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Happy one year anniversary of the day this sweet boy entered my life 🎉🐍

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Müller’s Forest Skink (Sphenomorphus muelleri), family Scincidae, found in Indonesia

photographs by Roots, Scoots, & Scales

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Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata), family Emydidae, VA, USA

Endangered.

Photographs by Eschertler

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I just love it when he do ' the snake pose'

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new species of bed buge just dropped

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Cloud Forest Centipede-Snake (Tantilla fraseri), family Colubridae, Mindo, Ecuador

photograph via: Arlequin Reserve

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Have At the Helmeted Turtle

The African helmeted turtle, or also known as the marsh terrapin, the crocodile turtle, or more simply the helmeted turtle (Pelomedua subrufa) is a species of side-necked terrapin found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, from Sudan all the way to South Africa. They occur in a range of habitats including savannahs, semi-desert scrubland, and near freshwater rivers, lakes and wetlands. Though P. subrufa typically resides near water, individuals can travel long distances over land and can reside in extremely small, degraded bodies of water.

Helmeted turtles are rather small, with an average shell length of 20 cm (7.9 in) and a weight of up to 3 kg (6.6 lbs); males are slightly larger than females. They are plainly colored, with a black or brown unmarked shell and a grey head. Both the underbelly and the plastron (underside shell) are yellow. This helps P. subrufa to blend in with its surroundings, providing an extra layer of protection against predators and camouflage with which to ambush potential prey.

Crocodile turtles are omnivorous, eating just about anything they come across. The bulk of their diet comes from carrion, and they will also readily ambush frogs, fish, crabs, mollusks, birds, and small mammals, and are known to hunt and feed in groups that produce a 'feeding frenzy' similar to crocodiles. They will also feed on aquatic vegetation and roots. Adults have also been noted for feeding in the ticks of warthogs, buffalo, and rhinos, which may seek them out at watering holes in order to be rid of parasites. Though no predators have been recorded, marsh turtles have an anti-predatory response of releasing a foul-smelling fluid from their underarms when picked up.

Throughout most of their range, mating occurs in the rainy season, which may vary in timing depending on position relative to the equator. Males seek out females, sometimes traveling long distances to do so; once he has found a potential mate, the male will seduce her by bobbing his head. After mating, the female lays anywhere from 10–30 eggs in a nest close to water. The incubation period can last anywhere from three to six months, depending on location and the duration of the rainy season. Individuals reach full maturity at around four years old, and they can live for over 50 years in the wild.

Conservation status: African helmeted turtles are currently classified as Least Concern by the IUCN; the population is large and widespread. Their primary threat is habitat loss and degredation of the water bodies in which they reside.

Photos

Charles J. Sharp

Charlotte Kirchner

Marius Burger

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I feel like pygmy leaf chameleon

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Now kith

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Enamored by this picture of a legless lizard from georgian reptile fb group

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[赤井さしみ]

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Kaulback's Lance-headed Pit Viper (Protobothrops kaulbacki), family Viperidae, found in parts of East Asia

Venomous

photographs: Yu-Hao Xu & Anurag Mishra

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