Hey, what's in that hay???

As you can see from the picture, we got a bit of snow this LAST DAY of December!   You can also see we have horses, and of course we were getting low on hay, so we had to go to the local feed store and buy some.  We hooked up the jeep and headed on out to pick up a few bales to last us though to the weekend

The hay is kept in an outside shed at the feed store.  We pulled through the shed and waited for one of the guys to help load it.  He jumped up on the stack, and jumped back as he said "Would you look at that!  A snake!"  I said "Let me see" and pronounced it as a Prairie Kingsnake, and that I was going to take it home.  Needless to say it was very, very cold, but still able to move a bit.   Glad we were there to find it, as if it were any one else, they probably would have killed it thinking it was a copperhead, as every "brown" snake around here must be a copperhead!  It's a bit warmer now, at home, and we'll be letting it go when the warm weather comes back.  We may rehibernate it in the meantime.  We have enough mouths to feed over the winter now!  But this is still one lucky kingsnake!

 

He ddn't get to vote, but he doesn't care...

I (Maryann) worked a polling station this past Tuesday (presidential election 2012), and had an hour for lunch.  Since I only live about 6 miles from the polling station (and in the country that's about a 10 minute drive) I decided to come home.  Found this guy stretched out on the pavement, near the creek, apparently getting some warmth.  Some guys stopped to ask me if it was a cottonmouth.  I replied that I certainly would not be holding it as I was, if it were venomous.  The snake complied by holding his mouth open, as pissed watersnakes will do, and showed them his mouth was indeed not white.  Mind you, this is November 6th, and the temperature in my car said 55 degrees. 

We're holding him until Friday, when the temps are supposed to be in the 70s, and then let him go.   It's always interesting to see herps out so "late" as, in times past, we've had snow at this time of the year.  

I also volunteer ar the local "Nature Center" and last weekend we had reports of a snake (the description fit that of a juvenile Black Ratsnake), box turtles, and water turtles out and about.

Can you say "global warming?"

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UPDATE:  We are keeping him over the winter probably.  After we cleaned him up, we noticed he had a gaping wound down his tail.  He has movement, but it looks very bad.  Therefore, we thought he'd be better off being rehabbed here rather than thrown out to fend for himself. 

Do a good deed!

It's been a while since we've gone to a reptile show that had "hots."  We couldn't go to Hamburg this fall due to a catastrophic illness, but all is well now.  Since we still needed "to get out of town" for some R&R, we went to the Repticon show in Dallas.  But this is not about the show.

We did find one table devoted to stopping rattlesnake roundups!   I was glad to see these folks taking initiative as we can't be vocal enough in telling everyone who will listen, that round-ups are an abomination. They had literature, a person giving regular presentations on the problems and horrors involved in these round-ups, and...a way to make money to support their cause...t-shirts!

 

Not that I don't already have enough herp-related t-shirts, but this is different!   These shirts make a definite statement and need to be seen! And not just by fellow herpers.

 

The shirt says "Education, not eradication."  The way it's folded, that's not so obvious.  Lotsa colors, lotsa sizes, lotsa reasons to own this shirt!  I'm embarassed that I don't remember the names of the gentlemen involved in this endeavor.    But at least someone is involved, in a more-than-casual way!

 

PETA isn't doing anything; HSUS wants money before they tackle ANY animal abuse, etc, etc., and even then it goes mostly for administration, and little towards actual animal rescue. 

 

 Here's one way you can get a shirt, in case you don't find these guys at one of your shows.  The web site is: WWW.Newtstees.com 

 

 

 

Special delivery!

You may know (should know) by now that we are crocodilian happy!  We love 'em!  So when our Morelet's passed away earlier this year, we were devastated.  At the time we knew them to be unavailable to the average collector.  Recently they were taken off Appendix 1, and our friend, Bob Clark, imported a group that were "farm-raised."  Of course we were on the phone ASAP and ordered one (or 2 or 3...)

 

They came on a Saturday (God love you Fed Ex!)  We told the driver what they were but he didn't stick around to see for himself.  Probably on a tight schedule, but it does give him something to tell his friends and co-workers about!  Then we slowly opened the package...

 

Well packed, in a bag of shredded newspaper, inside the styrofoam box, inside the Fed Ex box.  The way we should all send out animals!  Safe, sound and protected.  And voila...

 

 

Cute?  We think so.  They were a bit shy at first, when we tried to feed them, but they are now quite voracious.  We have them all in separate tubs, eating newborn pinkies.  They are growing and thriving.  Why three?  Well, we wanted to guard against any unforeseen mortality!  It should take them a while to get to the size where we have to build those rediculous large enclosures, but we're happy to wait!

