How to give your reptile a humane death.

grass snake killed by traffic

People are still killing their reptiles in ways that will cause unnecessary suffering - usually out of ignorance.   The problem is that we don't recognise the signs of pain in reptiles and because we don't, we think they feel less pain than we do. But their suffering may well be as intense as ours, and, when it comes to death, more prolonged.
If we keep reptiles for our amusement, we must be responsible for giving them as painless a death as possible.

These are the methods which are classified as inhumane and will cause suffering and pain.

•  Decapitation without anaesthesia. The head can live on for up to an hour, with the brain apparently still functioning and thus suffering.
• Freezing in a freezer without anaesthesia. Even if the reptile is placed in the fridge to reduce its mobility first, being put in the freezer will still cause suffering. The formation of ice crystals in the blood causes intense pain.

These are methods that are humane, according to the American Veterinary and Medical Association guidelines on euthanasia.

•  Injection of an overdose of pentobarbital at a dose calculated on a weight to weight basis.
• Three steps. Anaesthetise, decapitate, and then core through the brain. Called pithing this kill the brain tissue that would otherwise live on for some time possibly causing intense pain.
• Captive bolt or firearm for large reptiles including crocodiles.
• Blunt force trauma to the head, destroying the brain. This needs to be done by an expert. It has to be a strong blow.
• Rapid freezing in liquid nitrogen for species that are not freeze tolerant.

If you have a snake as a pet please do my survey at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/FGJZKLT

The faithful skink - a lizard that practices monogamy.

wikipedia

So called sleepy lizards, the Australian lizards that have large bodies and stubby legs, practice monogamy. When they first meet, they pair up and remain so close together that they are rarely more than 30 centimeters away from each other.
You might think this is just the male's way of keeping a female to himself, and stopping other males mating with her. But he even stays in contact with her after mating though not so closely.
Their pair bonds last better than many human relationships. Scientist spent 31 years studying these animals and found two thirds of them stayed faithful. 31 Partnerships lasted for more than 15 years and, 110 for more than ten years.
So why do they do it? It may be because going steady means a female mate is available, without the male having too much energetic seduction.  She's on tap, so to speak. And the earlier they mate, the better chance they have of having viable babies.
Mind you, not all the females are faithful. About 14% of the offspring are not those of the apparent mate. And it looks as though smaller and less healthy mates are more likely to  be jetisonned by the females.You can read more at

• Leu, S., Burzacott, D., Whiting, M., & Bull, C. (2015). Mate Familiarity Affects Pairing Behaviour in a Long-Term Monogamous Lizard: Evidence from Detailed Bio-Logging and a 31-Year Field Study Ethology DOI: 10.1111/eth.12390

If you have a pet skink, or indeed a pet lizard, snake or tortoise, please do my survey which is here -  https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/FGJZKLT

Snakes in a love tangle - inside the church

Intertwined snakes on a miserichord seat in St David's cathedral Pembrokeshire, Wales. These snakes have nodules along the spine, just as medieval dragons do. They may have been inspired what the medieval monk Bartholomaeus Anglicus writes about the love that adders have for their mates. "This slaying adder and venomous hath wit to love and affection, and loveth his mate as it were by love of wedlock, and liveth not well without company. Therefore if the one is slain, the other pursueth him that slew that other with so busy wreak and vengeance, that passeth weening. And knoweth the slayer, and reseth on him, be he in never so great company of men and of people, and busieth to slay him, and passeth all difficulties and spaces of ways, and with wreak of the said death of his mate. And is not let, ne put off, but it be by swift flight, or by waters or rivers."
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Why pythons look like boas and boas like pythons.

Black headed python - Wikipedia

It's called convergent evolution.
Different species look alike even though they are not related. Hares and rabbits look alike but they are not the same species. Boas and pythons are another example. They don't even belong to the same family. Yet some of them look just like each other - though their common ancestor was 70 million years ago.
An aquatic python has a head like an aquatic boa and a land dwelling boa has a head like a land dwelling python.  Read more here
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The scaly flasher - a Western fence lizard.

Just like a mythical dragon, the Western fence lizard has scales all over its body.  Sceloporus occidentalis, to give it the posh scientific name, is mainly grey to brown blotches but the males have scattered blue or green scales on their backs and blue bellies. Sometimes they are called blue belly lizards as a result.  The scales are overlapping like the tiles on a house or like the head of an artichoke. They are pointy too.
In the mating season, the males will are flashers. They do push-up movements with their front legs - so that there is a flash of blue belly. This is a warning to other males to keep clear.

If you have a pet lizard, tortoise or snake and want to help research. do my reptile relationship survey at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/FGJZKLT

Garter snakes in a hundred-in-a-bed romp

Don't miss these amazing photos in the New York Times. Hundreds of garter snakes emerging from hibernation in their caves ready to mate - here. There are 10,000 males to every female so finding a mate isn't easy for the males in a carpet of writhing snakes. Female secret a scent, a pheromone. When a male finds her, they rub their chins along her back and flick with their tongues. How does she choose the right male? We don't know.
After mating, the male leaves a scent inside her, a sign to other males that she is not available. But if she waits a couple of days, this dissolves and she can mate again. If she chooses. Then she goes off into the swamps, feeds, and gives birth to live babies.

If you are reading this, and have a pet reptile, please do my survey which is here. It is for people that own, or keep, a snake, a lizard or a tortoise.

Slow worm in the compost.

This is a slow worm I discovered in my neighbour's compost, after I pulled away the plastic sheeting. The video is a bit shaky and the slow worm is lying very still hoping I won't notice it. Maybe that is why its common name is slow worm. The slow worm (Anguis fragilis),  is a leg-less lizard and not a snake at all. It is a only 40 - 45cm long with a shiny grey/brown appearance.
Unlike snakes, and like lizards,  they can shed their tails and blink with their eyelids. I don't have any in my garden - perhaps because they can smell my cats. And cats will kill them if they can.

If you have a snake, lizard or tortoise, do my reptile relationship survey at  https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/FGJZKLT