For Your Safety

For Your Safety

Beautiful Bali is one of Perth's favourite holiday destinations and at this time of year,  lovely summer temperatures around 30 degrees and clear blue rain-free skies!

Tourism is Bali’s biggest source of income.  Each year there is a new shopping centre, a new theme park or a new zoo.  Many of the tourist attractions use animals, both native and exotic, as a revenue source.  There are brightly coloured horse and carriages waiting to offer you a ride on the streets of Kuta.  A trek with the Indonesian elephants of Ubud not only teaches you about elephant behaviour and diet but you also get to swim with them and participate in their balancing tricks.  The new Bali Safari and Marine Park gives you the opportunity to dine, swim, sleep and even visit the loo with animals from the African savannah looking on - always through the safety of glass!  Hands on encounters are available too - pat a lion or tiger cub, cuddle a baby orang-utan or hand feed an elephant!

Animal conservation is also used to attract the tourist dollar to help raise funds for rehabilitation and breeding.  There are foundations and groups set up to help all sorts of animals including sea turtles, komodo dragons and pythons as well as dogs, cats and even osprey.

The basis of Balinese food is rice where ours is meat.  They do eat some protein, mostly chicken and pork and sometimes fish and sea turtle.  The sea turtle has been overfished (not necessarily by the Balinese as the surrounding islands eat turtle as well) and now there is a conservation group in south east Bali breeding these amazing creatures. 

A visit to the Turtle Farm just north of Benoa Harbour gives you the opportunity to see tiny baby turtles, hold some of the older ones and hand feed seagrass to a big group of adult turtles in the tidal pool where they’re kept.  As with many species, sea turtles need to feed underwater.  In shallow water you can see how they take water in with their food to chew/swallow and what goes in, must come out, through the nostrils!  This physical process probably wouldn’t be noticed if the animal was entirely submerged but seeing the proof in shallow water is amazing!

One aspect of eco-tourism is that animals being rehabilitated are used to attract the tourists – hold the fruit bat, have your photo taken with the osprey, hang a big python around your neck.  While it would be better for these animals to recuperate in a quiet place well away from humans to eventually be released, the conservation group wouldn’t have any attractions for the tourists and would therefore lose their donated revenue, the revenue that goes to rehabilitating and breeding the animals.  Unfortunately international tourists don’t always understand species specific behaviour and sadly pythons are still “big scary snakes” to the ignorant.   So – for your safety – the python has its jaws sticky-taped shut!

Animals in tourism can be a hotly debated topic especially by animal and herp lovers but it is undeniable that the animals' welfare is dependent on the tourist dollar.    Be aware and perhaps don’t judge too harshly.

Photos and text by Gabby Lewis

The Private Life of Spiders

Book Review

The Private Life of Spiders by Paul Hillyard

Click here to buy this book.

The Private Life of Spiders explores a fascinating world of competition and a fight for survival.  Join arachnid expert Paul Hillyard on a tour of some of the most remarkable and diverse spiders, from the solitary bird-eating tarantula to the African Sheet Web Spider, which can live in colonies of over one thousand individuals.

Featuring species from all around the world and in a range of different habitats.

Illustrated with over 100 superb colour photographs highlighting the beauty and diversity of spiders.

With information on spider anatomy, behaviour, reproduction and social organisation, as well as on web construction and hunting techniques.

Hardcover 160pp

Contents: Background to Spiders; Spiders that Hunt; Spiders that Build Webs; Tarantulas and Trapdoor Spiders; The Silk Factory; Mating and Breeding; The Use of Venom; Social Spiders; Spiders and Humans; Glossary; Further Reading; Index.

