November 2012 volume 27, issue 11

Next Meeting:

Sunday, November 18, 2012

6:00 p.m. Upcoming Events… 2

General PNHS info……. 3

Letter from the

President………..…….

4

PNHS Outreach at

the America’s Fam-

ily Pet Expo......……...

6

The Economy and the

Effect on Venom……

8

Turtle Vocalizations 9

Year of the Snake

Warnings………..........

10

Salon Turtles…………. 11

Contacts &

Vets…………………..

15

Membership

Application….……...

16

Inside this issue:

December PNHS

Newsletter Deadline:

Nov. 30, 2012

Pacific Northwest

Herpetological Society

Meeting Location:

Highline Community College Doors Open: 5:30 p.m.

2400 S. 240th Street, Bldg. 12 General Meeting: 6:00 p.m.

Des Moines, WA

Speaker Presentation: “Dragons”

Bearded & Frilled Dragons with Brenda & Marian Huber;

Parasite precautions & the latest on

Bearded Dragon Atadenovirus

Herp-of-the-

Month:

Dragons

Left: Maddie Montoya,

daughter of PNHS

Board member Teresa

Montoya, holds a

bearded dragon at the

America’s Family Pet

Expo in Puyallup.

Pa g e 2

Upcoming PNHS Events

Kitsap Branch Fall/Winter Meetings 2012:

Contact Troy Barnhart 360-908-8766 if interested.

November 3-4, 2012: PNHS Outreach: “ America ’ s Family Pet Expo ”

Puyallup Fairgrounds.

November 18, 2012: PNHS General Meeting

Herp-of-the-Month: Dragons

Speakers: Brenda & Marian Huber on Bearded &

Frilled Dragons, Parasite Precautions & the latest

on Bearded Dragon Atadenovirus

December 9, 2012: PNHS Annual Potluck/Auction

Casual potluck & auction! ( No speaker, herp-of-

the-month, or general meeting )

Bring your favorite main or side dish to share!

There will be a dessert auction.

Doors open: 5:00 p.m.

Auction begins: 6:00 p.m.

Questions? Donations? Please contact

Brenda Huber ( Brenda.huber@pnwhs.org )

January 13, 2013: PNHS General Meeting

Speaker: Dr. Tracy Bennett of the Bird

& Exotic Clinic of Seattle

Www.birdandexotic.com

Herp-of-the-Month: Turtles & Tortoises

Page 2

General Information

The Pacific Northwest Herpetological Society (PNHS) is a non-profit organi-

zation registered with the State of Washington. PNHS is dedicated to the

education of its members and the public, as well as the conservation, ecol-

ogy, and captive care and breeding of reptiles and amphibians. The society

also takes an active role in legislative and environmental issues affecting

these animals and their habitats.

Meeting Information

PNHS holds its general meeting on the second Sunday of every month

(with exceptions for holidays) at 6:00pm at Highline Community College in

Des Moines, Building 12 Room 101. Doors open at 5:30. Other business

and socialization occurs between 5:30 and 6; then the General Meeting

starts. Meetings are open to the public, and the society encourages anyone

with an interest in herpetology to attend. Please purchase a membership to

show your support for the society.

Animal Donations

Looking to adopt, release an animal or donate cages and equipment?

Please contact the Adoptions Committee by email at adop-

tions@pnwhs.org, or by voicemail at 206- 583-0686. We will contact you

and make arrangements.

Other Donations

The Adoption Committee receives minimal financial support from the Soci-

ety, so donations of money, food, cages, and equipment are always needed

and appreciated. Please contact the Adoption Chair to make a donation.

Adoptions

To adopt an animal that is in the care of the Committee, you must be pre-

sent at the meeting, be a current member (of at least one month), and be

over 18 years of age or have parental consent. For more details see the

web site or contact the Adoption Chair.

