List of the most popular hashtags for theme #HERPER

A stunning Boomslang (Dispholidus typus) from Joubertina, Eastern Cape. They are one of Africa's most venomous snakes, but are super shy and and very seldom bite people. They have a potent haemotoxic venom that cause internal bleeding, fortunately the venom is slow acting. . . . #vscosouthafrica #vsconature #southafricathroughmyeyes #thisisafrica #southafricaza #wildlifephotography #reptile #herp #herping #herper #herpoftheday #herpetology #HerpsZA #canon_photos #wu_africa #igs_africa #reptileconservation #macrophotography #snakesofinstgram #Africanature #visualafricamag #africanamazing #wowsouthafrica #menselense #dispholidustypus #boomslang #herpingtheglobe

It’s not easy being green, but it sure is cute ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ A veiled chameleon named Ziggy was the first pet I had on my own She still influences the way I understand my patients and because of her I’ll always have a soft spot for scales!⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Who was your first pet?

The "skink eye" . . #paludarium #terrarium #vivarium #crocskink #redeyedcrocodileskink #crocodileskink #skink #herp #lizard #reptile #herper #dragon #pet #photooftheday #reptileroom #bioactive #crestedgecko #beardeddragon #leopardgecko #gecko #tribolonotus #tribolonotusgracilis

It's #turtletuesday so here is a sassy male box turtle bounding through the water. • We found him and another male submerged in a puddle at a cypress tree park across the street from my house. I've added this species to my personal baseline inventory of herpetofauna found in my neighborhood. So far, I have discovered southern toads, narrow mouth toads, squirrel tree frogs, eastern glass lizards, ground skinks, broad-headed skinks, green and brown anoles. What about you? Do you keep a list of animals found on your property or near your house? Let me know in the comments section!

The Mindo poison frog (Epipedobates darwinwallacei) also known as the Darwin-Wallace poison frog.  I spent 3 whole afternoons sitting or laying in leaf litter trying to photograph this species.  The 1st day I didnt get a single photo, the next afternoon I got a few, and then finally on the 3rd afternoon I was able to get images I was fairly happy with although I didn't get to photograph any behavior as I had hoped.  Epipedobates is a fairly interesting genus of poison frogs, there are currently 7 species known from the western side of the Andes in Colombia, Ecuador and barely extending into northern Peru, the forests on the West side of the Andes are under a lot of pressure and have been extensively deforested so it should come as no surprise that most members of the genus are of conservation concern. Whats really interesting about this genus is that there are both aposematic (possessing warning coloration signalling toxicity) and cryptically colored nontoxic species, the aposematism is thought to have either been lost once among members of the genus or evolved twice!  Moreso, its thought to be the genus of poison frogs where the bright warning colors evolved most recently considering there are members of the genus that are both aposematic (4 sp) and non aposematic (3 sp) as well as toxic (6 sp) and non toxic (1 sp), they are an fascinating group of model organisms to explore the early evolution of aposematism. Thats exactly what the authors did and describe in the paper: "The birth of aposematism: High phenotypic divergence and low genetic diversity in a young clade of poison frogs" by Tarvin et al. (2017). An excellent read that would take a bit too much time to describe here in a way that does it justice, but that I recommend to anyone looking to learn more about the evolution of aposematism. . . . . . . . . #herpsofig #NikonNoFilter #poisonfrog #Dendrobatidae #Epipedobates #Ecuador #Ecuadorisallyouneed #frogging #froglovers #froglover #herping #herpetology #fieldherping #igscwildlife #wildlifelover #biology #zoology #mindo #conservation #coolanimals  #amphibians #herper  #naturelover #frog #froggo  #frogs #savethechoco #followthefrog #earthcapture

I haven't been feeling well lately, I'm moving my reptile room soon, so I'll keep you posted on that! In the mean time, enjoy another photo of Raksha! #snake #snakes #snakesofinstagram #snakekeeper #reptile #reptiles #reptilesofinstagram #reptilelover #reptilekeeper #colubrid #cornsnake #cornsnakes #milksnake #herp #herper #herpotology #snakelover #lizard #lizards #lizardsofinstagram #python #ballpython #ballpythons #royalpythons #boa #boaconstrictor #constrictor #pythons

Debating on pairing this beauty up with a female soon because the world needs more Green Basilisks like Malak . . . #lizard #lizards #lizardsofinstagram #lizardsofig #dragon #dinosaur #reptile #reptiles #reptilesofinstagram #nature #wildlife #wildlifephotography #naturephotography #petstagram #greenbasilisk #reptilebreeder #reptilelover #reptileoftheday #reptilekeeper #herper #jesus #basiliscus #southamerica #costarica #naturelovers #photooftheday #perfect #flawless #nofilter #petsofinstagram

Hmmm. Pairing was Zorro (Leopard Lesser Pastel Spotnose) het Clown x Pastel (poss YB) het Clown. Opinions?

This weekend I took a break from thesis writing and explored a Georgia swamp with the best company. We found so many water snakes, cottonmouth, some cool fish and frogs and bugs AND my first wild salamander (more on that later). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Now that I’m finishing up my thesis and on the job hunt, many people have been asking what my plan is and if I’ll continue working with tortoises. I have been so lucky to study gopher tortoises over the last several years and I’d love to continue working with them, but I’m most looking forward to broadening my experience and knowledge in the field of wildlife conservation. I’m not in this field for tortoises or reptiles, I’m here because I have a passion for conservation of all wildlife. I have no idea where my path will take me next. I hope eventually I’ll have the opportunity to be contributing to broader conservation issues. I know I’m a little more absent on social media lately, but I hope you’ll stay tuned for whatever this next chapter might hold. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ This is an adorable brown water snake spotted and caught by @wildsalamander17 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ by @alongsidewild ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #snake #watersnake #brownwatersnake #nerodia #georgiawildlife #wildlife #swamp #swamplife #conservation #biologist #herping #herper #brunswickga #georgia #reptilesofinstagram #reptile #wildlifeconservation