That Reptile Blog – Reptile, Amphibian and Exotic Pet Care and Information

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.  Please see Part 1 of this article to read about the conservation of the Marsh Crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) and to see what it’s like to work with them in captivity. 

Natural History

Marsh Crocodiles are aptly named – despite being powerful swimmers, they favor the calm, plant-choked waters of swamps and marshes over swift-moving rivers (the species name, “palustris”, is a reference to their habitat).

Their range extends from Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan through India and Sri Lanka.  Read More »

Asia’s freshwater turtles face an unprecedented extinction crisis, which may soon result in the loss of 90 or more species.  In 2001, I joined other turtle enthusiasts in south Florida to help process nearly 10,000 turtles of many species that had been confiscated on route to food markets in China.  The magnitude of the response to their plight heartened me, but today, unfortunately, we are still fighting an uphill battle.  Please see Part 1 of this article for details.  Following is a bit more on this sad situation. Read More »

Today I’d like to introduce Hagen’s Smart Plants,  a new line of artificial plants that hold great promise for those keeping Poison Frogs (Dendrobates, Phyllobates, etc.) and arboreal snakes, tarantulas, crabs and similar creatures. Read More »

It is said that people who make careers of their passions never work a day in their lives…those of us who have turned our hobbies into livelihoods are indeed fortunate.  The following ideas have helped me along the way – I hope they are of some use to you.

Speak Up

Interacting with others is very important when you start and progress down your path.  I was quite shy as a child, and this certainly hampered me…force yourself to ask questions of your relatives, teachers and folks working in the field.  Read More »

From enormous Burmese Pythons in Florida to Wall Lizards in NYC, introduced species come as little surprise to US herp enthusiasts.  But the recent (December, 2010) discovery that a huge African Spurred or “Sulcata” Tortoise, Geochelone sulcata, had apparently been living in an Arizona desert for some time, gave most of us pause for thought. Read More »