California officials confirm snake fungal disease in state
A deadly snake fungal disease has officially spread into California — the farthest west of any detection yet, according to a recent bulletin from the state ...
reptiles
Copperheads don’t reproduce after severe drought
Female copperhead snakes stop reproducing after severe drought. According to a study published in Scientific Reports none of the dozens of monitored female ...
Two suspects charged in turtle smuggling case
Two Florida men face a number of charges related to the illegal capture and sale of freshwater turtle species. According to a press release by the Florida Fish and ...
Q&A: David Steen, giving snakes a voice
Sometimes he’s identifying snakes from tweeted pictures. Sometimes he’s reaching out to the public to increase awareness — and ease people’s phobias — of ...
Time trumps environment for head-started turtles
Giving turtles a chance to grow in captivity is more important for their future success in the wild than environmental enrichment, according to new research. “It ...
Pennsylvania turtle trafficker gets 6-month sentence
A Pennsylvania man has received a six-month prison sentence for illegally trafficking diamondback terrapin turtles (Malaclemys terrapin). David Sommers, a ...
Scientists discover new 10-foot croc species in museum
A giant new crocodile species has seemingly jumped out of nowhere as researchers took a closer look at museum specimens and living reptiles at a Florida zoo. Now ...
Shell disease may hamper pond turtle recovery
A newly described syndrome that causes lesions on turtle shells may be slowing the impacts of recovery efforts for northwestern pond turtles in Washington state. ...
Introduced species adapt rapidly to new climate niches
“Introduced species can provide this natural experiment of what happens when you toss species in a completely different climate — can they survive or not?” ...
JWM: When gators attack! — And when they don’t
A landscaper was pruning a tree on Florida’s Sanibel Island when a 12-foot alligator seized her by the arm and dragged her 10 feet to a nearby pond. By the time ...