P. Ruber are being sold on kingsnake for 70 bones.

[ira]

I really hope this dosnt spur people to start extensivly collecting them...

 

[paris]

glades herp carries them normally -from 55 - 70$.

 

[paris]

well you can be somewhat relieved that they are very slow sellers and overpriced at that-so most dealers learn not to carry them very often......still remember these are very expensive 'bait' to alot of people so the fate as pets is slightly better than being speared alive on a hook and thrown into deep water. (dont know if that will make you feel better or not)

 

[ira]

I am more worried about someone seeing the price they are being sold at and thinking "hey, there is a large local population of these near me, i can make a killing" and then overharvesting them.

 

[paris]

its a good thing they arent vernal pool/congress breeders - they are actually hard to find! i tried a few times at locals that looked promising and ended up finding nothing....

 

[sharon]

All you/we can do is educate, educate, educate, harassment and mean spirited comments won't solve anything.

Not to mention, for those people interested in captive breeding those critters need to find stock somewhere, and sometimes those people are best at captive breeding WC herps aren't near the wild populations...

Don't mind me, I'm just thinking of my own frustrations of not being able to reach many caudates in my locale. For me it would be worth the $$ to have my own breeding population of herps. PERSONALLY I would rather buy CB, but if thats all thats availabl right now, what do you do?

Hopefully the person selling those critters is just hoping to recoup a few dollars to supporting his own breeding pop of herps.

Sorry for the happy Mary Poppins feeling here, I just won several ebay bid (plants) and hubby argued the dealership down to below wholesale cost for our new/used truck!

Sharon

 

[ira]

I guess i am lucky that i used to find these all the time in my youth, which is probally why i am so suprised they cost so much.

 

[edward]

If they were collected in the Poconos then they are illegal as you cannot collect native species for commercial use in Pennsylvania without a specific permit and PA has not issued one for amphibians or reptiles yet.
Let PA Fish and Boat know,

Ed

 

[edward]

Hi Mike,
Here is the definition of the Location of the Pocono's as listed on the Poconos' web page
"By County: Since the 1800's, the Pocono Mountains in northeast Pennsylvania have been a favorite destination for vacationers. Spanning four counties -- Carbon, Monroe, Pike and Wayne -- and 2,400 square miles of mountains, lakes, streams and woodlands, the Pocono Mountains are a natural choice for nature, sports and outdoor enthusiasts."

Typically once you get into NY it is referred to as the Adirondacks (did I spell that correctly?)
However many native PA residents alco refer to most of the mountains in central PA as the Poconos.
Ed

 

[edward]

If someone here has a good relationship with the dealer they probably should let them know that buying the P. ruber from the collector was illegal.

Ed

 

[nic]

DONE


Bridi, Jeffrey wrote:
> Nic;
>
> Thank you for sharing the information with us. Since the seller is apparently located in Florida it will make our job a little more difficult.
>
> Jeffrey Bridi,
> Conservation Officer Manager
> Southeast Region
> PA Fish & Boat Commission
>
>
>

 

[edward]

If I remember it correctly, New York does not require a permit for pseudotriton (remember the selling red backs for food guy a year or so ago?).

Ed

 

[greg]

NY is changing a few things though. I don't know exactly what the deal is, but remember that the Metro NY show doesn't allow any native herps... not because they are all illegal but because it's easier than trying to figure out the laws. A dealer in FL wouldn't stand a chance!!!

Ah.. I did recently hear of a vendor in NY that was selling tons of native wild-caught things but eventually got busted for selling bullfrog tadpoles of all things as those are regulated as a game species or something like that. It might have been a stocking law that prevented sale of bullfrog larvae. not sure.

In any case, educate all.

But in the end, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him think.

greg

 

[edward]

Its probably because frogs are regulated as small game.

Ed

 

[paris]

price is now down to 50$ each......

 

[al]

Pseudotriton ruber are very interesting species and I had one captive for several years. I knew of a gentleman that would collect them in upstate NY years ago only for other hobiest. For breeding purposes and trades only (no $$ exchanged). I do not know any hobiest that have recently bred them here in the states. Europe may be a different story. I know rearing larva of this species can be difficult. I attempted to do this years ago and noticed they remained gilled for a long time.
Petranka verified my observation that the larva state is from 1.5-3.5 years depending on temperatures/locations. The up side to this, is they will have some size after metamorphosis and will have a short "juvenile" stage. Dealing with any stream species has it's challenges with water quality and temperature. I found juveniles (in N.C.) in stream seepages with lots of leaf coverage. I'm not ready to take on this challange again, but fear they may be soon off limits in most of their range with local laws.
In NC, stream species will be chosen to protect as a means to preserve the whole ecology of a river (IE: the Neuse River water dog, Necturus lewisi)This is a well known caudate here and displayed on many T-shirts during the Eno River Festival (like Earth Day).
Al

 

[nic]

Looks like someone got the idea Ira.

http://market.kingsnake.com/detail.php?cat=14&de=237699

 

[paris]

nah- that guy has sold those before -about a year and a half ago -and if you look his prices are not outlandish.

 

[nic]

No worries. Thanks for clarifying that Paris.

 

[paris]

i have 7 from him that a friend bought then gave to me after a year or so -bummer is that i can see eggs in the females but i cant figure out how to trigger them to the nuptual dance! i think those would be cool larvae as they will stay 'babies' for up to 3 years i think. they are cool sals but hide alot -its sort of freaky -im not sure if its because they are lungless but they dont seem to do that 'water sniffing' thing most sals do underwater.