AUGUST 1992 VOLUME XII NUMBER 8 BEll MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 10 CHURCH ST. S.E. MINNEAPOliS, MN 55455-0104

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II !I The purpose of the Minnesota Herpetological Society is: to further the education of the II membership and the general public in care and captive propagation of reptiles and amp hi- II II bians; to educate the membership and the general public in the ecological role of reptiles Ii and amphibians; and to promote the study and conservation of reptiles and amphibians.

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MHS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PRESIDENT VICE"PRESIDENT MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY RECORDING SECRETARY TREASURER NEWSLElTER EDITOR MEMBER-AT-LARGE MEMBER-AT-LARGE MEMBER-AT-LARGE MEMBER-AT-LARGE IMMEDIATE PAST PRES.

Glen Jacobsen Bill Moss Connie Delles Michele Stillinger Marilyn Brooks Julie Cherveny Randy Blasus Dennis Daly NancyHaig Greg Kvanbek John Meltzer

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(612) 757-8268 (612) 488-1383 (612) 374-5422 (6l2) 588-4613 (612) 939-0276 (612) 774-6786 (612) 688-7709 (612) 633-8370 (612) 789-4637 (612) 533-7723 (612) 263-7880

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IN_SIRlIC_T1QNS: Ads are run as a free service to paid members. Ads for venomous species, illegal species, or sick animals will not be run. MHS takes no responsibility for legality or health of any aniinal advertised here. Ads may be run for three consecutive months at which time ads may be re-su bmitted. The editor reserves the right to omit ads when space is limited so as to allow all members a chance to advertise. Size of ads is limited to 4 typed lines or 1 standard size business card. neadhne for all newsletter items is the date of the general meeting. Send newsletter items to : ATTN: Newsletter Editor, Minnesota Herpetological Society, Bell Museum of Natural History, 10 Church S1. S.B., Minneapolis, MN 55455-0104.

© Copyright Minnesota Herpetological Society. The contents of this newsletter may be reproduced for inclusion in the newsletters of other herpetological societies provided that the material is reproduced without change and proper credits are given to the MHS Newsletter citing volume number and date.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Next meeting update 2

Aug. meeting summary 3

Aug. Board meeting 4

MHS Annual Picnic info 6

Book Review: 8 Peterson First Guides

Article: Success with 10 Elongated Tortoises

Herp-digest 13

Neonate Page 14

Classified 15

CALANDER OF EVENTS

Aug. 15 - Sept. 27 Renaissance Festival

Sept. 19 MHS annual picnic.

Oct. 16th-18th,1992 Midwestern Herpetological Symposium, Brookfield, WI.

November 14 & 15, 1992 Reptile and Amphibian Show and Sale, Bing Crosby Hall at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, Del Mar California.

FROM THE EDITOR

To the Members;

You may have noticed the lack of information and articles in the last newsletter. We apologize for this, but given the limited staff (one) it is very difficult to do research. To help make this newsletter more enjoyable and useful for everyone we need help from you. Input from the membership and readers is vital to keep this newsletter going. Any information, ideas, comments, questions, or even simple newspaper clippings would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks to all those who contribute to the newsletter on a regular basis. Please keep your articles coming.

T,~nk you, ~ 0 Q~v.L--- / T,' e Edi tor l~ J\.llie Cherveny

NEXT NEWSLETTER DEADLINE: SEPT. 11

MRS NEWSLETIER VOLUME XII NUMBER 8 PAGE 1

Next Meeting

Date: Friday, September 11, 1992 Time: 7:00 PM

Place: Borlaug Hall St. Paul Campus U of M

PROGRAM: Reptiles of the Oklahoma City Zoo

SPEAKER: Michele Stillinger - Member of the MHS

Michele Stillinger, a member an the recording secretary of MHS, will speak about the week she spent recently behind the scenes at the Oklahoma City Zoo.

