April 2009 - Lancaster Herpetological Society

Lancaster Herpetological Society
Husbandry, Education, Conservation, Community
The Lancaster Herpetological Society (www.lancasterherp.org) is a small club that meets
once a month to discuss herps and herp-related issues. The club meets at the North Museum
(www.northmuseum.org, 400 College Ave., Lancaster, PA 17603) on the 3rd Friday of every month.
Meetings are open to the public, free of charge (donations accepted), and begin at 7pm. Please feel
free to attend by entering through the back door (ring bell if locked). The membership requests
that all children under the age of 16 be accompanied by an adult. For more information, contact
Roy Mellott ([email protected]). Hope to see you there!
Upcoming Meetings
Date Speaker Topic Comments 4/17/2009 Dr. Jeff Steed Herp Healthcare Manheim Pike Veterinary Hospital 5/15/2009 Michael Shrom Amphibians Captive Care Advice 6/19/2009 Members' Night Sharing Our Own Herps Bring Your Own Herp 7/17/2009 Jim White Amphibians and Reptiles of Delmarva Author *Meeting for Board Members at 6PM prior to club meeting in June.
Upcoming Havre de Grace Herp Shows: May 2nd, June 6th, July 11th
Upcoming Hamburg Herp Shows: April 25th, June 13th
Upcoming Carlisle Herp Shows: May 16th
Club Happenings
As always, the past three months have been very active for LHS. We started the year with
our very own Zach Barton presenting a very informal slide show of the nearly fifty herps he keeps.
The herps were an assortment of personal pets, educational classroom animals, rescues, and fosters.
Zach also brought along a very mellow, neonate, black pine snake. The January meeting was
officially a Members’ Night, but, due to the cold, only one other member, Jesse Rothacker, brought
a herp-a juvenile American alligator!
In February , Michael Torocco of Herpetological Associates shared his summer experiences
in Mexico. His pictorial essay entitled “Herpetofauna of the Mexican Sky Islands” showed a
variety of venomous and nonvenomous animals. The outstanding photos were even more
remarkable when he shared that his camera was a simple point-and shoot.
March brought a “return” of Dr. Walter Meshaka. Dr. Meshaka was originally scheduled to
speak in November, but his presentation was delayed by inclement weather and traffic-obstructing
accidents. Dr. Meshaka presented his field surveys of various PA grasslands. From his data, Dr.
Meshaka concluded that large grasslands favor large snakes, largely the northern black racer, and
small grasslands favor small snakes, namely the eastern garter. Dr. Meshaka further elaborated that
the racer, due to its indiscriminate appetite, excluded smaller snakes from the larger habitats.
Spring 2009 Newsletter
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Lancaster Herpetological Society
Husbandry, Education, Conservation, Community
In the News and Commentary
By Newsletter Editor Zach Barton
The following editorial is solely the opinion of the author and should not be construed as an official position by LHS,
any of its associate organizations, or any of its members.
Recently, the state of New York concluded a two year investigation called Operation Shellshock.
The sting largely focused on the illegal trade and harvesting of protected New York herpetofauna.
Twenty-some individuals and organizations were charged with violations of the law. Some of the
individuals were from other herp societies and one is even an author of herp books. The affidavit also
implicated six as yet to be named individuals in Pennsylvania. According to the criminal complaint, many
of the illegal transactions occurred at the Hamburg reptile shows.
At the most recent Hamburg show, I personally witnessed three illegal animals for sale, clearly
displayed on top of the tables. Each of the animals belonged to different dealers. I contacted the
organizer of that Hamburg show, Denise Readinger, and she assured me that all vendors are informed
about the prohibition of selling native PA herps. Indeed, “No Endangered, Protected Or Native PA
Species Permitted” is prominently displayed on the Northwestern Berks Reptile Show & Sale homepage.
A detailed list of native PA herps and the applicable restrictions appears at the end of this
newsletter immediately before the ad space. If there are any errors on this list, I apologize, but the list was
by no means easy to compile. For reasons only properly understood by politicians and bureaucrats, herps
fall under the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission, even though many of the reptiles
and amphibians are strictly terrestrial and wouldn’t be found anywhere near a fish or a boat. Fish & Boat
cryptically labels herps as “non-game species”. To compile a master list with all appropriate restrictions, I
had to visit the Non-Game Regulations (Reptiles and Amphibians) webpage, the Pennsylvania Native
Reptiles and Amphibians webpage, and The Endangered and Threatened Species of Pennsylvania: Fish,
Amphians, & Reptiles webpage. Though this may make sense to some state government official stuck in
the wilderness of cubicles and virtual space, the maze of webpages ensures only a dedicated person will
discover all the regulations without making some accidental oversight.