Excerpt
Page 19
Ballooning and the Phenomenon of Gossamer
Spiders populate remote places by a method of airborne migration known as ballooning.  With the aid of long strands of silk drawn out by the breeze, small and young spiders, under 1cm in length, become airborne and may drift considerable distances depending on the weather conditions.  They have been collected on ships, hundreds of kilometres from the nearest land, as well as in samples of aerial plankton at altitudes up to 5,000m.  Charles Darwin, writing in the Voyage of the Beagle, recorded that on 1 November 1832, at a distance of 100km from the coast of South America, the ship’s rigging became covered with vast numbers of dusky red spiders about 2mm in length.  It happened again 25 days later, demonstrating that such a fall of spiders at sea is not a rare event.

At the right time and place, it is quite possible to observe what actually happens during take-off.  The spider climbs to the top of a fence post, or other prominent point.  It turns to the wind and stands on extended legs with the spinnerets uppermost.  A thread is initiated and drawn out further by the breeze.  When the pull on the line is sufficient, the spider turns, grabs the thread, releases its hold on the post, and away it goes.

Do spiders have any control over their flight?  Theoretically, they do.  They can descend more rapidly by rolling the thread into a ball and tucking their legs in.  Also, they can fly further by building extra silk (sails) into the thread.  Probably, however, they have little or no control over the direction of flight.  If it happens that they land in an unsuitable place, might they decide to take off again?  Yes, this certainly happens on ships at sea; Darwin observed it on the Beagle.  In fact it has been firmly established that spiders will move on if they find themselves a poor site.

Gossamer, the extremely light material made of silk threads, is associated with ballooning.  On days when there is much ballooning activity, either taking-off or landing, there can be more than a million spiders to the acre, each one trailing a line.  Lines may accumulate to form a silvery sheet over the land which, on a sunny dewy morning, makes a beautiful sight.  But, as the morning progresses, rising air currents break up the sheet and lift the resulting pieces of gossamer, like bits of rage, into the air.
...

Species that are able to disperse by ballooning tend to have a wide distribution in the world, while those that cannot balloon are limited to walking.  At one end of the scale are cosmopolitan species with the ability to disperse and tolerate a wide range of habitats, while at the other end are specie confined to specific niches in limited geographical ranges.  For example; The Great Barrier Reef islands have been colonised by a variety of spiders (of many different families), but not by the large tarantulas which are common on the mainland, a short distance away.  They young tarantulas are usually too heavy to balloon and neither can they swim.  Today, many species have spread around the world thanks to international trade.  One such is the so-called banana spider (Heteropoda venatoria).  Transported together with bananas, it has now spread throughout the tropics and sub-tropics as far north as Florida and Israel.  Europe, however, remains too for it to survive permanently.

Reptiles Australia Magazine Vol 4 Issue 5

Reptiles Australia Magazine
Vol 4 Issue 5
Now Available!

New Tools For Cane Toad Control

More on the Frog Front!

New Tools for Cane Toad Control

From Environment and Conservation News

“New tools for cane toad control?  Recent discoveries in pheromones and parasites” was the title of a recent seminar at which some of Australia’s foremost researchers presented innovative research findings on cane toad biology.

Image from http://www.daylife.com/photo/08uH6rQbwabfd

The seminar was the second in the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre’s (IA CRC) “Breakthrough Seminar Series” and was opened by Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment Dr Sally Talbot.

Summarising his group’s research on the biology of the cane toad at Fogg Dam in the Northern Territory, Professor Rick Shine from the University of Sydney spoke about his and researcher Crystal Kelehear’s discovery of the parasitic lungworm Rhabdias.

Rhabdias has been identified as a possible control agent as it debilitates toads and slows their ability to spread.

This ecologically based approach to control still requires detailed studies to check that native frogs, like their eastern states counterparts from where the lungworm originates, are not significantly impacted by the parasite.

Other research presented at the seminar included a cane toad killing spray developed by Dr David Dall and the work of Professor Rob Capon from the University of Queensland.

Professor Capon’s research into the chemical ecology of cane toads, which builds on observational work by Professor Shine, has identified an alarm pheromone made by cane toad tadpoles when they are in distress which causes other tadpoles to fell.  It is hoped the pheromone can be isolated and used to disrupt cane toad reproduction.