While at the zoo, Michele had the opportunity to speak with the curator, as well as the reptile keepers, about everything from the Galapagos tortoise to the poison dart frogs an chameleons which this zoo has had much success breeding.

Michele will share information she learned from the keepers as well as slides of many of the inhabitants the zoo's large reptile collection.

CRITTER OF THE MONTH: Your South America Herp.

Reminder: Bring a proper container to display your herps.

October: ??? November: ??? December: ???

UPCOMING MEETINGS

HELP A HAPLESS HERP

Anyone with animals to go up for adoption, should contact Glen Jacobsen at (612) 757-8268 prior to the meeting.

MRS NEWSLEITER VOLUME XII NUMBER 8 PAGE 2

AUGUST SPEAKER REVIEW

Jon Kramer of the Potomac Museum Group was our guest speaker at the August general meeting. Jon is a Paleontologist and he spoke to us about dinosaurs and what a paleontologist actually does. He gave an excellent slide presentation that consisted of two parts. First he showed us a brief history of the formation of the earth. The slides showed the varying vegetation and life that inhabited the earth millions of years ago. One slide that was interesting was a drawing of how the earth looked 300 million years ago. It included nine foot ferns and huge dragonflies with four foot wing spans! Around 280 million years ago was when the reptile and mammal like creatures started to show up. He showed us the different forms of dinosaurs from the smallest mammal'like forms to the giant Tyrannosaurus. Jon explained that scientific opinion varies in whether dinosaurs were really reptiles. Reptiles have slightly splayed legs and dinosaurs have their legs completely underneath them like a mammal. Jon's opinion is that most so called "dinosaurs" were actually closer related to birds than to reptiles.

The second half of the slides showed us what a typical fossil dig is like. The group travels around the U.S. looking for different fossil sights about three times a year. One of the better places to find dinosaur fossils and bones is the area around Flagstaff, Arizona. He explained a typical expedition which can take several weeks to complete. First they must find a good area. One way they do this is look in ant mounds. the ants will bring up bits and pieces of dinosaur bone when constructing their homes. After digging and finding a large section of bones worth keeping, the members dig trenches around the section of rock. The trenches are are six inches wide and can be several feet deep depending on the size of the rock they wish to keep. This sections of rock are called jackets. They then cover the jackets with plaster and wood supports all they way around. This requires some squeezing and crawling. The jacket is then ready to be bound with lifting bands and dragged to the truck. The jackets can be six feet wide and weigh nearly a ton.

Afterwards Jon opened the floor to questions and had prepared a table of fossils, sculptures and dinosaur bones for everyone to see. He even had a box of small dinosaur bone pieces for the kids to have. Jon's presentation was a refreshing change to ~he usual herp related topics we have. He shared several interesting and funny stories of what can happen on a typical dig. Everyone enjoyed his talk and had plenty of questions. Jon's fossil shop, the Potomac Museum, is located on the second floor of Calhoun Square. Stop in and see some of the interesting artifacts he has and rap a little about whether your iguana is really.related to a dinosaur or not!

MRS NEWSLETIER VOLUME XII NUMBER 8 PAGE 3

AUGUST BOARD MEETING

Called to order at 7:05 PM at Michele Stillinger's house. Glen Jacobsen, Bill Moss, Marilyn Brooks, Michele Stillinger, Connie Delles, Greg Kvanbek, Randy Blasus, John Levell, Dennis Daly, Nancy Haig and Drew Newman were present. John Meltzer and Julie Cherveny were absent.

PRESIDENT'S REPORT

81 people attended the general meeting. September meeting will be moved to the 11th because of Labor Day.

VICE-PRESIDENT'S REPORT

Speakers currently lined up: September: Michele Stillinger - slides of the Oklahoma City's

Zoo reptile collection. October: ??? November: ??? December: ???

SECRETARY'S REPORT

Given and accepted.