 

 

 

 

"Come on in," I said!

"Don't mind if I do,"  said the copperhead at my doorstep!

NO, this is not how the scenario went, but it could have.  I came home from work, walked in to the house to unwind, get something to drink, perhaps a small snack, and then go back out to the shop to take care of the animals (herps.) 

I opened the door, and the dog went out first.  For some reason I looked down, and there was a copperhead.  Not just in my way, but at the very edge of the doorstep.  Now was it there when I went into the house?  Did it crawl over in the short time I was in the house (less than 10 minutes?)   I debated on what to do, decided to go out the other (front) door, got my camera which was in the car, went back around to the door I saw it at, and took this pic.  It had not moved.  I then got a hook, and moved it out of the way, towards a small garden patch next to the house.

In hindsight, I should have moved it a bit further from the house as now I'm constantly looking for it to reappear.  I know I also had a large speckled kingsnake living near that garden patch, so who knows, their paths may cross.  I hope not, for the copperhead's sake, but that is what nature is all about.

As for the "why" this animal appeared where it did, I can only assume it's because we have a drain near there for the air conditioner.  We have seen lizards attempting to drink out of this small run-off.  In this intense drought, any water is better than no water.

Death from a copperhead bite

Alas, it's true, or so it would seem.  The article was recently splashed across the front page of the local newspaper.  Until a week or so ago, there had been no fatal bites since the 1930s I believe.  The unfortunate victim was bitten by a copperhead, and did indeed pass away.  But there may have been extenuating circumstances. 

Although I did not read this, the victim allegedly had a heart problem, and had been drinking.  He also went unconscious after about 15 minutes.  This alone, to me, would indicate anaphylactic shock, such as one experiences if you're allergic to peanuts, or bee stings, or shellfish.   Anaphylactic shock is usually countered by a hit with an "epi pen" (epinephrine), but if you don't know you're allergic, there would be no reason to have such a device with you.  Of course you do not want to give someone a shot if you do not know their medical history.

In this same vein, a co-worker's wife was bitten by a copperhead, and was quite pregnant at the time (think 8 months pregnant!)  She was not given any antivenin since she was pregnant.  She was watched closely.  She had all the symptoms of envenomation, including the swelling, and pain, but weathered it all, and gave birth to a healthy baby at full term.

So is a copperhead bite dangerous?  The immediate answer is yes.  But will a person die from it?  Not very likely, although obviously it can happen.  The bottom line is: get help, as soon as possible.

False alarm

When we went for our morning coffee, we saw something, across the road,  at the end of our driveway, that looked very suspicious.  Notice the spot in the road, in almost the immediate center.

So we got a bit closer, and it was looking even more ominous!

Now it's looking as though it has color, like a light belly, and a black back...oh no!  Hate when we have casualties so close to the house, even though it's bound to happen.  After all, we live in the country and we have no control over all the wild animals.  So of course we have to get closer for an appropriate identification, and...it's the dreaded...

FAN BELT SNAKE!!!!! 

(Bet the vehicle's owner hated when THAT happened!!!)

Finally finished...

It all started out almost 20 years ago, that we acquired this little girl. We've always been partial to crocodilians, of all kinds.   This was traded to us, as a Nile-Cuban hybrid, by a breeder in Florida.

We kept making larger and larger enclosures for her as she grew.   The last time we made an enclosure, we bought a 1000 gallon water tank, and built the enclosure around it.  We used flooring that is made from recycled materials, and is virtually indestructible.  We also designed it to have a feed door in the top, a wash-out in the side (for changing the water), and a door that could be opened out for when we built an outdoor enclosure for her to enjoy.  The more enclosures you make, the more you learn, and improve.

I wish we had a video camera for when we attemped (and eventually succeeded) to move her from the last enclosure to where she is now.  I'm sure now that a lot of what Steve Irwin did was staged, as it just is not that easy!   And after you move an animal from what seemed to be a large enough enclosure, you wonder how she ever managed in what now appears to be a rather tight space.  Our Yacare caiman is now enjoying that old pond, etc.

So the newest (and hopefully last) enclosure was incorporated into the side of the building with the idea that we would eventually build an outdoor spot for her to bask, etc.   That was about 8 years ago, and we've finally gotten around to getting the ouside done. We did toss around several ideas, and the final solution now seems so simple, we might have done it sooner.  But finances are always a concern, and none of this was inexpensive.   

