Tabla de contenidos para July 2025 en Practical Reptile Keeping

South Australia’s tiny pygmy bluetongue skink is baking in a warming, drying homeland, so Flinders University scientists have tried a bold fix, by moving it. Three separate populations were shifted from the parched north to cooler, greener sites farther south. At first, the lizards reacted differently-nervous northerners diving for cover, laid-back southerners basking in damp burrows—but after two years, most are settling in which suggests they can ultimately thrive in their new surroundings. Can translocating populations help? Climate change and habitat loss are affecting animal populations around the world and reptiles such as South Australia’s own endangered pygmy bluetongue are susceptible to higher temperatures and declining long-term rainfall trends. Flinders University scientists are working to secure a sustainable future for these burrow-dwelling endemic skinks, by assessing their suitability to move…

Researchers have discovered North America’s oldest known pterosaur, one of the winged reptiles that lived alongside dinosaurs and were the first vertebrates to evolve powered flight. The team, led by palaeontologist Ben Kligman from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC, found the fossilised jawbone of the new species and have now described the gull-sized pterosaur alongside hundreds of other fossils—including one of the world’s oldest turtle fossils—at a remote bonebed in the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. These fossils, which date back to the late Triassic period around 209 million years ago, preserve a snapshot of a dynamic ecosystem where older groups of animals, including giant amphibians and armoured crocodile relatives, lived alongside evolutionary newcomers at that stage like frogs, turtles and pterosaurs. A time…

Reptiles are now commonly kept as domestic pets, and they can originate from a variety of sources. The majority of those now kept are bred in collections; some are the offspring of imported stock, and a few are imported themselves. Their dietary needs are diverse, and it is vital to familiarise yourself with the particular requirements of species that appeal to you, before making your final choice, as their dietary and environmental needs can vary widely. The balancing act Although the risks of parasitic problems are likely to be greatest in imported reptiles, most individuals are likely to be carrying a parasitic burden of some sort. Stress, a poor diet and unsuitable surroundings may then mean that the health of reptiles can start to suffer. Cleanliness is a key issue.…

These remarkable snakes occur further north than any other species of boa, with their range extending up to British Columbia in Canada. They are also to be found in western parts of the USA. There are only four species of rubber boa recognised, and their distribution is quite disparate, with three occurring in North America while the fourth member of the group is resident in Africa. Northern rubber boas are relatively small snakes, certainly when compared with other members of the family Boidae, as they range from about 38-84cm (15-33in) in terms of their overall length. They are so-called because of their skin, which appears to have a loose, rubbery texture, with this impression being reinforced by their scales, which are small, smooth and shiny. In terms of their temperament,…

It’s said – with justification – that water is life’s necessity. Without it, there would be no life. And the life that it supports is varied in the extreme; from micro-organisms to giants such as the blue whale, which is the world’s largest and heaviest animal, providing proof of the fact that living in water frees animals from the size constraints that exist on land. And of course, various reptiles are to be found in amongst these aquatic life forms. This ancient group has colonised just about every conceivable type of habitat imaginable, and done so with great success. Nevertheless, the diversity that exists among marine reptiles today is significantly reduced compared with the past, when ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs were seemingly common inhabitants of the world’s oceans. However, these creatures…

Aradical new way of treating venomous snake bites has emerged thanks to a collaborative project between the National Research Centre on Camels (NRCC) based in Bikaner, India and the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) in Dubai. Snake bites remain a major cause of death, being responsible for over 58,000 fatalities in India alone every year, and resulting in approximately three times more permanent disabilities. This new approach can hopefully reverse the trend, offering numerous advantages over current treatments. Unexpected results The research began by immunising dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) using small amounts of venom from potentially deadly snakes, such as Sochurek’s saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus sochureki). The scientists then tested not only the blood but also tear samples of the camels, and were surprised to find antibodies present in both that…

Dr Beatriz Cosendey is an associate researcher at the Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development and a postdoctoral fellow in the Eastern Amazon Program for Biodiversity Research at the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi. She holds degrees in marine biology from Fluminense Federal University and ecology and evolution from Rio de Janeiro State University. Her postdoctoral work at the Federal University of Pará focused on the intersection of ecology and traditional knowledge. Here she explains the role of the anaconda as a mythical creature in Brazil’s lower Amazon region, locals’ perception of the snake, and how simply ensuring better coops for chickens could play a vital role in ensuring the peaceful co-existence between people and these snakes. Starting out What inspired you to become a researcher? As a child, I was fascinated…

