The Beacon Journal Agrees

Anacondas: The Hunt for The Blood Orchid SUCKS! I didn't have to endure this turd to figure that one out. The reviewer is not exactly a superior intellect, nor does he wield mastery of the English language, but he does get the point: This movie blows goats. Please see my earlier post called:

This may be the stupidest movie of all time

for a more substantive critique of this cinematic travesty's obvious flaws.
I will post more published reviews of this gem later.

Rescued Burmese Pythons Breed in the UK

Oh great, more "pets" for unprepared teenagers to neglect, but they really are cute when they are babies. Oh Paradox, curse you, my fickle mistress.

Firefighter without prejudice

In Auburn, ME a firefighter rescued a 6-foot Boa constrictor from a blazing building, because some pansy-bitch was afraid to touch it. She could have saved us a lot of trouble by just saving in the first place, good lord. how far will people's irrational fear go? Well, at least the Fireman wasn't acting like a "Sally" about it. Firefighters are cool, but not as cool as ninjas

NERD rescues crocodilian

New England Reptile Distributors has agreed to take a caiman, or an alligator, or something, the article is contradictory....
Anyway, this crocodilian was found wandering around on the road in Hudson, New Hampshire. NERD has decided to keep it for educational purposes, as in, "are you sure you want one of these in your house"-type education. I wish that more journalists knew what the hell they were writing about, is it a croc, or a gator?

What about the Renoir?

It's hard to fence a two-headed albino Black-Ratsnake. Some Teenagers in St. Louis MO underestimated how hard it would be to sell such a unique animal after they stole it from the city museum.

Another abandoned Snake

This one was evidently an anaconda which was found in a bag out in the alley near Hayes Avenue in Racine Wisconsin. I think anacondas are scary, personally, I don't think that snakes as big as Burmese Pythons and Anacondas should be promoted as pets for the general public. By the same token, if on the other side of it, people who want them should be allowed to have them. The problem arises when people buy on impulse, a "cute little" python at the pet store without the high-school-age employee explaining that it will possibly outweigh a large man, feed on rabbits and require a small bedroom for an enlosure within 3 years. The people in pet stores need to be more well informed, and well paid to avoid the propagation of such irresponsible (both to the animals and human society) marketing. Unfortunately, we have bigger problems in the world, so this will probably not change any time soon.

Reptiles as public entertainment?

I don't quite grasp what they are doing for entertainment here, is it educational lectures, or pornographic dancing, or what? "reptile entertainer" is not a term I have heard before. Maybe I should read the whole article, but I am too tired right now.

Australia ...

...is supporting reptile pet education and understanding, but they still think the average U.S. citizen is a whack-job. Bearded dragons are the most popular pet in the U.S. which surprises me as much as it surprises the Aussies.

What the...? Beaten with a black snake? Was it an indigo? Or .....whatever...*sigh*

Truth = Stranger than Fiction

check it out ~ Snakepimp.com

Some whore (or madam) abandoned an Albino Burmese Python

An Albino Burmese Python was rescued from a vacated escort service in South Africa. The former owner of the establishment will face criminal prosecution. This is another example ignorant jerks and their pets. Hey, it happens to dogs too, and they have eyelids.

Idaho Falls has it's own Exotic Pet Store?

The not-so booming mecca of Idaho Falls, Idaho has an exotic pet store called Predator's Paradise. The owners name is Jeff Southwick, and I guess I am surprised I don't know him because there are only 12 reptile enthusiasts in this state....
He is trying to get the public schools to bring reptiles into the classroom for educational purposes, which is a great idea (if not terribly original) I am very much a proponent of this sort of thing, it engages kids to participate, and enthusiasm does wonders for the ability to learn, and therefore to teach. I intend to promote similar projects here in the Boise Public School District.

Home Owners insurance will screw you...

If you own a pet snake
No doubt about it
Check me out @ snakepimp.com ~ We have fly girls

Snakes are not evil, in case you were wondering

This is a nice article about somebody who is fascinated by a snake the lives in their yard. It is very cool to see people who are fairly ignorant of reptiles enjoying their local herpetofauna without harrrassing or murdering it.

The search for the HAWAIIAN SNAKE continues

There has been very little progress in the search for the snake spotted in Hawaii a couple of weeks ago, although it is sounding like it was spotted in a tree, so it may be arboreal, and that is bad news. Is it the dreaded Brown Tree Snake, which gained grand infamy in Guam, due to it's devastating effect on the indigenous bird populations (among other things) there?

