Books For Reptile Lovers

There are a series of four wonderful books on the market for reptile lovers interested in Ball Pythons, Boa Constrictors, Green Tree Pythons and Trans Pecos Ratsnakes. Each is written by the foremost authority on captive breeding for each species. The books are The Complete Ball Python by Kevin McCurley, The Complete Boa Constrictor by Vincent Russo, The Complete Suboc by Dusty Rhoads and The More Complete Chondro by Greg Maxwell. Each book provides comprehensive information on natural history, care, breeding, genetic mutations and much more. These books are hard cover books with full color, attractive dust jackets and are easily gift quality for the casual enthusiast or the serious herpetoculturist. More comprehensive books on these species would be hard, if not impossible, to find.

Rain Brings Out Box Turtles In Portal, Arizona

Rain has come to southeastern Arizona this week. Yesterday we received .22 inch of rain, a nice amount in our rain starved desert. Today we found our first Desert Box Turtles crossing the road near our house. The rain always brings these desert dwellers out. I got out my Box Turtle hat to celebrate.

Ornate Tree Lizards in Portal, Arizona

The Ornate Tree Lizards are out, now, in force. We have several sunning themselves on the walls of our turtle and tortoise enclosures and we had four on our corner post when I left to pick up the mail. At this point they do not seem very territorial yet, but as the spring progresses the males will face off with their displays, showing off their blue undersides. After a winter of sociability (there were 28 together at one time in our pump house over the winter) they will spread out over our property, tending to small territories for the summer. During this time they are fun to watch as they defend their little kingdoms from other Tree Lizards.

Today I saw my first Desert Grasslands Whiptail for the year on our property. They are usually one of the last reptiles to come out in the spring. As soon as the Round-tailed Horned Lizards come out we will know that summer is truly here in the Chihuahuan Desert.

We had a nice four foot Sonoran Gopher Snake laying out across our sidewalk yesterday soaking up the sun. About three feet away from him an Eastern Fence Lizard was doing likewise. When I get done typing this I think I will do the same.

Spring - A Great Time to Start a Reptile Blog

It is spring here in Portal in the foothills of the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona. The days are in the 70s and 80s now and the local reptiles are beginning to pop up from the winter rest of hibernation. A new year of reptile and amphibian life is beginning. What a great time to start a reptile blog!

The Ornate Tree Lizards and Eastern Fence Lizards are out sunning on the walls of our outdoor turtle enclosures. We have observed some rather large Sonoran Gopher Snakes in the yard or crossing nearby roads. Nancy has moved some smaller gopher snakes and a small rattlesnake from the road and placed them in safer environs away from the road. We found a rather dull looking male Desert Spiny Lizard on a recent outing. Soon all of the local herpetofauna will be out and around I can hardly wait.

On our facility the Russian Tortoises were the first to pop up this spring. Several came out to rest in the sun during warmer days in February. Now the Ornate and Desert Box turtle have started to join them. All of our aquatic turtles and Eastern Box Turtles are out now and all enjoy sunning beside their pool. About three weeks ago we found our first Red-Eared Slider hatchling swimming in one of the pools. These turtles quite often hatch in their underground nests during late fall or early winter (November-January) and remain in their nest until the weather becomes suitable for them. Past experience tells us that once the babies come out, freezing weather is a thing of the past. A new herp year is beginning.