We're always happy to see the media grasping that "venomous" and "poisonous" don't mean the same thing. For your Friday viewing pleasure, stop by io9.com and check out some of the world's coolest venomous crittters!
Photo from the kingsnake.com photo gallery: BakerReptiles
The little dugout angled out of the river and approached our dock. In it sat a villager holding something at bay with one paddle while deftly maneuvering with another.
Mike Pingleton was closest, and even before the boat touched shore, he was excited. And well he should have been, for unlike one of the more common snakes the villagers usually bring us, on the bottom of the boat was a two foot long creature clad in scales of tan that were arranged in annuli.
The villager lifted the creature gently on a paddle, and Mike soon had it in hand. About the diameter of a thumb, we were all soon staring intently at a fairly common but seldom seen, legless, burrower, a Giant Worm lizard (more correctly a Giant Amphisbaenid), Amphisbaena alba.
Besides lacking limbs, this intriguing creature lacks functional eyes. The scalation is arranged in prominent rings that give it the superficial appearance of a gigantic earthworm.
To many of us, the appearance of this very specialized lizard-like animal was the high point of the trip.
Along with partner Brian Potter, Bob Ashley has operated the North American Reptile Breeders Conference, a series of annual reptile and amphibian expos and symposiums held in California, Texas, and Illinois, for over a decade.
NARBC has become a successful event that attracts hobbyists and professionals alike, and not only provides a channel for businesses to the marketplace, but an opportunity for education, community service and outreach by reptile and amphibian conservation, education, and rescue groups as well.
Promoting an event that brings live reptiles and amphibians to three different states means keeping up with state and local laws and regulations for three separate localities, as well as federal and state laws is a cumbersome task, complicated by the fact that the vendors and participants come not only from around the country, but around the world. The NARBC has had to contend with a variety of regulatory issues over the years, from local ordinances to state permits to federal bans, and from that has derived a wealth of experiences to draw from.
A former President of the International Herpetological Symposium, Bob and his wife, Sherry, also own EcoUniverse in Rodeo, New Mexico, a specialty book publisher of herpetological titles and original artwork, as well as a distributor of reptile and amphibian related t-shirts, outerwear, and other herp gear to zoos, museums, and pet stores.
NARBC's Bob Ashley will be a panelist at the free National Reptile and Amphibian Law Symposium in Washington, D.C., November 8-10. For more information and to register to attend this free event, please click here.
Featured Writers and Contributors
With our Featured Contributors program, kingsnake.com brings you the latest news and updates from the biggest names in reptiles and amphibians, to share their decades of experience and knowledge with our community.
Jeff Barringer Publisher - Featured Contributor Founder of kingsnake.com, Jeff Barringer is a veteran field hobbyist with almost three decades of experience roaming the thorn-scrub or Texas is search of reptiles and amphibians. A specialist in kingsnakes and milk snakes, he is active in the reptile communities legal/political process, and is one of the founders of NRAAC.
Christie Keith Editor In Chief - Featured Contributor Longtime PetHobbyist and Connected By Pets Community and Social Media Director Christie Keith has been editing the kingsnake.com site blog since it's launch in 2007, and working with the kingsnake.com community since 2001. A nationally known pet writer, Christie is active in the Rescue and No-Kill Shelter community.
Richard D. Bartlett Featured Contributor Author, photographer, and columnist Richard Bartlett is one of the most prolific writers on herpetological subjects in the 20th century. With hundreds of books and articles to their credit, Richard and his wife Pat have spent over four decades documenting reptiles both in the field and in captivity. For a list of their current titles, please visit their page in our bookstore.
Patricia Bartlett Featured Contributor A former museum director and book editor, author Patricia Bartlett has written about natural history topics for countless books, magazines, and web sites. Along with husband Richard, she has spent over four decades documenting animals and invertebrates both in the field and in captivity. For a list of their current titles, please visit their page in our bookstore.
Phil Goss Featured Contributor Longtime reptile breeder, hobbyist, and member of the reptile industry, Phil Goss is the President of the United States Association of Reptile Keepers (USARK), the reptile communities National grass roots organization that works on regulatory issues at the local, state and federal levels.