OLD BUSINESS

Bill has found us a printer for a good price. We will purchase the Canon BJ 300 ink jet to use in the printing of the newsletter and other items. Picnic date decided upon. See article in this newsletter.

NEW BUSINESS

MHS will no longer be printing up membership cards. ID tags are still available, please wear them at the meetings. This makes it much easier to recognize someone. If you still want a membership card contact Connie Delles, we still have some old ones available. MHS would like to carry more exciting herp related t-shirts. If anyone has any ideas, drawings or sources for quality shirts, please contact President Glenn (Jake) Jacobsen.

MEETING ADJOURNER: 10:01 PM

MHS NEWSLEITER VOLUME XII NUMBER 8 PAGE 4

RAFFLE RESULTS

Thanks to Aqualand, Bill Moss, Becky Helgesen, John an Toni Jesmer and anonymous donors, for donating raffle items. The winners are listed below:

Theresa Kollander Ben Gerhodlt Todd Cherveny Jr. Sarah Richard Siri Rea Michele Stillinger

Dave Hoppe Hans Paulson Marilyn Brooks Jim Gerhodlt Dan Kahlhof Mike Hunter

Thanks to all that purchased tickets. Reminder: PLEASE print your name, because I have a hard time reading the names. Thank You.

REFRESHMENTS

For August's meeting Vickie Ash brought Homemade cookies, THANKS VICKIE!!! The Donation Frog received $56.23 in August. If you'd like to help provide treats for a meeting please talk to Candy Ashbach or Nanette Jimerson at the meeting to find out about what's needed.

CRITTER OF THE MONTH

The critter of the month was "Your Oldest Herp". The critters and their keepers were:

James Rea - Caecilian Toni Jesmer - Florida X Goini Kingsnake Mark Norby - Scarlet Kingsnake Ben Gerholdt - Three toed box turtle Jim Gerholdt - albino toad Sue Schaubschlager - Leopard Gecko Van Gooch - Boa Constrictor

CORRECTIONS

Jon Kramer's store was incorrectly identified as the Fossil Store in last month's speaker profile. The correct name of the store is the Potomac Museum. L

Last months speaker summary incorrectly mentioned that the islands off of Belize were volcanic. The Boas found in the Belize cays were tree dwelling. The Boas found on volcanic rock were found on islands farther south in the Antilles.

MHS NEWSLETTER VOLUME XII NUMBER 8 PAGES

MHS ANNUAL SUMMER PICNIC

The MHS 1992 picnic will be held on Saturday, September 19th at Schaar's Bluff in the Spring Lake Park Nature Reserve, just west of Hastings, MN.

We will be located at the east shelter. (see maps)

"Champagne Breakfast" will begin at 9:00am and we will start up the grills around 11:00. MHS will provide condiments, chips, charcoal, plates, and plastic silverware. Please bring your own drinks (3.2 beer accepted), meats and something to share.

Turtle races start at approximately 2:00pm.

The park does have shelters, restrooms and fountains as well as 3.6 miles of hiking trails and a nearby archery range.

The' park has a lot of steep bluffs so please keep an eye on children. There is no playground but plenty of open fields for ball and turtle races.

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SPRING LAKE RESERVE Schaar's Bluff Picnic Area

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127th st.

HIKING TRAIL --3.6 mi.

PICNIC SHELTER

SHELTER

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BOOK REVIEW BY

John P. Levell

Title: Peterson First Guides - Reptiles and Amphibians Author: Roger Conant, Robert C. Stebbins, and Joseph T. Collins Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company 1992 $4.95

As a long time user and admirer of the Peterson Field Guide Series, I must admit that I have approached the task of reviewing the present volume with some trepidation. According to the "Editor's Note" at the beginning of this book, it's purpose is to simplify the identification process for beginners by narrowing the choices and by offering a selection of the animals one is most likely to encounter in the field. While this sounds like a good idea in principle, how well it succeeds in practice is another matter.

