Exotics Keeper - July 2022

54 Pages·2022·46 MB·English

EXOTICS NEWS • COLLARED LIZARD • KEEPER BASICS - FISH HEALTH • ENRICHMENT • BEE-EATERS
www.exoticskeeper.com • july 2022 • £3.99
BLUE OR FALSE?
Identifying and caring for Indonesian blue-tongue skinks
TINC OUTSIDE THE BOX A SHOCKING DISCOVERY LEGENDS OF THE RAINFOREST
With poison frogs becoming increasingly more New scientific developments have found that Bushmasters are some of the largest venomous
popular, it has never been more important to human limb-regeneration treatments may be snakes on earth. Find out how ZSL London Zoo
know your animals’ roots. closer than we think. managed to breed these incredible animals.

This issue of Exotics Keeper
CONTACT US
Magazine has been a pure joy
EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES
to work on. The team at ZSL
[email protected]
London Zoo have provided some
SYNDICATION & PERMISSIONS very unique insight into one of the
[email protected] world’s most cryptic venomous
snakes. As well as the full-length
ADVERTISING feature in this magazine, readers
[email protected] should head over to our social media
channels to watch a tour of the
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . exhibit and check out the interview.
Dr Michael Levin also talked us
through bioelectricity and the future
About us
of human limb regeneration (which
doesn’t seem that far away!) We also
MAGAZINE PUBLISHED BY
take a look at the subtle differences
Peregrine Livefoods Ltd between the blue-tongue subspecies
Rolls Farm Barns and how this might impact keepers.
Hastingwood Road Finally, we look at just some the huge
Essex spectrum of ‘tincs’ in the Guiana keepers know how to rehome their
CM5 0EN Shield. This month our ‘Keeper animals in a way that does not bring
Basics’ section comes from renowned harm to the animal or the wider
Print ISSN: 2634-4691 aquarist and author Dr David Pool on ecosystem. Anyone concerned
Digital ISSN: 2634-4688 the subject of ‘fish health’. about the welfare of an exotic
animal should contact their local
EDITORIAL: The world of exotics keeping has rescue centre immediately. Whilst
Thomas Marriott seen a slight shift in the face of this is not something we at EK deal
Aimee Jones the current cost-of-living crisis. with directly, we would be happy to
According to the NCRW, more direct readers towards help, should
DESIGN: animals are being rehomed in you need it.
Scott Giarnese 2022 than in any previous year. It
Amy Mather is therefore extremely important We have also had a handful of
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . to highlight responsible practices. requests from keepers and breeders
Whilst everyone should account for who are working with unique
Subscriptions
the huge amount of responsibility species, to share their valuable
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . when acquiring an animal, insight and experience. I would
unpredictable circumstances can encourage anyone who has an
force a loving keeper into having extensive amount of experience with
to find a new home for their a species (of any taxa) and wants
animals. Scorning these individuals to share their story, to get in touch.
is not helpful and can often lead Whilst we can’t promise to cover all
to compromised animal welfare. ideas, I’d still love to hear from you.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Instead, encouraging keepers to
Follow us find a suitable home should be Thomas Marriott
a priority. This year’s Turtle Features Editor
Tally (www.turtletally.
co.uk) is aiming to
track the impact on
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
animal welfare when

Every effort is made to ensure the non-native turtles
material published in EK Magazine is
reliable and accurate. However, the are released into
publisher can accept no responsibility the UK’s waterways.
for the claims made by advertisers,
manufacturers or contributors. In the past, we
Readers are advised to check any have covered the
claims themselves before acting on
this advice. Copyright belongs to potentially hazardous
the publishers and no part of the
impact of non-native
magazine can be reproduced without
written permission. species. However,
with the public under
greater financial pressure, it
Front cover: Eastern blue tongue skink
is of paramount importance that
(Tiliqua scincoides)