Gerold Merker Featured Contributor High school biology teacher Gerold Merker is a noted author and photographer with a passion for Americas southwestern deserts. Along with books about the Gray-banded Kingsnake and California Mountain Kingsnake, he has written articles regarding reptile and invertebrate care, as well as in periodicals such as Reptiles Magazine and The Vivarium.
More contributors to be announced shortly...
Laws
National Reptile & Amphibian Advisory Council's primary purpose is to host an annual symposium and workshop to bring together people, organizations, companies, and agencies to discuss the impact of laws, regulations, and restrictions on reptiles and amphibians and the people that work with them. If you would like to volunteer to help us put on our conference or to find out more,
click here.
Along with partner Brian Potter, Bob Ashley has operated the North American Reptile Breeders Conference, a series of annual reptile and amphibian expos and symposiums held in California, Texas, and Illinois, for over a decade.
NARBC has become a successful event that attracts hobbyists and professionals alike, and not only provides a channel for businesses to the marketplace, but an opportunity for education, community service and outreach by reptile and amphibian conservation, education, and rescue groups as well.
Promoting an event that brings live reptiles and amphibians to three different states means keeping up with state and local laws and regulations for three separate localities, as well as federal and state laws is a cumbersome task, complicated by the fact that the vendors and participants come not only from around the country, but around the world. The NARBC has had to contend with a variety of regulatory issues over the years, from local ordinances to state permits to federal bans, and from that has derived a wealth of experiences to draw from.
A former President of the International Herpetological Symposium, Bob and his wife, Sherry, also own EcoUniverse in Rodeo, New Mexico, a specialty book publisher of herpetological titles and original artwork, as well as a distributor of reptile and amphibian related t-shirts, outerwear, and other herp gear to zoos, museums, and pet stores.
NARBC's Bob Ashley will be a panelist at the free National Reptile and Amphibian Law Symposium in Washington, D.C., November 8-10. For more information and to register to attend this free event, please click here.
National Reptile and Amphibian Law Symposium panelist Elliott R. Jacobson PhD, DVM, DACZM, is currently a Professor of Zoological Medicine at the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Florida. The author or co-author of 250 refereed scientific papers and 37 chapters in texts, he has edited and co-edited four books and has been either the principal or co-principal investigator on 83 funded projects since 1978.
Many of his papers are the first description of certain infectious agents in nondomestic species. Several of these descriptive reports have evolved into long-term research projects. Over the last 34 years he has worked on health problems of a wide variety of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. His laboratory focuses on infectious diseases of wildlife and zoo animals, with an emphasis on reptiles including the development of serologic assays and molecular diagnostic assays used to determine exposure to and infection with certain pathogens.
Born in Brooklyn, NY in 1945 and attending Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, he earned a BS degree in Biology in 1967 and went on to earn a Master of Science Degree at New Mexico State University in 1969 where he worked on the physiological ecology of snakes.
Attending graduate school at the University of Missouri he earned a PhD in Zoology and then dually enrolled in graduate school and veterinary school going on to earn a DVM and PhD in Zoology in 1975. From 1975 to 1977 as a faculty member in the Veterinary Science Department at the University of Maryland and wildlife veterinarian for the state of Maryland, he worked on various epizootics of waterfowl in the Chesapeake Bay.
Elliott R Jacobson arrived at the University of Florida in 1977 and is currently a Professor of Zoological Medicine, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine. He is also a member of the Zoological Medicine Service, Veterinary Medical Center at the University of Florida where he serves as a clinician and teaches veterinary students and graduate veterinarians in a zoological medicine residency-training program. Since 1979, Dr. Jacobson has advised 30 residents and has advised or served on the committee of 18 graduate students. Almost all of former residents are employed in major zoological institutions and aquariums scattered across the United States. In 1986 he became a Diplomate of the American College of Zoological Medicine.
Dr. Jacobson has also been a reptile hobbyist since childhood, keeping and breeding a wide range of reptiles over the years. He currently keeps about 120 snakes.
Appearing as a panelist at the NRAAC Reptile and Amphibian Law Symposium and Workshop November 8-10 in Washington D.C., Dr. Jacobson will represent the University of Florida and event co-hosts the Association of Amphibian and Reptile Veterinarians. For more information and to register to attend, please click here.