Professor Shine is also collaborating with DEC Principal Research Scientist Dr David Pearson to study interactions between cane toads and Kimberley fauna.

“This will enable us to identify species at risk and thus establish conservation priorities,” David said.

Since December 2004, the State Government has allocated more than $10 million to address the threat of cane toads.  IA CRC Chief Executive Officer Professor Tony Peacock is reviewing the effectiveness of on-ground toad control to assist the State Government in making future investment decisions.

Recently reported in the news ...

Recently reported in the news ...

New Frog Species Turns Up In Kalbarri Sands
By Joseph Catanzaro

It might be small, but this tiny frog is creating quite a stir in the scientific community after it was discovered in the Kalbarri National Park, 150km north of Geraldton.

The southern sandhill frog, or Arenophryne xiphorhyncha, is a new species and was revealed yesterday at the WA Museum in Geraldton.

Photo above is of Arenophryne rotunda from www.frogsaustralia.net.au

Despite the fact it is believed the frog has lived in the sandhills of the National Park for as long as seven million years, scientists say the portly amphibian’s physical likeness to its cousin, the northern sandhill frog, has helped it evade being identified as a unique species until now.

WA Museum herpetologist Paul Doughty said the find was significant because it highlighted the fact a lot was left to be discovered about WA fauna.

“This species was found only 100km from Geraldton.  There’s probably about 100 species of frogs and reptile in Western Australia that remain undescribed,” he said.

Dr Doughty said the southern sandhill frog was unusual in that it used its big front legs to burrow head first through its sandy domain, unlike most Australian species which burrow backwards with their legs.  Atypically, the young do not go through a tadpole stage, instead females lay a big egg from which a miniature version of the adult frog emerges.

Dr Doughty said while the northern sandhill frog was discovered in 1976 in coastal dunes near Shark Bay, the first step towards the discovery of the southern sandhill frog did not occur until recently, after University of WA PhD student Danielle Edwards conducted genetic testing on a specimen found at Kalbarri. 

But the frog still retains one mystery.  “No one has heard its call yet,” Dr Doughty said.  “The males have to feel quite amorous before they will call.”

Australian Crocodiles; A Natural History by Grahame Webb and Charlie Manolis

Book Review

Australian Crocodiles; A Natural History by Grahame Webb and Charlie Manolis

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Crocodiles are abundant in most rivers, creeks and swamps in northern Australia and are a major tourist attraction.  They are part of the great ‘northern adventure’ that domestic and international visitors travel so far to experience.

In Australian Crocodiles – A Natural History, Grahame Webb and a Charlie Manolis uncover the ‘private lives’ of crocodiles, with comprehensive studies on reproduction, growth, movement, behaviour, habitats and foods.  The authors explore the anatomy, physiology and embryology of these fascinating animals.  They also examine attacks on humans, the history of crocodile hunting and farming, surveying, catching and handling.

About the Authors – Grahame Webb PhD has been researching saltwater crocodiles since 1973.  He has written numerous scientific papers, and a novel, on crocodiles, and is considered a leader in the field of crocodilian research.  Charlie Manolis has worked with Grahame Webb researching crocodiles since 1980 and has co-authored most scientific papers with him since then.

Paperback 160pp

Contents:   An Introduction to the Crocodilians; The World Crocodilians; Australian Crocodile Habitats; Australian Saltwater Crocodiles; Australian Freshwater Crocodiles; Crocodile Attacks; Crocodiles and Man; Bibliography; Index.

Excerpt
Page 113
Crocodile Attacks
Freshwater Crocodiles ... are not predators on man.  People working with Freshwater Crocodiles are sometimes bitten by them and the power of their jaws and the extent of injury that can result from their bite, should not be underestimated.  The type of bite usually delivered by Freshwater Crocodiles appears to be akin to the ‘tail-biting’ behaviour seen in the wild; a rapid, almost ritual bite, with no attempt to hang on to the victim.