Newsletter Information

A monthly newsletter absorbs the lion’s share of the price of a PNHS mem-

bership. In order to keep it interesting, we encourage contribution of origi-

nal articles, book reviews, letters, ads, and cartoons for publication.

Items for incorporation into articles are also welcome, though with no guar-

antee of their use. Submissions may be sent to the Newsletter Committee

or to the Society through the contacts listed on our Contacts page.

Editorial Policy

The views expressed in this publication are solely the views of the authors

and not necessarily the views of the Society, its members, or the Newsletter

Committee. The Newsletter Committee reserves the right to edit all submis-

sions including advertisements.

General information &

guidelines

re PNHS’ Monthly

Meetings are a great

place to learn

something new,

purchase feeders at a

discount, and meet new

people

V o l . 2 7 N o . 1 1

Above: Both Green Tree Python

Photos courtesy of the Adams’

Family.

Page 4

Letter from the President By Brenda Huber Vol. 27, No.11

Continued...

I was on my way to the America’s Family Pet Expo at the Puy-

allup Fairgrounds, when the story hit the wire. “A Bothell couple

found a 10-foot python in their storage unit,” was the headline.

“Here we go again….” I thought to myself, secretly glad that my

mother was in Vegas and not here listening to local news. She lives

rather close to Bothell and would be locking her doors by now.

The couple called 911. The Police were called. Animal Control was

called. And the news media had a field day with the hype.

How ironic—-here PNHS was spending the entire weekend doing

outreach, promoting responsible herp ownership and trying to put a

positive spin on reptiles… All it takes is one “10 foot python” news

story and we’re back to square one.

Turns out the “!0 foot python” was actually a very thin, very cold,

female Red-Tailed Boa. Animal Control took her to Dr. Adolf Maas

at the Center for Bird & Exotic Medicine. She remained there until

PNHS’ Adoption Coordinator Extraordinaire, Allison Vlaun, made

arrangements for the perfect foster home. On Saturday, PNHS’ own

Jamie Housman made the long trek from the Kitsap Peninsula to

pick her up and take her home. It was just in time: she was sched-

uled to be euthanized just two days later.

“Python Invasion/Media Hype**”

** Or :“Why my mother can no longer watch the news…”

V o l . 2 7 , N o . 1 1

Letter From The President Continued….

.

This story is just one example of the many ways PNHS makes a dif-

ference in the community. If you support PNHS’ mission and want to

get more involved, we have a place for you. PNHS Elections are just

around the corner, with nominations for office taken at November’s

general meeting. If you’ve wanted to get more involved and help di-

rect PNHS, consider serving on the Board. If you are unable to attend

November’s meeting but would like to be considered for a Board po-

sition, please email me at Brenda.Huber@pnwhs.org .

Together, we all can make a difference.

Brenda Huber

President

Above: Elise Erickson and her rescued 10’ Albino Burmese Python, “Thor,” do their part

to educate the public about responsible pet ownership. Taken at the America’s Family Pet

Expo in Puyallup. Photo by B. Huber.

V o l . 2 7 , N o . 1 1

PNHS Outreach at the American Family Pet Expo

November 3-4, 2012

.

Clockwise from Left:

Mary & “Lizzie,; Darcy

shows off “Sunspot,;

“Hunter” the Corn

Snake, Teresa & Aimee

with Outreach Rockstar,

“Pig;” and a Seattle Tur-

tle & Tortoise Club

member’s thrilling sul-

cata.

V o l . 2 7 , N o . 1 1

Outreach at the America’s Family Pet Expo continued….

.

L to R: Corbin Maxey and his

Nile Monitor; Carol demon-

strates why they’re called

“Ball” Pythons; PNHS

Treasurer Dale, Teresa shows

a Ball Python to kids; Out-

reach Superstar (and rescue)

“Lizzie” the green iguana.

V o l . 2 7 , N o . 1 1

BLOOMBERG (New York, New York) (Caroline Connan and Marthe Fourcade) 10/30/12

Venomous snakes in the French town of Valence are feeling the bite of

Europe’s economic crisis.