Basically what the editors have done is t condense the standard Conant/Collins Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America and Stebbins Western Reptiles and Amphibians into one 128 page book. Anyone familiar with those volume realizes what an impossible task that has to be. Which species to include and which to delete is where the book runs into it's first problem. For exanple, in covering marine turtles, the hawksbill, the green, and the leatherback are included, while the most common and most likely sea turtle to be encountered in U.S. waters the loggerhead isn't even mentioned. Why the loggerhead, the only sea turtle to nest with any regularity on U.S. shores, is omitted is beyond me. Also, why they chose the Florida softshell over the more common and widespread smooth softshell is puzzling. Similar problems plague other parts of the book, in particular the inclusion of three or four highly similar species or subspecies, the horned and alligator lizards for example, when the space could have been better utilized for other commonly encountered forms.

Another thing that detracts from the usefulness of the book is the omission of range maps. Simple range maps would be easier for beginners to understand than the vague and sometimes nonexistent range descriptions in the species accounts. Almost anyone can visualize their position in relation to a map, where as statements like "the western U.S." can mean just about anything.

This isn't to say that the book is totally useless, as there are some things that I really like about it. For one, having the species accounts arrange opposite the illustrations allows for quick comparisons, without all the thumbing back and forth as with the standard field guides. As with all the Peterson guides the illustrations are more than adequate' and the general layout of the book is good. In these respects, this edition would be easier for the novice to use than the standard volumes.

If the various minor problems are corrected in future editions of the Peterson First Guide, it could wholeheartedly be recommended. As it is, it still might make a nice addition to a young herper's library, especially if that library includes a copy of the book I started with; A Golden Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians by Herbert S. Zim and Hobart M. Smith. That book, with it's range maps, good information, and nice illustrations is still

MHS NEWSLETIER VOLUME XII NUMBER 8 PAGE.8.

SPRING LAKE RESERVE Schaar l s Bluff Picnic Area

127 th st.

HIKING TRAIL --3.6 mi.

PICNIC SHELTER

SHELTER

RESTROOMS

PARKING

WOODS

SCALE OF MILES

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to Hastings

MRS NEWSLEITER VOLUME XII NUMBER 8 PAGE 7

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BOOK REVIEW BY

John P. Levell

Title: Peterson First Guides - Reptiles and Amphibians Author: Roger Conant, Robert C. Stebbins, and Joseph T. Collins Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company 1992 $4.95

As a long time user and admirer of the Peterson Field Guide Series, I must admit that I have approached the task of reviewing the present volume with some trepidation. According to the "Editor's Note" at the beginning of this book, it's purpose is to simplify the identification process for beginners by narrowing the choices and by offering a selection of the animals one is most likely to encounter in the field. While this sounds like a good idea in principle, how well it succeeds in practice is another matter.

Basically what the editors have done is t condense the standard Conant/Collins Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America and Stebbins Western Reptiles and Amphibians into one 128 page book. Anyone familiar with those volume realizes what an impossible task that has to be. Which species to include and which to delete is where the book runs into it's first problem. For exanple, in covering marine turtles, the hawksbill, the green, and the leatherback are included, while the most common and most likely sea turtle to be encountered in U.S. waters the loggerhead isn't even mentioned. Why the loggerhead, the only sea turtle to nest with any regularity on U.S. shores, is omitted is beyond me. Also, why they chose the Florida softshell over the more common and widespread smooth softshell is puzzling. Similar problems plague other parts of the book, in particular the inclusion of three or four highly similar species or subspecies, the horned and alligator lizards for example, when the space could have been better utilized for other commonly encountered forms.

Another thing that detracts from the usefulness of the book is the omission of range maps. Simple range maps would be easier for beginners to understand than the vague and sometimes nonexistent range descriptions in the species accounts. Almost anyone can visualize their position in relation to a map, where as statements like "the western U.S." can mean just about anything.

