Snake Talk

Dr. Jenkins sits down to speak with Nicholas Hess who is a student, field herper, and photographer.  They discuss the ethical considerations of photographing snakes and go into depth on different photography techniques such as macro, snakes in landscape, in situ, and underwater.  If you’re looking for gear tips and advice on how to get into photography with snakes, this episode is for you.  Connec...

Dr. Jenkins sits down with Dillon Perron , owner of the Animals at Home Network , to discuss everything about keeping snakes in captivity.  They talk about the number of households in the US with snakes as pets, captive bred vs. wild caught, “designer” snakes, and the issues with keeping large species.  They also spend time conversing about the various components of husbandry that are important fo...

Dr. Jenkins meets with Gary Williamson who had the opportunity to know and snake hunt with Carl Kauffeld.  They go in-depth about Carl including his career, personality, and how he worked in the field and the zoo.  They also talk about Gary’s book The Kauffeld Letters which chronicles years of written correspondence between Gary and Carl right up until Carl’s passing.  This is a unique episode tha...

Dr. Jenkins sits down with Cody Will, owner of Rattlesnake Ready - a company in the Phoenix area that specializes in training dogs to avoid venomous snakes.  They go in-depth about the dog training process.  Chris and Cody also discuss why this training is important, the kinds of snakes that Cody uses, how effective the training is, as well as the snake vaccine for dogs.  Connect with Chris on Fac...

Join Dr. Jenkins as he speaks with the owner of both the Portland Timbers and Portland Thorns professional soccer teams, Merritt Paulson.  Chris and Merritt, also an Orianne Society board member, have known each other for many years and share a love of snakes and traveling far and wide to see new species.  Discover how Merritt got to where he is today as the owner of professional sports teams.  Li...

Chris Urban is the Chief of the Natural Diversity Section for the Pennsylvania Boat and Fish Commission.  In this episode, Dr. Jenkins and Mr. Urban talk about the history of Timber Rattlesnakes in Pennsylvania.  They discuss how active management techniques such as a regulated hunting program have resulted in the population rebounding, making the Timber Rattlesnake populations in Pennsylvania som...

Chris talks about Copperheads with Dr. Charles Smith , a professor at Wofford College in South Carolina.  Dr. Smith has been working on the ecology of Copperheads for over 20 years, and shares the information he has learned about this common but understudied snake.  Dr. Smith also spends a great deal of time in the desert Southwest researching rattlesnakes and working on books.  This episode was c...

Dr. Andrews lives in Coastal Georgia and runs a University of Georgia research lab focused on the applied ecology of many species including Gopher Tortoises, crocodilians, and snakes.  Kimberly discusses the challenges of developing a career as a venomous snake ecologist especially during a time when there were few women in the field.  Chris and Kimberly discuss the movement ecology of snakes with...

Dr. Matthew Allender is a Professor of Veterinary Clinical Medicine and Director of the Wildlife Epidemiology Lab at the University of Illinois. He documented the first case of Snake Fungal Disease in Snakes. Chris and Matt discuss Snake Fungal Disease including its potential origins, specific case studies, variation in disease among snake species, and the most pressing research needs. They also d...

Dr. David Steen works for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission where he leads amphibian and reptile research efforts. Chris and Dave talk about how persistence and hard work led to a diversity of experiences and jobs as he worked towards his current position. They talk about some of the species that his group prioritizes and how they develop those priorities. Dave also has created...

Dr. James Wellehan is an Associate Professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Florida. Chris and Jim discuss the evolution and ecology of animal diseases with a focus on snakes. They go in depth into various types of diseases that affect snakes, as well as how diseases are often complex, involving multiple components that can affect the impact on the animals. Connect with...

Chris talks snakes with Steve Friedman, Director of Real Estate for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Chris and Steve talk about the importance of land conservation for combating habitat loss and fragmentation as one of the greatest threats to snakes. They also talk about the primary land conservation tools and how they work. Finally, as an example, they go through a large effort in Geo...

Dr. Taylor is an accomplished Reptile Physiological Ecologist that has dedicated her career to studying aspects of snake ecology such as thermal biology and physiological adaptations to desert environments. Chris and Emily discuss the research and students in her lab, and focus on translocation. They also go in depth into Central Coast Snake Services which is Emily’s company that provides communit...