Latoxan, a company that farms snakes and scorpions to sell their venom to drugmakers in-

cluding Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Sanofi (SAN) and Pfizer Inc. (PFE), expects sales to drop 30

percent this year as clients cut back on orders, said Chief Executive Officer Harold de Pomyers.

Pomyers, who with just seven staff took in sales of 1.6 million euros ($2.1 million) in 2011,

said he’s reducing his number of snakes to 500 from as many as 800 because of lower demand

from Paris-based Sanofi and other drugmakers. Sanofi and Latoxan ended their collaboration this

year, a Sanofi spokesman said by e-mail.

“We are currently suffering from the crisis,” Pomyers said in an interview with Bloomberg

Television at the company’s headquarters, located in a residential area of Valence, near Lyon.

“Sales are falling in European countries such as Italy, Greece or Spain, but also in the United

States.”

Latoxan employees extract venom from snakes including deadly black mambas and rattle-

snakes by squeezing their jaws with their bare hands, a process they refer to as “milking.” Snakes

that are no longer needed will be killed or given away, according to two members of staff who take

part in the milking process.

“Fortunately we only have one accident every 18 months,” Pomyers said.

One gram of venom can cost as much as 4,000 euros. The product is used by pharmaceutical

companies for research and to manufacture anti-venom, according to Pomyers. Scientists from the

Institute of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology in Sophia Antipolis, France, have isolated two

new molecules from black mamba venom and are studying them as a possible alternative to mor-

phine, he said.

About 5 million people worldwide get bitten by snakes each year and an estimated 100,000

die, according to Jean-Philippe Chippaux, a snake expert and director at the Development Re-

search Institute in Cotonou, Benin.

“You need very good venom from good snakes” to make reliable antidotes, says Chippaux. In

the past year, Pomyers says he has diversified by adding about 3,000 scorpions to the French farm.

Their venom can sell for as much as 35,000 euros a gram.

Snake Farm Feels the Bite

As Drugmakers Reduce Venom Orders

Reprinted with Permission from Herpdigest Vol. 12, Issue #52, 10/07/12

V o l . 2 7 , N o . 1 1

Turtle Vocalizations:

First Evidence of Post-Hatching Prenatal Care in Chelonians

Journal of Comparative Psychology, 10/22/12

Reprinted with permission from Herpdigest Vol. 12, Issue #52, 11/06/12

CITATION

Ferrara, C. R., Vogt, R. C., & Sousa-Lima, R. S. (2012, October 22). Turtle Vocaliza-

tions as the First Evidence of Posthatching Parental Care in Chelonians. Journal of Com-

parative Psychology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/a0029656

1) Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Brazil

Renata S. Sousa-Lima

2) Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte and Cornell Lab

of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York

Until recently, freshwater turtles were thought to be silent reptiles, neither vocalizing nor

hearing very well. We recorded individuals in nature, captivity, and during interactions

between adults and hatchlings and show that hatchlings and adult turtles, Podocnemis

expansa, produce sounds in and out of the water. Sounds were emitted by hatchlings in-

side the egg, in open nests, in the river, and in captive conditions. Adult females were

recorded producing sounds in the river, while basking, while nesting, and in captivity.

Females were recorded in the river approaching and responding to hatchling sounds. We

detected 2,122 sounds, classified in 11 different types. These data suggest that there is

sound communication between adults and hatchings and that these sounds may be used

to congregate hatchlings with adults for mass migration. Hatchlings and females with

transmitters were found migrating together. We consider these findings as the first evi-

dence of acoustic communication mediating posthatching parental care in chelonians.

