Tortoise Crime

A British national was caught illegally possessing two tortoises in Cameroon. (News source.)

Rattler Bite Story

A review and update on a Florida teen's snakebite earlier this year here.

India Croc Attack

A 19-year old man in India, collecting wood, went too near the river and was killed by a crocodile hiding in the underbrush. (News source.)

Rattler Bites

In Tucson, Arizona: "Through August and September, we expect to get more than one bite per day."

Follow-Up: Barbados Threadsnake

"Clearing the air" on the description of the tiny threadsnake.

Turtle Tampering

There's a warning for mainland Chinese soft-shell turtle buyers, to be careful of "adulterated" (water-injected) turtles, pumped up to increase their weight (and price).

Fossil Snake (For Sale)

A nice looking replica of a fossil snake found in Wyoming was donated to Fossil Butte National Monument, and the original, discovered last year, is apparently still for sale. (No price given, but I'm sure it's much, much more than I paid for my Stylemus shell. If you're going to collect fossil reptiles, turtles are the place to start...) (News source.)

Deaths Blamed on Cobra

Three recent deaths are blamed on an angered cobra, in Balasore, India. A local sorcerer blames the snake, but it doesn't sound like anyone actually saw a snake bite the victims... (News source.)

Gatorfest

There's an alligator-themed festival coming up at Fort Anahuac Park, Texas. Details here.

Snakebites

A Chinese man was bitten by a pet viper. (News source.)

A Florida man was bitten by his pet rattlesnake. (News source.)

Blind Snake

A blind snake was first reported from Vuna, on Taveuni, back in 1897 (source), but has only recently been rediscovered and confirmed as a new species. (News source.)

Lizard Sundials

Some Jamaican anoles mark dusk and dawn with visual displays to mark their territory. (Eurekalert.)

Snake News

A large boa constrictor was found on St. Croix. (News source.)

A 12-year old Texas girl was bitten by a copperhead. (News source.)

A Japanese man was arrested for possessing illegal venomous snakes (in his 51-snake collection) after he was bitten by his mamba. (News source.)

Turtle News

A fossil turtle was found to be pregnant... (News source.)

Bermuda is issuing a coin with a Hawksbill turtle on it. (News source.)

Snakes in the News

A Scot grouse-beater was bitten by an adder. (News source.)

Pelee Island (Canada) is trying to open up the habitat to help the local "endangered" snakes. (News source.)

Croc News

Crocodiles mean tourist dollars in Costa Rica. (News source.)

Crocodiles are plaguing Ugandans. (News source.)

Fossil Gecko

A gecko in amber shows the lamellae, or sticky toe-hairs, found in many modern geckos. (News source.)

Cane Toads

Colder temperatures may limit the cane toad's spread into southern Australia. (News source.)

Conjoined Turtles

A woman is raising up a pair of conjoined yellow-belly sliders. (News source.)

Shovel-Nose Editorial

On the Tucson shovel-nosed snake and the ESA here.

Good News, Bad News

First, the University of Colorado is studying Burmese pythons in an effort to treat heart disease. (News source.)

But, a student zookeeper in Argentina was killed by a 3m-long Burmese python. (News source.)

Lizard News

Islanders are upset that Conservancy control of the Komodo National Park has created situations that endanger the locals. (News source.)

Geckos rely on their tails for mobility. (News source.)

Snakebites

A teenage boy in Texas was bitten, probably by a copperhead, and successfully treated. (News source.)

Peru is planning to export freeze-dried (powder) antivenom for Bothrops, Lachesis, and some Crotalus, to other Latin American countries. (News source.)

Australian News

Some snakes seem to have an immunity to the cane toad's poison... (News source.)

An Australian man is mapping the chytrid fungus in that country. (News source.)

Froggin' in Missouri

An outdoors column on frogging on the Big Piney River here.

Sea Turtles

NC beach closings to protect a record number of sea turtle nests are frustrating fishing enthusiasts. (News source.)

A 2-headed loggerhead baby was released into the wild. (News source.)

Snake Bite Festival

"Tribals in Jharkhand celebrated their traditional festival during which the devotees practice a unique ritual of being bitten by snakes to please the Hindu deity Mansa Devil.
"People participating in the snake biting ritual at Mahulia Sol village apply herbal medicines all over their bodies and also eat special herbal medicine named Eklavi that protects them from the poison of snakes.
"According to them, if they chew this medicine, the snakes would find it difficult to bite them and even if they bite the poison won't affect their bodies." ... (News source.)

