Herp Haven

to my fellow bearded dragon owners- this video was made by an australian veterinarian specializing in exotics, BeardieVet. it has tons of info on proper beardie care and i highly recommend watching/listening to it when possible (it's quite long at nearly 4 hours)

here's a long comprehensive list of info, copied from a reddit comment

Okay, so, the thing is they're just such different flavors of dumb it's too much like comparing apples and oranges to make a call.

With hognoses, you can tell that the lights are on but nobody's home. They've never had a coherent thought in their lives. I watch my specialist boy Sirius try to eat the walls of his enclosure at every single meal. They get mad at you for re-organizing things. They hiss at their enclosure furnishings. Sirius is scared of phones.

No-thoughts animals

Ball pythons, though...the thing is, they're not, like, dumb dumb. They're just really sensitive. Mentally they all look like this.

Don't get me wrong! They do silly things and they're so absolutely goofy! But most of their silliness is driven by how sensitive they are. Scared of reflections? Confused about how to enter/exit hides? They just have a lot of feelings and they get worked up real easy.

They have thoughts, they're just thoughts that are mostly focused on how unfair life is to them specifically

Sure thing! The basic idea is that scales are really important to how a snake functions, and when you mess with that, you tamper with the snake's ability to be a snake.

Scaleless rat/cornsnakes are unethical but they're not, like, the worst thing ever. The snake will still have belly scutes but lack scales on their backs and sides. The main issues a scaleless rat/corn will suffer from are:

Mobility issues caused by the lack of scales along the sides. Snake movement is complex and involves muscles attached to the belly and side scales, so without side scales, they're clumsy and have issues holding on to things

Shedding issues

Increased risk of injury - snake skin really isn't meant to just be exposed

Unethical! But it could be worse.

Scaleless ball pythons are such an unethical morph I consider breeding them to be animal abuse, full-stop. The scaleless morph in ball pythons is more extreme than rat/corns, and also involves the loss of belly scales.

Along with the issues scaleless rat/corns deal with, scaleless ball pythons also suffer through:

Even worse mobility issues due to the lack of belly scales, which are the most important when it comes to mobility

Belly sores - that's a load-bearing part of the body that's now unprotected

Massive, massive difficulty eating. Ball pythons have heat pits on their lips to detect infrared signatures, and that's what they rely on to eat. These pits are set into the scales, and the scaleless morph doesn't know what to do with them so they're just gone. Scaleless bps are left not being able to use the way they've evolved to hunt and find food.

There's a reason you can't find any scaleless ball pythons who are full-grown.

Two-headed tortoise Janus turns 25!

Janus, who also has two hearts, two pairs of lungs and two distinct personalities, would not have survived long in the wild as he cannot retract his heads into his shell to seek shelter from predators. But at the Geneva Natural History Museum, where he hatched in 1997, Bourgoin and her team of carers - who believe he is the world’s oldest bicephalic tortoise - can cater for his every need!

He is under constant surveillance in case he flips over, which could be fatal, and survived a bladder stone operation in 2020. His heads need periodic treatment with vaseline to stop them getting sore when they rub together.

My recent-most Wikipedia deep dive was in equal parts enlightening and frustrating and it concerned no other than Mekosuchus, everyones favourite heartbreaker of a recently extinct crocodile.

For those unfamiliar, let me give you some footnotes before getting into the nitty gritty. Mekosuchus is, or was, a genus of terrestrial (NOT ARBOREAL) dwarf crocodile from Australasia, first appearing during the Late Oligocene. They were small, how small we don't precisely know but its generally estimated that adults would be in the 1-2 meter range (so about 3 to 6 feet I believe?). The heartbreaking part? The last confirmed Mekosuchus died out only 3.000 years ago, and some publications even suggest they could have stuck around until just 1.700 years ago. Yeah, we got REALLY close.

Art by yours truly, I'll explain the massive difference down below, just be patient.

But lets get some of the basics out of the way. Mekosuchus was a small mekosuchine crocodilian and currently, four species are recognized. Mekosuchus whitehunterensis is the oldest from the Oligocene/Miocene of mainland Australia, immediately succeeded by M. sanderi during the Miocene. Both these species were described as having had blade-like posterior teeth (at the back of the jaw) and both coexisted with a ton of other crocs, including Baru, Quinkana and some bizarre ones like Ultrastenos.

