RHJ 1
In This Issue:
RESPONSIBLE HERPETOCULTURE — BASIC PRINCIPLES
By Dmitri Tkachev & Sergei Prokopiev
Dmitri Tkachev and Sergei Prokopiev introduce us to the history of herpetoculture and their philosophy behind the Responsible Herpetoculture Project. Set against the backdrop of a world where natural resources are disappearing at an unpresented rate, Dmitri and Sergei discuss the concepts behind ex situ management of reptile and amphibian populations along with the scientific research that demonstrates the benefits of doing so. They also discuss existing and developing technologies to support these efforts as well as how the integration of these efforts into conservation efforts will benefit not only these beloved species in the wild, but also our culture and understanding of the natural world around us.
BIODIVERSITY DELUSION AND INBREEDING DEPRESSION IN HERPETOCULTURE
By Philippe de Vosjoli
Renowned herpetoculturist and author of countless books and articles on a wide variety of subjects related to herpetoculture, Philippe de Vosjoli, discusses the challenges to the modern world of herpetoculture and what is needed for the hobby to thrive and grow in the long term. Touching on subjects of regulatory concerns that could end exports from the countries of origin, he examines the subject of genetic variation and viability and the challenges they present to maintaining healthy and reproductively fit animals that will be able to continue to provide these species to the herpetocultural community in perpetuity should new blood from wild stock become unavailable in the future.
ACCLIMATING SENSITIVE SPECIES AND EXPOSITION PREPARATION
By Ashley Dezan
Canadian herpetoculturist and importer Ashley Dezan discusses her approach to acclimation of newly imported reptiles and amphibians to achieve the best success to maintain these animals long term. Details of her methodology are discussed and cover subjects such as approaching each species differently after researching the habitat and climate conditions where the species originates and tailoring the acclimation methods to those needs. She also briefly covers treatment for parasites and feeding during the quarantine and acclimation period. Additionally she goes on to discuss her approach to the preparation of animals to go on display at reptile expositions.
PRACTICAL CONSERVATION OF EUROPEAN POND TURTLE (EMYS ORBICULARIS) USING HERPETOCULTURE APPROACHES IN LATVIA
By Mihails Pupins, Oleksii Marushchak, and Oksana Nekrasova
Authors Mihails Pupins, Oleksii Marushchak, and Oksana Nekrasova discuss the history and status of European pond turtles (Emys orbicularis) in Latvia and the conservation efforts taken to restore the species to areas where it had once occurred, but had been extirpated from due to habitat loss. These efforts included a multi-pronged approach that included a variety of conservation tools such as working hand in hand with natural resource regulatory agencies, and public outreach to educate the local population on the importance of the species, both with the aim of gaining support for the project, acquisition of suitable sites for habitat restoration, and most importantly herpetocultural methodologies for propagation of the species in naturalistic captive environments to produce stock to reestablish the species in the wild.
KEEPING AND BREEDING OF NORTHERN CAIMAN LIZARD (DRACAENA GUIANENSIS) — EXPERIENCE FEEDBACK
By Benoit de Villelongue
Benoit de Villelongue from Zoo de Beauval in France shares his experiences with the maintenance of the northern caiman lizard (Dracaena guianensis) colony at the zoo. All aspects of their care at the zoo are discussed including diet for this specialized and challenging species, the enclosure size and décor, the heating and lighting used as well as their methods for maintaining a clean and healthy environment in the enclosure. The majority of the article is dedicated to the breeding successes of this species, where Benoit discusses everything from the methods used to encourage mating, the incubation method to the growth rates of the offspring.
KEEPING AND BREEDING OF GIANT WONDERGECKO (TERATOSCINCUS KEYZERLINGII) IN CAPTIVITY
By Roger Roks and Oleksii Marushchak
Roger Roks, a private breeder from The Netherlands teams up with RHP's own Oleksii Marushchak, Head of the Department of Research and Development for the BION Terrarium Center in Ukraine, to provide an overview of the Giant Wonder Gecko (Teratoscincus keyzerlingii) in captivity. Starting with the natural history and brief discussion of the biology and characteristics of this fascinating and beautiful species, and history in herpetoculture, Roger and Oleksii provide a detailed discussion of the requirements needed to maintain and reproduce this beautiful species in a captive environment.
BREEDING OF AMPHIBIANS AS A WAY TO PRESERVE SPECIES IN ARTIFICIAL POPULATIONS: SOME RESULTS OF WORK FOR OVER 25 YEARS
By Evgeny Ryboltovsky
Owner of the ZOOCOM Company in Russia, Evgeny Ryboltovsky, shares his 25 years of experiences with the preservation of rare amphibian species in a captive environment. After observing the level of human induced habitat alteration and loss in the mountain forests of Vietnam, Evgeny decided he needed to establish a way to preserve the unique amphibian species endemic to the region. Beginning with a facility connected to the Vsevolozhsk Children's Zoo in Russia, he eventually expanded his efforts at his own company ZOOCOM where he continues his work to this day.
KEEPING AND BREEDING OF INDONESIAN BLUE-TONGUED SKINK, SILVER MORPH FROM HALMAHERA (TILIQUA GIGAS) IN CAPTIVITY
By Vanessa Richert
Vanessa Richert, a private breeder from Germany discusses her work with the captive maintenance and breeding of the Halmahera locality of Indonesian blue tongue skink (Tiliqua gigas ssp.). As a fairly new locality to only recently become available in the hobby, she discusses the characteristics that make Halmahera blue tongue skink differ from other populations from elsewhere in the species range. Vanessa then describes her housing, feeding and management techniques that resulted in what is likely among the first captive reproductions of this locality.
BANDED FIJI IGUANA (Brachylophus fasciatus) – KEEPING AND BREEDING IN CAPTIVITY
By Antonia Neben-Verhoolen, Private breeder, Germany
Private breeder Antonia Neben-Verhoolen, from Germany, discusses her work with the captive maintenance and breeding of the Fiji banded iguana (Brachylophus fasciatus). Antonia begins with a discussion of the species in its natural range and its legal protections, and how this beautiful and fortunately prolific species has come to be available to the general public. Antonia describes the enclosures she maintains her animals in, and provides great detail on the diet she prepares for them. Finally she discusses the parameters required to successfully reproduce this fascinating and highly prized species in captivity.
VARIABILITY OF APPROACHES TO CHOICE OF INCUBATION SUBSTRATE
By Oleksii Marushchak
RHP and BION Terrarium Center's Oleksii Marushchak presents the results of a review of the incubation substrates successfully used by nine different reptile breeders from around the world. The differing approaches presented in this article show not only that no one substrate is necessarily the best in all situations, but will also serve as a resource of ideas for other breeders to access as they work through challenges that they may be having with incubation of eggs from a particular species they are working with.