Journalist and communications consultant Christie Keith has been a pet columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, a contributing editor to the nationally syndicated pet feature Pet Connection, and a well-known blogger, editor, and social media consultant for a number of pet, veterinary, and animal welfare businesses and organizations. She has also spoken at a number of national animal welfare conferences on using social media to advocate for animals and increase pet adoptions.
Keith is active in the no-kill movement, and will be joining the rescue panel at the free National Reptile and Amphibian Law Symposium in Washington, D.C., November 8-10. Her focus will be encouraging reptile and amphibian rescue groups to work more effectively with animal control agencies and shelters and demand greater consideration and increased lifesaving efforts for their animals.
For more information and to register to attend this free event, please click here.
Wayne Hill has been a reptile keeper for over 60 years and a reptile breeder for more than 40 years. He bred cobras and Taipans in the 80’s but now breeds turtles and tortoises. Wayne is a certified aquaculturist with the Florida Department of Agriculture and has been awarded the Golden Circle Award by the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, the Joseph Lazlo Award by the International Herpetological Symposium, and the Barbara Bonner Award by the Asian Turtle Consortium.
Wayne serves on the Board of Directors of Turtle and Tortoise Preservation Group, the Asian Turtle Consortium, and the Florida Reptile & Amphibian Association. Wayne is the founder of the Florida Anti-venom Bank, the Central Florida Herpetological Society, and the League of Florida Herpetological Societies. He is the founder and has been the director of the National Reptile Breeders Expo for 24 years.
The National Reptile Breeders’ Expo, originally in Orlando but now in Daytona Beach, is the oldest and largest annual reptile event and trade show in North America. Each year it attracts thousands of people from the United States, Canada and overseas to Florida to learn about reptiles and amphibians, and to buy, sell, and swap reptiles, amphibians, and supplies from it's hundreds of businesses, breeders, and hobbyists. In addition, it serves as an annual fundraising event for charitable organizations as well as reptile clubs, rescues, and associations.
Wayne Hill of the National Reptile Breeders Expo will be a panelist at the free National Reptile and Amphibian Law Symposium in Washington, D.C., November 8-10. For more information and to register to attend, please click here.
Mike Canning, a reptile hobbyist who shares his home with two aquatic turtles and a breeding pair of creamsickle corn snakes, became The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) president and CEO in 2010, filling a vacancy left by the shift of former CEO Marshall Meyers to part-time consultant in May of that year.
Prior to joining PIJAC, Cannine ran a public affairs firm in the Washington D.C. area. In his role as President and CEO of PIJAC, Mike Canning represents the interests of it's board, and its thousands of member businesses, hobbyists, and individuals on legislative and regulatory issues regarding pets and pet ownership
PIJAC is the world’s largest pet trade association, representing all segments of the pet industry. PIJAC’s mission is to promote responsible pet ownership and animal welfare, foster environmental stewardship, and ensure the availability of pets to the public. PIJAC Board of Directors is comprised of representatives from all segments of the pet industry and representatives from other member industry trade associations. It includes representatives of companies such as Petco, Central Garden & Pet, and Rolf C. Hagen Inc, among others.
PIJAC is considered the national watchdog organization for the pet industry that since the 1970s has monitored legislative and regulatory issues regarding pets and pet ownership at the local, state, and national level, as well as providing testimony and comments on legislation. It also provides the tools and information necessary for businesses and individuals to respond to legislative issues, and network among government agencies, industry groups and non-governmental organizations.
PIJAC's Mike Canning will be a panelist and moderator at the free National Reptile and Amphibian Law Symposium in Washington, D.C., November 8-10. For more information and to register to attend, please click here.
Photos
Check out the latest reptile and amphibian pics from kingsnake.com's users. To upload your own photos,
click here. It's free!
Check out this video "Anoles in My Garden," submitted by kingsnake.com user clintg.
Submit your own reptile & amphibian videos at http://www.kingsnake.com/video/ and you could see them featured here or check out all the videos submitted by other users!
Check out this video "Female Nosy Faly Delivery," submitted by kingsnake.com user 1Sun.
Submit your own reptile & amphibian videos at http://www.kingsnake.com/video/ and you could see them featured here or check out all the videos submitted by other users!
