The 19th Annual Long Island Herpetological Society Reptile Expo

Yes folks the time is almost upon us for the 19th Annual LIHS reptile Expo. I think I have been there for all but one or two or three of them over the years. I am pretty sure I was there for the first one way back when; but if not then I was definitely there for the 2nd.

You see, keeping reptiles and amphibians has been a passion with me since I got my first Red Eared Slider turtle back when I was a mere young lad of about 8 or 9; maybe even younger. Since then herps (reptiles and amphibians) have been a passion with me. I have collected them from the wild, bought them in stores and at herp expos, traded them with friends, adopted them from other keepers who could not keep em any longer, kept them in captivity, and bred them. Why? I guess because when I was a young kid I could not have a dog or a cat - house rules. Somehow though my mom allowed in that first turtle that my Uncle Ken let me pick out at a pet shop. Both my brother and I got one, but only I was hooked and became a reptile and amphibian junkie for life. Not a bad addiction though as things go. My passion has had me see things out in nature, heck even in the middle of cities, that other folks don't know even exists; and I have met and made the acquaintance of lots of good people through my pursuit of this hobby. Heck I have even made some great friends like those at the LIHS.

If you live on Long Island, or if you are close to the area, and you have any interest in these magnificent creatures at all, why not stop by our show on October 04, 2008 at SUNY Farmingdale, and make sure to bring along the kids. It will be held from 10AM - 4PM in Roosevelt Hall. The admission price is well worth it, there should be more herps on display than you would see at the Bronx Zoo Reptile House in a visit there. There are herps and herp keeping accessories for sale, and there is also a judged show. By the way, anyone can enter an animal into the show, you do not need to be a society member. Prizes include ribbons and some pretty impressive trophies. Who knows, maybe you will become a herp junkie too.

If you want more info about the show, go to this link: http://www.lihs.org/files/events.htm .

All the best,

Glenn B

New Addition - California Kingsnake

Well I have not talked about guns in a while, and I guess I'll skip them today too if only because my other passion took hold today. This afternoon I went to the monthly meeting of the Long Island Herpetological Society . Almost as soon as I walked in the door, Dave F. asked me if I was still looking for a female California Kingsnake. In fact I was, and had been looking earlier today when I had been in touch with someone who had one advertised on CraigList. That person wanted $60, a reasonable deal for a healthy and breedable female. Dave though had a better offer. He had a very nice looking morph of the Cal. King called a 'washboard' It is a banded variety, white/black that has a mottling of white specks throughout the black bands along her sides. Not only did I like the look of her, but I also liked the fact that she is between 2-3 years old (young and probably ready to breed) but she is close in size to my male. Not that size difference is a problem, but they will be less likely to eat one another. Yes kingsnakes are sometimes cannibalistic of their own species; heck they got the name kingsnake because of the fact they routinely eat other snakes - even rattlesnakes.

I'd write more about her now, but I am anxious to introduce her to the male I have on hand, a black and white striped Cal. King. Hopefully the chemistry will be right, and they will hit it off right away instead of trying to eat one another. I'll keep you posted.

By the way, the LIHS meeting was a good one today. Bill Love a renowned herpetologist, animal breeder, photographer, world traveler, and adventurer was there to do a presentation on the herpetofauna of Mauritius and Round island. Bill was one of the few lucky folks - not a scientist - who has ever visited Round Island in the past 15 years since it was granted heavily protected status as a nature preserve. Very good and interesting show with lots of nice pics. He also gave a talk about herp photography on Friday night at the annual LIHS dinner. I'd include a pic of him here from today's event except I would be embarrassed to show it to him after the talk he gave on Friday. Seems everyone else forgot their cameras so I tried to snap one with my cell phone and it was just way to dim in the theater. Oh well, next time I guess I'll remember my camera.

All the best,
Glenn B

Up Early On A Sunday...

...and soon to be off to the Long Island Reptile Expo (not to be confused with the Long Island Herpetological Society's Annual Reptile Expo) at the Hilton Hotel on Route 110 in Melville/Huntington, NY. I am hopeful I can sell trade a few animals while I am there. If nothing else, accomplishing such trades helps Brendan and me keep our hobby going without a lot of expense. Speaking of Brendan, he told me to wake him up t 8, and he will tag along. That is okay by me, he has not been to one of these in quite sometime due to either work, lacrosse practice or games, or being with his girlfriend. Some time together for the two of us will be a special treat for me. While there we will help out manning the LIHS table, giving out info to the public about reptile and amphibian care and so forth. Look me up if you are there.

No more time to jabber, I have to get busy readying animals and other stuff for the show.

All the best,
Glenn B

New Stuff...

