Hi, I'm new.

[Seth21]

Hiya. I'm Seth. I'm a Herpetologist, currently pursuing a graduate degree in Herpetology with a specialization in Squamate Taxonomy and Physiology, and an emphasis on venomous species. I'm just back in the U.S. from the Republic of Congo, where I spent two months living in Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park. My goal was to catalog as many species as I could, to contribute to what we know about the ecology of the Congo, and the taxonomy of the Dendroaspis and Elapsoidea genera.

I don't have a real day job. I breed snakes in a warehouse I rent, which is practically a full time job in itself. I'm mainly working with leucistic traits of Epicrates cenchria, but I'm also working with several different traits of Boa c. constrictor on the side. I used to breed mainly North American species, but I've recently cut back to breeding only Agkistrodon contortrix spp. I'm very proud to say that I'm one of the only reptile breeders in the state working with hypermelanistic morphs of Agkistrodon contortrix.

I've dedicated a good chunk of my life to herpetology, so most of what I say tends to come off as really geeky shop talk. I could ramble on about the topic for hours, so I'd best just stop here. Given that everything I say on the topic comes out as really geeky shop talk, please don't hesitate to ask me any questions. I love teaching others about herpetology and conservation.

 

[Fuzzy1]

Welcome to JUB, Seth. Snake wise i live quite close to the Narcisse Manitoba snake dens, they are quite famous and there's lots of information on them on Youtube, I expect you may have heard of them. They are garter snake breeding dens, thousands of garter snakes breed there every spring then they spread out during the summer and return in the fall to hybernate. Having said that, said that I have a deep and abiding interest in trouser snakes, lol...

 

[mark1111]

Welcome Seth. You lived in Nouabale' Ndoki? Me to, I was on the north side on Elm Street.

Well, not really, I have no idea where that is except that the NRC is pretty dangerous.

Hope you have fun here on JUB.

 

[unloadonme]

Welcome Seth. It's good to meet a fellow Zoologist on the site.

 

[King Gumby VIII]

Hello Seth
Welcome to JUB
Happy posting.

 

[Seth21]

Welcome to JUB, Seth . There is absolutely nothing wrong with "geeky talk"! Being educated in a field is a wonderful thing. Did you enjoy Africa?

Africa was amazingly beautiful. It's not a trip to be taken lightly, as there are many very real dangers working in the field, but I would do it again in a second.

Welcome to JUB, Seth. Snake wise i live quite close to the Narcisse Manitoba snake dens, they are quite famous and there's lots of information on them on Youtube, I expect you may have heard of them. They are garter snake breeding dens, thousands of garter snakes breed there every spring then they spread out during the summer and return in the fall to hybernate. Having said that, said that I have a deep and abiding interest in trouser snakes, lol...

Yes! I was there three years ago, just for fun. The sheer amount of garters in those pits is insane. And not only that, but they're all the same species, Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis. Usually garters overwinter with other Thamnophis species, or other coulbridae species. I smuggled a male and a female back with me, and I still have them. We don't have many people breeding T. s. parietalis here in PA, so I've had many people who were very glad to get a hatchling from me.

Welcome Seth. You lived in Nouabale' Ndoki? Me to, I was on the north side on Elm Street.

Well, not really, I have no idea where that is except that the NRC is pretty dangerous.

Hope you have fun here on JUB.

It's not as dangerous as it used to be, but it's still pretty bad. I kept to myself mostly, treking around the reserve when I wasn't spending time with my hosts in the village. The biggest issue is healthcare. Suppiles are substandard, and everyone is undertrained. I was bitten by a N. melanoleuca (forest cobra) somewhere around the two week mark, and survival became a very big issue. I carry a polyvalent antivenin in the field, but administering it alone is a challenge. I was able to, and then when I showed no symptoms other than serum sickness, I realized that it was probably a dry bite, and no venom was injected.

The only other issue I had was the language barrier. My french (the main language of the Congo) is rudimentary at best, and I don't speak a word of Lingala or Kituba. I did find an english translator, but he only spoke french, and had to have a secondary translator who only spoke french and lingala. So, everything I would say would go through two people before being heard by the person it was intended for, then it would be translated two times before coming back to me. It was interesting, to say the least.

Welcome Seth. It's good to meet a fellow Zoologist on the site.

Cool stuff. Any specialty?

 

[Corny]

In your opinion, which salamanders are the easiest to keep? We are having two Axolotls for some time now and are considering to maybe keep some more "landborne" salamanders, too

 

[Seth21]

In your opinion, which salamanders are the easiest to keep? We are having two Axolotls for some time now and are considering to maybe keep some more "landborne" salamanders, too

I don't work with amphibians very often, but in my opinion Axolotls are much harder to care for than most salamanders. The water temperature and pH is crucial, and as messy as they are, keeping the pH right is a pain in the ass.

It sounds like what you're looking for is a terrestrial salamander. They spend thier entire lives on land, very rarely entering the water, but always staying close to it.

My personal choice would be Ambystoma mavortium or Ambystoma tigrinum, or any of their respective subspecies. These are tiger salamanders. Very striking earth-tone colors, and they get rather large, at about 13". They're very tolerant of perodic temperature spikes, which can be quite damaging to other species, and they're just plain cute. They're in the same genus as axolotls, so in some regards the care is similar.

I may be the wrong person to ask though, considering I'm more likely to have a savannah monitor or a rattlesnake than an amphibian.

 

[Corny]

Alright .. just thought a herpetologist would be the right person to ask Temperature really is a pain in the ass, but we don't have any problems with the pH as the water from the tap here is ideal
Tiger salamanders and A. mav. diaboli are already on our list, they seem to be the popular choices. Ever since we saw one in nature, we would LOVE to have a Salamandra salamandra as they are the cutest thing ever .. but they are supposedly difficult to keep

 

[unloadonme]

I carried out a dissection project on Amphiuma means as part of my degree. Wouldn't recommend one as a pet though. A tiger salamander looks like a much better bet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-toed_Amphiuma

 

[glasvegas]

Hey Seth. Wow, your job sounds interesting!! Taxonomy is very annoying. LOL

Welcome!

 

[Esscargo]

Welcome mate....

 

[Seth21]

I was just joking. I know a good bit about amphibians, I'm just not one who would own one. They're so cute, but they're too much work for me.

S. salamandra can be difficult, but if you can keep axolotls, you shouldn't have a problem with them. The vivarium must be moist, but not wet, and temperature is critical. Generally, 68ºF is the ceiling, but some of the subspecies from Spain and Portugal can go as high as 72ºF.

Another thing to remember is longevity. S. salamandra can live for upwards of 40 years. There's a specimen at the Museum Koenig who is about 57, by best estimates. This is one of the many herptile species that will tend to outlive its owner, so it is definitely a lifelong commitment.

 

[Ganoderma]

Hiya. I'm Seth. I'm a Herpetologist, currently pursuing a graduate degree in Herpetology with a specialization in Squamate Taxonomy and Physiology, and an emphasis on venomous species. I'm just back in the U.S. from the Republic of Congo, where I spent two months living in Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park. My goal was to catalog as many species as I could, to contribute to what we know about the ecology of the Congo, and the taxonomy of the Dendroaspis and Elapsoidea genera.

hi Seth,

Welcome to JUB. Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park seems a nice place to stay for a while, at least according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nouabalé-Ndoki_National_Park

First time for you that you visited Africa? Plans to return? Plans to publish the results? Did your expedition revealed any significant new topics?

Best wishes.