This isn't to say that the book is totally useless, as there are some things that I really like about it. For one, having the species accounts arrange opposite the illustrations allows for quick comparisons, without all the thumbing back and forth as with the standard field guides. As with all the Peterson guides the illustrations are more than adequate'and the general layout of the book is good. In these respects, this edition would be easier for the novice to use than the standard volumes.

Xf the various minor problems are corrected in future editions of the Peterson First Guide, it could wholeheartedly be recommended. As it is, it still might make a nice addition to a young herper's library, especially if that library includes a copy of the book I started with; A Golden Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians by Herbert S. Zim and Hobart M. Smith. That book, with it's range maps, good information, and nice illustrations is still

MHS NEWSLETIER VOLUME XII NUMBER 8 PAGE.8.

the best buy for the beginner. The two used together, would be the perfect combination for the budding herpetologist.

Literature Cited: Roger Conant and Joseph T. Collins Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America Houghton Mifflin Company 1991

Robert C. Stebbins Western Reptiles and Amphibians Houghton Mifflin Company 1985

Herbert S Zim and Hobart M. Smith Reptiles and Amphibians Golden Press 1987

MHS NEWSLETIER VOLUME XII NUMBER 8 PAGE 9

SUCCESS WITH ELONGATED TORTOISES BY

WILLIAM NESS

A little while back I wrote an article on Elongated Tortoises which included some information on the ,species and my husbandry practices. I maintained two wild caught long term captive males and three captive hatched females in a two foot by five foot indoor cage for most of the year and moved them to a four foot by eight foot outdoor enclosure during the warm summer days. They were brought in on cool evenings and moved indoors full time in the fall. The indoor cage had a large hot rock, a human hot pad under shallow box and a home-made incubator heater box (both described in a previous article) along with incandescent lights for heat and a two foot Vita-light. They were fed on a modified version of the MN zoo tortoise diet and were soaked in warm water about once a week. While a little shell ramming was observed, I never saw any attempts by the males to mount the females. All shell ramming was performed by the larger male.

This fall I built a larger indoor tortoise pen. The cage has two compartments, one on the top of the other, that each have a two foot by four foot floor space and are two feet high. The cage was designed around full sheets of plywood to minimize the labor. Basically the cage is a four foot by four foot open front box with a shelf in the middle and sliding glass doors in the front. This makes one four by eight cage on top or a second four by eight cage. The floor, shelf, top, and back are made from a full sheet of 1/2 inch plywood and the ends are made of half sheets of plywood. The edges, shelf and top are liberally reinforced with one by two's an the floor is reinforced underneath with treated two by four's, (my basement floor sometimes gets damp in the spring). Each unit has a sheet of Melamine (hardboard with a baked on enamel finish) on top of the plywood floor for ease of cleaning. The front of each unit was divided into three windows with the center window serving as a sliding door. I was going to put hinged doors on the cage but decided that the weight of the frame plus glass might have a tendency to pull the screws out of the frame (lx2 soft pine). I thought of having the doors hinge downward to put a little less torque on the hinges but the bottom unit is only four inches off the floor and I would have to crawl on the door to access the cage. The sliding doors were easy to construct, provided easy access, and could be opened just wide enough to place food or water dishes (thus minimizing heat loss) or the full two and a feet for cleaning. Some of the windows were constructed with gaps at the top an bottom for ventilation. This seems to be sufficient, but if necessary ventilation holes can be drilled in the ends or back.

Heat is provided by three incandescent bulbs on dimmer switches and a heating pad box in each unit. The bottom unit also has a two foot Vita-light. I p~an to install a Vita-light in the top unit in the near future. Two of the incandescent bulbs are about a foot and a half from one end an the other bulb is about two feet from the other end. The heating pad box is located at one end of the cage. The bulbs from the lower unit also serve to heat the floor of the top unit.