...that I have gotten recently and that has me a happy camper is something I figured I would share with all of you in a post with pics. As most of my readers probably know by now I am into herps (reptiles and amphibians), and into guns (shooting and self defense wise, not gunsmithing or tinkering), and hunting & fishing. My recent acquisitions have to do with all of those interests.

The first thing I want to show you is a knife I bought recently. I was not too sure if I would keep it for myself, or if I was going to give it to my son on his birthday, but I have decided this one is a keeper for me, and probably eventually will become his. Who knows, I may yet get him another for his birthday, but I think I have a better present in mind right now.

As for the knife, it is a Spyderco, Bill Moran model. I had wanted one with a drop point blade but that was not available, so I got this one. Now that I have it I like this blade more than the drop point with its more classical lines. That is about all that is classical on this knife though. The polymer handle (or whatever it is) is pretty decent in the hand. The sheath is molded plastic (or again whatever), and the knife fits into it snugly. The sheath is adjustable to be carried in several positions. Not a bad investment, I think, at only about $55. Now I have a nice accompaniment for my pistol as it sits on my belt with the knife. The blade will come in handy on hunting and fishing trips, and I hope i never need it for self defense; but in that last regard I follow the motto of the Boy Scouts: "Be Prepared".

My next acquisition was free. I got it tonight (Sunday night, it is now Monday morning by 5 minutes or so). It is a Thayer's Kingsnake. Well truth be told, I sold or gave this snake to someone about 4 years ago. I may have bred the parents to produce this one, I cannot recall right now. I know I had some that were jet black, and yes they can produce young that look like this. My friend Bill V dropped it off with me tonight. He liked this snake a lot. So much so that he actually saved this snake from death's doorstep one day a couple of, or a few, years back when another kingsnake he kept it with began to constrict and eat it (that is why they call them kingsnakes, they eat other snakes). The way he brought it back was by placing a straw into its windpipe and giving it artificial respiration. Bill is a NYC Fireman and knows how to save lives, even an animal's life. He recently started school for a second career, and has little time left to do anything else. So he has cut back on his snake collection. It was difficult for him to give this one up. Nice snake, to bad he did not get it to me on Friday, I could have taken it to Saturday's LIHS Reptile Expo and probably made him some money with it. If you are not into snakes you probably cannot figure how someone would want to pay money for one, but this one is worth at least $150, maybe $250 in this one's condition. These kingsnakes are also known as the variable Kingsnake because that when they are born they can be one of several color and pattern variations from jet black to orange with saddles to the one shown, to a tri-colored phase, and others in between. This phase is one of my favorites.

My other acquisitions, 5 of them, all came to me Saturday at the 18th Annual LIHS Reptile Expo. I was so busy while there that I did not even realize, until someone just about knocked me on the head, that one of my animals displayed in the judged show had won a first place ribbon in its category (tortoises), a first place trophy in the more general category of Turtles/Tortoises, and the Best of Show trophy for all the animals in the judged show. I have been an LIHS member for about 17 or 18 years now, and while my animals, and Brendan's animals, have sometimes won best in a specific category, or best in a more general category, we have never won the Best of Show before. If indeed I have been an LIHS member for 18 years now, what a nice coincidence that I won the Best of Show for the 18th Annual LIHS Reptile Expo. The sad thing is that I fell asleep early tonight, a long nap, and only woke up after my chance of playing the pick 3 number for the NY Lotto was over for tonight. I would have played 018. Maybe tomorrow. The man whose name shown is on the plaque on the trophy was a past president of the society, and a friend. A great guy, and a man who knew how to keep people interested in the LIHS. It was under him that our membership reached into the hundreds.

Oh yeah, the trophy was for my female Hermann's Tortoise. I have had it about 3 or 4 years now. Got it as a little one from another society member. It sure has grown up to be one good looking tortoise. I must admit while I am thrilled to have won, it is also humbling. You had to see the competition; and you have to realize that the guy who has won for the last few years in a row decided to drop out of the competition to give some of us other members a chance. I owe a lot to him, to the guy from who I got the tortoise, and to the tortoise and Mother Nature. Without all of them doing their parts, then maybe there would have been no trophy for me.

All the best,

Glenn B

18th Annual LIHS Reptile Expo

Now here is a subject dear to my heart, the annual Long Island Herpetological Society Reptile (and amphibian) Expo. In fact this will be the 18th annual show that the society has had. It s dear to my heart because I have been a member of the society for 17 years, maybe even all 18, during which the show has gone off. I know its been at least 17 years because the first time I went to a society event, it was a show they held at the Copiague Memorial Library, and if I got it right they only had two shows there, numbers 1 &2. By the second show, I was exhibiting animals; don't you know I have been into keeping reptiles and amphibians for well over 40 years now. I have kept em, collected em, and even bred them (no not with them, but as in animal husbandry). Brendan, my son, is a chip off of the old block, he has been to most of the events, if not most of the shows, since he was about 5 or 6; and he has been to an awful lot of the shows.

