by Nancy Haig
Beginning Balance $13,449.20
Income:Membership $280.00
Raffle $51.00
Adoption $110.00
RodentSales $459.00
Hands-OnDonations $212.65
HolidayBanquet $165.00
MidwestSymposium $2,748.50
Total Income $4,026.15
Expense:Newsletter $230.70
Program $500.00
RodentCost $0.00
adopt/Vet $60.00
HolidayBanquet $115.71
MidwestSymposium $484.32
Total Expense $1,390.73
Cash Increase/Decrease +$2,635.41
Ending Balance $16,084.62
Placement of cash holdings CheckingAccount $16,084.62
Transfertochecking $2,300.00
TCF/Paypal $131.09
Paypal $451.98
Cashonhand $175.00
Total $19,142.69
December Adoption ReportPostedbySarahRichard,EditedbyChrisRueber
TherewerefourCornSnakes,oneCaliforniaKing,oneDumerals,andoneBallPython.OnlyoneLeopardGecko,
andoneRedEaredSlider.
NOTICE- Minnesota Herpetological Society
In an effort to cut costs and be more environmentally friendly,thecurrentBoardofDirectorshasmadethedeci-sion to move the monthly newsletter to a digital format. It is our hope that as the society reduces the volume of its printed materials,itwillopenupadditionalfundsthatcanbeturnedaroundandusedtofurtherbenefitthemembersoftheMHS,along with furthering the goals of the society with things such as by bringing in additional high-quality speakers and fund-ing herpetofaunal research. AsofJanuary1st,2012allnewandrenewingMHSmember-shipsatthe$20(Basic),$40(Contributing),$60(Sustain-able),and$25(Business)levelswillreceiveONLINE ONLY newsletters by default. Membershipsexpiringafterthefirstof January will be grandfathered into the printed newsletter systematnoadditionalcostuntiltheir2012renewaldead-line. The most recent 12 online newsletters will be viewable (tocurrentmembersonly)byloggingintotheMHS’swebsite.All newsletters older than 12 months will be viewable to the public.Wewillalsobesendingoutnoticesofnewsletteravailabilityviae-mailstartinginJanuary2012. If a member desires to continue receiving printed copies of thenewsletterinthemail,theywillneedtoopt-in at the time of their 2012 renewal date. By opting in to a print copy ofthenewsletter,thememberisalsoagreeingtopayanad-ditional$5.00abovethecostoftheirstandardmembershipand will need to notify and submit the additional fee to the Membership Secretary. That additional fee will need to be paid each year upon renewal. As of January 1st, 2012, any member can request to be moved to the online only newsletter system before their 2012 renewal date. This is encouraged! Please send your name (First and Last) and preferred e-mail address to the Membership Secretary at:
[email protected] Sincerely,MHS Board of Directorswww.mnherpsoc.com
Minnesota Herpetological Society Membership ApplicationNew
Renewal
Membership #
Type
Check #
Active Memberships: Sustainin ($60/year)Contributing ($40/year)Basic ($20/year)Printed Newsletter($5/yearplusmembership)
Corresponding Memberships: Commercial ($25/year,2businesscardads/year)
Requiredcheckinfo.DriversLic# State DOB
Please enclose the proper payment with your application. Make checks payable to MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY.Membership is for 12 months from the date of approval. A receipt will be sent only upon request.Mail To: Minnesota Herpetological Society, Bell Museum of Natural History,10ChurchSt.SE,Minneapolis,MN55455Please allow 6-8 weeks for processing.
Name
Address
City,State,Zip
PhoneEmailListinMHSDirectory?YesNoContactinformationonly?YesNo
Herp related interests
Advertising Policies
MHS Ad Policy:TheMHSassumesNORESPON-SIBILITYregardingthehealthorlegalityofanyanimal,orthequalityorlegalityofanyproductorservice advertised in the MHS Newsletter. Any ad mayberejectedatthediscretionoftheNewsletterEditor.Duetospacelimitations,unpaidandcom-plimentaryadvertisementsaresubjecttooccasionalomission.
Classified Ads: All active members are allowed a classifiedad,runfreeofchargeasspacepermits.Adsmayberunthree(3)consecutivemonths,afterwhich time they may be resubmitted.
Submissions: All advertisements should be submitted to the MHS Membership Secretary at the general meeting or mailed to: Bell Museum of Natural His-tory. 10 Church St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Deadline is the night of the General Meeting for inclusioninthenextnewsletter.Makecheckspay-able to: Minnesota Herpetological Society.
Advertising Costs
Size Cost BusinessCardSized $5/monthor$55/year*1/4Page $10/monthor$110/year*1/2Page $20/monthor$220/year*FullPage $40/monthor$440/year*
*12thmonthisfreewithaoneyearcommittment.
For pick-up at monthly meetings only. Orders may be placed the following ways
1. At the meeting for the following Month2. Online at http://mnherpsoc.com/content/rodent-orders3. Calling the MHS voicemail: 612.326.6516
OrdersMUSTbeplaced10DAYSINADVANCE of the date of meeting in order to guarantee availability.
MICE WEIGHT PRICE Pinkies 2-3grams $7/dzFuzzies 5-7grams $7/dzHoppers 8-11grams $8/dzWeanlings 12-15grams $9/dzAdults 25-30grams $10/dzJumboAdult 45+grams $14/dz
RATS WEIGHT PRICE SmallAdults 50-60grams $18/dzMedAdults 125-150grams $24/dzLargeAdults 200-240grams $30/dzJumbo 250-350grams $36/dz
Rodents! Order online!Did you know you can
order online? By phone? See below!
NextMeeting:Friday - February 3rd - 7:00 pmRoom335BorlaugHall,U of M St. Paul Campus
MHS Voice Mail:612.326.6516
MHS Web Page:www.mnherpsoc.com
Non-profit Organization U.S. Postage
PaidTwin Cities, MNPermit no. 92275
MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETYBELLMUSEUMOFNATURALHISTORY10CHURCHSTREETSEMINNNEAPOLIS,MN55455-0104
This newsletter is printed on recycled paper