Thlpp. Purveyor of fine snek

Curl Snake (Suta suta), family Elapidae, QLD, Australia

Venomous.

But ye lions do this once cubs each a certain age. A decent amount of birds do it (for example: flamingos and a lot of penguin, duck, and goose species). Gharials (a type of South Asian crocodilian) form creches with hundreds of babies from multiple nests (they lay under 100 eggs each and sometimes as few as 20). Feral hogs tend to form groups of mothers and young like this, and I saw 3 sows and like 15+ tiny babies the other day and they were so cute

But ye that's how you get pictures like these

I won't rehash the situation in the world and the US in particular, but some of the more recent developments made it necessary for us to move (back) to Europe. A mere three years ago I thought my adoptive country was going to be my forever home, but here we are.

I'm an EU citizen, so at least that bit is straightforward. Moving with eight reptiles however, isn't.

I can't find an airline that will allow us to travel with our snakes (in cabin or in the hold), which makes it necessary to either use a pet transport service or to ship them.

One pet transporter has quoted me $12k to move the animals. I'm waiting for more quotes, but it's unlikely that they'll be much lower.

Shipping is a viable option for snakes, but I can't imagine Shadow will tolerate being in a crate possibly for 2 days to the exporter location and then up to additional 4 days for the overseas air freight, customs, etc.

So for right now I'm trying to rehome at least Shadow the tegu. If any of you have the means and space to take her in, send me a DM, and let's talk. I'm in the Seattle/Tacoma area.

I have reached out to some snake exporters, and they can ship the snakes, and deal with the export part of the process, but I still need an import broker on the other end to clear them through customs and a veterinary inspection. That way, we "only" would have to spend about $4.5k to get the snakes from here to there.

When you're "importing" five or fewer pet reptiles (and they arrive within 5 days of when you travel), the veterinary inspection (and associated $$$ fees) can be skipped, and there's slightly less paperwork, but that means rehoming two snakes as well as Shadow.

Not thrilled about it, but if they go to a good home, I could make my peace and part with Lasso the corn and Makeba the ball python. They're both around 13 years old and healthy, great eaters, and very docile.

I'm not going to need to rehome any snakes, because as luck would have it, we have exactly five whose species are listed in CITES Appendix II (requiring export permit from USA and import permit from the destination country), so we can use a reptile-specialized exporter to ship them within 5 days of when I fly over there. We'll pay the local pet import agent to take them through customs, and I'll go to their airport office and pick them up.

The two colubrids, who aren't listed on any CITES appendices, may either travel with J when he flies to join me (if we find an airline that allows reptilian pets to travel with their people), or will get shipped in a second "batch" to satisfy the 5-day time frame requirement.

New snake! New snake!

I won't rehash the situation in the world and the US in particular, but some of the more recent developments made it necessary for us to move (back) to Europe. A mere three years ago I thought my adoptive country was going to be my forever home, but here we are.

I'm an EU citizen, so at least that bit is straightforward. Moving with eight reptiles however, isn't.

I can't find an airline that will allow us to travel with our snakes (in cabin or in the hold), which makes it necessary to either use a pet transport service or to ship them.

One pet transporter has quoted me $12k to move the animals. I'm waiting for more quotes, but it's unlikely that they'll be much lower.

Shipping is a viable option for snakes, but I can't imagine Shadow will tolerate being in a crate possibly for 2 days to the exporter location and then up to additional 4 days for the overseas air freight, customs, etc.

So for right now I'm trying to rehome at least Shadow the tegu. If any of you have the means and space to take her in, send me a DM, and let's talk. I'm in the Seattle/Tacoma area.

I have reached out to some snake exporters, and they can ship the snakes, and deal with the export part of the process, but I still need an import broker on the other end to clear them through customs and a veterinary inspection. That way, we "only" would have to spend about $4.5k to get the snakes from here to there.

When you're "importing" five or fewer pet reptiles (and they arrive within 5 days of when you travel), the veterinary inspection (and associated $$$ fees) can be skipped, and there's slightly less paperwork, but that means rehoming two snakes as well as Shadow.

Not thrilled about it, but if they go to a good home, I could make my peace and part with Lasso the corn and Makeba the ball python. They're both around 13 years old and healthy, great eaters, and very docile.

I'm not going to need to rehome any snakes, because as luck would have it, we have exactly five whose species are listed in CITES Appendix II (requiring export permit from USA and import permit from the destination country), so we can use a reptile-specialized exporter to ship them within 5 days of when I fly over there. We'll pay the local pet import agent to take them through customs, and I'll go to their airport office and pick them up.

The two colubrids, who aren't listed on any CITES appendices, may either travel with J when he flies to join me (if we find an airline that allows reptilian pets to travel with their people), or will get shipped in a second "batch" to satisfy the 5-day time frame requirement.

New 'scimitar-crested' Spinosaurus species discovered in the central Sahara

by University of Chicago Medical Center

A paper published in Science describes the discovery of Spinosaurus mirabilis, a new spinosaurid species found in Niger. A 20-person team led by Paul Sereno, Ph.D., Professor of Organismal Biology and Anatomy at the University of Chicago, unearthed the find at a remote locale in the central Sahara, adding important new fossil finds to the closing chapter of spinosaurid evolution...

Read more: https://phys.org/news/2026-02-scimitar-crested-spinosaurus-species-central.html

Got Eyes for the Dice Snake?

The dice snake, also known as the water snake (Natrix tessellata) is a widely distributed species of snake. They are found througout central Eurasia, from Italy to Tajikastan and northern Pakistan. The water snake most commonly resides near freshwater, particularly rivers and lakes.

As a resident of freshwater ecosystems, N. tessellata feeds primarily on fish and amphibians, and they are frequently seen swimming and diving to catch their prey. The main predator of dice snake are birds, as well as lizards and larger snakes. Water snakes are not venemous; to deter threats, individuals will release feces and a foul-smelling musk from their cloaca, flop on their backs, and begin secreting blood from their mouths in an attempt to play dead.

Dice snake mate from March to May. Throughout this season, males and females will congregate in large groups, and multiple males may pile around one female in an attempt to gain access. In July the mother lays a clutch of 10-30 eggs which emerge in September. Both adults and juveniles then hibernate from October to March.

Adult water snakes are long but rather thin; individuals range from 1.0–1.3 m (39–51 in), but average weigh only 0.3 kg (0.6 lbs). Coloration is drab, usually olive green, brown, or grey with dark brown or yellow dots running along the body. The underbelly is more brightly colored, either yellow or blue, to startle away potential predators.

Conservation status: The IUCN has ranked the dice snake as Least Concern. Their primary threats are habitat degradation and loss.

Photos

Holger Krisp

Manuel Raab

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