Nothing awful about the shows themselves. They are a good thing for people who like to keep reptiles and amphibians, a good thing for those curious enough to see a large variety of herps (reptiles & amphibians), a good thing for the dealers, a good thing for the exhibitors, and a good thing for the herps themselves. Each show is set up with vendors' tables, and the vendors do what they do best - they sell things. The selling pretty much is limited to live reptiles and amphibians (captive bred much preferred, and are the great part of what animals are sold), and to herp keeping supplies and equipment. We also have exhibitors' tables set up, and we run a judged show. Anyone, not just society members, can enter herps into the show. Prizes (trophies and ribbons) are awarded for best herps in several categories, and one really nice trophy is awarded for the best overall herp of the show. Of course you do not have to buy anything to attend, but if you are into herps, this is a good show to attend if you want to find quality herps and products usually below, well below, pet shop prices.

Now you may think I forgot to follow up on why I think the show is good for the herps too. I have not, it just deserves its own paragraph. These types of shows are good for reptiles and amphibians because they promote proper care of herps, good conservation of natural populations, and reasonable laws concerning the keeping and breeding of herps. Our show also helps support the LIHS itself, it is our biggest money maker, and that in ripple effect helps support the above causes already mentioned. You may be wondering how does a show, in which people sell herps actually support these things. Well here goes:

The shows promote proper care of pet reptile and amphibians. Why - well because it makes sense to do so. if reptiles and amphibians were not understood enough to be fairly easily kept in captivity, dealers would not be selling them in fairly large numbers as they do. Of course dealers could still sell them, they could die, and you might come back to buy another; but if they sell them, tell you how to care for them, provide such support when you need it through a society like the LIHS, then keeping them becomes more of a pleasure, and you are more likely to want to get into the herp hobby with a ore vigorous and long lasting interest. The shows also promote good conservation. If you attend one you will probably see that most dealers are selling what are labelled as C/B or C/B/B this or that with regards to live animals. The C/B stand for Captive Born or Captive Bred (there is a difference, as not all captive born animals were the product of parent animals that mated in captivity - the mother could have been wild caught while gravid). It usually stands for Captive bred, and C/H is used for Captive hatched meaning the mother was caught and then laid eggs in captivity before the next breeding season while in captivity. C/B/B means Captive bred & Born, in other words the parents mated while in captivity, and the young were then produced as a product of this captive mating. This is a good thing. Why? because it cuts down on the number of animals that come into the pet trade from the wild. If there is a large supply of captive bred animals, there is much less of a demand on wild populations. This is very advantageous for dealers and buyers. It helps assure that young herps which are sold are healthy, and come from healthy stock. it also allows for selective breeding so that breeders/dealers can select traits that they think will sell. Therefore color morphs like albinos are often produced. A large interest in animals of various color morphs also helps reduce the desire for naturally colored animals, thereby again reducing the need or desire for wild caught animals. Of course every now and then, wild caught animals are a good thing as they reintroduce genetic variety into captive bred populations, but the need is reduced with captive breeding to a much lower level than it would have been without captive breeding programs.

These shows are a further boon to wild animal populations because they support conservation in other ways. For example, the LIHS bring in most of its annual funding through this show. You may wonder how this promotes wildlife conservation. It does so because the LIHS is usually involved in a good number of live animal presentations throughout the year during which members exhibit animals to audiences from pre-schoolers up through college level students up through moms and dads who pay for that education, up through grand-dad and grand-ma. Our audiences are sometimes specific to students in classrooms, and at other times are open to the public in places like parks or science halls. We teach about herp keeping, about herp conservation, and about the natural history of many types of reptiles and amphibians. We also attend, as a society, other reptile expos where some of our members man an LIHS table. There we give out information free to the public on the same topics mentioned above. One of our main functions has been to educate the public on these topics. In addition, the LIHS and its members are usually often involved in actual conservation programs such as: scientific population counts of wild animals, rescue of stressed wild herps (such as stranded sea turtles, or turtles that have been hit by cars), and capture/release scientific programs during which herps are caught and examined by researchers in their herpetological studies. This is all of benefit to wild populations.