Check out this video "Perfect Striped Boa," submitted by kingsnake.com user Boazucht.
Submit your own reptile & amphibian videos at http://www.kingsnake.com/video/ and you could see them featured here or check out all the videos submitted by other users!
Check out the latest reptile news from our featured bloggers. Start your own kingsnake.com blog,
click here. It's free!
Businesses
Looking for a reptile or amphibian related business? A reptile store, breeder, importer, maunfacturer or supplier?
Our business directory lists some of the most popluar herp businesses in the world. To list your business on kingsnake.com click here.
To list your business as a featured business click here.
Business Listings kingsnake.com links to a wide variety of reptile and
amphibian related businesses around the world.
kingsnake.com has been gathering herp event photos since we launched our photo gallery over 10 years ago. We are in the process of sorting through all our event photos and catgegorizing them by event to create a historical archive. If you have reptile and amphibian event photos from expos, sympomsiums, lectures, field trips or others and would like to participate, please upload them to our herp events photo gallery. To upload your herp event photos to our events gallery, click here.
List your clubs meeting schedule
If you represent a non-profit reptile or amphibian club or organization and would like your club's meeting schedule added to our club meeting calendar here for free, please submit your link and meeting details to the Organizations Editor by clicking here.
List a club or organization event
kingsnake.com's events calendar is the best place to list your non-profit organizations reptile and amphiban event on our site, appearing literally on hundreds of pages throughout the site. If you represent a non-profit reptile or amphibian club or organization and would like your club's expo, symposium or special event added to our events calendar here for free, please submit your link and event details to the Organizations Editor by clicking here.
Purchase a commercial event listing
kingsnake.com's events calendar is the best place to list your businesses reptile and amphiban event on our site, appearing literally on hundreds of pages throughout the site, and reaching thousands of reptile and amphibian hobbyists and businesses every day. If you represent a reptile or amphibian related business and would like your commerical expo, symposium or special event added to our events calendar, you can view listing rates and purchase a commercial event listing by clicking here .
Ever have a date that was going great - until you mention your pets?
Sometimes it's difficult for owners of non-traditional pets to find that special someone using traditional relationship sites.
kingsnake after dark is here to help pet owners find that extra special someone. Give it a try. It's FREE!
Clubs
Herpetological societies are typically non-profit, private organizations, clubs or organized groups of reptile and amphibian enthusiasts that are geographically focused around a specific state, province, or region. Many groups accept corresponding members from anywhere in the world. Most are open to the public, having been founded by hobbyists and non-professionals to promote education and conservation while often sharing knowledge related to husbandry and breeding.
Our mission is to promote understanding, appreciation, and conservation of reptiles and amphibians; encourage respect for their habitats; and foster responsible captive care. Membership is open to anyone with an interest in reptiles and amphibians. Our members include professional biologists and amateur naturalists with years of experience, as well as those with a beginning interest in herps, either keeping and breeding them, or seeing them in the wild. .
The ARAV is a veterinary organization promoting conservation
and humane treatment of all reptilian and amphibian species through education, captive breeding, and habitat
preservation.
For information on the ARAV, or how you can become a member, please visit our web site at
http://arav.org
Search by State
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Canada
The ARAV is a veterinary organization promoting conservation
and humane treatment of all reptilian and amphibian species through education, captive breeding, and habitat
preservation.
For information on the ARAV, or how you can become a member, please visit our web site at
http://arav.org
Search by Province
Search by Postal Code
Australia
The ARAV is a veterinary organization promoting conservation
and humane treatment of all reptilian and amphibian species through education, captive breeding, and habitat
preservation.
For information on the ARAV, or how you can become a member, please visit our web site at
http://arav.org
The ARAV is a veterinary organization promoting conservation
and humane treatment of all reptilian and amphibian species through education, captive breeding, and habitat
preservation.
For information on the ARAV, or how you can become a member, please visit our web site at
http://arav.org
Search by Country
About the ARAV
The Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians (ARAV) is an international veterinary organization promoting conservation and humane treatment of all reptilian and amphibian species through education, captive breeding, and habitat preservation.