I had thought of writing about this in stages, but if you saw the last photo, you might not have bothered with the original blog.  So here's the start of something big, and I do mean big.

I'm the one on the ground.  We're digging holes for the fence posts that will eventually hold up the platform, etc, for the croc to get out on and sunbathe.  Behind my "stand-up" help, you can see the hole that is the opening for the croc's indoor enclosure.  We had it sealed off with insulation, etc.  You can also see we have lots of rocks to contend with, when digging these holes, and one must get on their bellies to fish them out!

We had 5 holes to dig altogether.  We also had to get a jackhammer to chip away at part of the foundation that stuck out too far, and was in the way of the post holes next to the building.  Truly an all-day or two-, or three-day project!   We decided to make it a bit over 6 feet tall, so an average person could stand upright, and get in there if the need arose, and not be cramped. 

Then the flooring.  We decided that rather than have an outdoor pond too, we'd just have the one pond, in the shade, so she could adjust her body temperature as she saw fit. 

We elevated the floor because we have an outside drain for the inside pond, and this allows us easy access.  The two posts that you see close together are for the eventual gate that we put on, again for access.    The two pens you see in the background are for some small alligators that we also house.  They work out very well in the summer time.   Obviously they are not nearly as big as the croc.  Then we put on the chain link.

Travis puts up fence for a living.  We had nothing to do with that except bring him a cold drink now and then.  He also put up chain link across the top of the enclosure.  This is heavy duty chain link too, not what you'd find between your neighbor's house and your own.  Then he installed a gate.

We had a professional welder come and fix latches that would not be opened easily by anyone or anything.  But how cool would it be to put "professional builder of croc enclosures" on your resume?

If the next owners of this place want to keep a gorilla in this enclosure, they might be able to!  Or a rock band that needs to be kept safe from overzealous fans.    The floor is approximately 10 feet by 12 feet. 

Checking us out!

So now, the big day. We gathered around, took down the insulation and plywood door cover, opened up the plexiglass window from the inside...and waited...and waited...and waited... I hosed down the floor as I thought it might have been too hot for her, and thought running water might make her take notice and want to investigate. 

Half out!

The croc is totally enjoying her new enclosure, and she freely goes in and out during the day to cool off, warm up, whatever she wants.  She never went off feed, does not charged the chain link, and seems totally oblivious to our presence, although she does watch the dog intently, when the dog passes by!

I have to thank Travis, Shane, and Denney for all their hard work, and thoughtful suggestions.  And how do we know it's a female?  Our caiman, and alligator are large enough to bellow when she comes into heat.  Every spring.   Meanwhile, she never makes a sound.   

Siesta time.  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

Year of the turtle

Yet again, we find another baby turtle on the highway. 

This time it was a llittle common snapper,  and that's a quarter beside him...didn't have a 50 cent piece handy.   He's a killer feeder on pellets and meal worms!

This guy was the closest we've found to a body of water, but still about a football field away.  The mild winter must have spurred early breeding, or early hatching of eggs that may have been laid last fall.   If we keep finding these guys on the road, how many more are crawling through the grass looking for a place to live.  And how many are becoming road kill and/or food for predators? 

It's all a cycle but, it's making us look intently at every little speck in the road for movement! 

S*S*D*D

Same situation, different day.

(Maryann here.)  If you've read all the other posts, you may remember last fall when I came home from work to find a snake bag on my desk.  It happened again today.  Of course I knew it wasn't venomous, because Dennis is not that careless to leave me a "present" which could hurt me.

The critter inside was this nice little Eastern Yellow-bellied Racer.  It was crawling around in the "sales area" of the shop.  Funny how these guys get in.  We always think we have all the holes in the building secured, but then we find an escapee outside, or something like this inside. 

Gotta keep your eyes peeled.

Wow...who would've thought we'd find a red-ear slider in the middle on a country highway, with no  pond in sight?   Of course we did find the big one in our driveway last year.  But this guy was way different.  As you can see, he's slightly bigger than a quarter.  Of course, from a distance it looked just like a small rock in the road, a common occurrence.  Passed over him, the shape was too perfect to be a rock and thought we saw him move.   Since we could turn around easily, we went back for a second look.  Yup...a live turtle!

We don't recommend endangering yourself if you "think" you saw a turtle, or snake, or whatever.  But if you're unsure, take a look, go back, you'll only regret it if you don't satisfy your curiosity.  And believe me, more often than not you're wrong, but when you're right, it's a thrill!  Of course then everything after that, for a while, must be a reptile, but with practice, you'll be able to differentiate.

