Chameleons, ranging from the large and colourful Panther
Chameleons (Furcifer pardalis) down to the ultra-teensy
Brookesia micra; amphibians, including Magnificent Tree
Frogs (Litoria splendida) and Colorado River Toads (Incilius
alvarius); and tortoises,
featuring both
Georgia’s own pro-
tected Gopher Tortoise
(Gopherus polyphemus)
and the flat-shelled
African Pancake
Tortoise (Malacochersus
tornieri).
kill the animals.” Ben shakes his head as he describes the
waste; the fuel used to flush out the snakes also destroys
the dens and all the creatures living within. “Last year, they
only caught a few – about seven, I think.” He’s hoping
Whigham city officials
will agree to let the
Dept. of Natural
Resources take
Chehaw’s rattlesnakes
to their demonstra-
tions, on loan just for
the day, as they do for
the Claxton March
Rattlesnake and
Wildlife Festival.
‘Basically the reptile
‘chews’ the venom
Lastly, we check out
the snake exhibits,
starting with the Yellow
Rat Snake (Elaphe
obsoleta quadrivittata),
another Georgia native
that will play dead,
mimicking a fallen
branch to avoid preda-
tors, and ending up at the venomous showcases. Roberts’
face lights up. “We have Eastern Diamondback Rattle-
snakes (Crotalus adamanteus) and Canebrake Rattlesnakes
(Crotalus horridus), Cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus).…”
he hesitates outside the see-through enclosure of a Gold-
ringed Cat Snake (Boiga dendrophila). “Right there, that’s
lightning on a stick when you’ve got him on the handling
hook,” he laughs.
Like the rattlesnakes,
the Guatemalan
Beaded Lizard is also
endowed with potent
venom, but the
method of delivery is
somewhat different.
Unlike most venomous snakes, in which the toxins are
injected via fangs on the upper jaw, the Heloderma rely upon
a few slightly-enlarged, sharp and pointy teeth on the lower
mandible. Specialized glands along the jaw secrete pain-
inducing venom which is dispensed to the gums at the
tooth line. From this juncture, the venom is drawn upward
along longitudinal grooves on the outer surfaces of the
pointed teeth and into the wound of the would-be
predator. Since the GBL lacks the musculature necessary
for direct envenomation into its prey, it must rely on the
less efficient technique of clamping down and holding
tight. In other words, the lizard must grasp its victim with a
death grip and exact repeated biting activity to maintain
stimulation of the venom glands. Basically, through repeti-
tive grinding, the reptile ‘chews’ the venom into its quarry.
into its quarry.’
Quickly Ben’s mood changes. “We’re trying to discourage
Whigham, a town just down the road, from rounding up
their own rattlesnakes for their annual festival. They pour
gasoline into gopher burrows, which burns the snakes’
nostrils, so they just shoot out of the ground. Then they
catch ‘em. At the end of the Rattlesnake Round-Up, they