Frog Legs Recipe

Frog Leg Sauce Piquante

Man Walks Up To Crocodile...

A Bangladesh man waded into a pond with a crocodile, near a shrine, to get a blessing from it, and ended up being killed and eaten by the reptile. (News source.)

Smugglers Caught

Kenya authorities caught two men trying to smuggle 113 live snakes to Japan. (News source.)

Sometimes Big Snakes are Natives...

Some visitors to the Smokies in Tennessee took a picture of a large watersnake swallowing a large fish... (News source.)

Snakebites in the News

A 20-year old man in Colorado had to be airlifted off a mountain after a rattlesnake bite. (News source.)

A NC woman, previously thought to have died by snakebite, instead died from cirrhosis of the liver. (News source.)

Big Mud Snake

Rangers in Georgia discovered a 6 foot 7 inch long mud snake, which might be a state record. Apparently it laid eggs, which will be hatched before releasing the young snakes into the wild. (News source.)

OOP Boa in Michigan

A 6 foot 10 inch Boa constrictor (consistently misidentified as a Burmese python in various news accounts) was shot by a Michigan police officer after it had been run over by a man several times. It was "acting aggresively" towards passing motorists. (Probably because it was scared, and after being run over, in pain...) (News source.)

Python Auto-Guard

A South African businessman uses two pythons to keep his convertible from being stolen. (News source.)

Two-Headed Turtle Theft

Not long after publicity started about a small two-headed turtle on display in NY, someone snatched it. (News source.)

Conservation News

Soft-shelled turtles are making a comeback in the Thames River, Ontario, Canada. (News source.)

An introduced population of pool frogs in Norfolk, UK, have been given special protection. (News source.)

Wisconsin Scorpion

A scorpion was allegedly discovered under a board on a Deerfield, WI, farm. It was taken to a local animal shelter. "Authorities speculated it might be an escaped pet." No description is given, no photo is shown. Of the man who found it: "He knew it was a scorpion, but only realized it was one of the poisonous varieties when researching it on the Internet Friday night." Not sure what that means. (All scorpions are venomous to varying degrees.) I suspect this means the animal is very small -- some small scorpions being much more dangerous than the larger common pet species. If it is small, then I'm wondering if it might be a native pseudoscorpion that is being misidentified. I don't think Wisconsin has native scorpions. (Vaejovis might be the closest in range?) Hopefully someone will show it to a professional... (News source.)

Moody's Bush Viper Found

A zoo crew found the little bush viper at Moody Gardens, outside the building in the bushes. They still claim that it is unlikely it escaped on its own. (News source.)

Starting Antivenom Banks

The Palm Coast Fire Department (FL) is working to put together an antivenom bank. (News source.)

Florida Gator Hunting Season

The 11-week alligator hunting season in Florida starts today. (News source.)

Flatwoods Salamander Protection

As a genetic study in 2007 split the flatwoods salamander back into two species (Ambystoma cinculatum and Ambystoma bishopi), the USFWS is now wanting to consider both species separately, keeping the frosted flatwoods salamander (A. cingulatum) as threatened, but moving the reticulated flatwoods salamander to endangered status. (Details)

Nahariya Snakebites

A newspaper in Israel is reporting 4 snakebite incidents in the last month. (News source.)

Museum of Animal Skeletons

A Turkish zoo's late crocodile and other animals will be part of a new Museum of Animal Skeletons in Sasalı Natural Habitat Park. (News source.)

Iguana Hunting

A Miami paper followed a 20-year old woman who went out to hunt an iguana with a compound bow, intending to cook it. She probably should have practiced a bit more... Maybe found someplace a bit out of the way rather than a university campus... that sort of thing. (News source.)

Frog Reintroduction Difficulties

Attempts to reintroduce the northern leopard frog into decreasing populations in Alberta have met with problems. Explanations for the general decline are vague, but attempts to bring more frogs in, continue. (News source.)

Cambodian Croc Farming Troubles

Poor farming techniques in Cambodia means the crocodile skins are not up to export quality, and only babies are offered for sale (to other farms). A discussion here.

Philippines Turtle Egg Poaching

230 turtle eggs were seized at a Philippines market; the vendors were let off with a warning. (News source.)

Crocs Kill Drunk Tourist

A drunken tourist was killed by as many as 8 crocodiles when he jumped a rail and tried to touch one at a wildlife sanctuary. (News source.)