My five elongated tortoises were placed in the upper unit this fall and a pair of Red-footed tortoises and a juvenile were placed in the lower unit. They were all fed on the same diet that I have

MRS NEWSLETTER VOLUME XII NUMBER 8 PAGE 10

been using in the past. The tortoises seem a lot more active in their new cage. They

spent a lot of time crawling around the cage exploring. During the late fall I heard a lot of shell ramming. The cage is in the basement and the ramming could be heard upstairs. On a number of occasions I saw the large male attempting to mate with the largest female. Just before Christmas the largest female was seen digging up the newspapers in the back corner of the cage. Her nose was in the corner and her back feet were going through the same motions I had seen in videos of turtles digging nests. I placed a dish pan full of dirt in the corner where she was digging and set her on the dirt. She immediately started digging and continued to dig for about twelve hours. She then crawled off the box with laying any eggs. I had heard that you can feel the eggs in a gravid tortoise by gently placing your finger along the back leg and pressing in along the leg toward the body cavity. This sounds easy, but my tortoises have rather tough scales in this area and tend to pull their legs in whenever you tickle their armpit (thighpit?). However, I was successful one time and felt something I thought was an egg by each leg. I placed the female in the dirt on several more occasions but she dug a little and then crawled out. About two weeks after the first digging-episode I found an egg under the newspapers and another one in the nest box. Two days later I found another egg on the top of the newspapers. The eggs are currently being incubate in a plastic shoebox with damp moss at about 80 to 85 degrees.

The young male has recently been seen pursuing several of the females and doing some head bobbing. I had heard and read that males become competitive and can be quite aggressive toward each other during the breeding season, but this has not been the case so far. The large male is still involved in shell ramming with the females but has not appeared to have any interest in the young male.

I am not certain which factors contributed the most to the egg laying of my tortoises. Diet was probably not a factor as there was no significant change in the food types offered. Stress may have been a factor in the confines of the smaller cage and moving them to larger quarters may have reduced the stress levels. The activity level in the larger certainly has increased. While the old cage had several warm spot on the floor ( hot rock an heating pad) the cage was only a few inches off the basement floor and there were probably some cool spots on the floor of the cage. The new unit has the entire floor heated by the lower unit with a number of warmer spots (right above the bulbs of the lower unit). Conversations with Brent Spencer when he worked with elongated tortoises at the MN Zoo ind~cated a change in their success when heating cables were buried in the exhibit. Also, matiurity may have had a role. The largest female is about eight years old now and may have just reached maturity. Providing suitable nest sites does not seem to be a deciding factor as the female started digging on newspapers an eventually laid her eggs under the newspapers. What ever the deciding factors may be, things seem to be going well for now. The eggs from the first clutch may not hatch, but that is not uncommon. Many tortoise keepers spend a number of years working with their animals before actually getting babies. Maybe it is a matter of trial and error, or maybe we just have to pay our dues in time and patience. In any case, my tortoises have taken the first step and hopefully there will be mote Minnesota hatched elongated

MHS NEWSLETTER VOLUME XII NUMBER 8 PAGE 11

tortoises down the road. The Minnesota Zoo no longer works with elongated tortoises and

the ISIS printout shows that there are not a lot of zoos working with this interesting species. If you are currently working with elongate tortoises or know someone who is, I would appreciate any information you may have.

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MRS NEWSLETTER VOLUME XII NUMBER 8

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PAGE 12

ASIAN WATER MONITOR FOUND UNDER HOOD

Having problems steering his car, Miami Fl. resident, Chris Hernandez, opened the hood to find a six foot water monitor rapped around the steering column. Exotic animal dealer Todd Hardwick was called in to remove the lizard. Using dishwashing soap to make it slippery and removing parts of the engine the moni tor was finally freed unharmed.