On occasion, Freshwater Crocodiles do not simply bite and let go.
...
On at least four occasions, Freshwater Crocodiles have bitten people swimming.  Twice the bites have been delivered to people’s legs, which perhaps have been mistaken for the tail of a challenging crocodile.
...
Yet, as innocuous as Freshwater Crocodiles have proven to be, it would be foolhardy to let small children swim alone in waters where there were large Freshwater Crocodiles.  These crocodiles seem to prefer small prey, such as insects and small fish, but they have been known to take wallabies and may be attracted to prey of that size.

Saltwater Crocodiles are a completely different ‘kettle of fish’.  They are known predators on man, and even where attacks are unsuccessful, horrific injuries can result.  The number of crocodile attacks reported seems incredibly low relative to the number of opportunities that appear to have arisen.  Even Saltwater Crocodiles seem to have a healthy respect for humans.

Frogs and Tadpoles of Australia by Marion Anstis

Book Review

Frogs and Tadpoles of Australia by Marion Anstis

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This book is all about Australian frogs: where they live, how they breathe, how they catch their food, how they mate and how they develop from eggs to tadpoles and finally into baby frogs.  It includes:
- Full-colour photographs of frogs (as well as some of their eggs and tadpoles) in their natural habitats
- A full-colour map showing the different habitats
- Informative and fun text
- Activities to test your knowledge
- A glossary to explain new words
- An index
- A list of other books and websites where you can find out more.
Marion Anstis has had a passion for tadpoles and frogs since the age of six, though she has always worked as a high-school music teacher.  Her unique book Tadpoles of South-eastern Australia won the Whitley Silver Medal.  Writing a book for children to kindle their interest in frogs is close to her heart.

Hardcover 48pp

Contents: How to Use this Book; Meet the Frogs; All About Frogs; Calling All Females; From Egg to Frog; The World of Tadpoles; Who Needs a Tadpole?; Southern Treasures; East Coast; Rainforest Wonders; Alpine Rarities; The Great Divide; Across Woodlands and Plains; The Big Dry; Top End Magic; Jewels of the South-west; Going...Going...Gone!; Frog Friendly; Activities; Glossary; Want to Know More?; What’s in a Name?; Index.

Excerpt
Page 13
Sheep Frog
The Bleating Tree Frog has a very big voice.  It literally screams its long, high-pitched call, sounding a bit like a bleating sheep.  It is hard to believe that such a loud sound could come from such a small body (about 4 centimetres long).  The blown-up vocal sac is almost transparent.

Snakes, Lizards, Crocs and Turtles of Australia

Book Review

Snakes, Lizards, Crocs and Turtles of Australia by Steve Wilson

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This fun, informative and colourful book introduces all of Australia’s different types of lizards and snakes as well as turtles and crocodiles.  It includes:
- Full-colour pictures showing the animals in their natural habitats
- A full-colour map showing the different habitats
- Text full of interesting facts about their lifestyle and behaviour
- Activities to test your knowledge
- A glossary to explain new words
- An index that includes both scientific and common names
- A list of other books and websites where you can find out more.
Steve Wilson is the author of A Field Guide to Reptiles of Queensland, and co-author of A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia.  For more than 20 years he has worked at the Queensland Museum, educating the public, identifying their specimens and answering kids’ questions about reptiles.

Hardcover 48pp

Contents: Meet the Reptiles; Scorched Earth; Sun, Sand and Spinifex; Rainforest – Land of Shadows; Cold Comfort/ Top End – Land of Extremes; Gum Trees – Tough Leaves; Sweeping Plains; A Blaze of Colour – Heaths; Water World; Thin Blue Line; City Slickers; Going...Going;  Activities; Glossary; Want To Know More?; What’s In A Name?; Index; Acknowledgements.