The ARAV advances programs for preventative medicine, husbandry, and scientific research in the field of veterinary medicine dealing with reptiles and amphibians. Also, the ARAV distributes scientific information relating to the field of husbandry, veterinary medicine and surgery of reptiles and amphibians through the Journal of Herpetological Medicine and Surgery, the official publication of the Association, and the Annual Conference of the Association.
For more information about the ARAV or to join as an Associate Member for Non Veterinarians or as an Active Veterinarian Member please visit our website at http://arav.org, or contact us by mail, fax, or phone.
Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians
810 East 10th, PO Box 1897
Lawrence, KS 66044 USA
Phone 1-800-627-0326
International 1-785-865-9401
Fax 1-785-843-6153 http://arav.org
Zoos
Zoos, Aquariums, & Wildlife Parks
Zoos, aquariums, and wildlife parks provide an opportunity for the public to interact with species and learn about their habitats, care, and conservation. Zoological facilities such as these are involved in captive breeding and research programs for many endangered species, as well as for native and exotic species,and often provide assistance in the recovery and rehabilitation of injured and sick native species. The zoos, aquariums, and wildlife parks listed below are all Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited facilities.
Reptile and amphibian expos, symposiums, zoo and museum exhibitions and other educational events are great
places to ask questions, get answers and network with other herp keepers. Upcoming Reptile and Amphibian Events:
Our gallery allows registered users to upload their favorite reptile and
amphibian photos to the topic galleries and personal photos to the member galleries. Photos can be used on our forums, classifieds,
and Connect, or shared with friends and family.
Looking for a reptile or amphibian related business? A reptile store, breeder, importer,
maunfacturer or supplier? Our business directory lists some of the most popluar herp businesses in the world.
kingsnake.com's Connect is a beta project being developed to let the herp community stay in touch with
their friends and fellow hobbyists, keep each other up to date on legislative issues as they develop, and to build and strengthen
the herp community network. Registered users of kingsnake.com can use it to share photos, links, information, alerts, updates and more. log infind connections
Check out these reptile and amphibian submitted by staff, volunteers, and users of the kingsnake.com community.
Our system supports videos hosted on YouTube. If you have a favorite YouTube video, please submit it here.
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To advertise here using a business name you must have your legal business name registration verified. Click here for details on the program or to register your business FREE!
Glossary
Stores
Kingsnake Merch Store kingsnake.com t-shirts, mugs, hats and other gifts. Click Here!
Shipping Supplies Store Ship your herps cross-country safely every time. Click Here!
Some of them are legends known to every school kid in the world. Others are
revered mostly by their peers and the scientists and herpers who came after
them. They're the world's most renowned and influential herpetologists,
herpetoculturists and zoologists, and you can learn more about them and
their legacy to the hobby in kingsnake.com's Wikipedia-based index of herper
biographies.
Keeping reptiles and amphibians is often subject to a variety of laws, regulations, and restrictions.
These resources are here to help you navigate the sometimes complex issues of herp ownership.
Along with partner Brian Potter, Bob Ashley has operated the North American Reptile Breeders Conference, a series of annual reptile and amphibian expos and symposiums held in California, Texas, and Illinois, for over a decade.
National Reptile and Amphibian Law Symposium panelist Elliott R. Jacobson PhD, DVM, DACZM, is currently a Professor of Zoological Medicine at the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Florida. The author or co-author of 250 refereed scientific papers and 37 chapters in texts, he has edited and co-edited four books and has been either the principal or co-principal investigator on 83 funded projects since 1978. 
Is it still "rescue" if they kill the animals?
Wayne Hill has been a reptile keeper for over 60 years and a reptile breeder for more than 40 years. He bred cobras and Taipans in the 80’s but now breeds turtles and tortoises. Wayne is a certified aquaculturist with the Florida Department of Agriculture and has been awarded the Golden Circle Award by the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, the Joseph Lazlo Award by the International Herpetological Symposium, and the Barbara Bonner Award by the Asian Turtle Consortium. 
Mike Canning, a reptile hobbyist who shares his home with two aquatic turtles and a breeding pair of creamsickle corn snakes, became The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) president and CEO in 2010, filling a vacancy left by the shift of former CEO Marshall Meyers to part-time consultant in May of that year. 