Though it is shameful that our state government has made it so difficult to discover the regulations,
ignorance of the law has never been an excuse to break the law. The law, however, is very misguided.
Essentially, it was adopted under the premise that enforcing herp regulations would be difficult, so the law
was crafted to make the job of the enforcers as simple as possible. Indeed, the fact that the regulations fell
to Fish & Boat, which is, of course, primarily concerned with fish and boats, meant that manpower for herps was
at a minimum. Fish & Boat employees quickly determined that processing paperwork to document captive
bred animals would not be nearly as efficient as essentially banning virtually all native PA herps from
collection, possession, sale, and trade. This also effectively bans private breeding of native PA herps.
Technically, obvious captive bred morphs are allowed, though only five morphs have been officially
approved. However, the regulations still apply to wild-type appearing captive bred animals (parental or
offspring) that are heterozygous for a morph. A breeder who produces a litter of hets is not only in
violation of the regulations, but also has no meaningful way to get rid of the animals.
The law, though easy to enforce, has several very negative implications. Though there are
undoubtedly more reasons why the current regulations are ill suited, I will only include five. First, it
discourages private breeding and the possibility of using individual citizens as refugia for endangered and
threatened stocks. There is a legitimate debate as to whether animals in captivity are fundamentally
changed by captivity, and whether said animals could be rereleased into the wild, but in my mind, some
Spring 2009 Newsletter
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Lancaster Herpetological Society
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animals, even in captivity, are better than extinct herps. Secondly, it encourages unscrupulous individuals
to collect PA herps and then sell them out of state and out of Fish & Boat’s jurisdiction. Thirdly, it
discourages interest in PA herps by PA citizens. When the regulations went into effect a few years ago,
some individuals who were not previously breaking the law now found themselves as technical outlaws
without a meaningful way of resolving the dilemma. People who had a captive interest in PA herps now
had to be as secretive as possible. Any insights these individuals may have now have to stay with those
individuals, fostering ignorance when shared knowledge would be more beneficial for all parties involved.
Fourthly, it encourages interest in nonnative herps. Though nonnative herps are firmly established in PA
herpetoculture, some of these animals invariably get released, either accidentally or purposefully, to the PA
habitats, leading to potential invasive species. Lastly, it unfairly penalizes PA citizens. Many PA herps are
firmly entrenched in herpetoculture throughout the nation. The fact that a host of PA species are being
legally captive bred in other states according to the laws of that state still does not allow the PA citizen to
buy those obviously captive bred herps. PA restrictions do not apply to the other 49 states, and there are
plenty of captive (and/or farm) bred PA herps literally just a click away. The idea that we can’t bring in
captive bred native PA herps from other states is legislative laziness.
In the opinion of this author, the PA herp regulations need revisited and revised. However, I do
believe that the law, as it stands now, should be followed. Many of the individuals implicated in Operation
Shellshock were actively collecting from wild populations. These populations are most likely vulnerable to
over-exploitation and should be protected. Individuals who broke the current law should be prosecuted to
the fullest extent of the law. However, this does not preclude PA citizens and government forming a
better law. Our native herps are a natural resource, which means they should be available for any
reasonable activity (including the pet trade) that does not inflict permanent damage on the native
populations. Conservation is not mindless preservation. Other nearby states (including Ohio and
Maryland) have responsible native species laws that include the possibility of captive-bred natives. Most
herpetoculturists are far more interested in healthy c.b. stock than wild-caught anyway, so in the long run,
the take from wild populations will be negligible (so long as built-in precautions to limit overharvesting are
in place).
Finally, there is legislation currently pending on the national level targeting “injurious species”. The
bill should be openly debated in congress subcommittee shortly after the publication of this newsletter.
Opinions vary considerably on the implications of the law, and undoubtedly it will be modified from its
current state when and if it is ever passed. Some believe the proposed law would shut down the entire
herp industry (and other branches of the pet trade as well), while others feel that it would largely be an
unfunded mandate and essentially a law with little to no enforcement. Regardless, it will open
herpetoculture to greater restrictions, though these restrictions may not necessarily be bad for the herp
industry as a whole. The bill has the attention of the United States Association of Reptile Keepers and the
Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council. Both organizations feel that the proposed bill would have a
deleterious effect on herpetoculture. Besides large organizations and special interest groups, a grass roots
movement of letter writing to congressional representatives has started. The most recent Havre de Grace
reptile show had two laptops setup so that patrons could electronically register their displeasure with the
bill. No HR669.com is devoted to informing and mobilizing people about the proposed law. More
information on these campaigns can be found on various reptile forums like kingsnake.com.