Right: Eastern blue tongue skink
(Tiliqua scincoides)
DRY FOODS, FORMULAS & SUPPLEMENTS
High Energy
Ideal for species which, in the wild, consume a signifi cant amount of fruits and seeds
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02 26 39
EXOTICS NEWS CROSSING THE POND KEEPER BASICS:
T he latest from the world of Z en Habitats launches in T he EK guide to fish health
exotic pet keeping. the UK . and water quality.
06 33
BLUE OR FALSE? LEGENDS OF 45
THE RAINFOREST FASCINATING FACTS
Identifying and caring for
Indonesian blue-tongue skinks. Few snakes are as mysterious Did you know...?
and impressive as the
14
bushmaster.
SPECIES SPOTLIGHT 46
ENRICHMENT IDEAS
Focus on the wonderful world 35
SHOCKING
of exotic pets. This month Monthly tips on how to
DISCOVERIES FOR
it’s Collared lizards enrich the life of your pet.
LIMB RE-GROWTH
(Crotaphytus collaris).
Human limb-regeneration
16 treatments may be closer than
TINC OUTSIDE
we think.
THE BOX
Dendrobates tinctorius in
the wild.
Exotics News
EXOTICS NEWS
The latest from the world of exotic animals
Here 140 Tequila Splitfin (Zoogoneticus European Zoos” and more recently,
tequila) have been installed, with some in May 2022, “A Legacy of Shame –
Golden Skiffia or Golden Splitfin (Skiffia Elephants in Zoos”. The giraffe report
francescae) to be added in due course. focuses on the welfare, nutrition, social
The goodeid species are extremely behaviour and stereotypical behaviours
rare and in some cases extinct in (mainly oral) of giraffe in captivity.
the wild, but are quite easily bred in In addition the infamous EAZA/
captivity - being live-bearing species, Copenhagen Zoo situation, regarding
and they can be kept privately by the giraffe “Marius”, was chosen as an
©Dudley Zoo & Castle individuals belonging to the Goodeid individual example of bad practice.
Working Group. This allows other
people to become actively involved in According to the BFF there are currently
New Orang-Utan Habitat
contributing to the conservation of this 580 elephants in European zoos, with
A new outside habitat has been rare group of fishes. 49 elephants in U.K. zoos. The elephant
completed at Dudley Zoo & Castle. The report is backed by some well-known
extension, attached to their original The Goodeid Working Group is a names, as is often the case; Damian
indoor facility, has been completed at a non-profitable international Working Aspinall - Chairman of the Aspinall
cost of £500,000. The large grassy area Group managed and run on a 100% Foundation, Angela Sheldrick CEO
is fitted out with a range of climbing voluntary basis. It was established on of the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and
poles and ropes etc… and is now 1st May, 2009 in Stockholm, Denmark in the naturalist and broadcaster Chris
home to all four Bornean orang-utans response to the critical environmental Packham. The BFF are calling for the
- “Jazz”, “Sprout”, “Djimat” and “Benji”. issues facing the majority of wild “capture of wild elephants for display
Elsewhere in the zoo the first five naked Goodeid species/populations, plus the must stop and breeding in captivity
mole-rats have been born to the new poorly-documented ‘disappearance’ of should end”. However those that remain
colony which arrived in 2018. many captive collections. The primary in captivity should be provided with the
goal of the Goodeid Working Group best possible conditions for the rest of
is to “promote collaboration between their lives. Angela Sheldrick said “The
like-minded hobbyists, universities, report uses individual case studies to
public aquaria, zoos, museums and outline the history and continuing plight
conservation projects in order to of captive elephants. Revealing the
maintain aquarium populations of impact of captivity on their physical and
Goodeids while assisting in preservation psychological health”. Stating that “40%
of remaining natural habitats”. Goodeids of infant elephants in zoos die before
are fish endemic to Mexico and some they reach the age of five” and that “no
Tequila Splitfin (Zoogoneticus tequila) areas of the United States, the family zoo in the world can provide elephants
©The Goodeid Working Group contains about 50 species within 18 with the complex social structures and
genera and is named after ichthyologist vast spaces they need to thrive”. Chris
Rare Fish Get New George Brown Goode. Packham said “The attempted captive
breeding and capture of wild elephants
Natural Pool
to be imprisoned in zoos is plain wrong
Tropiquaria, at Watchet, have long been The Giraffe/Elephant and here is all the evidence to prove
home to several Critically Endangered it”. “A tragic catalogue of inhumanity
BFF Reports
goodeid fish species, as a member wrought upon a creature we claim to
of the Goodeid Working Group, and In the last year or so the anti-zoo group love”. “It must end today” he said.
in cooperation with other collections. the “Born Free Foundation” (BFF) has
Now a new, more natural, pond has recently published two reports, the In response Jamie Christon CEO
been created for two of those species first in February 2021 called “Confined of Chester Zoo said “The Born Free
in the tropical house at the collection. Giants - The Plight of Giraffe in report draws on outdated data and
Unlike this corn snake,
we have sliding scales...
2 JULY 2022
Exotics News
information, referring to practices which simply do not summer. The hotel also has a timed lighting system to
take place in modern U.K. zoos”. “Born Free paint a avoid disturbing the glowing females. Glowworms are not
picture of how some zoos were over 50 years ago – but worms but beetles and only the flightless female glows,
conservation-focused zoos like ours are now a million to attract a male on summer nights. Although the males
miles away from that” he said. fly, the species is notoriously bad at dispersing, and so
becomes trapped in small areas of suitable habitat. The