We anticipate that our findings will influence the way turtle behavior is studied and

interpreted, and add communication and sound pollution to turtle conservation concerns.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Richard C. Vogt, Coor-

denação de Pesquisa em Biologia de Água Doce e Pesca Interior, Instituto Nacional de

Pesquisas da Amazônia, Caixa Postal 478, Manaus, AM, Brazil 69083-000. E-mail:

vogt@inpa.gov.br and richard@pq.cnpq.br

Pa g e 1 0

The Year of The Snake:

.Snake Eaters Warned as the “Year Of” Approaches

Reprinted with permission from Herpdigest Vol. 12, Issue #52, 11/06/12

People’s Daily (Beijing, China) People’s Daily

10/30/12

With the Year of the Snake just over three months

away, local authorities in Shanghai are trying to

head off an expected rise in demand for snake

dishes by warning residents that eating or trading

endangered wild animal, is against the law.

Restaurants in the city have started receiving spe-

cial orders for snake from customers making res-

ervations for their Chinese New Year Eve's ban-

quet on February, reported the Shanghai-based

Youth Daily.

"Though the sale of snakes has not seen a sudden rise recently, many people eat

snake in the fall as a tonic before winter," said the owner of a snake-raising farm in the

city's Qingpu district, surnamed Gu.

Gu told the Global Times he supplies King Cobra and Agkistrodon, a venomous pit

viper, to restaurants. "He also supplies crocodile."

"Crocodiles and snakes are not considered wild animals if they are raised on

farms," said Gu.

Yan Jingjing, director of the Shanghai Wildlife Conservation Management Station

under the municipal forestry and environmental administration, told the Global Times

that trading snakes and other endangered animals without a license is strictly banned.

Yan added that some species of Agkistrodon are categorized as protected wild ani-

mals. "Eating and trading them is against the Wild Animal Protection Law and violators

will face criminal charges."

Yan said the city carries out regular crackdowns on illegal sales of wild animals.

"Apart from the destruction of the natural ecology, the animals carry

many parasites, which are a potential health hazard," Yan added.

Vol. 27, No. 11

P a g e 9

Vol. 27, No. 11

Hair & Nail Salon Techniques:

a new Way to Tag Sea Turtles

Reprinted with permission from HerpDigest, Vol. 12, Issue #52, 11/06/12

Researchers have devised a method to tag small,

previously untrackable sea turtles.

By J. Akst | November 1, 2012

In 2007, sea turtle researchers Kate Mansfield of the US National Marine Fisheries

Service and Jeanette Wyneken of Florida Atlantic University (FAU) were faced with a

dilemma. They wanted to track loggerhead turtles during the oceanic phase of their

lives, from the time they leave nesting beaches as hatchlings until they move back to

near-shore habitats some years later—but such young animals were too small for the

tagging devices used on adult turtles.

“It’s easy to glue a tag on some of the larger turtles, but the first couple of year age

classes have been much too small,” Mansfield says. “So there’s this whole gap in our

knowledge of what turtles are doing, how they’re behaving, what they’re eating, what

part of the water column they’re swimming within. From the

time they leave the nest as hatchlings to the time they come

back, there’s just this huge unknown.” And given that all

species of sea turtles are endangered or threatened, under-

standing these early, vulnerable years is critical to managing

populations. “The more we know, the better we can protect

them,” Mansfield says.

Mansfield had recently learned of smaller tags used on birds

that took advantage of solar energy technology to eliminate

the large battery packs that power many satellite tagging de-

vices. “Sea turtles are basically birds with flippers,” Wyne-

ken noted. But attaching the tags to their small, semisoft shells was proving difficult.

The duo had tested a variety of tactics on Wyneken’s lab-reared turtles at FAU, but noth-

ing seemed to work. Affixed with the typical marine epoxy glues used for larger ani-

mals, the tags fell off within 2 to 3 weeks due to the young turtles’ fast growth. Velcro

was similarly ineffective. An independent-study student in Wyneken’s lab who had

started school as a fashion design major before switching over to biology at FAU

“The more we

know, the bet-

ter we can

protect them,”

- K. Mansfield

P a g e 1 0

Vol. 27, No. 11

Salon Turtles Continued….

designed various flexible neoprene harnesses, which worked, but all too well—they

didn’t fall off as the turtles matured, and started to constrict the animals’ shells as they

grew.