DESERT ~ORTOISES UPDATE

Fifty four desert tortoises were displaced by construction in the Las Vegas area. About 1,200 people have offered to adopt them. Reno Turtle and Tortoise Club President Darlene Pond said her group received 700 letters, 500 phone calls and one videotape from people who want to adopt the tortoises. (May 22, 1992) The presence of five desert tortoises has halted development of a 90-house subdivision in southwestern Utah. The U.S. Fish and Wild­life Service ordered the developer to stop altering the habitat until biologists can determine whether the project will harm the tortoises. (May 23, 1992) The Air National Guard flew 40 tortoises to Reno, Nevada from Las Vegas to be placed for adoption through a tortoise welfare group. (May 13, 1992) Local government in the Las Vegas Valley are required to preserve 400,000 acres of prime tortoise habitat on federd land prohibiting grazing.

MRS NEWSLETIER VOLUME XII NUMBER 8

Developers are required to find and remove any tortoises found at construction sites. However, the number of tortoises turned

in by developers are very short of what had been projected. Some people suggest that just before this agreement was reached, a flurry of bulldozing was done. This may contribute to the lowonumbers of tortoises being turned in now. A reptile biologist with the Nevada Dept. of Wildlife said, "Unless we come up with dead tortoises, see bulldozer tracks and find

a person sitting on a Cater­pillar tractor, we're gOing to be hard pressed to find a violation of the Endangered Species Act." (May 18, 1992)

(REPRINTED from the Chicago Herpetological Society Bulletin Vol 27, Number 7, July 1992) Information contributed to CHS by Bob Pierson from clippings out of the Las Vegas REVIEW JOURNAL.

REPTILE CON MAN ARRESTED

Recently, Donald F. Verbridge was arrested after his story was shown on the popular TV show "America's Most Wanted." Verbridge allegedly took the carbons from credit card receipts and used the numbers to purchase expensive reptiles. He then sold the animals to pet stores for a profit.

Verbridge was arrested in St. Joseph County, Indiana. Police searched his car but found no reptiles, only $2,000 and books on snakes and birds.

(SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE, June 2, 92)

PAGE 13

SALAMANDERS

Salamanders are amphibians with moist skin and clawless feet. They live in damp areas and most lay their eggs in the water. The Barred Salamander is a sub species of the Tiger Salamander. Itts skin is dark brown to black with bright yellow markings on the sides. The Northern Two-lined Salamander is found along rocky streams in the Northeast. It has a yellow back with dark brown stripes on the sides. The Red-spotted Newt has rougher skin than other salamanders. Adults spend more time in the water. They are olive green with large red spots and tiny black dots.

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Carlos ~nd Baldrick would like to apologize for forgetting to than~ E1leen and the Oklahoma Herp Society (Vol. 5 No.4) for lett1ng us use your Latin Match Page last month. Thanks Eileen!

MRS NEWS LEITER VOLUME XII NUMBER 8 PAGE 14

MHS CLASSIFIED

RAT SALES

Orders will be taken by Terry Scheiber only! and must be made at least one week before the general meeting. Phone: (612) 440-7482.

MICE

Pinkies----$6.00 doz. Fuzzies----$6.00 doz. Adults-----$9.00 doz.

PRICES

RATS

Pups-----$10.00 doz. Adults---$12.00 for six

$24.00 doz.

Mice and rats must be purchased by the dozen, except for adult rats, which can be purchased in allotments of six. Rat pinkies are unavailable at this time.

CLASSIFIED ADS

1.0.0 = male; 0.1.0 = female; 0.0.1 = unknown

FOR SALE: Cornsnake Hatchlings. Captive bred & hatched from captive bred parents. All have fed at least twice. Big & har.dy stock! Normals 20.00 and Red Albinos 30.00. Discounts for quantities. Call 374-5422 For Connie or John. If no answer, leave a message.

FOR SALE: Two sub-adult prehensile-tailed skinks (Corucia zebrata) C.B. 1991, $150 each or $275 for both. Call Sandy at 647-0661.

