Tuatara Birth

Photographic proof of the first hatching of tuatara on New Zealand's Matiu/Somes Island has been made. (News source.)

NC Rattler Bite

A Gaston County, NC, man was bitten by a rattlesnake in a friend's collection. (News source.)

Crocs in the News

Bangladesh's only crocodile farm will be sending its first export to Germany next month. (News source.)

A UK aquarium is training its dwarf caiman to respond to commands. (News source.)

A UK man wants to start his own crocodile park. (News source.)

Frog News

Some video and notes on how Tungara frogs whip up their frothy nests, here.

A PNG frog undergoes a significant ontogenetic color change. (News source.)

An endangered frog's eggs are being frozen for conservation purposes. (News source.)

MD Cobra Bite

A very strange case where a Maryland woman claims she picked up a "stick" in a parking lot that turned out to be a cobra. Philly Zoo sent antivenom. The woman is being questioned, as the story sounds a little fishy, and venomous species are illegal in the state. (News source, here, and here.)

Big Retic

A 6-meter reticulated python at the Australian Reptile Park weighed in at 131 kg (or 288.8 lbs) at its bi-annual check. (News source.)

Snakebitten

Another stunt by a South African man to win the world's record for days living with venomous snakes was thwarted when he was bitten by a puff adder. (News source.)

A North Carolina man was bitten by a timber rattlesnake. (News source.)

Smuggler Jailed

A German man who smuggled lizards out of New Zealand has been jailed for 14 weeks. (News source.)

Frog vs Shrew

Interesting column here.

Cane Toad Update

Cane toad fighters in Australia are upset now that the government is reconsidering the legality of using carbon dioxide to kill the invasive amphibians. They are concerned that it may be cruel, in which case the fighters would have to go back to whacking them with golf clubs. (News source.)

One Australian is looking at the toads as an opportunity to sell toad poison and meat to the Chinese. (News source.)

Snakebite News

A man in Adelaide, Australia, was bitten by a suspected venomous snake. (News source.)

An Australia snake park operator was bitten by an eastern brown snake. (News source.)

A curious Labrador retriever brought home a live venomous snake. (News source.)

Herp Conservation Notes

A new hibernaculum was created for some relocated fox snakes in Illinois. (News source.)

Half of a Sussex Co., NJ, bog was acquired for conservation as bog turtle habitat for $1.1 million. Negotiations for the other half are ongoing. (News source.)

Some tuatara conservation research here.

Freshwater crocs are being pushed out of the Northern Territories by saltwater crocs. (News source.)

Crocodilian Attacks

Eight fish poachers were killed by crocodiles by a dam in Zimbabwe. (News source.)

A teenage boy in Zambia was killed by a crocodile on Lake Kariba. (News source.)

A Malaysian man used his thumbs to fend off a crocodile. (News source.)

A South African woman was killed by a crocodile in the Olifants River. (News source.)

Two girls in Namibia were injured by crocodile attacks. (News source.)

Cold Snap

Over 1000 sea turtles were stunned in recent cold snaps. (News source.)

Rehabbers have been busy. It has also taken out iguanas and other lizards in southern Florida. One girl has been defrosting some of the lizards.

Reptile Biology Notes

Research on alligator respiration suggests they "breathe like birds." (News source.)

The "tentacles" on a tentacled snake are very sensitive to the touch, allowing the snake to find prey in murky water. (News source.)

Galapagos Tortoise Rediscovered in Captivity

Nine captive Galapagos Island tortoises are descendants of an "extinct" species from Floreana Island, according to new genetic research. (News source.)

Rattlesnakes vs Denim

A new study shows that denim clothing often reduces the amount of venom released by a rattlesnake during a bite. (Abstract; via Zach Barton)

Another Good Letter to Editor

On the proposed python/boa ban.

Snake Poacher

Arizona G&F prosecuted a snake/turtle poacher in 2009. (News source.)

Frog Eats Snake

A large frog (treefrog?) in Queensland was photographed dining on a snake.

Salmonella Lawsuit

A mother has filed a lawsuit against Serpent Safari for an alleged case of salmonella in her young son in 2007. (News source.)

Boiga in Hawaii: Prospective Review

Some biologists have put together a speculative review on the impact of Boiga irregularis (the brown tree snake) should it manage to get a foothold into the Hawaiian islands. (News source.)

Herp Attacks

A South African woman was killed by a crocodile while she was swimming in a river. (News source.)

A Czech man was hospitalized after being bitten by his pet puff adder, and he was bitten a few weeks ago by another venomous species. (News source.)

5 young children in Uganda were apparently killed by the same venomous snake when they went to get water from Lake Victoria. (News source.)