Snakes can make fascinating pets and there’s something uniquely rewarding about keeping one of these amazing animals. However, not all snakes are created equal, especially when it comes to their care. Some are relatively easy to keep, are naturally quite tame and also reasonably forgiving of husbandry mistakes, while others can be fussy feeders, aggressive, or grow to large sizes. In this article, I’ll share my personal selection of five of the best snakes for first time keepers. I’ll also cover five of the worst choices that you could make as well, in my view! THE BEST CHOICES 1. Corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus) Corn snakes are the most popular pet snake of all time and for good reason. They are easy to care for, grow to a manageable size, become…

Interest in designing and setting up planted enclosures has grown massively over the past few years, with the idea of recreating and establishing natural environments for vivarium occupants now being a realistic possibility. This has been made easier in recent years thanks to technological advances in lighting for example, that have made it possible to grow plants successfully in such surroundings. Suppliers of vivarium products are now focusing increasingly on designing products that allow set-ups of this type to be created and maintained successfully over the longer term, for the benefit of the occupants as well. I became interested in this area some time ago, and have been keen to build on my knowledge of what is involved in this area, which is what originally brought me into contact with…

After a month of being here, and three weeks after my last real adventure out into the rainforests on the eastern coast of Madagascar, I decided that I ought to head off into the forests and start trying to find the many different species that I could locate, whether during the day or night. However, my mission for the morning hike was to find something in particular, a species of gecko that truly is both remarkable and fascinating, in the guise of the mossy leaf-tailed gecko (Uroplatus sikorae). This is a species that is rarely seen in collections, and is certainly not easy to spot in the wild, thanks to its truly remarkable camouflage. VOI MMA Community Park, Andasibe. A trek into the local community forest. As always, I woke…

High in the cloud-wrapped peaks of the Cordillera de Huancabamba, where the Andes dip and twist into isolated ridges, a team of Peruvian scientists has discovered three secretive species of frog that were previously unknown to science. The study, led by herpetologist Germán Chávez, recorded and named Pristimantis chinguelas, P. nunezcortezi, and P. yonke which were discovered in the rugged, misty highlands of northwestern Peru. A harsh environment “They’re small and unassuming amphibians,” Chávez admits, “but these frogs are powerful reminders of how much we still don’t know about the Andes.” Over a period of four years, the team carried out a series of tough expeditions, hiking steep trails and combing mossy forests and wet páramo (the region above the treeline but below the permanent snowline) for signs of amphibian…

Beneath the scales of Australia’s iconic monitor lizards, which are often locally known as goannas, scientists have discovered an unexpected secret: a hidden layer of bony skin structures known as osteoderms. These structures, which have been long overlooked, may hold the key to understanding how these ancient reptiles not only survived but thrived in one of the world’s harshest environments. This is the first large-scale global study of osteoderms in lizards and snakes. The international collaboration brought together researchers from Australia, Europe and the United States, who used cutting-edge micro-CT scanning to examine nearly 2,000 reptile specimens from major museum collections including those held at Museums Victoria’s Research Institute. The results “We were astonished to find osteoderms in 29 Australo-Papuan monitor lizard species that had never been documented before,” says…

Many reptile collections today feature individuals whose ancestors originated from different parts of the world. Ball (royal) pythons (Python regius) from Africa may live in vivariums next to a North American corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus). In the case of lizards, leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) from arid areas of southern Asia may be housed adjacent to crested geckos (Correlophus ciliates) whose homeland is the rainforests of New Caledonia. Maintaining species from so many different environments can be a complex job. The vast majority of popular reptiles and amphibians are now bred in collections, but even these animals may harbour disease that can be harmful to other species. The importance of quarantine and safe handling to prevent the spread of disease is generally recognised for reptiles and amphibians, but invertebrates also require…

As a reptile vet, there are a number of so-called “common conditions” that I see on a regular basis. They are preventable to a greater or lesser extent, yet when they do arise, they all require effective treatment if the animal is to have a healthy long future. Unfortunately, these conditions tend not get publicity these days when it comes to new treatment methods because they are so long established. They are not considered exciting new topics where significant discoveries and advances can be made. Nevertheless, progress in our understanding of how they may arise and what can be done in terms of treatment should benefit many animals, and help their owners as well. Snake mites This is a topic that has been covered extensively in this magazine previously. Quite…