Visitor of the day...update...

If you read about the black rat snake that I found on the road, and thought it might be saved, but alas had indeed been run over, and died on the way home, this is an update.  I saw a vulture taking advantage of the meal laid out for him/her.    This is what was left.

As you can see, this was in a rather grassy area.  Those birds must either have extreme eyesight or extreme senses of smell, or both, because there wass nothing else in that particular field, which is about 3-4 acres, to attrract their attention.   I opted not to keep any parts, but let the field mice finish off the carcass.

Visitor of the day...

Got home this afternoon to find this guy attached to the cement on the side of the house.   He appeared much more grey, and closer to the color of the cement than this photo would attest.  If you look closely you can see a few little green spots peeking through. Might be the same one who was quite green when attached to the screen on our back door last summer.

Then there was this unfortunate fellow.  I was going down the road and saw this rather large black rat snake in the middle of my lane.  I swerved, stopped, ran back and picked him up.  He was coiled as though daring someone to hit him.  He had his mouth gaping in a mad posture.  I thought he was just fine and darned lucky.  Unfortunately not so.  If you look at the middle part of his body you can see a slight irregularity where he had been run over. 

He never felt bad (meaning "squishy" for lack of a better term) or lost use of his back end and tail, but I guess the internal injuries were massive.  Just shows you that a snake that has been run over, even though looking well and acting fairly normal, probably will not survive. 

And he was "posed" in my pasture for this picture.  I figure he can be dinner for some hawk owl or vulture later today. 

Sounds...

For an interesting experience, especially if you have a variety of animals, go into your herp room, in the dark, and just sit and listen.

I did just that today, as I was putting some feeder fish in with our alligator snapper.  As most of the animals could not see where I was, they were doing various things.  One large sulcata tortoise was grunting.  Almost sounded like burping.  Our Yacare caiman was roaring, or rumbling, as he was calling out to our female crocodile.  He does that when, we assume, she's in heat, although we don't know where or when.  She never exhibits any signs, and they cannot see each other.   Today he was out of his pool.  When  he does it in the pool, you can see the water bubbling. 

Occasionally you'll hear the rattlesnakes rattling.  They flexing their muscles or are they seeing shadows?  Perhaps just dreaming?  Like when your dog whimpers and runs in it's sleep?    All in all, very interesting!

Look what we found!

Came in from the shop this afternooon to find this guy next to the foundation of the house. He was all coiled up and doing something so we observed him for a moment. See if you can make anything out.

Here's another photo, and you can see his head a bit better.  He was eating!  Can you identify his food source?  Remember, this is a "kingsnake!"

That colorful curl in the center of the picture should be a good hint! Sorry, no prizes will be given, just an "Attaboy!"

Ouch!!!!! or @#$%%^$&#*@

 

 

You may have been wondering how the rhino iguana, that we "rescued" is doing!

Obviously he's progressed to "solid food" and has a very healthy appetite.  We haven't had the time to make him a more appropriate cage, but it will definitely be one where we can feed him without getting our hands (or fingers) too close, as pictured! 

When people ask me if I've ever been bitten, they're most always talking about snakes.  They seem to forget that lizards can bite too, and very hard! I must admit my language was not printable during this encounter. 
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P.S.  Haven't had time to post new pics (which would entail handling this charmer) but we did make a nice large cage for him, and he settled in nicely, and eats anything and everything with a special fondness for bananas!

First casualty of the year.

Not much to write about during the winter months.  Everyone cleans cages and feeds animals.  We all look forward to spring as a time to see animals in their natural surroundings, breed the animals we already own, if we choose, and just enjoy nature.

This winter, for many, has been very pleasant, and almost too warm.  We have seen errant turtles out in December, and on some warmer days, in February,  you could go to some den sites and see animals basking on the rocks, only to go back under when the weather turns colder.  They don' t venture far until it starts to stay warm all day long. This year has been an entirely different story.   We had our first "unknown snake identification a few weeks ago, in February, when some neighbors wanted to know what they found. Turns out it was a Midland Ground Snake.   Time to make sure there's a snake bag in every vehicle!

This poor guy was found on the road, that I had just driven, in the opposite direction, only 2 hours earlier.   I have to keep telling myself that "you can't save them all."  I do wonder about his placement in the road, as usually snakes crossing are perpendicular, not parallel to the white line,  although they can contort somewhat when hit.  That prompted a thought that possibly another predator (hawk, for example) picked him up and then dropped him for whatever reason.  But whatever happened, he's obviously deceased.  And we can only hope he becomes food for yet another animal.

