Reptiles and Amphibians

https://archive.ph/PgeBP

Had a black snake living my backyard for a couple of years & named her Mirtha. Mirtha was good folk, ate mice, kept copperheads at bay, & occasionally got a lil fancy trying to eat hummingbirds.

This year Mirtha made herself more visible to us. She was showing up in higher traffic areas, seemed to have a blockage in her belly.

A friend, who’s a herpetologist at a local university, connected us with the reptile team at NC State University. We drove Mirtha to Raleigh for help.

Sadly, we learned that Mirtha had eggs from last year that she could not birth. The eggs had begun deteriorating & created the risk of sepsis; Mirtha was euthanized & laid to rest.

I never thought I’d cry over a black snake, but damn do I miss Mirtha…

I have a bunch more of these guys if anyone is interested.

I took in a silkback/scaleless bearded dragons some years ago after all my fosters were adopted, as I wanted to get some experience with such a misunderstood species.

I learned an absolute ton and have been educating about silkbacks on R×ddit for some years now, dispelling myths, discouraging ownership / breeding, and swapping advice with the fellow silkback owners.

One thing I've noticed is that silkbacks seem to be prone to blindness / vision loss. We suspect that their eyes may be much more sensitive to UVB, resulting in eyesight deterioration. My own has lost most of his vision and now struggles to find food on his own.

tl;dr: Is vision restoration even possible? Surgery? I'd love for my guy to be able to see again. It really hurts me to him struggle to even feel comfortable roaming my house now. The world can be scary for a little lizard when they can no longer see what's around them.

Thank you.

In the right habitat (a pile of rocks near buildings at somewhat higher, but not quite cloud forest, elevation), the yellow-spotted night lizard can be easily spotted... at night. They have a pretty nice chomp. They always look to be in shed.

Honduras, June 2023

Taken from my back window. One of several little buddies that like to hang out on the porch and peek into the back door.

My research give the name Natrix maura. Pretty happy to see this snake in my garden, hope he will keep some frog alive so we can here the crossing.

I was hoping for Erie watersnakes, but this was a nice find anyway. This area is known for having melanistic garters.

May 2022

I took this picture of what looks like a Gopher Tortoise in Florida on the west coast near Tampa. It looks to me like it has teeth, which was surprising to me.

Abundant in the right habitat/locality and handsome as adults, we found quite a few of these. Definitely saw more juveniles/females than adult males, though.

June 2022

In the right areas, these guys are downright common. I'm surprised I don't see more posts about them. They're like adorable tiny leopard geckos.

Another small-range Honduran endemic, the Lithobates lenca is named for the Lenca peoples of Honduras and El Salvador, the largest indigenous group in the region. They make some beautiful fabrics.

Honduras, June 2023

The Nombre de Dios anole is endemic to Honduras and has a relatively small range consisting of a few mountain ranges. Contrary to what their name suggests, they're pretty small as adults.

Glass frogs are adorable. This species is currently being reviewed by taxonomists and will be changed in the coming years, but no matter what, they're little cuties.

Exhausted, hiking a pretty steep trail, and this one went right under my advisor. When I fell on it, the students (not exactly biologists) behind me thought I tripped--I merely didn't want this one to get away!

This pair was in a parking lot for a national park in Honduras last year. Someone yelled "snake!" and I came running. We saw four that month!

What have you been seeing this summer?

This is the smallest vertebrate I've ever seen. I had trouble picking it up over fears of squishing it (it was indoors and trapped). Unfortunately, the tail fell off in the process, but that's what tails do. It seemed impossibly small. Lago de Yojo, Honduras.

In an effort to help this community get active, I want to post some of my favorite finds from this year, starting with this beautiful big female eyelash pit viper found in PANACAM, Honduras, last month.

I thought I would take some time and advertise the creation of /c/Chameleons! If you have a special place in your heart for these babies, please come contribute. We are starting from scratch, so give us a bit of time to get our house in order.

Backstory: I was a moderator on /r/Chameleons until the Reddit shenanigans and I am done with that platform. Hi!