Ohio Reptile Shows are abundant

There are a lot of reptile shows in Ohio. This seems so fantastic to me, as I live in Idaho where there are NO reptile exhibitions, and hte nearest are 100's of miles away, infrequent and small compared to the Eastern U.S. shows. I guess that just means there is room for growth out here in the West.

Snake Charmers are going out of business in India

I have read about this a couple of times now. India passed a wildlife protection law in 1972, and they are just recently getting around to enforcing it. Poverty is a huge problem in India, as it is, and many of the "Snake Charmers" are among the poorest. With the likelihood of going to jail for practicing their craft, snake charmers are demanding that the government give them jobs so that they can survive. I have mixed feelings about this, many (80,000 per annum) are killed during this kind of performance, but I agree that humans deserve to survive. What about jobs doing conservation field-work, or research on wilderness conservation. If the snake-charmers aren't literate or skilled in some way, well then I guess they are screwed...

Snakepimp <------ SLACKER

I have fallen a bit behind, so we will start with general reptiles stuff first.

The Philadelphia Zoo has an impressive collection of spitting cobras, apparently. Good for them, better they than I! Those things scare me. They also have the first US captive bred Giant River Otter, aptly named Primero.
As reported by the Scotsman, The University of Exeter has an excellent program for conservation of Sea Turtles in West Africa, good on them!
The death of fine art is precipitated by a Gulf Coast Box Turtle. Good thing Classical Music is already in a state of living death, or I might be upset by this news. I care very little for visual art by comparison to music. The story is cute, but you won't catch me buying a $480 painting form a turtle...an excellent comment on the state of the arts in the United States.
In Essex CT they captured an escaped pet alligator, just a little one. It probably would not have made it through the winter up there anyway. People who buy an animal like an alligator, and release it because it got too big, are a pox on the pet trade. If you keep reptiles, be responsible, and promote the same responsibility in others. Another gator was pulled from Lee's Summit Lake in Missouri. People suck.
DREAM JOB ALERT!!!
If I didn't have a family who, I would sell everything I own to take advantage of this offer. Volunteers are neeed to study endangered reptiles in South Africa. Accomodations and meals are included, the volunteer must pay for his/her own travel. If you love the snakes of Africa, this is the job for you! We just bought a house, or I still might consider leaving for a year to do this ...
An escaped monitor lizard is eating small livestock, and trying to eat a yorkshire terrier, in Vidalia Mississippi. (sweet) In all seriousness, this is another example of irresponsible herp ownership.
That's it for general news, the next post will be really long, and will concern snakes more directly.

Thanks, Jeremy Anderson

Visit : SNAKEPIMP.com

The Week in Snakes

Lincolnshire England, UK has a Creepy Zoo, with a CREEPY Corn Snake...ewww
Pune, India has fiberglass and wooden snake idols. I feel that this is a good alternative to murder by mouth-sewing of 80,000 snakes per annum.
Certain components of snake venom will be used to treat heart disease , or does it just act like snake venom?
File under: Occupational Hazard
A snake in Maui, Hawaii eludes it's fervent seekers.
The South side of Twin Falls has Arsenic in the water , which has nothing to do with snakes, but it is near the Snake River....and I live downstream.
Remember, especially in the case of flooding, that no one ever gets bitten by leaving a snake alone. Whatever, how much fun is that?
Vineland NJ is changing development plans for a bunch of birds and snakes.
Kristen Stanford Phd. is a dedicated herpetologist in the Great Lakes area, whom I would like to acquaint myself with.
A man got bit by a copperhead in Russelville, AL. He's okay.
California Schools are going to hell. They can't even afford a pet snake any more!
That's about it.
Look for more on snakepimp.com ~ word

The last few days.