Excerpt
Page 33
Thin Blue Line
It is a fine line between land and sea, two worlds so utterly different that few animals and plants can survive in both.  Most reptiles live only on land, but some live only in the sea.  To adapt to marine life, limbs have become flippers and tails have turned into paddles.  Marine turtles swim in the sea but come back to land to lay their eggs.  Keeping warm is a problem, because marine reptiles are largely at the mercy of the ocean temperature.  This means that almost all marine reptiles live only in warm tropical waters.  Shallow seas, clear coral reefs and murky river mouths are home to turtles and sea snakes, and even crocodiles have been found many kilometres from land.

Book Review - Spiders, Snails and Other Minibeasts of Australia

A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia Second Edition

Reptiles Australia Magazine Volume 4 Issue 4

Reptiles Australia Magazine
Volume 4 Issue 4

 
Click here to purchase Reptiles Australia Magazine Volume 4 Issue 4

Book Review - The More Complete Chondro

The More Complete Chondro by Greg Maxwell

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Green tree pythons (Morelia viridis) have become increasingly popular in recent years, despite having a reputation for being difficult to maintain in captivity.  In The More Complete Chondro, internationally known “chondro” breeder Greg Maxwell provides a thorough reference about this beautiful and challenging species.  This expanded edition of the original book covers all aspects of captive husbandry and breeding techniques, and includes new information about natural history and geographic races.  The author discusses breeding genetics and describes all the spectacular color morphs currently being produced, including an update on the albino project.  Over 260 color photographs illustrate the text.

Hailed by critics as one of the best new herpetological titles to be released in a decade, The Complete Chondro (2003) quickly became a best-seller within the reptile-keeping community, both in America and abroad.  This new release will delight GTP fans both old and new.  Much more than a simple reprinting, it is truly... The More Complete Chondro.  Hardcover   Paperback 317pp.

Contents: Natural History, A Brief Captive History, Geographic Races and Locality Typing, Color Genetics and Ontogenic  Color Change, Selectively Bred Color Morphs, Chondro Myths and Misconceptions, Are Chondros Right For You?, Buying A Quality Chondro, Proper Caging, Providing Proper Cage Environment, Feeding Shedding and Defecation Cycles, The Challenge of Breeding Chondros, Conditioning and Cycling, Breeding and Egg Laying, Incubation, Managing Neonates, Solving Common Problems, Resources, Common Medical Dosages.

Excerpt
Page 76
Color Phases of Neonate Chondros
Baby chondros come in two basic phases...golden yellow and maroon.  (I refer to these as color phases rather than “morphs” because a phase is temporary, and certainly the baby colors are not permanent.)  There is wide and sometimes extreme variation within these two basic color phases however, especially the maroon phase.  These “dark” babies (a term used by breeders to refer to all non-yellow neonates) can be red, orange, brown, almost black, and variation of all these, in addition to the more normal maroon color.  Yellow hatchlings tend to be much less variable in color, and usually have a pattern of red or brown speckling, bards, spots, or geometric shapes on a beautiful bright yellow body. They may also have a few white markings, unusually in the center of the other shapes.  Although the differences between yellow neonates are more subtle than that of dark babies, yellows are not without variation.  Some are boldly marked with solid dorsal markings, and some have a more speckled, “busy” appearance.  Some high yellow adult bloodlines produce yellow offspring that are somewhat lighter than normal and that have reduced markings.”

Book Review - The Art of Keeping Snakes

Book Review

The Art of Keeping Snakes by Philippe de Vosjoli

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Snakes are among the most beautiful and fascinating creatures of all vertebrates.  It is no wonder there are more than fifty species of snakes regularly bred in captivity and more than one hundred species available in pet stores.  But how does the keeping of snakes become art?  By developing a naturalistic vivarium system that puts a snake’s welfare and quality of life above all.  This will enhance your enjoyment in observing these fascinating creatures.

Inside, you’ll learn how to setup and maintain a vivaria.  You’ll learn which snakes are the best display snakes and how to handle, feed and care for them.  Most importantly, you’ll learn that the reason for keeping snakes is not just for captive breeding, but to derive enjoyment from watching a snake’s behaviour in a naturalistic environment.  Paperback 232pp.