After a bizarre break in the fossil record, Mekosuchus shows up again during the Holocene on the islands of New Caledonia and Vanuatu, ironically mirroring the meiolaniid turtles I talked about previously. Fossils are securely dated to about 3.000 years ago, but Balouet and Buffetaut also suggested that some of the younger remains may only be 1.720 years old, overlapping with human settlements. But this isn't accepted by everyone. Regardless, these species differ from their older cousins by lacking the blade-like teeth, instead going for crushing dentition.

Art by artbyjrc and Kahless28

With such different teeth comes different ecology, of course. A 2015 study suggests that the neck vertebrae of M. whitehunterensis were well adapted to rapid stresses, specifically caused by side-to-side movement of the head. It is thus speculated that they shook their heads to strip meat from carcasses, rather than performing the iconic death roll (as that might hurt the animal on land).

M. inexpectatus meanwhile was seemingly better adapted at crushing hard-shelld things, crabs, insects, maybe snails even. Holt and colleagues suggest that it might have lived much like a modern dwarf crocodile, spending its time in river streams and coming out at night to forage. Dwarf crocodile via the San Diego Zoo and Mekosuchus illustrated by my friend BatmanelVisigodo

Both however are thought to be terrestrial, having short, altirostral skulls, big eyes and nares that face sideways, not upwards as in semi-aquatic crocodilians. They were however NOT ARBOREAL. Yes I know I know, its a bummer. To those unaware, a commonly cited missconception is that Mekosuchus was a tree-dweller, which was originally suggested by Paul Willis in the 1990s. However, this was more of an off-hand comment at the time that certain people (including me in the past) have run with, causing it to spread and be almost considered fact by some. Hell, it says a lot when Mekosuchus, in many circles, is thought of as "that tree croc". However, not only was Willis suggestion based on the now outdated notion that monitor lizards weren't around at the same time, later authors also note that the toes of Mekosuchus really don't show any adaptations to climbing specifically. So alas, it would seem that this was only a myth. But don't worry too much, sometimes crocs climb regardless, just not vertically up a tree. Mekosuchus artwork by Manusuchus

Now at the beginning I teased that there's a reason why my images for M. whitehunterensis and M. inexpectatus look so different. Well its kind of painful really. Despite being known for about 30 years now, with 300+ bones known from New Caledonia alone, Mekosuchus is incredibly poorly studied. The original description only figured around half a dozen bones and while the next three species were all named in the span of just 5 years, they are all incredibly fragmentary. And then, just after another expedition collected more bones....things went silent.

The last 20 years saw the publication of only a single paper extensively dealing with Mekosuchus itself, with two skull reconstructions coming out in less detailed sources. The first is Holt et al. 2007, a powerpoint presentation from a paleontological conference. The presentation made some fascinating claims and even provided a reconstruction of the skull, but sadly. Nothing ever came of it, the research was never formally published and the lead author has since then changed fields into Astronomy. Actually had a nice talk with him earlier today. Then there's Scanlon 2014, which offers even less. In the book  Carnivores of Australia: past, present and future, Scanlon briefly touches upon mekosuchines, featuring a new composite reconstruction of M. whitehunterensis. However, this is not elaborated on in the text, despite the drastic differences to how M. inexpectatus has been reconstructed before. So we are left with two very different appearances. Are they simply really different looking species? Is one interpretation faulty? Should Mekosuchus be split? Who knows, might be a while until we figure it out. But until then, here's the two together, one looking much like a dwarf crocodilian, the other more like a sebecid. An interesting contrast for sure.

As per usual, this research was done as part of me doing a major haul of a Wikipedia page which you can read here Mekosuchus - Wikipedia. It's been an interesting, if a little frustrating task, but it was fun properly reading up on this animal and putting this information out there for people that don't wanna dig through 30 years of literature (including one paper in French). Hopefully I suceeded, at least the page is a bit bulkier now.

Coordinated Group Hunting across many species of crocodilian- AKA, hunting like a pack of wolves.

Advanced Parental Care- we knew for a long time that American alligators and Gharials built nests and mothers kept their young close, but GPS tracking has shown that the father(s) also typically stuck around and brought mom kills, but the young stay inside the territory of their parents for 3-5 years, until they reach sexual maturity.

Nile crocodiles dig enormous and surprisingly complex burrows up to 40 feet deep that they share with other crocodiles- parents and children, but also adult siblings and Unrelated "Friends"- crocs that are frequently seen close together outside as well, but do not appear to be mates. many of these burrows are decades, if not centuries old, are actively maintained, and passed down through generations.