Then, while mulling over the problem one day in the lab, Mansfield noticed Wyneken’s

beautifully manicured toenails, with blue waves carefully painted on. Wyneken also

thought of her guitar-playing husband, who had acrylic nails applied to his own to help

him pluck the strings. The researchers realized that turtle shells are composed of the

same protein as human fingernails—keratin. Maybe the techniques the manicurist used

could help them secure the tags to the young turtles. Wyneken stepped outside and

called Marisol Marrero of Just Nails in Boynton Beach, who recommended they use the

same acrylic base coat that she used on Wyneken’s husband’s nails. So the two re-

searchers buffed shells and painted them

The strategy worked. Previously, the longest time researchers had been able to track a

young oceanic turtle in the wild was a few days, and the best tags Mans-

field and Wyneken tested in the lab lasted just a few weeks. The new

technique “extended the attachment period by 4 to 8 times,” Mansfield

says—up to 2 months or more.

Above: Photo of a Loggerhead Turtle courtesy of Wikipedia Images.

Pa g e 1 3

Salon Turtles, Continued...

Vol. 27, No. 11

On top of the acrylic base coat, the team was using a surgical adhesive to secure the tags.

Then another of Wyneken’s students, whose family owned a hair salon, recognized the

odor. “One of my undergrads said to me, ‘That glue you’re using smells like what we use

for hair extensions,’” Wyneken recalls. The student brought in a bottle of the stuff to the

lab, and sure enough, the hair extension glue worked even better. “It’s the same chemical,

but it polymerizes a little differently, so it remains a little stretchy,” Wyneken says.

“Basically it accommodates, in people, the movement of the scalp, and in turtles, the

growth.”

In 2009 the team released several tagged turtles, some as small as 11 centimeters long,

into the Gulf Stream, and headed back to the lab to wait for the satellite data to start com-

ing in.

The first batch of tags, affixed to animals 4–9 months old, lasted 38 to 172 days (Mar Ecol

Prog Ser, 457:181-92, 2012; manicurist Marrero is acknowledged in the paper). On ani-

mals that have been released since then, the tags have lasted

more than 200 days.

“Considering that prior to this work almost all of the tracking

data were limited to a couple of days [on turtles] from near-

shore habitats, what we’re getting is pretty exciting,” Mans-

field says. “We’re seeing the turtles moving thousands of

kilometers in the Atlantic.”

The ability to track younger turtles for extended periods of

time in the open ocean is promising for studying seasonal

patterns of activity, migration routes, and other aspects of tur-

tle behavior. “It’s going to allow you to investigate the spatial

and temporal distribution patterns of a life-history stage that’s been relatively understud-

ied,” says marine scientist Mike Arendt of the South Carolina Department of Natural Re-

sources.

Mansfield and Wyneken couldn’t be more pleased with their salon-inspired technology.

“It’s really worked out beautifully,” Wyneken says. “I’m reminded every time I get a

manicure.”

“We’re seeing

the turtles

moving thou-

sands of kilo-

meters in the

Atlantic.”

- K. Mansfield

Classifieds

Join the Global Gecko Association Today!

The GGA is a six year old international organization dedicated to the needs of all people interested in geckos.

Members receive the twice-yearly, full-color journal, “Gekko”, plus “Chit-Chat”, our quarterly newsletter.

Annual Membership is $32 US, $34 Canada/Mexico, $36 Overseas.

Email: ElizabethFreer@aol.com (503)-436-1064 or www.gekkota.com

Pa g e 1 4

Advertise in the PNHS Newsletter!

Business Card .............................$5

Quarter Page................................$10

Half Page ....................................$15

Full Page .....................................$25

If you would like to place an ad

in the PNHS newsletter, please contact:

newsletter.editor@pnwhs.org

GET PUBLICITY FOR YOUR BUSINESS

& SUPPORTING PNHS!