“The report highlights a number of things to improve larvae is a gardener’s friend, being a voracious predators
welfare standards for elephants” he added. “We`ve of snails.
actually been implementing these for many years, it
is already part of zoo best practice” “If anything, the
bar Born Free set is quite low” “we pursue world-class
standards of animal care and have been exceeding
what`s in the report for a long time”.
Spixs`s Macaw Release
Peter Cooper releasing the glowworm larvae ©P Cooper
In a ground-breaking event, eight Critically Endangered
Spixs`s macaws – the world`s rarest bird, were released
UK Glowworm Release
into the wild from the Spixs`s Macaw Release Centre`s
More than 500 captive-bred glowworm larvae (Lampyris holding aviaries at Curaca, Brazil on the 11th June into
noctiluca) have been released in the grounds of Elvetham the Caatinga region. These birds were fitted with radio-
Hotel in Hampshire and Cornwall by ecologist and tracking collars and were released alongside eight Illger`s
conservationist Peter Cooper, in an effort to revive this macaws which have spent the last few months living with
declining species. the Spixs`s macaws and will help them get used to the
unfamiliar environment.
Further batches of larvae (totalling 596) and some adults
will be released again in the same place this year and In March 2020 52 Spixs`s macaws – out of a flock of 170
at Combeshead in Cornwall – a rewilding and glamping birds, were sent from the private parrot breeding facility to
site run by Derek Gow. The four-year project is led by the Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots
ecologist Derek Gow, who has been working on several (ACTP) in Berlin, Germany via Berlin Airport, courtesy of
rewilding projects including water voles, beavers and Crossborder Animal Services specialist transport, to Curaca
wild cats. Peter, who works for Derek Gow, was already in North-eastern Brazil. Here they have spent the last two
breeding glowworms with a method he perfected during years living in the release aviaries and in 2021 they have
the pandemic, assisted by YouTube tutorials from a produced three more chicks in these aviaries. Most of the
glowworm keeper in Germany. Glowworm larvae are kept world captive population, of about 200 birds, were kept
on a bed of coconut fibre in plastic takeaway tubs with a at Pairi Daiza Zoo in Belgium and the Association for the
damp sponge to retain moisture, and fed fresh snails – also Conservation of Threatened Parrots (ACTP). Both collections
bred for the purpose – every day during their growing have bred numerous Spixs`s macaws between them.
season. Peter has even taken the glowworms with him in
a cool-bag when travelling for work, so he can keep an The total number of Spixs`s macaws at the site at Curaca
eye on them and satisfy their voracious appetite for snails. was 55 birds, but some will be retained for further
The gardener at Elvetham has been collecting snails and breeding and future potential releases in the on-going
leaving them in the release-zone for the larvae that will be release programme. At the end of 2022 it is planned to
released. These larvae will reach maturity and glow next release a further 12 Spixs`s macaws into the same area.
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JULY 2022 3
Exotics News
separated into three species groups: the tricolor group
of five species, the bilineatus group with four species,
and the nasutus group which includes six species. The
newly-described species, Phalotris shawnella, belongs to
the nasutus group.
New Indian Species Discovered
A new species of non-venomous snake has been
discovered at a height of over 1,700 metres above sea
level in Murlen National Park, Mizoram, in the Champai
District of North-eastern India. Unlike its six “sister-species”
this new snake has been found well-away from water
©Jean-Paul Brouard
sources and is the only one of its genus to be found at this
height. It has been named Herpetoreas murlen after the
New Snake in Paraguay
Murlen National Park.
A team of researchers in Paraguay have scientifically
described a new species of snake. The new species features a dark olive-grey body,
randomly-speckled scales with black on the borders, inter-
A juvenile specimen of Phalotris shawnella, was captured, scales speckled sparsely with white, and a dorsolateral
but later escaped. “This individual was originally stripe reaching from the neck to the tail.
discovered by chance when digging a hole at Rancho
Laguna Blanca” said co-author Jean-Paul Brouard - an It is closest genetically to Herpetoreas burbrinki, its
expert with the Paraguayan NGO Para La Tierra. Chinese cousin.
Phalotris is a group of small to medium-sized, semi- Collated and written by Paul Irven.
fossorial snakes in the family Colubridae. Phalotris
shawnella is particularly attractive and can be
distinguished from other related species by its red head,
a yellow collar, a black lateral band, and orange ventral
scales with irregular black spots. The species is endemic
to the Cerrado forests in the San Pedro region of north-
eastern Paraguay.
These snakes were first described in 1862, and are noted
for their striking coloration with red, black, and yellow
patterns. They are distributed largely in open areas of
Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina. There
are currently 15 species of Phalotris currently recognized, ©Novataxa
ON THE
WEB
Websites | Social media | Published research
Each month we highlight a favourite website or
social media page
THIS MONTH IT’S: BIAZA

The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) is
the professional body representing the best zoos and aquariums
in the UK and Ireland. They have more than 100 zoo and aquarium
members whom they support in their commitment to be at the
forefront of conservation, education and research.
www.biaza.org.uk
4 JULY 2022
Title
JULY 2022 5
BLUE
OR FALSE?
Identifying and caring for Indonesian blue-tongue skinks.
6