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HERPUTOPIA
NEWSLETTER
Promotion, Care and Enjoyment of Reptiles and Amphibians through Education
!
OCTOBER 2012
Estab 1998 Vol 7 Issue 8
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COMMITTEE
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MEETINGS: First Monday of the month at 7.00 pm (excluding January, April & October)
Fairy Meadow Community Centre: Guest Park, opposite Woolworths corner Princes Hwy and Cambridge Ave, Fairy Meadow
AT EACH MEETING - Lucky Door Prize, Sausage Sizzle $2.00, Drinks $1.00, Free Tea and Coffee
454,6!7)*4,8)st
Monday October 1 2012 There will be no meeting
on this night, as we will have our annual picnic day at
Shoalhaven Zoo, formerly known as Nowra Wildlife
Park. Nick, Trent and the staff always make us feel
welcome and it is only a short scenic drive from the
Illawarra. Entry and food is free to members, so don’t
miss out on this special day.
feeding,
showing
in their
surprise
food.
temperament and colour forms, photos
a beautiful albino, newly born neonates still
clear sacks before breaking loose. One
photo showed a black snake eating tin dog
The second part of Rob’s talk was taking us on some
of his snake catching jobs including removing large
slabs of concrete and tons of rubbish in search of
venomous snakes for his clients.
THERE IS NO MEETING IN OCTOBER
Instead we are having our annual picnic day at
Shoalhaven Zoo on Sunday 7th October 2012 at
11.00am...lunch at 12.30.Free entry and Fully catered
BBQ for MEMBERS. Drinks are available at the Kiosk.
A great day should be had at the most picturesque
zoo in Australia.
Be aware that if you only have a single membership
only you will be allowed in and fed for free.
th
Monday November 5 2012 Darren Earnshaw
-4"6+*4!-)9$*+,:/
Rob Ambrose is a man living his dream.
His passion is for elapid snakes and his job is a
professional snake catcher, a perfect match.
Rob started his talk telling us about one of his
favourites, the Red Belly Black Snake. An early name
for this snake was ‘crimson sided snake’ which more
accurately describes it as the belly is white. Rob
described in detail the many facets of breeding,
!!!!!!!
!
!
!!!!!
!!!!!
Sometimes it is frustrating hard work and other times
rewarding and humorous including the hilarious ‘skink
of doom’.
Rob delighted us handling a black snake and a
beautiful tiger snake. Something a bit different from
Rob Ambrose, thanks mate.
!!!!
!!!
!
Wendell Sailor at Frog Solutions
New Members
Stevie Fuller, Jake Cullen, Jake Oudejans and
Rob Cotterel.
Colour forms of red bellied black snakes
THE IRS ANNUAL PICNIC DAY
This year our popular picnic day will be held on
th
Sunday 7 October 2012. The venue, being the
Shoalhaven Zoo (formerly the Nowra Wildlife Park).
Entry and food is free to members of the IRS, drinks
can be purchased at the kiosk.
This is a fantastic way to socialize with other
members and wander around one of Australia’s most
beautifully situated zoos on the banks of the
Shoalhaven River.
It starts at 11.00am, lunch at 12.30pm with animal
shows all day.
Will be great to see a lot of you there.
If you only have a single membership and want to
bring the family, it would be wise for you to update
your membership to a family one.
Membership Fees are Due
Single Member is $20 and Family Membership is $30.
Yearly fees are due in August. Direct Deposit to the
following account. ILLAWARRA REPTILE SOCIETY INC
BSB: 012 593 ACCOUNT:197838498 Please put your
member No. in the xxx field for your identification.
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BLDF=IH!;G@!C;B!C=<J=@!?B!LG!A;GH!LDD;BFLGBN!!
FROG SOLUTIONS expo day IRS DISPLAY
Jarryd Hayne from the Parramatta Eels
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X#-!/)*4!>!#76#$4-!1Q&1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
%!,2%.!&))(&'!1,'!E!/,2*A+!!