Amazon Caiman (a type of alligator) recognize individual humans (possibly by voice), and alter their behavior around them based on past interactions. Some of them become quite playful with humans they've had positive interactions with in the past, and others hold "grudges" against specific humans for decades.

All Crocodilians engage in all major types of play behavior- Locomotor play (engaging in a behavior because it brings positive stimulation), playing with toys (Sticks, leaves, carcass, and in one paper, a floating squeaky toy that had gotten into the Bayou) and social play (Playing with other individuals). Several species, but notable Caiman and Alligators also Play with animals outside their species- young caiman have been observed playing with Amazon Giant River Otters, and Alligators playing with sharks and dolphings off the US Gulf coast. Play behavior is associated with a high degree of intelligence in animals.

Male Saltwater crocodiles in Australia employ a variety of complex mating strategies, including offering courtship gifts (tailored to the preferences of individual females), sucking up to larger males to get better introductions to females (A Long-Term strategy that pays dividends- while the beta males don't typically mate the first two or three years they try it, the ones that stick with the strategy mate with more females as they age), and doing "Off years" where they pass on the fighting and displaying and just nap and get fat instead- another strategy that pays off long-term: Big Males that engage in Off-Years mated more in On years, and lived longer overall, for a larger lifetime genetic impact.

Many zoos have had success in training captive crocodilians to do "tricks"- mostly pose behaviors that let keepers examine, vaccinate or medically treat the animal with minimal stress on all sides. But they're also apparently good at "Sit up" and "Roll over".

And as far as "Trying to eat anything that caught their eye"- pretty much all carnivores, but especially crocodilians, make pretty complex calculations on whether or not to pursue something as prey based on, but not limited to: How hungry they are, what the future prospects for food are based on the weather/season/behavior of their prey/how many other carnivores are competing with them, the likelihood of injury (either in the process of hunting, or from the prey itself), and whether the effort expended is going to be worth the reward (based on projected strategies, how full eating something like that made them last time, and if they're going to suffer weird consequences for it).

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Ah, I love sharing about my favorite little sillies! :)

Viago the California kingsnake: currently in the middle of his "I'm hungry all the time always" phase. Whenever another snake is getting fed, he literally presses himself against the wall and stares at us the entire time. It's like he's going "hey. hey. don't forget to feed Viago. I'm starving over here!"

Wonambi the Children's python: loves glasses. Makes a beeline for your glasses every time you hold her.

Bentley the boa constrictor: is convinced he's allergic to quail but will happily eat it IF I scent it with something else first. If another snake is getting quail and he can smell it, he'll refuse to eat until he can't smell it anymore. It's ridiculous. I keep a lot of feeder quail in my fridge (they're good variety for a lot of snakes) so I'm sure he thinks he's getting a lot of variety because I scent them with everything from lizard to fish for him. He's picky but he's easily tricked.

Stede the Trans Pecos ratsnake: loves climbing so much and is the worst climber I've ever seen. Legit I have given this snake neurological evaluations because he's so clumsy it actually concerned me. He loves climbing and exploring and he's got a great attitude! He's just bad at it.

Sirius the hognose snake: scared of phones.

Miriam the ball python: really likes watching musicals with me. She'll watch the TV absolutely enraptured the whole time.

AJ the rainbow boa: HATES musicals. Will happily sit with me and watch literally anything else. He also hides every time I'm playing music while cleaning. My man does not like music.

Ed the Mexican black kingsnake: scared me to death a few days ago because he started tail-rattling and I couldn't figure out what was wrong. He's the chillest snake in the world so I was really concerned. Turns out he was seeing the reflection of a doorknob in the glass of his enclosure and he thought it was a predator coming to eat him. He's a pretty visual snake and he gets startled by shiny things pretty easily.

science sources (x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x) other (x)

This snake morph guide is just meant to explain some basics of morphs. I would caution anyone in buying a pet that takes a high level of care just because it's pretty, and frankly any breeder that continues to breed morphs with physiological and neurological defects should be put out of business. I did my best as I find this interesting and believe there's a lot of misinformation out there due to people trying to literally sell things to their audience.

If you would like to donate to charity in honour of Gumby I have created the following page where you can make a donation to support Zoos Victoria’s Threatened and Endangered Frog Species projects, in memory of Gumby 🐸

He keeps his animals in enclosures that are far too small for them, participates in mass breeding without care for the health or well-being of the animals involved, including creating morbidly obsese animals to have the "biggest" ones for clout and so that he can breed them as fast and often as possible since they don't get too skinny from being bred too often while being massively overfed. He's also well known for cutting eggs (which by itself is.... eh but-) where he removes the entire top, pulling live babies out, and putting them back in, which is ridiculously dangerous to the baby.