Since that day we've seen a dead common snapper, and DOR black rat snake.  Different roads.  Hate to think that they started to enjoy the warm weather also, only to become casualties so early in the year.

Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em...

...to quote a few lines from an old Kenny Rogers song.  No, I'm not into country music, and no, this is not about holding your favorite reptile.  This is about when to keep you mouth shut when someone tells you some ridiculously tall stories about reptiles, and you want to inform them that they're misinformed, but...you don't.

The reason for this blog...I went to buy some fish food for my (legally obtained) alligator snapper.  When I was leaving the bait shop an older gentleman (think 70s probably) asked me if "the fish are biting."  I said no, that I was feeding a turtle.  Of course, to a fisherman, that's anathema!  Because turtles eat all the fish! 

Anyway, he proceeded to tell me that he has a huge snapping turtle in his pond.  All his friends want him to get rid of it, but he said it eats the excess bluegill, as he has too many in his pond.  I told him it would indeed eat the sick ones, etc, and that it was a good idea to leave the turtle there because the fish that survive will be bigger and more hearty.

Okay, he then tells me how it sits there with its mouth open, and the little "worm" in its mouth lures the fish in.  Huh?  I always thought that alligator snappers lived in big river systems, and they have the tongue lure, and common snapping turtles lived in farm ponds.   But I'm not going to tell this man he probably misidentified the turtle.  He'd probably deny me anyway.  After all, he knew his turtle, and I would just be going by heresay.

Then he told me if the "wood ducks" nested there, and the turtle started to eat the ducklings, the turtle would have to go.  He said the turtles just "suck the babies" down into the water.  Okay...another misunderstanding?  Better to let it go, i.e. hold 'em.

When trying to educate the public, you learn when to keep your mouth shut, just nod in agreement, and try to make positive remarks to offset some of the bad information, while not offending the person(s) you're speaking to, or just walk away on a, hopefully, positive note.   Know when to fold 'em!

To rehab...or not...

We recently acquired the rhinocerous iguana shown below.  I'm holding him to show how he looks.   His previous owner fell ill, and was hospitalized.  Due to the owner's health problems, the remainder of his collection was sold/given away.  The iguana was kept with the thought that perhaps if he got better, he would have something to "come home to."  Something to boost his spirits.  Alas he passed away, and the iguana was forgotten about.   Fast forward a few months, and the family realized this animal was more than they could properly care for.  As many of you know, rhino iguanas are not known for their wonderful temperments.

So we got a call and were apprised of the situation, and would we take the animal.  Of course we said yes, as we already have two rhino iguanas.  We did not realize what shape this animal was in.  After bringing him home, we questioned our sanity, and our resources.  This of course meant yet another cage to be built, with the hope that this animal will survive long enough to enjoy it. 

With that in mind, we wondered if we should even try to rehab him, or just have him euthanized.  Which is preferable?  How does the animal feel?  Is he in pain?  How's his attitude?  That alone made a big difference on what we planned to do, as he was feisty.    If he were lethargic, we may not have bothered with him.

So how does one go about rehabbing?  Our plan, so far, has been to keep him warm, and hydrated, and feed him every single day.  We are feeding him only vegetables, and some fruit.  We feed our other iguanas veggies, and some dog food, but he's too thin to try to pack on the pounds in a hurry.  We feel he needs to get his digestive system operating properly again, and give us some good looking stools.

The picture is him after a month in our care, so you can tell, he was almost more than emaciated.  He's actually gained weight in this picture.  Look at the folds of skin in his tail and rib cage.  With horses there is a scale called the Henneke scale, 1 being the thinnest (1=Poor:Emaciated. Prominent spinous processes, ribs, tailhead and hooks and pins. Noticeable bone structure on withers, shoulders and neck. No fatty tissues can be palpated), 9 being almost too fat.  This poor guy was a 1 or perhaps even a negative 1.

With any luck he'll start to really fill out, and we can call it a success.   Since starvation can hide other problems, and/or cause other problems, we'll probably consider him "out of the woods" a year from now.   These things cannot be rushed.  As much as we want him to be fat practically overnight, he didn't get skinny overnight, so it will take time to refit this very desirable animal.

If this all works out, we'll post pictures of the fully recovered animal.  His attitude, at this point, is "better" (read that to mean even more feisty) than when we originally retrieved him.