FOR SALES
Frozen rats and mice
Garth 42564884
Hatchling lace monitors
Bells form and normals
Andrew 0415 448 844
Short neck turtles- various sizes
Frank 0413 563 037
Yellow jungle suspected male
Good feeder, good temp 2-3 foot $250.00 ono
Kirsty 0402 588 745
WANTED
Dragons of the agamidae family
Paying well for breeding pairs
Keiran 0422 593 998
SEPTEMBER FOR SALES
womas
blonde macs
albino darwins
mark 0407 501 360
Scales & Tails $8
Available at each meeting
and at Garth’s
rats & mice- live or frozen
garth 42564884
children's pythons- 2 pairs
macquarie short neck turtles
saw shell turtles
4", 5", 6" shells
frank 0413563037
baby turtles
bob 95212725
northern velvet geckos (4) $80
levis male 6 months $100
small ($14) & large ($30) snake hooks
sue & tim 0421426575
Members Notices:
•
A&T Custom Cabinets-custom built reptile cabinets in
all sizes 0466279239
How Tadpoles Optimize Their Buoyancy
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Reptile keeping books available at the meetings at
a good members discount
Tadpoles are well-equipped to adjust their buoyancy
in the water. Photo credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock
!
!
Survival and reproduction of many aquatic and semiaquatic animals can depend upon how well they float.
Tadpoles use various strategies to attain buoyancy,
depending upon their stage of development and
location in still or turbulent waters. Scientists have
now taken a closer look at the developing frog's
strategies to achieve buoyancy.
Canadian-based researchers John Gee and Sylvie
Rondeau studied eight species of tadpoles in three
different
environments-still
waters,
intermittent
streams, and torrent sections of rivers. All species
were examined in the larval and metamorphic stages,
and three species were also studied in the hatchling
stage.
How positioning in the water can be altered
The ability to float is determined by hydrodynamic lift
and static lift. Hydrodynamic lift is generated by a
difference in the velocities of a tadpole and the water
around it. Static lift is the difference between the
specific gravities of the organism and the water in
which it lives. 7&R),%(+ can alter their static lift by
adding lung gas-for instance, gulping air at the water's
surface-or by releasing lung gas.
Comparing buoyancy levels and how tadpoles
achieve them, the researchers found that tadpoles of
different species can adjust to different environments.
In ponds and intermittent streams, lung gases offer
tadpoles the flexibility they need to adjust to water
depth, current speed, and ingestion of dense particles
when feeding. When water currents increase,
tadpoles can rapidly reduce lung volume and
therefore gaseous lift and buoyancy.
In fast-flowing waters, negative buoyancy is favored.
So species in such environments have no gaseous
lift, but can maintain their position in the water using
an oral sucker. These species often live in contact
with the bottom where the water current is at its
lowest.
The
Impact
of
Different
Life
Stages
Transitions
between
hatchling,
larval,
and
metamorphic stages also affect the buoyancy of
tadpoles. It seems important to survival that buoyancy
is neutral, or nearly so, as hatchlings become larvae
because this facilitates %,-,/,*$,2. Another change in
buoyancy occurs at the start of metamorphosis. At
this time, buoyancy decreased in the majority of
species that were studied, possibly in order to make
the tadpoles less vulnerable to predation.
Reference: "6*'&*(S$(+! T+(R! Q.! 7&R),%(+! *,! 5)*$/$[(!
V0,.&2-.!$2!:$11('(2*!X&Q$*&*+,"
Herpetologica, Volume 68, Issue 1, February 2012, is
available at A**)\]]"""#A%^,0'2&%+#,'S
!
!
Tortoise Taped to Helium Balloons
Rescued in Oceanside, California
If culprit or culprits are found, animal abuse
charges could be filed.