Contents: What is the Art of Keeping Snakes?, Before You Buy, Quarantine and Introduction to Vivaria, Life Stages and Husbandry, Design Planning, Enclosures and Backgrounds, Stubstrates, Landscaping, Plants for Snakes, Heating and Lighting, Relative Humidity, Vivaria Maintenance, Snake Handling, Diet, Breeding, Diseases and Disorders, Pythons, Boas, Water Snakes and Garter Snakes, Hognose Snakes, Rat Snakes, Kingsnakes and Milk Snakes, Other Snakes, The Future.

Excerpt
Page 79
Plants For Snakes

“One of the key elements that will transform a vivarium into a form of visual art is live plants.  Plants bring color and interesting form to the composition and add three-dimensionality to the design.  When planted in a bioactive substrate they play an intrinsic role in substrate ecology and the cycling of nutrients.  They also provide shade and shelter.  Arboreal and semi-arboreal snakes use tree forms as both activity and resting areas.  The proper selections and placement of plants is instrumental to achieving balance and design in the art of keeping snakes.
 Most people have bad experiences keeping plants with snakes.  Invariably, the plants are toppled and crushed, and end up drying out.  Most authors of books on snake care recommend using plastic plants with snakes, but that simply changes keeping snakes like laboratory animals into kitsch (art in bad taste).  Plastic or silk plants should always be a last resort.  If used (and I mention this with great reluctance) every effort should be made to obtain high-quality fakes that are good enough to fool someone into thinking they are real.  I have seen some interesting displays where high-quality artificial orchids were included among live plants and were real enough to fool you unless they were closely inspected.”

Popeye The Spinach Frog

Book Review - A Field Guide to Insects in Australia

Book Review - Insects of Australia Green Guide

Insects of Australia – Green Guide by Paul Zorowski

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The Australian Green Guides have been created for wildlife enthusiasts of all ages.  The most commonly asked questions are answered with particular emphasis on fascinating behavioural insights into both common and unusual creatures.  The pages are alive with entertaining and informative text accompanies by exciting action photography.  Paperback 96pp.

Contents: Introduction to Insects, The Aquatic Insects, Social Insects, The Hunters, Plant Feeders, Scavengers, Parasites and Pests, A Checklist of Australian Insect Orders.

Excerpt page 39

Who Are The Hunters?

Since insects are so famous for their sometimes destructive plant-eating habits, it is surprising to learn that there are actually more insect groups that hunt for a living than eat plants.  Praying mantids, Dragonflies and assassin bugs are carnivorous at all their life stages.

                Aquatic insects are often hunters during all life stages.  Names like “water scorpion” and “fish-killer bugs” speak for themselves but even the delicately named ladybird beetles are actually major killers of aphids.  Many families of beetles, wasps, flies, crickets and the majority of ants are hunters.  Even among insect groups well known for their plant-feeding habits, there are carnivorous exceptions.  For example, some moths have killer caterpillars.  Indeed, quite a few insects are carnivorous as larvae and plant-eaters when adults.

How Do Insects Hunt?

Running after prey in the style of the big cats, as ground beetles do, is uncommon insect behaviour.  While dragonflies and hunting flies seize their food on the wing, more often insects wait for their prey to come to them.  Praying mantids wait with great patience, often disguised as part of the foliage.  Assassin bugs, fish-killer bugs and the delicate mantis flies also wait patiently for their prey; all have similar spiny raptorial forelegs to mantids.  Hunting beetles, like ladybirds, simply walk among herds of docile aphid prey.

                Some insects use traps: ant lions, for example build slippery conical sandpits and the aquatic larvae of caddisflies spin silk nets.  When all else fails, some sneaky hunters resort to stealing prey from other insect predators.  Ants are the biggest robbers, often going on raiding parties to steal prey from another species.  Some flies and dragonflies do it in flight.

Suck or Chew?