FOR SALE: Captive produced reptiles at very comp~tative prices. Save air-freight; We deliver to MHS meetings! Send for our free 1992 price list or call for more information. MARTY BJERKE, P.O. Box 5818, Fargo ND 58105. (701) 241-9742.

FOR HIRE: Will build your reptile and/or rodent rooms, your design or ours. Also rack systems and cages including walk in. All types of carpenter work. Reasonable. Call John at 374-5422.

WANTED: I need all the snake skins in the world - always - to give away at reptile programs and the MN State Fair. Please bring to the State Fair or contact Bob Duerr a~ (612) 541 -9417. .

MRS NEWSLETIER VOLUME XII NUMBER 8 PAGE 15

CLASSIFIED ADS CONT.

4056 Central Avenue N. E Columbia Heights, MN .55421

PETS & SUPPLIES Tropical and Marine Aquana Garden pools and Aviaries

Food and Supplies for all Pets

PHIL PALAN (612) 781-0805

NOTES

MRS NEWSLETIER VOLUME XII NUMBER 8

Largest Selection of Reptiles & Amphibians in Minnesota Cages, Books, Feed & Supplies

540 Winnetka Ave. No. Golden Valley, Mn 55427

M-F 10-7 Sat 10-5 Sun 12-5

(612) 593-0298

PAGE 16

HERP ASSISTANCE PEOPLE U

II II " Do you ever have a question about one of your herps and wonder who might be able to provide an II II answer? Most people who keep pets of any kind have been in this situation at one time or ano1her. II 11 A group of MHS members has volunteered to provide assistance. Listed below are the people and II II their specialties. Please be reasonable about the time of day and how frequently you call. II II il Ii pythons and constrictors Other Snakes II !i Glen (Jake) Jacobsen 757-8268 Del Jones 938-8555 II Ii Vence Jimerson 869-8547 John Meltzer 263-7880 II II II I! II II Amphibians II II Nancy Haig 789-4637 John Meltzer 263-7880 II Ii Bill Moss 488-1383 Greg Kvanbek 533-7723 II il II II II II tortoises Aquatic Turtles II II John Moriarty 647-1334 Michele Stillinger 588-4613 II I! Ann Porwoll 489-7853 Dennis Daly 633-8370 II ii II II II II Minnesota Herps II !I Greg Kvanbek 533-7723 II Ii JohnMoriarty 647-1334 II II II t_ - :J

NAME(S)

ADDRESS

CITY STATE __ ZIP CODE _____ _

PHONE _________________________ __ LIST IN MHS DIRECTORY? YES__ NO __

HERP--RBLATED INTERESTS ___________________ --.-____ _ L

TYPE OF MEMBERSHIP? NEW__ RENEWEL __ U of MN STUDENT __ (check if yes)

__ SUSTAINING ________ $60.00 INSTITUTION ... _._$25.00

___ CONTRIBUTING ..... $30.00 __ BASIC .. __ ........ _ .. $15.00

OFFICIAL MHS T-SHIRT -- $1.00 includes postage (indicate how many of each)

Adult: small large__ x-large __ Kids: 6-8__ 10-12 __

Please enclose payment. t\,IAr.:E CHECKS PAYABLE TO: Minnesota Herpetological Society_ Membership is for t 2 months j rom date of joining_ .~\ membership card will be sent by return mail. A receipt win be sent only on request. Allow 6-8 weeb for processillg. [ViAlL TO: Minnesota l-krpetoiogical Society, f3eli lvtuseum of Natural History, 10 ChUl'ch St. S.E., \linlleapolis, lVfN .5 5455 -0104

MINNESOTA

HERPETOLOGICAL

SOCIETY

BELL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

10 CHURCH STREET S. E. MINNEASPOLIS, MN 55455-0104

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DELIVER BY SEPTEMBER 2, 1992

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Non-Profit Bulk Rate

U. S. Postage PAID

Mpls. MN Permit No. 2275