August 22, 2012
The tortoise was stuck in a Eucalpytus tree before the wind gently
brought it back down to earth. Photo credit: Kim Rabago
Rescued tortoise at Oceanside Humane Society. Photo credit:
Oceanside Humane Society
A tortoise that someone had taped to a bunch of
helium-filled balloons and set afloat has been rescued
by the humane society in Oceanside, Calif. According
to ABC News affiliate 10 News, the tortoise was
initially stuck in a eucalyptus tree, taped to the balloon
strings with duct tape. Residents of the community in
which the tortoise was found called the Oceanside
Humane Society, which contacted the fire department.
When the fire department arrived, wind had already
blown the balloons and the tortoise down to earth.
According to the report, residents of the community
are outraged that someone would tape a tortoise to a
cluster of balloons and set it afloat. One resident said
there is no reason the tortoise should have been
subjected to such cruelty, and another said the owner
should have given the tortoise away or taken it to a
pet store.
The tortoise, apparently in good health, is currently
being taken care of at the Oceanside Humane
Society.
HAINES GLASS - DAPTO
298 Princes Highway, Dapto
PHONE 02 4261 7295
FAX 02 4261 7898
MOBILE 0412 617 290
K5J<;>?@!7X<!65T7X!K5867!L5;!
899!P5T;!@9866!;<`T>;<a<?76!
@9866!L5;!;<47>9<!K8V>?<76!8!
64<K>897P!
.*Domestic Specialists
* Laminated Glass
*Table Tops
•
•
•
Shower Screens
Framed Mirrors .
Rear view Mirrors
.
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
Successfully Breeds Orange-Tailed Skinks
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August 24, 2012
the herpetologists will create another hot and rainy
environment to start the breeding process again. By
that time, more skinks will have reached maturity and
will hopefully start breeding as well.
“These three orange-tailed skinks have gone above
and beyond our expectations for them since they
arrived at Durrell a year ago and started breeding in
March," Matt Goetz, head of Durrell’s Herpetology
Department said in a prepared statement. "When they
were rescued from Flat Island in Mauritius following
the invasion of the predatory Indian musk shrew, we
knew that a safety net population elsewhere was
going to be essential as their numbers were critically
low. But even in our wildest dreams, we couldn’t have
hoped that the females would get off to such a flying
start. They are clearly happy and healthy, and we are
delighted that population numbers of the orange-tailed
skink in Jersey are increasing so rapidly.”
In 2008, the trust, the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation
and the Mauritius National Parks and Conservation
Service removed 82 of the skinks from Flat Island due
to the invasive Indian musk shrew and relocated them
to Gunner’s Quoin, a Mauritian nature reserve. In
2010, 390 more skinks were also relocated to
Gunner's Quoin.
The orange-tailed skink was discovered in 1995 and
has not yet been fully described. It does not yet have
a scientific name. Scientific American reports that it
has a temporary name, Gonglyomorphus c.f.
fontenayi, due to its close resemblance to the
Macchabe skink (G. fontenayi).
Study Says Reptile Venom Molecules Are Not
Always Toxic
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6%@$%.5#()02"0)6%.&#)&'"#)0%)5'+)#*.9)#/(6%?'*/'(7)
September 19, 2012
Orange-tailed skink hatchling. Photo credit: Durrell Wildlife
Conservation Trust
Three female orange-tailed skinks that were rescued
off Flat Island in Mauritius have been successfully
breeding since their arrival a year ago at the :0''(%%!
W$%R%$1(!K,2+('_&*$,2!7'0+* in Jersey, United Kingdom.
According to the trust, the three skinks have produced
16 juveniles with four eggs currently incubating. The
skinks have small clutches, averaging just two eggs.
The trust brought 22 skinks, 19 of which were males
to Durrell a year ago in an effort to bolster their
numbers. To get the skinks to breed, their habitat is
designed to mimic the wet and hot rainy season in
which they are accustomed to. At the end of this year,
!
!