8/11/04
Here are the last few days worth of snake-related news. A "large grey snake" scared the holy crap out of the entire municipality of Slimbridge Gloucestershire, enough that all of Scotland took notice.The species, and possible danger to man are unknown.
People in Northeast Philadelphia were also terrified of a "four foot black snake." Nobody took enough High School Biology to figure out that it wasn't (likely to be) venomous. Does it have a triangle shaped head? NO? Well then, it ain't venomous. In Northeast Philadelphia, there are no coral snakes! It is either crotalinae, or non-venomous. The likelihood of an ((a) venomous) escapee pet is infinitesimally small.
By contrast, some people in Centre Drive, Epping UK saved a little grass snake, so sayeth The Epping Forest Guardian. I find these people very compassionate and sensible in their lawmaking, not to meniton their enforcement of it.
A guy named Victor has some snakes.
There is a snake babysitter in Hersheypark Penn. Actually, I bet he doesn't know much about snakes, but he might watch it for a day or two at The Barking Lot.
8/12/04
In Madh, they found a terrifying Rat-snake whilst shooting a soap-opera, or something.
Playing with small unwilling captives in Scranton.
Life as a zookeeper sounds good to me, aside from possible dismemberment.
8/13/04
This guy is owned by the HSUS, and is furthering their anti-reptile agenda. By the way, the HSUS doesn't want you to kill and eat rattlesnakes and other serpents, but it's okay to displace and harrass them, they're promoting a rattlesnake roundup! That's humane? snakepimp<------- not impressed.
Here's a moment where I was less than impressive. I was just being verbose, and I realized the real problem with hybridizing, and I felt the cry of the conservationist inside me, and now I want to make salmontines badly. By the way, when did conservatives seperate themselves from the word conservation, even though it has the same root word as their organizations supposed ethic?
Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park is gearing up for Hurricane Charlie, and putting some of the other animals in the reptile room.
SNAKE SPOTTED IN HAWAII! This is a big deal.
They don't have snakes in Hawaii, unlike in New Delhi, where you might get a snake in your rice. This is a grand illustration of the diversity of life experiences the Homo sapiens endures.
A Bad Businessman, Brook Berntson in Denver CO. who dealt in illegal wildlife has been sentenced for being a complete moron. Irresponsible jerks like this make all reptile enthusiasts look bad, don't support them.
That's about it. Come visit, or contact me at snakepimp.com
~ Jeremy

This may be the stupidest movie of all time

Chalk up another stroke of genius for the people at Sony Pictures . Why don't you write them an email to tell them how bloody brilliant it was to set a movie called: Anacondas: The hunt for the Blood Orchid in Borneo, where no Anacondas live? Pure genius folks, I am stunned. The sheer mass of ignorance involved to make this possible must create it's own significant gravitational force. Maybe it is because amazon.com is out of this book. Or maybe they didn't "google" Anaconda before approving production of this little gem. I am sure it will sweep the Oscars this year.

Video games with snakes in them are cool.

A SNAKE GAME for your Palm-based handheld computer is now available. Not terribly scientific, but cute.

South Africa has Corn Snakes too!

Best in Show has not been announced, but proceedings have begun at a South African Snake Beauty Pageant
Similar things happen at Reptile Expos here in the US, but why not have a stand-alone reptile show with judges and everything? It's a great idea. If this is inspiring to you, email me
I would be willing to try to organize something like this locally.

Ventura County Fair has a "BLACK" Boa constrictor

Maybe this link will work, maybe not. The Ventura County Star wants you to register on their site to read a cute little story about how some people at the Ventura County Fair are afraid of snakes, and others are not. It also goes further to illustrate that people who are educated at a young age are not afraid of them generally, and people who have no understanding of them are scared of them. This is analogous to many things in our lives, don't you think? Interestingly, there was a booth at the fair named "Amazon Wonders" which contained a kingsnake (what kind? who knows? I bet it wasn't from the amazon basin though...) and an albino burmese python. Doesn't it ever occur to people to do research on the subject they are writing about anymore. I'm referring of course to journalists which, come to think of it, really are something other than people (or writers) after all...nevermind.
Try bug me not, if you don't want to register just to read this link.
Email me directly @ snakepimp.com

Romulus Whitaker promotes understanding/education in India

Romulus Whitaker the dashing jungle delver of India's Chennai, wants you to know that only 4 of India's 270 snake species are venomous. I love this guy! Did you see his National Geographic special King Cobra yet?
If you know where I can get a copy of Snakes of India : The Field Guide in the United States, get a hold of me at snakepimp.com

Dog dies of Venomous Snake Bite in Westchester NY

Is it a conspiracy to "prove" that "wildlife" pets are dangerous? "Levesque doesn't know what kind of snake bit Libby — whether it was a wild snake or a household pet turned loose in the woods — but she wants to warn her neighbors and hikers at the nearby Silver Lake Preserve that snakes may strike, even in Westchester."
The likelihood of this being a "released" "pet" is much much much much smaller than the likelihood of it having been a wild snake, regardless of their rarity in that area. Sad about Libby though...

What about the 800,00 annual Dog Bite victims in the US?

