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Ask The Herpetologist

What’s the world’s smallest lizard?  How much does a Japanese giant salamander weigh?  What’s this strange looking snake that’s crawling across my kitchen floor?  Is it venomous?

Gotta question about a species of reptile or amphibian?  Or maybe just a general question about herpetology?  Then ask your question in the comment section and we’ll be happy to try to answer it.

 

Happy Herping!

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91 Responses to “Ask The Herpetologist”

  1. Muhammad Rezki says:

    hi all..

    my research make me confused. little bit. heheh. so, if you don’t mind, i want to discussing my research in here..

    in my reference about my research, i get this:

    “Lethal toxicity: The median lethal dose (LD50) of cobra
    and krait venom was determined according to the
    method developed by Theakston and Reid 1983.
    Various doses of venom in 0.2 mL of physiological
    saline was injected into the tail vein of mice (18-20 g),
    using groups of 3-5 mice at each venom dose. The LD50
    was calculated with the confidence limit at 50%
    probability by the analysis of deaths occurring within
    24 hours of venom injection. The anti-lethal potentials
    of M. pudica plant extracts were determined against
    2LD50 of cobra and krait venom. Various amount of
    plant extracts (µL) were mixed with 2LD50 of venom
    sample and incubated at 37°C for 30 min and then
    injected intravenously into mice. 3-5 mice were used at
    each antivenom dose. Control mice received same
    amount of venom without antivenom (plant extracts).
    The median effective dose (ED50) calculated from the
    number of deaths within 24 hours of injection of the
    venom/antivenom mixture. The ED50 was expressed
    as µL antivenom/mouse and calculated by probit
    analysis.”

    my questions:
    1. can u help me which method developed by Theakston and Reid 1983 ?
    2. in the ED50 venom/antivenom was injected into the mice. i think, if we want to injected subtance, it must be sterile. am i wrong? can you explain me?

    thanks..
    i’m sorry if my english really bad.

    i’m waiting for your answer.. :D

    • Sara Sara says:

      Looks like there are a couple papers by Theakston and Reid from 1983. I came across these two that are open access and free. See if they help:


      Yes, anytime you are injecting or performing medical procedures you want all your equipment to be sterile. If it’s not sterile you could accidentally introduce a bacteria or virus or such that may give you false readings and results plus it compromises the health of your study subject.

  2. Lee Parsons says:

    Saw a snake in Perdido Bay (costal Alabama) around noon today, May 16, swimming
    ashore. About 18″ protruding out of the water. It got ashore and lay in the sun for
    a while. Eight feet long, about 3-5″ max diameter. Seemed slender compared with
    snakes I’ve seen of similar length. Head did not appear to be diamond shaped. Most
    distinctive feature was its coloring — very dark near the nose & eyes, grew progressively
    lighter to about 2 feet back. Remainder of the body was quite light — white. I’ve been
    coming to this area for 60 years and have never seen such a thing. Can you identify?
    Possibly a captive snake a boater threw over? Unfortunately, the snake disappeared
    while I went to retrieve camera. I was able to observe it very well for a minute or two
    from about five feet from its head.

    • Sara Sara says:

      Lee,

      That’s definitely an odd sighting along the coast of Alabama to say the least. The only US snake that comes close to 8′ long is the eastern indigo snake and it’s blackish blue and not marine. I’m not sure what species you saw but it doesn’t sound like a native one.

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