Natural Born Killers
CNN has a great story about how people have introduced non-native species of animals to various regions in order to control bothersome pests. More often than not, the consequences are worse than the original problem. The new invaders will often times destroy entire populations of native species which were never intended to be the target.
One case in the CNN article is the cane toad which was introduced to Australia in 1935 to control scarab beetles which were wreaking havoc on sugarcane crops. The toads didn’t have much effect on the beetle populations, but are having a severe effect on crocodile populations. The toads are highly toxic so when the crocodiles eat them, they die of heart failure. “Crocodile populations that have come across these new pests have been dropping like flies, in some places by as much as 77 percent.”
This story brought to mind a few instances of how non-native invasive species have changed our environment here in Florida where I live. I rarely see green anoles because they have been replaced by the Cuban brown anoles that hitched a ride here on shipping containers. Cuban tree frogs have also been a huge problem, since they eat anything that will fit in their mouths. Not just bugs, but mice, small birds, and native tree frogs. Burmese pythons have established a substantial population in the Everglades from pet owners who no longer want them. The list of invasive species that were introduced to Florida, both by accident, and on purpose is huge.
According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, “Over 400 nonnative fish and wildlife species and 1180 exotic plant species have been documented in the state.”
So this is a great opportunity to remind everyone who owns any type of exotic animal that you have a great responsibility to make sure your pets don’t screw up our environment. Make sure your enclosures are secure. If you no longer want your pet, don’t let it go. Find someone to take it off your hands, no matter how long it takes.
Florida Exotic Pet Owners Face New State Rules
It’s good to see that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is taking a sensible approach to the problem with people letting their exotic pets go into the wild. Too often when problems like this arise, the knee-jerk reaction from many government agencies is to ban the animals from being owned at all.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission stated today that they will offer amnesty to anyone who wishes to give up their exotic pets. They will hold a series of events in various cities where people can drop them off without penalty. The animals will then be taken to zoos and wildlife sanctuaries.
Many reptile owners find it very difficult to find homes for large snakes like Burmese pythons. They’re cute when they’re babies but when they get to be 15 feet long, they are too much for most people to care for. So if the owners can’t find a home for them, they let them go.
Because pythons originate from tropical climates, they have adapted very well in the Florida Everglades where they are growing in numbers. Hopefully this will be another positive step towards solving this growing problem.
Man Robbed From Inside a Snake Cage
This man has been living in a snake cage with 40 venomous snakes for 85 days in an attempt to beat the Guiness World Record. He’s sleeping with black mambas, green mambas and other very deadly snakes. But he’s not just doing it to beat the record; he’s doing it for charity. He is raising money for the Save a Child Foundation, which is cool. Still crazy, but at least it’s for a good cause right?
Well unfortunately, one evening, after the reptile park was closed, armed robbers came in and took all of the donation boxes, making out with around $6,000. I don’t even need to say what I think about people like that. I’d rather keep this blog “all ages” friendly. Know what I mean?
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Take a Bite Out of Wrinkles With Snake Vemon Cream
People will do anything for their looks these days; botox implants, liposuction, stomach stapling, snake venom… That’s right. Snake venom. According to this article, the new craze in anti-wrinkle cream is one made from the venom of the Temple Snake from Thailand. Weird.
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Hey! You have a snake hanging from your car!
I love how sensationalized reptile news can be. Take this article for instance. I don’t even know why it’s made national news. This is one of those things that, if it happened to most people, they would go home to their spouse and say, “Something funny happened on the way home from work today.” They wouldn’t call the local news station because it’s not news! It’s just something funny that happened on the way home from work.
In the article, the author talks about a “three-foot python” as if it were some massive ferocious beast that could eat your children. It’s a ball python for Pete’s sake! Real scary creature there!
At the end of the article the author says “she now checks around her van before getting in.” Apparently, even though this is something that happens so very little that it makes national news, she thinks it could very likely happen to her again. Maybe next time it will be a deadly corn snake. Oh the horror!
Hey! You have a snake hanging from your car!
Brazilian Police Find Man-Eating Reptiles at Drug Lord’s Home
One of the things I’ll be doing a lot of in my blog is posting news articles and stuff that I find around the web that relates to our hobby. Now they may not be directly related to snake cages in particular, but they will be related to reptiles. Unless I find something not related to reptiles and I still find it cool enough to post. It’s my blog. I’ll post what I want!
This article is definitely not related to snake cages. It’s about Brazilian Police who raided a drug lord’s house and found two caimans in the back yard. In case you don’t know what a caiman is, they are in the alligator family of crocodilians.
According to the article, this drug gang was using the caimans to intimidate and dispose of the bodies of rival gang members! Kind of reminds me of the pigs in the show Deadwood that used to air on HBO. I hate HBO for canceling that show by the way. But I digress.
Anyway, instead of me rewriting the whole article, just go read it yourself. It’s a short one. Take care and stay away from Brazilian drug lords!
