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CAREERS IN HERPETOLOGY AND HERPETOCULTURE
You may become involved in designing or building museum exhibits. Herpetologists spend a lot of time researching museum specimens. Field work includes observation and collecting reptiles. Careers in Herpetology and Herpetoculture "How do I...
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The Dragons’ Christmas
‘Twas the week after Christmas and all through the cavern Not a dragon was stirring, for they were all at the tavern. Their great cave was cluttered with all their new gifts Which the dragons tried cleaning by working in shifts. ...
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HEALTH AND UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE: INSEPARABLE DESPITE THE POLITICS
America is wrestling with one of the most important issues that ever faced the nation, healthcare reform. Typical of the American system of government, the specifics of the issue have become largely divorced from facts and our best interests and wed...
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Coffee Grounds and Super Plants: True or False?
Plants grown in a mixture of potting soil and used coffee grounds grow better than those raised in plain soil: true or false? Because my wife is a gardener, I had heard this story long ago and reconciled myself to accept the aroma of...
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Basic Care of Leopard Geckos
Basic Care of Leopard Geckos (Eublepharus macularius) For nearly twenty years, leopard geckos have been among the most popular reptiles in private collections. Their endearing features include their interesting colour patterns, cat-like eyes,...
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Notes on the Red Tegu
Notes on the Red Tegu, Tupinambis rufescens (Günther, 1871) By Robert George Sprackland, Ph.D. Shakespeare famously penned the opinion that "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Yet, being human, we still put a lot of stock in names...
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Mastering the Care of Chameleons
When is a lizard not a lizard? Believe it or not it wasn’t all that long ago that chameleons were classified as an infraorder of their own. Lizards were considered to be Rhipoglossa (chameleons) or Sauria (all the others). The radical anatomy of...
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Fear of Reptiles -- Why?
Having been a child of the fifties, I must confess to a weakness that my generation faces that predates interest in drugs, cigarettes, sex, or the other pastimes that a more senior generation considers vices. I watch television. Not that I'm...
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Fiscal Failure and the New Recession
By Robert George Sprackland, Ph.D. Back in late 2008 the Government of the United States of America said it would take at least $700,000,000 dollars – all the zeroes make the number, seven hundred million, look as formidably large as it is –...
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What You Need to Know About the Long-Tailed Grass Lizard
This species is a lizard equivalent of a community tank choice because they can be housed with other non-aggressive species with a similar head-plus-body length.
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EVOLUTION, PLAIN AND SIMPLE (PART I)
EVOLUTION, PLAIN AND SIMPLE Robert George Sprackland, Ph.D. © 2001, 2003, Robert George Sprackland, Ph.D. Preface There has been a considerable volume of literature generated on the subject of evolution. The scientific treatment...
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EVOLUTION PLAIN AND SIMPLE (Part III)
EVOLUTION, PLAIN AND SIMPLE By Robert George Sprackland, Ph.D. © 2001, 2003, Robert George Sprackland, Ph.D. Defining Evolution Paradigms are points of view - What scientists mean by "theory" - The origin of life - How evolution is about...
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EVOLUTION, PLAIN AND SIMPLE (Part II)
EVOLUTION, PLAIN AND SIMPLE By Robert George Sprackland, Ph.D. The Background of Evolution Evolution is an ancient idea - Modern science tackles evolution- Lamarck and acquired characters - Darwin and Natural Selection - An ancient earth...
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HOW TO LIVE WITH PAIN AND THOSE WHO HAVE IT Part II
HOW TO LIVE WITH PAIN AND THOSE WHO HAVE IT Part II By Robert Sprackland, Ph.D. II [Note: links to special sites with detailed follow-up information about specific subjects is provided in the text. -Ed.] What Makes Pain Chronic? The word...
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HOW SAFE ARE YOU IN AN AMERICAN HOSPITAL?
HOW SAFE ARE YOU IN AN AMERICAN HOSPITAL? By Robert George Sprackland, Ph.D. Are you afraid of flying? Do you know anyone who is afraid of flying? Fearful or not, you have probably heard that flying is the safest form of vehicular...
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The Importance of Ultraviolet Light and Vitamin D to Reptile Health
Learn about the importance of UV light, calcium, and vitamin D for the health of your reptile.
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The Yellow Head Gecko
The Yellow Headed Gecko Robert George Sprackland, Ph.D. Yellow Headed Gecko Gonatodes albigularis fuscus (Hallowell, 1855) Family: Gekkonidae, the geckos, subfamily Sphaerodactylinae, the round-toed geckos. This subfamily contains the...
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TO THE PARENTS OF A YOUNG HERPETOLOGIST
Steve Masterson Dr. Sprackland, I am a parent of such a child. Myles is 14 now and has been studying reptiles for about 4-5 years now. At first, it started off small, Anoles,small turtles and a tiny Green snake found in the bushes out in the front...
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The Silvery Legless Lizard
The Silvery Legless Lizard Anniella pulchra Gray, 1852 Robert George Sprackland, Ph.D. Family: Anniellidae, completely restricted to the California coast, from Monterey County south to central Baja California, Mexico. Some authors consider...
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HOW TO LIVE WITH PAIN AND THOSE WHO HAVE IT
HOW TO LIVE WITH PAIN AND THOSE WHO HAVE IT By Robert Sprackland, Ph.D. Dedicated to the biggest pains in my life, which reside in the greatest love of my life. I [Note: links to special sites with detailed follow-up information about specific...
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When Klaatu Returns: The Day the Earth Stood Still Revisited
When Klaatu Returns By Robert Sprackland, Ph.D. Excerpted from Klaatu's Judgment, a manuscript in progress. On a spring day in 1951 a spacecraft arrived on Earth carrying an envoy from "the other planets." The very human-looking alien,...
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Ten Things Heard on The Island on LOST
HEARD ON "LOST" "Hey, everyone! Meet Will Robinson." "Never mind The Others-wait till you see the giant gorilla!" "Hurley, DON'T follow that white rabbit!" "The last time an island had this high a percentage of folks with a criminal past,...
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The Eastern Coral Snake
The Eastern Coral Snake Micrurus fulvius (Linnaeus, 1766) By Robert George Sprackland, Ph.D. Family: Elapidae, venomous snakes that include cobras, kraits, mambas, brown snakes, tiger snakes and coral snakes. Comment: The name "Micrurus" means...
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Why America's Schools Fail: Part VI-C: Teacher's Unions
Why America's Schools Fail By Dr. Robert Sprackland Part VI. DEFINING THE PROBLEMS: Failures in GOVERNMENT AND SOCIETY Politics and science (Note: these chapters and sections are being published as they are completed and edited. Tpoics that...
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Why America's Schools Fail: Part II Introduction
Part II: INTRODUCTION Who caused the problems, the nature of the problems, and why the system is not self-correcting. Parents elect the overseers, who know that parents only want change that won't cause them to take any responsibility. Ask not at...
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Why America's Schools Fail: Part I
Part I: PREFACE America is a funny country, a behemoth situation comedy where nobody knows that they are in a comedy. Through its written Constitution and governmental system of checks and balances, it has survived and prospered to...
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Bite of the Bandy-Bandy: Chapter 1
There's been a lot of talk lately about unwanted visitors. I'm not talking about in-laws or college students on an extended return from school. The visitors to which I refer have gone under a suite of pejorative titles: tramp species, non-native...