Government, though supposedly elected by its citizens, does not always abide by the will of its
subjects. Many within herpetoculture who took the time to offer input before the PA regulations went
into effect felt like their informed opinions were not respected. On a recent non-herp issue, the original
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banking bailout before the ’08 election, 90% of the people who made the effort to contact their national
representatives were vehemently against increasing national debt in order to “stabilize” the banking system.
Again, the government did not listen. Though it can sometimes be discouraging, please take the time to
express your informed opinion to government officials and bureaucrats, both on the national and local
level. Don’t give in to cynicism. Make the effort to make positive change. It can’t hurt, and it just might
help.
From the LHS Picture Library
Spring 2009 Newsletter
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Lancaster Herpetological Society
Husbandry, Education, Conservation, Community
ForgottenFriend.org Rescue Update Spring 2009
By Jesse Rothacker
We've had several boas recently come into the rescue and found homes for a few, and still have a couple
available for adoption. We also had a large Sulcata Tortoise (40+ pounds) named "French Fry" arrive at the
rescue in March, and he will be staying with us at least through the summer. We briefly took care of several
red tail and rainbow boas and reticulated pythons following a landlord complaint about a tenant
abandonment after his tenant left town. It turned out that the landlord had a miscommunication with the
tenant, who we were able to re-unite with his snakes after about a week. We also found homes for about
30 box turtles (mostly 3-toed box turtles, not our native eastern box turtle) following a cruelty bust in
Lancaster County. Thanks to everyone from Lancaster Herp Society who helped with fostering needs of
dozens more. To see what reptiles are available for adoption through the rescue, please visit
www.forgottenfriend.org/adopt or talk to Jesse.
Forgotten Friend Receives authorization letter to work with PA native species
After a long application process, Forgotten Friend finally received a letter of authorization from
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission to work with PA native reptile and amphibian species. We have
been grateful for the thousands and thousands of educational herp publications PFBC provides to us free
of cost, and we are looking forward to collaborating with the state on future projects. Now that we are
legally able to accept native reptiles into the rescue, we are on the lookout for educational groups for
placements, like classrooms, nature centers, etc. Note: we do NOT advocate removing protected herps
from the wild normally, but there are situations when they cannot be returned to the wild and we are
working with the state to provide the best placement for these animals.
Forgotten Friend launches "Reptile Report" videos for local station
After teaming up with our friends at WJTL FM 90.3 for years, Forgotten Friend started providing video
programming for the station featuring reptiles and amphibians in 2009 (YES, we are providing video for a
radio station.) So far we have featured many of Pennsylvania's amphibians and also some of Arizona's
reptiles. We look forward to providing many more herp videos for the station's family audience, in addition
to the audio "Reptile Fun Facts" they play each week on their "Kids Cookie Break" program Saturday
mornings. Jesse will be cohosting the Kids Cookie Break on Saturday, May 23, 2009 from 9 AM - noon,
and bringing a few reptiles into the studio. Among other things, we will be promoting the summer reading
program, which is a free resource in almost every community in PA. Forgotten Friend will once again be
visiting every library in Lancaster County in 2009, and many more beyond. We'll also be donating a
Reptiles Magazine subscription to every library we visit, to keep reptiles in the stacks all year long.
Take the ForgottenFriend.org Kids Quiz!
We are always looking for new ways to get kids excited about conservation and animal-appreciation. In March we launched
a Kids Quiz on ForgottenFriend.org. Now anyone, anywhere, any time can log on to ForgottenFriend.org
and watch fun educational herp videos, and enter to win cool prizes by taking the Kids Quiz!
Congratulations to Amy, Age 9, from Woodbridge, VA, and Thaniel, Age 9, from Lancaster, PA. They
were the first two kids chosen randomly to win a Reptile Fun Pack from Forgotten Friend after entering
Spring 2009 Newsletter
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Lancaster Herpetological Society
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the March Kids Quiz. Please tell your friends about this fun new herp resource for kids. Remember,
anyone can enter, because we respect our elders, but only KIDS will win!
