The Eastern Water Dragon (Physignathus lesueurii lesueurii), which is a subspecies of Australian Waterdragon. An arboreal agamid species native to Eastern Australia, Eastern Water Dragons grow to around 80-90cm (up to 3ft) in length including their long tail.

These semi-aquatic lizards are found around creeks, rivers or lakes. They are good tree climbers and like to laze on branches overhanging the water. If disturbed they will drop into the water and swim to the bottom to wait for the danger to pass, able to stay underwater for up to 30 minutes if necessary. They then rise to the surface to check the area for danger before returning to land.

As this species is active during both the day and night they hunt for insects, frogs and water insects, as well as eating fruit and berries. Eastern Water Dragons are active all year, but in the cooler parts of their range, they will experience a dormancy period. They may then dig a small hole under a log or rock, seal the entrance wait for the warmer months.

Photo reblogged from animals-animals-animals, photo taken by Peter Nijenhuis

Darth Sidious the Green Tree Python, born 2004, now sadly deceased.

He was part of the Black Project. The Black Project consists of key bloodlines that have proven that when combined to produce heavily melanistic (black) Green Tree Pythons. The melanistic morph is not fully understood in chondros, with most individuals that show black in their “Mite Phase” (a phase when there is black speckling naturally present as a yearling changes to its adult colour) then loosing the black with age. Some individuals retain this black colour, with vary degrees of black left. One theory as to why some individuals retain their black and others fade with age is that the melanistic gene is compounded through the generations. Some bloodlines have better odds of producing black Chondros, such as the Pepper Line.

The Pepper Line originated from that Greg Maxwell did in 2004 between “Pepper” and “My Hobbit” (also known as “The Merauke Outcross”). The offspring from the resulting clutch produced some of the blackest chondros to date, including Darth Sidious. He and Ella Diable showed the maximization of the two different bloodlines and marked the beginning of a bloodline of black chondros.

Though Darth Sidious has since died, he did father one successful clutch of 26 babies (though not all of them have survived) with another black GTP called Harvest - the second photo is one of their offspring.

Information and photo sources [1], [2]

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rhamphotheca:

Gecko Vision

from Madagascar (BBC)

Madagascar’s geckos (a Leaf-tailed Gecko, Uroplatus sp., is seen here) can see colour in the dimmest moonlight making them effective night predators.

(via: BBC Nature)

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Reptile Illness: Metabolic Bone Disease

Metabolic Bone Disease, often shortened to MBD, is a term that covers any sort of illness, disease or deficiency that causes calcium to be lost from the skeleton to combat the deficiency within the body. In the case of reptiles, MBD is usually caused by poor husbandry and nutrition, leading to a severe calcium deficiency.

Lizard species often suffer from this disorder as some species of these reptiles, such as Leopard Geckos (Eublepharis macularius) and Green Iguanas (Iguana iguana), require sunlight to synthesize Calcium. The UV in natural sunlight is what allows these reptiles to regulate the amount of calcium they absorb from their food, so without this the calcium from the reptile’s food is not absorbed into the body. The reptiles body uses up calcium daily, and if calcium is not absorbed from the food the body steals it from the bones themselves.

This weakens the bones, and leads to the symptoms of MBD – bowed legs and deformities, lethargy, loss of appetite, swollen joints, broken bones, difficulty when eating, moving or trying to hold body off the floor, trembling, and in severe cases, partial paralysis. Chelonians may also show a softened shell due to the lack of calcium. A very severe case of MBD is seen in this photo :

The photo above shows a Leopard Gecko with serious MBD. The legs and jaw are very badly affected, resulting in bent/broken limbs and a rubber jaw. Unfortunately this Leopard Gecko died despite treatment.

MBD is easy prevented, with the use of UV bulbs to provide synthetic UV and sprinkling vitamin supplements on food. Livefood can also be gut loaded – fed on high quality green food prior to being fed to a reptile in order to increase the nutritional content of the insects. Some insects also have a better ratio of calcium to phosphorous, another contributing factor to MBD. An ideal ratio is 2:1 of calcium to phosporous in live food, but this rarely happens without the aid of supplements and gut loading.

UV bulbs should be replaced regularly, as though they will continue to emit light, they no longer emit UV after 6 months.

Photo from here, information taken from numerous sources.

Added comment from Sundrythings:

Good information! It is also important to note that reptiles require both UVA and UVB light and not all UV bulbs provide this so you need to read the labels.