Snake venom isn't always toxic and can evolve into harmless
compounds, according to a new study published in the journal Nature
Communications. Photo by Thinkstock
A new study of reptile venom shows that venom is not
always toxic, but rather can evolve into harmless
compounds that perform other bodily functions. The
study, published in Nature Communications, says that
reptile venom contains a range of toxins that have
evolved from harmless compounds that perform
different functions in a reptile's body. When
a _(2,/,0+! '()*$%( bites a prey item those
compounds target the biological processes of the
prey, such as blood clotting or nerve cell signalling,
creating havoc in the bitten animal's body, according
to a press release put out by Bangor University in
England.
Researchers at Bangor and the Liverpool School of
Tropical Medicine have discovered that those same
deadly toxins can again become harmless molecules
in the reptile's body, potentially enabling scientists to
develop those molecules into drugs for human use.
Dr. Nicholas Casewell of the Liverpool School of
Tropical Medicine says that the evolution of venom is
a complex process and that a snake's venom gland is
a melting pot for evolving new functions for molecules.
Casewell said that some molecules are retained as
venom for killing prey while others are used in new
functions in the tissue of a reptile's body. According to
the study, the presence of the harmless versions of
these molecules could assist in the creation of a wider
variety of drugs that don't have to rely on the toxic
versions of the molecules.
Said Bangor University's Dr. Wolfgang Wüster, a coauthor of the study: Many +2&B(!_(2,/ toxins target the
same physiological pathways that doctors would like to
target to treat a variety of medical conditions.
Understanding how toxins can be tamed into harmless
physiological proteins may aid development of cures
from venom
New Species of Snail-Eating Snake Discovered
in Panama
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September 17, 2012
Sibon noalamina is a nocturnal, snail- eating snake from Panama.
Photo by Sebastian Lotzkat
A new species of snail-eating snake has been
discovered in western Panama by biologists from
Frankfurt, Germany's 6(2-B(2Q('S! ;(+(&'-A! >2+*$*0*(.
The non-venomous snake, Sibon noalamina has
coloration similar to a coral snake with brown and light
!
!
colored ringed scales. It was recently described in a
paper published in the journal Zootaxa. The name of
the snake is Spanish and translates to "no mining."
The biologists named the snake noalamina to call
attention to the mining of ore that occurs near the
reptile's native habitat.
According to the paper, in addition to +2&$%+, the snake
also eats other soft-bodied prey, including slugs,
earthworms and amphibian eggs. The snake's range
includes the Serranía de Tabasará of the Comarca
Ngöbe-Buglé reservation, an autonomous region that
was established in 1997. The snake genus, Sibon
comprises 15 species, all of which are nocturnal snail
eaters and look similar in coloration to -,'&%!+2&B(+!or
&'Q,'(&%!)$*!_$)('+.
Sibon noalamina grows to approximately 21 inches.
The specimens that the biologists encountered were
found at night in wet forested areas. One was found
lying upon a large leaf about 0.5 meters above the
ground approximately 10 meters from a small stream.
A second specimen was located near the stream
moving about 2 meters above the forest floor.
Bassett’s Cricket Ranch Rebounds From
Cricket Virus
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February 1, 2012
Bassett’s Cricket Ranch, a breeder of crickets for the
reptile hobbyist as well as the fishing crowd, is back
selling crickets after the company's entire inventory of
crickets were killed off a few years ago by a cricket
virus. The company, which has been selling crickets
for more than 40 years, lost approximately 50 to 60
million crickets in less than a week, almost ending the
business that was started by Russell Bassett in 1969.
After the loss, the -,/)&2.!started with a fresh batch
of brown crickets that again were stricken by the virus,
known as cricket paralysis virus and first detected in
the United States in 2009. The company then
switched to a different cricket species, the Jamaican
field cricket and had success. The company again
began shipping their own homegrown crickets to
customers in April 2011, and is currently shipping
more than 3 million crickets each week as well as
close to 3 million mealworms. To diversify, the
company is also breeding rats and mice for the reptile
trade and has also entered the furry pet trade with pet
guinea pigs and hamsters.