Burms Stuck in South Florida

A new study shows that climatic changes are likely to limit the invasive Burmese python to southern Florida. (Eurekalert)

"The results of the models suggest that the pythons are restricted to the vicinity of the Everglades in extreme south Florida, so while wildlife authorities will have their hands full dealing with established populations of these snakes, people outside of Florida should not fear an inexorable northward expansion."

Copperhead Bite

An Alabama man was bitten by a copperhead. (News source.)

Terrarium Burns Down

A Terrarium in Varna, Bulgaria, burned down in an apparently accidental fire. Numerous reptiles were killed. (News source.)

Snakebite Deaths in India

A woman and her baby were killed by a venomous snake in Kendrapada district, Orissa. (News source.)

Gator News

Two Florida gators (residing at a nature center) hate going to the vet... (News source.)

Dam construction threatens Siamese crocodiles in Cambodia. (News source.)

Rattlesnake News

Wisconsin biologists are trying to restore the massasauga. (News source.)

And, a California columnist came across two male rattlers in a dominance display. (News source.)

Cincinnati Lizard Study

A professor and grad student are studying the genetics of the introduced Italian wall lizards in Cincinnati, Ohio. (News source.)

More from Moody Gardens

On that missing bush viper... (News source.)

Snake Safaris

You can go on a snake safari in Kenya, reasonably priced (after, of course, airfare and lodgings).

Poachers Caught

When a lorry in Malaysia had an accident, it exposed more than 200 boxed illegally captured reptiles headed for a restaurant. (News source.)

Exhibits in the News

Alligator Alley (Alabama) has added a new "giant snake" exhibit. (News source.)

That viper at Moody Gardens (Texas) has disappeared again, and this time it looks like someone tampered with the lock. (News source.)

I'm Really Not Keeping Track Anymore...

But here's another out-of-place alligator, a 4-foot one in southern New Jersey. (News source.)

Snake Description Makes Waves

Some Barbados residents are upset that someone from outside their country came in and named a tiny thread snake after his wife. (News source.)

Snakebites

A California landscaper was bitten by a rattlesnake while clearing brush. (News source.)

An Idaho woman was bitten on the hand by a rattlesnake. (News source.)

Redbelly Water Snake

Jim Gruver forwarded this pics of a very bright redbelly water snake found in Georgetown, SC. This subspecies, Nerodia erythrogaster erythrogaster, is one of my favorite snakes. It's a great find.

Invasive Basilisks

An article here on the brown basilisks introduced into Cape Coral.

Snakes vs Trails

A bike trail project through a Wisconsin nature preserve could pose a problem to the threatened Butler's garter snakes there. (News source.)

Turtle News

Indian star tortoises continue to be a prime target for smugglers. (News source.)

Politicians and scientists are arguing over the best plan for the eastern spiny soft-shell turtle in Lake Champlain. (News source.)

Nevada Clawed Frog Bust

119 illegal clawed frogs were seized in Nevada. (News source.)

Turtle Nesting Record in Georgia

1544 loggerhead nests have been found on Georgia beaches this year, a record number. (News source.)

New Species from Vietnam

Two new geckos and a pit viper have been discovered in Vietnam. (News source.)

Problems with Prosecution

Prosecuting cases of gopher tortoise killings by developers in Florida can be frustrating. Details here.

Frog Calls of Nebraska

Audio CD-Rom available here.

Snake Bites

A dog in Jupiter, Florida, died from a coral snake bite. (News source.)

A woman in the Midlands, of the UK, was bitten by an adder. (News source.)

Turtle News

Archaeological evidence shows that Hermann's tortoises were prey to early hunters in Spain. (News source.)

Seven men in Mexico were arrested for poaching 9000 sea turtle eggs. (News source.)

Smallest Snake?

A tiny threadsnake found on Barbados might be the smallest snake yet discovered. (News source.)

Tortoise Editorial

One columnist's opinion on St. Lucie County (Florida) wanting to set up a gopher tortoise sanctuary.

Rattlesnake Dinner

A culinary tradition in South Carolina... (News source.)

Copperhead Bite

A Virginia woman was bitten on the leg by (probably) a copperhead. (News source.)

Baltimore Bust

A Baltimore, MD, man was charged with illegal possession of some native species (eastern hognose, timber rattlesnake) and attempting to sell copperheads. (News source.)

Turtle News

The oldest known Fly River turtle turned 50. (News source.)

Significant leatherback sea turtle nesting sites have been found in the Caribbean. (News source.)