Feeder Insects & Rodents

I have superworms, giant mealworms, and lots more!Plus, I now carry frozen rodents.

Order in advance: special pricing for PNHS

members,,as well as quantity discounts!

For pick up and PNHS meeting delivery.

Jennifer Sronce (425) 750-0477

www.seattlefeeders@gmail.com

Bean Farm’s Creative Habitats

Slide-Top Aquariums

Various sizes available.

We can deliver the cages to the meetings, as well as any other item from the Bean Farm catalogue.

Please contact us by the Friday before the meeting in order for items to be delivered. Thank you!

Paula & Giovani Fagioli (877) 708-5882

Email: beanfarm@beanfarm.com

www.beanfarm.com

Screaming Roaches!*** Dubia Roaches For Sale

All sizes available -Our roaches are gutloaded with Re-

pashy “Superload” as well as a mixture of fresh fruits

and vegetables. Your herps will love them!

*** They’re roaches; I’m screaming. Please save me by

contacting: ScreamingRoaches@gmail.com

Contact Information

PNHS

P.O. Box 27542 General information: 206-628-4740

Seattle, WA 98165 Email: contact.us@pnwhs.org

www.pnwhs.org Adoptions:206-583-0686

Area Representatives

N King & Snohomish Brenda Huber 206-334-7168 brenda.huber@pnwhs.org

S King & Pierce Dale Drexler 253-606-4328 dale.drexler@yahoo.com

Greater Seattle Brenda Huber 206-334-7168 Brenda.huber@pnwhs.org

Kitsap, Island Troy Barnhart 360-908-8766 troy.barnhart@pnwhs.org

Oregon Elizabeth Freer 503-436-1064 elizabethfreer@aol.com

Officers for 2012

President Brenda Huber brenda.huber@pnwhs.org

Vice President Brandon Winter brandon.winter@pnwhs.org

Treasurer Dale Drexler dale.drexler@pnwhs.org

Secretary Teresa Montoya secretary@pnwhs.org

Membership Secretary Julie Sharkey julie.sharkey@pnwhs.org

Members-At-Large Ted Adams ted.adams@pnwhs.org

David Brunnelle david.brunnelle@pnwhs.org Carol Dean carol.dean@pnwhs.org

Matt Lee matt.lee@pnwhs.org

Julie Sharkey julie.sharkey@pnwhs.org

Event Coordinator Norm Hill norm.hill@pnwhs.org

Newsletter Editor Marian Huber newsletter@pnwhs.org

Webmaster Geoff Sweet webmaster@pnwhs.org

Find us on

FACEBOOK!

V o l . 2 7 , N o . 1 1

Recommended EXOTIC VETS

Dr. Tracy Bennett

Dr. Daniel Lejnieks

Bird & Exotic Clinic of Seattle

4019 Aurora Ave. N.

Seattle, WA 98107

(206) 783-4538

www.birdandexotic.com

Dr. Elizabeth Kamaka

Kamaka Exotic Animal Vet-

erinary Services

23914—56th Ave. W. #3

Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043

(425) 361-2183

www.kamakaexoticvet.com

Dr. Adolf Maas

The Center For Bird & Exotic

Animal Medicine

11401 NE 195th St.

Bothell, WA 98011

(425) 486-9000

www.avianandexoticanimalhospit

al..com

To join PNHS, please print & complete the following application,

enclose your yearly or multi-yearly membership fee and return to:

PNHS Membership Secretary

P.O. Box 27542

Seattle, WA 98165

Membership applications and fees may also be received at the monthly meetings by the Membership Secretary. With your yearly or multi-year membership fee you will receive the monthly PNHS E-Newsletter, access to membership pricing for adoption ani-mals, and the opportunity to participate in the many outreaches and special “Members Only” events held throughout the year.

Please select one of the options below:

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