Snake removal call for garter snake infestation
We receive a number of calls every year to remove wild snakes which have found their way into homes and
businesses. Jesse usually takes care of these calls as time allows, or enlists the help of LHS members (Matt
Dearolf and Roy Mellot handled several snake calls through Forgotten Friend in 2008). In early April we
got a call from a Lancaster resident who was new to the area. She had recently moved into a rental
property on the southern end of the city and was unpleasantly surprised to find her tiny backyard infested
by "dozens" of snakes, which she correctly identified as eastern garter snakes. The poor lady did not want
to hurt the snakes, but she was almost in tears describing the situation. She said there is no way she would
have moved in if the landlord would have told her about the snakes. Chad Arment and I were able to make
a trip to her property the same day she called, which was chilly in the low or mid 50s. The backyard was
quite small and the weather was too cold for snakes, but we still managed to find three garter snakes. Two
were in a cinder block pile and the third was actively moving around the yard. The most likely
hibernaculum was a concrete slab that was too big to move or peak under. So we still don't know if we
turned up the majority of the yard's snakes, or if we barely scratched the surface. Based on the prime
habitat I'd have to guess we would have seen many, many more on a warmer day, and who knows what we
would have found if we could have looked under the concrete slab. Anyone who would be interested in a
follow-up visit can contact Jesse for details.
Website
The website continues to be a work in progress. Recently, a newsletter archive was
established on the website. As a result, the newsletter editor has started to install numerous
hyperlinks in the electronic format of the newsletter where appropriate. If you have ideas for the
website, or wish to contribute something directly (photos, etc…), please contact Chad Arment
([email protected]).
Requests
LHS exists solely as a volunteer organization. The club would not survive without the
constant and continual input of its members. Arranging speakers, organizing field trips, and
producing the newsletter take volunteered time. If you have ideas for and are willing to take the
lead in arranging speakers or field trips, please contact Roy Mellott ([email protected]).
If you wish to contribute to the newsletter, please contact Zach Barton
([email protected]). Possible original contributions include: book reviews; species care sheets;
notes from a field herping trip; herp news summaries; and opinionated essays. The deadline for the
Spring 2009 Newsletter is approaching fast!
Spring 2009 Newsletter
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Lancaster Herpetological Society
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Endangered (No collection, possession, sale, or trade)
Kirtland’s Snake
Eastern Massasauga
Bog Turtle
New Jersey Chorus Frog
Coastal Plain Leopard Frog
Eastern Mud Salamander
Threatened (No collection, possession, sale, or trade)
Rough Green Snake
Northern Red-bellied Turtle
Green Salamander
No Open Season (No collection, possession, sale, or trade)
Northern Coal Skink
Broadhead Skink
Northern Fence Lizard
Eastern Worm Snake
Eastern Hognose
Smooth Green Snake
Queen Snake
Shorthead Garter
Eastern Ribbon
Mountain Earth Snake
Smooth Earth Snake
Spotted Turtle
Blanding’s Turtle
Wood Turtle
Eastern Box Turtle
Northern Cricket Frog
Mountain Chorus Frog
Upland Chorus Frog
Western Chorus Frog
Jefferson Salamander
Marbled Salamander
Eastern Hellbender
Four-toed Salamander
Mudpuppy
Ravine Salamander
Possession Limit of One (No sale or trade)
Five-lined Skink
Northern Black Racer
Eastern (Black) Rat Snake
Eastern Milk
Northern Water Snake
Northern Brown Snake
Northern Redbelly Snake
Eastern Garter
Midland Smooth Softshell Turtle
Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtle
Midland Painted Turtle
Eastern Painted Turtle
Map Turtle
Eastern Mud Turtle
Stinkpot
Eastern American Toad
Fowler’s Toad Gray Treefrog
Northern Spring Peeper
Pickerel Frog
Northern Leopard Frog
Wood Frog
Eastern Spadefoot
Spotted Salamander
Tiger Salamander
Dusky Salamander
Seal Salamander
Mountain Dusky Salamander
Nothern Two-lined Salamander
Longtail Salamander
Eastern Red-spotted Newt
Redback Salamander
Slimy Salamander
Valley and Ridge Salamander
Wehrle’s Salamander
Northern Red Salamander
Other Restrictions (Varies)
Bullfrog
Green Frog
Snapping Turtle
Northern Copperhead
Timber Rattlesnake
Spring 2009 Newsletter
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Lancaster Herpetological Society
Husbandry, Education, Conservation, Community
Lancaster Herpetological Society would like to
thank our sponsors and partner organizations:
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