Ben Stegenga is a herpetologist that works for the Orianne Society on a variety of species projects in the Longleaf Savannas. Ben is the field ecologist who runs our indigo snake and eastern diamondback monitoring programs in Georgia. He joins Chris to talk about the natural history of these amazing animals and give us an update on how the monitoring season is going so far. Connect with Chris on F...

Donna Kalil is a Python Elimination Specialist that spends her days searching for Burmese Pythons in South Florida. Chris and Donna discuss the biology of invasive pythons, how these snakes are spreading, their ecological impacts, the efforts to eliminate them, and how the public is responding. Donna also talks about how they catch the snake including an exciting story. Finally, Donna discusses th...

Rich Baxter is a Director of a new organization, the Indian Ocean Tortoise Alliance or IOTA. IOTA is focused on the conservation of Giant Tortoises in the Indian Ocean and is based in the Seychelles. Chris and Rich discuss Rich’s path to becoming a tortoise biologist, Global patterns in Giant Tortoise distribution, Ecology of Aldabra Tortoises, and IOTA. Listen in as both Chris and Rich tell stori...

Chris talks snakes with Dr. Bryan Maritz, who is a professor at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa. Bryan is deeply interested in natural history and has worked on many species across Africa. Chris and Bryan talk about global patterns in viper diversity, pythons, stiletto snake, and go in depth into the natural history of the Namaqua Dwarf Adder. Tune in to learn about the Snakes o...

Johnny Carrol Sain is a writer, editor, and deep thinker of everything related to nature and rural culture. Johnny joins Dr. Jenkins to discuss the disconnect between culture and nature and then the even deeper disconnect between nature and snakes. They also discuss the importance of people having at least a base understanding of ecosystems and the interconnectedness of nature. Connect with Chris...

Herpmapper is a tool that allows users to record data on snakes they find in the field using an App on their phone. Herpmapper allows users to catalogue all of the data they collect overtime but more importantly links those data to wildlife management and conservation organizations. Chris talks with Mike and Don about the history, how to, and uses of Herpmapper as well as talking about snakes in t...

Dr. Dan Natusch is a herpetologist, Director of Epic Biodiversity, and chairman of the IUCN Boa and Python Specialist Group. Dan joins Chris to discuss everything pythons from where you find them in the world, their biogeography in Australia, to the phenomenon of vary color morphs in young Green Tree Pythons. They also discuss an event that has been in the news where a python attempted to eat a pe...

Julia Duin is a journalist and writer who recently published a book on religious snake handlers titles, ‘In the House of the Serpent Handler’. As part of her research for the book Julia has spent extensive time in Appalachia at the churches and with the people in the serpent handling culture. Join Dr. Jenkins and Julia as they talk about religion, snake handling practices, and her book. They also...

Melissa Amarello is the Executive Director of Advocates for Snake Preservation (ASP). Tune in to hear about her research on social interactions in snakes, ranging from how snakes care for their offspring to who snakes are “friends” with. ASP uses these types of studies on snake behavior to implement education programs geared to changing the public’s perception of snakes. Melissa also discusses how...

Dr. Peterson is an accomplished Snake Ecologist that has dedicated his career to studying the ecology of snakes and applying that knowledge to their conservation. Drs. Jenkins and Peterson discuss the path Chuck took to becoming a herpetologist. They also discuss the diversity of snakes in the Intermountain West and what Chuck has learned from decades of research, including an in depth discussion...

Chris talks snakes with Dr. Rulon Clark, who is a professor at San Diego State University. Rulon has been using videography at study sites around the country to study snake feeding in the wild. Tune in to hear all the interesting things Rulon’s cameras have found from snakes moving grass to make a better strike zone to ninja rats doing acrobatics to avoid snake bites. Connect with Chris on Faceboo...

The Walking Dead is an “Apocalyptic Soap Opera” where humans are trying to survive after a virus has turned most people to walkers (i.e., zombies). Kim Mross is a snake wrangler for the Walking Dead where she sweeps sets by temporarily removing snakes before shoots, temporarily removes snakes encountered during shoots, and educates crew and cast. Listen to Chris and Kim discuss stories ranging fro...