Not all carnivorous insects use chewing mandibles.  Hunting bugs, like assassin bugs, have a modified beak-like tube called a rostrum through which they inject digestive enzymes, and sometimes p oison, to kill and mush up their prey before sucking it up.

Book Review - Dangerous Creatures of Australia Green Guide

Dangerous Creatures of Australia – Green Guide by Martyn Robinson

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The Australian Green Guides have been created for wildlife enthusiasts of all ages.  The most commonly asked questions are answered with particular emphasis on fascinating behavioural insights into both common and unusual creatures.  The pages are alive with entertaining and informative text accompanies by exciting action photography.  Paperback 96pp.

Contents: Introduction to Dangerous Creatures, Large Land Animals, Small Land Animals, Large Water Animals, First Aid Checklist.

Excerpt page 10

Which Large Land Animals Are Dangerous?

Your first thought would probably be snakes but snakes are not commonly encountered and many of them are quite harmless.  You might be surprised to hear that there are several mammals and birds that also sometimes cause injuries.  Several wild or feral animals tat are generally not regarded as dangerous should also be approached with care.

When Domestics Go Wild – In Australia domesticated camels, horses, donkeys and water buffalo have all, at one time or another, been released or escaped into the bush.  Just because these animals are descended from domestic stock does not mean they are tame and docile now.  Indeed these animals can kick painfully hard if c ornered.  Except for the water buffalo – which bears potentially lethal horns – they can bite, too.  Brumby stallions and bull camels will often attack riders on geldings or females of their own species travelling through their territories.

Pigs have also escaped and been released into the bush and wild pigs can grow alarmingly stout tusks.

Among our native mammals, the large kangaroos have been known to kick humans with their powerful hind legs, causing considerable injury.  Again, only when the animal feels threatened is it likely to react aggressively.

This said, most city people will never encounter these wild animals.  They are creatures of the outback and bush.

Snatch and Duck – Among our feathered friends, cassowaries, emus and ostriches can deliver a powerful kick capable of causing fractures or worse.  These birds may be provoked into action by human encroachment, so keep your distance.  They may be defending nests or young.  The notorious Australian Magpie has  a spring-time tendency to dive-bomb hapless walkers who venture near its nest.  Broody swans and geese, too, will bite or strike out with their strong wings.  Even owls have on occasion attacked people attempting to climb their nest trees.

Some birds take advantage of human handouts.  Emus have been known to snatch sandwiches from startled picnickers.  Pelicans may pester fishermen and even knock over small children with their wings in their rush to get fed.  Feeding wild animals is never recommended.

Book Review - Land Hermit Crabs

Land Hermit Crabs - From the Experts At Advanced Vivarium Systems by Phillippe de Vosjoli

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Inside this newly updated edition, renowned invertebrate and reptile expert Philippe de Vosjoli provides the most current information on keeping land hermit crabs.  Their easy care and fascinating shells make these palm-sized crabs the most popular invertebrate pet.  Here you’ll find essential advice on topics such as selecting healthy crabs, feeding, regular maintenance, moulting, and health care.  Among the brand-new content for this edition are colour photographs of an exciting shell-swap series and excellent visual aids for proper “crabitat” design and do-it-yourself shell painting.  Your Herpetocultural Library is not complete without this new edition of Land Hermit Crabs brought to you by the experts at Advanced Vivarium Systems.  Paperback 56pp.

Contents: General Information, Selection, Housing, Water, Feeding, Moulting, Breeding and Other Behaviours, Diseases and Problems, Other Crabs for Freshwater Aquaria.

Excerpt page 20

Landscaping Climbing Areas

Hermit crabs can be very active at night and one of the things they like to do is climb.  For this reason you provide natural wood sections that are textured to permit easy climbing.  Several kinds of wood are sold in the pet trade, including driftwood, grapevine, fig wood and cholla cactus “skeletons.:  With the exception of driftwood, all of these woods should be kept on the dry land section or they will tend to mould and rot.  One of the best landscape materials for hermit crab setups is cork bark, now regularly available by mail order or in the reptile supply section of pet stores.   It is attractive, has a texture that allows for easy climbing and can safely be eaten by hermit crabs.  It also holds up very well when wet and is easily cleaned using a hose with a spray nozzle.  It comes in various forms including hollow tubes, flat sheets and curled pieces that can be stacked or positioned to form a range of structures, including shelters and areas under which hermits will bury prior to moulting.