Well, this is a concerned article that implies there is another kind of animal aside from the wild kind. I agree that dogs and cats, as we know them, are very well domesticated, but that hasn't stopped "domesticated" dogs from hospitilizing 800,000 people a year in the US alone. Approximately 17 people per year die from dog attack. I love dogs, and exotics too, and I agree that per capita certain exotics (Lions, venomous snakes like cobras and mambas etc.) would have a much higher incidence of fatality, but that's why State's like Florida have permits for keeping them. Now, if the permit were more than just a fee and required a qualification/training process it would be more effective.

In Kota Kinabulu

A crocodile was found in a monsoon drain. It is much more likely that this was a wild croc-gone-astray, than a one-time household pet set loose. It was somewhat underweight for lack of prey in the drain, I would presume. Officials are attempting to catch another one in the same area, possibly the mate to this first wayward crocodilian. Read the complete story here

Python SWALLOWS Heat Pad!

It was bound to happen, but it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Alice Cooper's albino python (a Burmese (Python molurus bivittatus), presumably) Swallowed its heating device, apparently 12"x14", along with it's meal. Read the full story at the UK's "Daily Record"
From Mr. Furnier's comments, it sounded as though he truly cared about the animal, which was a relief. I often wondered if they were quite disposable, and perhaps just considered another touring expense. The python underwent a surgical heatpad-ectomy, and will apparently survive. Anybody have details about Alice Cooper's love for snakes?

Heads or tails anyone? MOLECULAR SYSTEMATICS AND PHYLOGENY OF OLD AND NEW WORLD RATSNAKES, Elaphe AUCT., AND RELATED GENERA

This post is directly from The Russian Journal of Herpetology and is no way my material, I just thought I would share the information in it's official summary. Many of the pseudonyms are archaic, or unknown to me. This is the infamous study which changed the corn snake from Elaphe guttata to Pantherophis guttatus. It also re-classifies a number of other "Elaphe". What's a couple of mitochondrial rNA between friends?

© 1996 – 2004 Folium Publishing Company

MOLECULAR SYSTEMATICS AND PHYLOGENY OF OLD AND NEW WORLD RATSNAKES, Elaphe AUCT., AND RELATED GENERA (REPTILIA, SQUAMATA, COLUBRIDAE)

Urs Utiger, Notker Helfenberger, Beat Schдtti, Catherine Schmidt, Markus Ruf, and Vincent Ziswiler

The phylogenetic relationships of the Holarctic ratsnakes (Elaphe auct.) are inferred from portions of two mitochondrial genes, 12S rRNA and COI. Elaphe Fitzinger is made up of ten Palaearctic species. Natrix longissima Laurenti (type species) and four western Palaearctic species (hohenackeri, lineatus, persicus, and situla) are assigned to Zamenis Wagler. Its phylogenetic affinities with closely related genera, Coronella and Oocatochus, remain unclear. The East Asian Coluber porphyraceus Cantor is referred to a new genus. This taxon and the western European Rhinechis scalaris have an isolated position among Old World ratsnakes. Another new genus is described for four Oriental species (cantoris, hodgsonii, moellendorffi, and taeniurus). New World ratsnakes and allied genera are monophyletic. Coluber flavirufus Cope is referred to Pseudelaphe Mertens and Rosenberg. Pantherophis Fitzinger is revalidated for Coluber guttatus L. (type species) and further Nearctic species (bairdi, obsoletus, and vulpinus). Senticolis triaspis is the sister taxon of New World ratsnakes including the genera Arizona, Bogertophis, Lampropeltis, Pituophis, and Rhinocheilus. The East Asian Coluber conspicillatus Boie and Coluber mandarinus Cantor form a monophyletic outgroup with respect to other Holarctic ratsnake genera and are referred to Euprepiophis Fitzinger. Three Old World species, viz. Elaphe (sensu lato) bella, E. (s.l.) frenata, and E. (s.l.) prasina remain unassigned. The various groups of ratsnakes (tribe Lampropeltini) show characteristic hemipenis features.

Key words: Lampropeltini, new genera, Arizona, Bogertophis, Coronella, Elaphe, Euprepiophis, Lampropeltis, Oocatochus, Pantherophis, Pituophis, Pseudelaphe, Rhinechis, Rhinocheilus, Senticolis, Zamenis, mtDNA, COI, 12S rDNA, phylogeny, Nearctic, Oriental, Palaearctic.

© 1996 – 2004 Folium Publishing Company

Snake Man Romulus Whitaker Gets the Limelight

Romulus Whitaker, the "Snake Man" has recently published Snakes of India - The Field Guide and has made quite a hit with the local community.
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Welcome to The Snakepimp Times

This is a news blog for anything herp related. I will be posting stories as I find them, and as they emerge. If you would like to contact me, please go to www.snakepimp.com