We have also supported reasonable legislation regarding the keeping and breeding of herps. For example when NY State was about to enact legislation, a few years back, that would have outlawed all boas and pythons from being legally kept in captivity, we protested. Not only did we protest enactment of such a broad reaching law, but we explained to our state legislators why we did not support such a law; and furthermore we explained what type of ban we would see as reasonable to some extent. We did not say that NYS should totally ignore some problems, or potential dangers of keeping captive herps- specifically boas and pythons, monitor lizards, and venomous species; but we certainly let the officials know that they were painting these types herps with the same brush when indeed thy should not have done so. So we explained our stance about why we thought the ban should not be as far reaching as they had written it - for example that not all boas or pythons pose a threat to humans as they had thought. Why not, well because many species remain very small in comparison to Anacondas and Burmese Pythons. Some such as the Ball Python usually reach about 4 1/2 feet, others such as the rubber Boa reach about 2 feet maximum. Yet legislators were quite ready, and imminently about to ban all boas and pythons as being dangerous to humans because of the fact that some of the bigger types had constricted and killed foolish owners (foolish because of how they handled them, not necessarily because they kept them). The legislation then greatly modified the law before it was enacted, and pretty much only those species seen as a real threat to human life, or limb, were restricted. Of course we were not the only herp society to do so in NY, but our collective voice was heard.

Back to the show itself - if you are in NY state, anywhere near Long Island this coming weekend; and if you have an interest in reptiles and amphibians - whether a keeper or just out of curiosity - why not stop by the show. It will be held at SUNY (State University of New York) Farmingdale just off of route 110. It is easy to access from the three major highways than run east/west on the island. For more info on the show go to this link: http://www.lihs.org/files/events.htm. By the way, if you think you saw a lot of variety in the pics above, you have not seen almost anything yet, stop by the show and have your eyes opened. I'll be there. I'll have a table or two, usualy directly across the hall from the main entrance. Hope to see one or two of my readers there.

All the best,

Glenn B

A Beautiful Gal...

...or at least a beautiful female Corn Snake, is something that I was lucky enough to get hold of today. I spent most of the morning and afternoon at the New York metro reptile Expo in White Plains, NY today. Yes that means I am feeling somewhat better than I have been, still not 100%; and sitting there most of the day manning the Long Island Herpetological Society and giving out info about the care of reptiles and amphibians was not all that taxing on my system. Not eating while there helped me stay, shall I say, okay.

I digress, so back to the Corn Snake. I guess most of my readers know one of my hobbies is guns and shooting. Another of my hobbies, one I am just as passionate about, is the collecting, keeping and breeding of herps (reptiles and amphibians). I have been into slimy and scaly creatures as pets since I was a young child. no dogs, cats were allowed in our apartment. An uncle who bought me a turtle got me started, then 5 years at summer camp had my interest in such critters really blossom. Now I am an addict so to speak. So when I got a free male corn snake today I was quite the happy camper. Then when one of the other LIHS members at the show asked me if I wanted to buy a female corn snake to go with my new male I said sure. It wound up I actually traded a Ball Python for the female Corn Snake, and I wound up thrilled.

Now you may not think much of Corn Snakes, and less of snakes in general, but just let me say this gal is a real looker. I know, you are probably thinking that sometimes even a grump like me would be easy to please in my own kooky sort of a way, and you would be right; but I'll let you judge for yourselves. Just take a look at this beauty, and if you are not phobic about snakes, tell me is she a looker or what! One of the nicer of all North American snakes. She is pretty much a normal colored corn snake, though I have to point out that there are many color phases of normal colored corn snakes. There are also many, many, selectively bred color phases of corn snakes that do not appear in the wild, but as I said this one is a natural phase in appearance.

I say she is a natural phase in appearance because she is the product of selective breeding. She laid 12 eggs this year, and I saw her 12 offspring today. They do not resemble her; and the group of them is made up of three different color phases. The male I got today is also normal in appearance, and I am curious to see what their offspring will look like, but I'll have to wait until late spring or early summer for that. First I have to fatten this gal up a bit. Then she will go into brumation for the winter (sort of like hibernation, but the snake does not sleep through the winter or most of it as would a mammal that hibernates, rather it becomes very inactive, but still active to a slight degree). Once out of hibernation, she will feed and put on some weight, then when the male is ready they likely will breed. After the breeding she will carry the eggs internally for some time, then lay the eggs, which will take about 2 months before they hatch. Hopefully they will produce some nice babies.

Well maybe you think me a nut, or maybe you agree and find her to be spectacular to behold as I find her to be. Mother nature sure has a way of making some things really nice to look at, even some things that most people seem to shy away from. I am kind of happy I find them as interesting as I do, and i guess I can thank my mom for putting up with my keeping them when I was younger. She never liked them, I can say that with certainty, but she loved me enough to tolerate them. I can also thank my wife likewise, as she puts up with my keeping them now. I guess that also means I can thank both of them because I share my interest and passion with my son; and that is a good thing indeed. If the ladies never let me get away with having these things in the house, my son probably would be keeping goldfish if he kept any animals at all!

All the best,

Glenn B