Adult Blizzard Leopard Gecko (Eublepharis macularius)

Photo © LoonyMoony

A “Superconda” Western Hognose (Heterodon nasicus)

Superconda is the homozygous form of the Anaconda morph, which is codominant with normal.

Photo © James Vann

rhamphotheca: Banded Sea Krait (Laticauda colubrina)

Banded sea kraits are highly venomous (neurotoxic) sea snakes, but are generally not aggressive and therefore don’t necessarily pose a danger to divers. Although they feed in the sea (on eels and other fish), they return to land to mate.

(via: BBC Nature)

rhamphotheca:

Black-banded Sea Krait (Laticauda semifasciata) Communal Hunt

from Planet Earth (BBC)

The unique and only recently discovered communal hunting behaviour of this population of sea kraits has never been filmed before and HD brings pristine clarity to the underwater footage. The snakes proved very inquisitive, wrapping themselves round the cameraman’s legs. As a result, it was extremely hard to film natural behaviour while being sure to avoid the snakes’ potentially lethal bite.

(* species first shown are Banded Sea Kraits, Laticauda colubrina)

(via: BBC Nature)

rhamphotheca:

哈特氏蛇蜥-亞成體 - Chinese Glass Lizard (Ophisaurus harti), Taiwan

- aka “Mud Dragon”, a legless lizard in the family Anguidae, found in wet forests in northern Viet Nam, southern China, and Taiwan.

(photo: Skink Chen)

One Size Does Not Fit All

sundrythings:

    A vet is a vet is a vet right? Nope. It is very important that you go to a veterinarian that is knowledgeable with the species that you are going to bring to them. In veterinary school we are taught about cats, dogs, horses, cattle, and small ruminants. Some schools offer a few elective courses on exotic species and aquatic animals but for the most part veterinarians who are interested in these fields have to go and learn about them on their own.

    If you own a reptile it would really be best for you to seek out a veterinarian that is boarded in reptile medicine or at least has worked with them and knows about their special medical needs. Many medications that are used in dogs and cats cannot be given to reptile species. One example is ivermectin; this drug is used in mammals to treat fleas and mite infestations and any vet is going to have a bottle of this. I once worked for a veterinarian who gave an injection of ivermectin to a red legged tortoise who had a mite problem. The mites died, but so did the tortoise. Chelonians do not have a blood brain barrier that keeps the ivermectin out and so it can cross into the brain circulation and causes death. This was an unfortunate mistake, but it happens. There are numerous other examples of why you need someone experienced in reptile medicine.

    Do your research before making an appointment for your animal, and make sure you have a veterinarian available before you purchase an animal. Call clinics or go to their websites and see what they have to offer. It is perfectly ok to ask what a vet’s experience with a particular species is and decide whether or not this is what you want.

    On the other side of the coin, be prepared to pay a little more for a veterinary visit to someone who specializes. Vets have to spend many hours outside of their regular education as well as many more hours after they graduate to learn how to properly care for exotic species. On top of that they also have special equipment, drugs, and techniques that make sure your animal is getting the absolute best care. It is absolutely worth paying more money to have someone knowledgeable take care of your animal.

explosionsoflife: Olive Sea Snake (Aipysurus laevis)

Length: 1m - 2.2m

Location: Eastern Indian and western Pacific from western Australia to New Caledonia

The Smooth Knob-tailed Gecko (Nephrurus levis) is ground dwelling desert gecko found in Western Australia. It is well adapted to life in a desert, and obtains all the water it needs from the insects it eats.

These small geckos, growing to between 3-4½ in (7½-11cm) long, are sexually dimorphic with females growing slightly larger than the males. This species is becoming more popular as pets, though they are more skittish in comparison to Leopard Geckos and Crested Geckos, and are not a species that are kept for regular handling.

Photo reblogged from fuckyeahgecko, photo taken by Gus McNab

The MacheteSavane (Chironius carinatus), is a very large, but slender colubrid snake - adults may grow to 3m (9.8 ft). Although nonvenomous, this snake is well known for its aggressive behaviour. It is found only in: the Guianas, northern Brazil to Costa Rica, eastern Venezuela, and Trinidad and Tobago.

In the wild it feeds on frogs, mice, and birds. Adults can range in colour from brown to deep yellow or gold, with the tail being generally darker than the body. The belly is often a bright shade of yellow or orange.

reptiglo:

Whipsnake by asnyder5 on Flickr.