This year he's going to be getting his own television show. I don't know the name of it yet, but given his behavior on youtube - where he purposely elicits stress responses, defensive behaviors, and bite attempts from large reptiles purely for views, with no interest in whether these actions are in the interest of the animal's best welfare - I doubt he is going to improve any. The producers are GOING to try to sensationalize it a la Tiger King.

Please, I am asking you to not support this man or his new show. He represents the worst side of the hobby, the people that have no business being in business, no business keeping the animals he does. Don't spite watch, don't curiosity watch; pirate it someplace if you must, but any views that count toward success of his show only puts more into his pockets to continue doing things he shouldn't, and it's his animals (and the animals his popularity convince others to buy thinking they can do the same as him) that pay the price for it.

I found out about the Supramonte cave salamander, endemic to the island of Sardinia. I mean… what?!

Yeah, I’m surprised too. Apparently it’s a thing. Once again amphibians do not cease to amaze me. You do you, little cave salamander.

photos and resources

Hanukkah is almost upon us (woohoo!), so I wanted to give a quick reminder to all my fellow Jewish reptile keepers to avoid lighting candles in the same room as a reptile!

Even the smoke from small Hanukkah candles can be very dangerous for reptiles, especially hatchlings and juveniles. Reptiles can't cough, so any smoke they breathe in stays in their lungs and can cause respiratory illness very quickly. It's less dangerous on the first night when you've only got two candles going, but by night eight, it can be a recipe for disaster! This is true if you have an oil-based chanukkiah, too!

To keep your pet reptiles safe and healthy, make sure you always light your chanukkiah in another part of the house, and keep your reptiles out of the room while your Hanukkah candles are burning.

!חג אורים שמח

recently, I was out to visit a lovely rescue run by Michele, who is dedicated to her animals and their care. she’s currently got an arm injury and she’s in a sling, but she’s still out taking care of everyone every day. 

she walked me around the farm and I met everyone! she has a goat named Norman, chickens, a tortoise, pigs, geese, dogs, and a dumeril’s python! most of her animals were rescued from less than ideal conditions.  pictured is Trucker the sulcata tortoise, who has a huge lovely outdoor pen :D

I’m saying all of this because she could really use some help right now, so I’m going to link her GoFundMe here! if you can’t donate, reblogging is much appreciated! I’d love to see Michele have a chance to get back on her feet and have the money to get fences repaired, her roof fixed, and a steady flow of food for everyone! 

https://gofund.me/2e05457e

This is a great question! There are lots of common myths about snakes that are commonly repeated and many people just don't know to question, and lots of people have misconceptions about snakes that have never been corrected!

Snakes don't unhinge their jaws to eat! This is repeated a lot, but there's no truth to it. Snake jaws aren't fused, and the bones are separate but connected by stretchy ligaments. Snakes don't open their jaws wide enough to eat their prey by dislocating the bones, they're just really flexible!

Snakes aren't deaf! Even though they don't have external ears, snakes can hear airborne sounds just fine through a pretty decent range. They're not as great with hearing high-pitched sounds, but for the most part, if you cup your hands over your ears, that's pretty much what a snake's hearing is like!

There's no real, easy rule to identify venomous snakes. All of the rules that are often repeated as ways to identify venomous snakes, like vertical pupils or triangle-shaped heads, will also flag non-venomous snakes just as often. The best way to identify a venomous snake is to learn about the venomous species native to your area and how to tell them apart from non-venomous locals.

Leaving out milk (or other dairy products) won't attract snakes. This one is really big especially in rural parts of the Americas, but it's not true at all! It mostly comes from how snakes would hang around barns, and farmers used to think they were drinking the cows' milk! Snakes can't even digest milk, though.

Snakes aren't cold and slimy to the touch. Many people are surprised when they first touch a snake! They actually feel dry and soft.

Snakes won't chase you. This is a super common myth. When you come upon a wild snake, it's going to be startled and attempt to take the path of least resistance - snakes have really bad eyesight, though, so sometimes this means they're going to head in a direction that doesn't make a lot of sense, and if you both try to get out of there, you'll sometimes wind up running in the same direction.

Baby snakes aren't more dangerous than adults. It's true that baby snakes can have trouble controlling their venom release, but they also have a lot less venom inside them. That doesn't mean you should pick up baby venomous snakes, it just means they're not significantly more or less dangerous than an adult of the same species.