Caution: Remember to never use the wood of conifers (pine, redwood, cedar, etc) in hermit crab setups.  Their resins and the phenols they contain can be harmful to these crabs.

Snake V Spider

Reptiles Australia Magazine Volume 4 Issue 2

Click here to purchase Reptiles Australia Magazine Volume 4 Issue 2

Page 16

Keeping Womas – Aspidites Ramsayi – The Champagne of Snakes

Text and images by Doc Rock

Page 20 Husbandry

Womas are a very hardy species in captivity probably because they come from the extremely harsh Australian desert environment.  They can withstand large diurnal changes in temperature without problems.  They love to bask and will heat themselves up to 35+⁰C before moving away from the heat.  The basking site we provide our womas consists of a 75w infrared spotlight which shines onto a couple of pieces of flat slate (see diagram).  This slate, which is about 35cms below the lamp, heats up when the timer switches it on at the beginning of the day and provides a heat source for some time after the heat lamp turns off.  During the night, no heat at all is provided and we let the cage fall to the ambient room level.  Sometimes this can be as low as 10⁰C.  However, for the five coldest months of the year we don’t feed our womas and I won’t feed them if the night time lows get much below 20⁰C.

As explained, womas are voracious feeders.  When they are hungry and expecting food they have to be treated with respect otherwise mistakes will be made.  Once they have reached adult size I have never owned or seen a woma that wants to bite out of aggression or out of fear.  All their bites are related to food.  When handling them, as with many species of python, it is a good idea to wash your hands and arms with a strong smelling soap so that errors of mistaken identity are avoided.   While I would not rate their bite as a particularly bad one compared to other pythons once they grab you they will not want to let go for a long time so it is an experience best avoided.  Their insatiable appetite can be their undoing in captivity.  People often find their insistent demand for food through their head bobbing and tail wagging behavior irresistible and they over feed them. In the wild, womas would rarely have access to prey all the time and when they do feed, it would no doubt be very lean meat.  Captive bred rodents carry a lot more rich fat than most wild prey and when fed in excess to demanding young womas they cause what I call fatty liver disease.  In the early days when we were growing our first womas, I was seduced by their craving for food and my desire to see them grow quickly and so I overfed a couple of youngsters.  They showed no symptoms as they grew at a rapid pace until one day they just stopped feeding.  Shortly after this, they started passing a dark green tar-like substance and shortly afterwards one of them died.  The second one was given various treatments including cortisone injections and eventually appeared to get better.  After three months of care and treatment, I gave her a very small meal of mouse which she took eagerly.  The next morning when I checked on her, I found her dead.  Autopsies on both these snakes showed large amounts of fat throughout the body and around a liver that was obviously very unhealthy.  This problem of killing snakes by overfeeding them rodents rich in fat is also apparent to a lesser degree in black headed pythons.  It would appear that the genus Aspidites (includes womas and BHPs) which are known to be reptile feeders are prone to this problem.  As a matter of course, we are very particular about what we feed all our snakes, no matter what the species, and only feed them medium sized lean rats now.  Not only does this keep our animals healthy, but we have found the practice also has delivered better breeding results.

As another word of warning, I strongly recommend that if you have more than one woma you house them singly.  Their insatiable appetite together with their taste for reptile does not make them ideal to house with any other snake.  Even if they don’t eat each other, the less dominant animal may be so stressed that it will stop eating and become unwell.  The only time we put our womas together is in late autumn and winter after their feeding response turns off and their amorous desires turn on.  Be careful of putting two male womas together too as they will engage in combat.