Forty one captive bred Eastern indigo snakes (Drymarchon couperi) were released into the Nature Conservancy’s Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve (ABRP) today as part of a collaborative effort to bolster the wild populations in the preserve. This release marks the eighth consecutive year that Eastern indigo snakes have been released into the preserve. Today’s release comprised 20 female and 21 male snakes. These snakes were captive bred and hatched at the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens’ Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation (OCIC). They were then raised at the Welaka Nationa ..read more

The Asian lungworm Raillietiella orientalis, has found its way, via the invasive Burmese python (Python bivittatus), into Florida-native snakes and is wreaking havoc on several of the state’s 46 native snake species, 36 of which are native to South Florida where the Burmese python is established. Florida native snakes infected with the snake lungworm include black racers (Coluber constrictor), eastern coachwhips (Masticophis flagellum), pygmy rattlesnakes (Sistrurus miliarius) and Eastern Indigo snakes (Drymarchon couperi), among others, and all species that are known to eat other snakes, incl ..read more

Researchers from India’s Mizoram University have described a new species of coral snake that was discovered during the study of existing coral snake species in Mizoram. This is a photo of the snake’s closest sympatric species, Sinomicrurus macclellandi. lin_tube, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons “We uncovered morphological and genetic evidence for resurrecting S. gorei comb. nov., from the synonymy of S. macclellandi and elevating it to a full species rank, previously recognised as a colour variant of S. macclellandi, the researchers wrote i ..read more

Students at Russellville High School, with the support of teacher Chance Duncan, are believed to be the first secondary educational institution in the world to successfully hatch out the endangered Louisiana pine snake (Pituophis ruthveni). Under Chance’s supervision, the class was able to successfully get a pair of the endangered species to mate, and after seven years of trying, the female laid a clutch of viable eggs on March 10 and four hatchlings emerged July 21. While the hatchlings aren’t a candidate for release into the wild, students in Duncan’s class will learn how to extract DNA to d ..read more

The Gans’ egg-eating snake (Dasypeltis gansi), a non-venomous colubrid native to West Africa, is a small snake, with females reaching about 40 inches in length, while males reach about 28 inches in length. But what is impressive is relative to its size, is the gape of its mouth. Thanks to the stretchy skin between its jawbones, the Gans’ egg eating snake can consume prey that is three to four times larger than snakes that are generalists such as the black rat snake (Pantherophis obsoletus), Biologist Bruce Jayne of the University of Cincinnati said in a news item posted to the university’s new ..read more

Those seeking fame on social media handling (and sometimes mishandling) venomous snakes such as rattlesnakes should definitely attend the conference, “Treatment of Pitviper Envenomation in the Rural Southwestern U.S.” June 23-24 , 2023. If you get bit by a rattlesnake, experts agree that first you should follow these three steps: 1. Immediately seek medical care/ call 911 2. Remove anything that restricts blood flow, such as watches, jewelry, collars, reins (if your horse got bit) 3.Keep the area that got bit at the same level or above the heart The things that you should NOT do: 1. Do not app ..read more

The golf world was abuzz this past weekend when Rickie Fowler, who happens to be sponsored by Cobra Golf, happened upon a water snake in a water hazard at Quail Hollow and apparently tried to move the reptile. Rickie Fowler the … snake charmer?! No fear with a wedge from @RickieFowler pic.twitter.com/nJLwQhsE5J — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 6, 2023 According to NBC-2, Fowler was on the par-five seventh hole when his tee shot veered right near the water hazard. When he went looking for his ball, he saw the water snake in the hazard. Fowler then gently tried to hook the snake with the head of his ..read more

Fifty five Louisiana Pine snakes (Pituophis ruthveni) were released this week into the Kisatchie National Forest in Louisiana by the Forth Worth Zoo. The snakes were hatched and reared at the zoo until they were large enough to fend for themselves in the wild. “This snake is one of the rarest and most endangered snakes in North America, and that’s why the Fort Worth Zoo participates in a breeding program to maintain a healthy, diverse population, the zoo wrote on Facebook. “Each spring, the Zoo releases Louisiana pine snakes, hatched and raised at the Zoo, into their native habitat at Kisatch ..read more

A copperhead snake (Agkistrodon contortrix) was found on a trail near the Main Track Site of Diamond Valley State Park in Texas and was given the name Red Hot Cheeto by park rangers. The venomous snake in itself is not unusual at the park, but the name Red Hot Cheeto certainly causes one to take a second look! The copperhead snake is definitely red hot! “Our Park Rangers made a new friend today at work!” the park staff wrote on Facebook. “This copperhead was found near the Main Track Site in the park and had quite an attitude with us while we worked to relocate to a safer, more remote are ..read more

South African pilot Rudolf Erasmus was piloting a private jet from South Africa’s Western Cape to the town of Nelspruit when he felt what he described as a cold sensation under his shirt. That slithering sensation was not any ordinary sensation but the movements of a Cape cobra (Naja nivea). When Erasmus looked down, he observed the cobra under his seat. “As I turned to my left and looked down, I could see the head of the snake receding back underneath my seat,” Erasmus told NPR. “At which point there was a moment of stunned silence, to be brutally honest.” “I then informed my passengers of wh ..read more