Froglife

Leaping forward for reptiles and amphibians

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What our animals are doing this month

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Written by Nathan Gardner, Transforming Lives Trainee

The warm summer days have faded as we reach October, which means that our native amphibians and reptiles have one thing on their mind: starting brumation. This process differs to that of the mammalian hibernation in that rather than a sustained period without bodily functions such as eating, drinking, or defecating, amphibians and reptiles will occasionally leave their hides in order to drink – which is important in regulating their bodily fluid levels – and perhaps bask in the sun on warmer days.

Most amphibians and reptiles are referred to as ‘ectothermic’, meaning they cannot generate their own body heat. Instead, they rely on their surrounding environments to warm and cool themselves, regulating their blood flow. Winter, of course, poses quite the issue for these critters, and they must seek refuge to buffer themselves from the harsh cold. It is important for amphibians to locate a hide that is moist, such as compost heaps or abandoned mammal burrows, as they have permeable skin as a means of absorbing water and oxygen. Reptiles have a more robust respiratory system, and thus can survive in drier conditions such as deadwood or leaf litter.

Here are a few suggested steps you can take in your own garden to help amphibians and reptiles have a successful brumation:

  • Leave mounds of loose soil and piles of dead leaves or compost in the garden corners.
  • Avoid disturbing these areas and withhold as much garden maintenance as possible.
  • Leave small bowls of water beside these areas regularly; amphibians will need to soak, and reptiles will need to drink.
  • Try building your own hibernaculum; a specialized hide consisting of logs, stones, and soil.

It is crucial that any amphibians or reptiles you invite into your garden feel safe and provided for. Let your grass grow and do your best not to disturb any dark, moist patches or corners. Please click here for more information. 

The Basics of Scientific Naming

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Written by Madeleine Barnes, Transforming Lives Trainee

The scientific names of species seem incomprehensible to many people – but peeling back just one layer of confusion reveals how simple they can be to understand. Despite commonly being called ‘Latin names’ due to the prevalence of Latin-based words and a limit of only using the 26 Latin characters, scientific names can actually be made with any language and can even be complete nonsense. Typically, the names describe a species physically, but may also be the names of people or even simply be jokes (see the frog genus Mini).

The first international rules for naming animals were established in the “International Rules on Zoological Nomenclature” published in 1905. Each scientific name is a binomial name, meaning they are composed of 2 parts: the genus and species of the animal. They are always written in the format Genus species, with an added subspecies for a trinomial name if necessary.

Here are the scientific names of some of the species Froglife protects, and their meanings:

Translated directly from Latin as ‘temporary frog’, this name refers to how frogs seem to be absent during the colder months.

 

‘Triturus’ is Neo-Latin (Renaissance-era Latin) derived from the name “Triton”, a Greek god of the sea. In Latin, ‘crista’ means “plume on a helmet” or “tuft on an animal’s head” (typically referring to chickens), which describes the eponymous Great Crest on these male newts.

From the Latin ‘natrix’, meaning “water snake” – grass snakes are often spotted on water due to their preferred diet of amphibians. In Neo-Latin, ‘helvetica’ means “Swiss”, referring to this snake’s prevalence in central Europe.

NOTE: the barred grass snake was reclassified in 2017 from its previous classification as a subspecies of Natrix natrix, due to genetic testing marking it as a distinct species.

‘Vipera’ is a contraction of the Latin ‘vivus’ (alive) and ‘parere’ (to deliver), indicating a snake that gives birth to live young. ‘Berus’ is a misspelling of the Latin ‘verus’, meaning “true” or “authentic” – this could refer to the adder’s reputation as a historical staple of Europe.

Being a legless lizard, ‘anguis’ rather confusingly means “snake” in Latin – 1758 Linnaeus was clearly deceived by their snake-like appearance. ‘Fragilis’ means “fragile”, describing the way in which slow-worms drop their tails when in danger.

To learn more about the rules regarding naming animal species, access the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature online: https://www.iczn.org/the-code/the-code-online/

Cultural Artistic Representations of Reptiles

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Written by Kaitlin Oliver, Transforming Lives Trainee

Throughout history, reptiles have found their way into many different forms of art. All cultures have represented these animals through arts such as paintings, pottery and tattoos. Each culture have their own beliefs on what reptiles mean to them.

In aboriginal art, lizards are often painted in dotted mosaics. Belief says that lizards are part of the Dreaming Stories that relate to the creation of the natural world and to the role of Ancestors and humans in that world.

Dragons are seen in many cultures on all forms of art. In Chinese culture, the dragon is a mythical creature often depicted as a serpent-like being with the ability to fly. It is seen as symbol of power, strength, and good luck. It’s a central figure in Chinese art, especially in traditional paintings and sculptures.

A large petroglyph resembling a lizard at Dinosaur National Monument, Utah, USA

Many Native American tribes created rock carvings (known as petroglyphs) featuring reptiles, such as snakes and turtles. These images often held spiritual and symbolic significance, connecting the people to their natural surroundings.

In the modern tattoo word, reptiles continue to be a source of inspiration. Reptilian motifs, such as snakes and dragons, are popular choices in tattoo art across various cultures. They can symbolize protection, transformation, or personal strength.

Showcasing the diversity of cultural artistic representations of reptiles, you can see that reptiles have held a complex and multifaceted place in human culture, from ancient mythologies to contemporary expression. Reptiles often symbolize both awe and fear, power and danger, and the natural world’s intricate beauty.

 

Reptile Awareness Day

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Written by Jade Walton, Transforming Lives Trainee

The 21st October marks Reptile Awareness Day, and what better way to celebrate than to learn some interesting facts about our six native reptile species! 

In the United Kingdom we have six native reptiles, three snakes and three lizards.

Our snakes are:

Grass snakes

Smooth snakes

and adders

Our lizards are:

Common lizards

Sand lizards

and slow-worm

Each of these reptiles have interesting facts about them that easily set them aside from their other reptile counterparts. 

Firstly, lets look to our snakes. Adders are our only venomous species, though not particularly dangerous to most humans, it is best to keep your dog on a lead when walking in areas inhabited by adders. Adders are surprisingly small, usually measuring between 60cm and 80cm when fully grown. Females birth live young that are less than 20cm long. 

Next, we come to the smooth snake. Just like their adder relatives, smooth snakes are quite short in length, usually growing to around 60-70cm. These are the rarest of our UK reptile species, only to be found in specific heathland sites. Smooth snakes are also the only snake in the UK to constrict their prey. 

Our final snake is the grass snake. Easily the UK’s longest snake growing to around 150cm, they are also the only native snake to lay eggs rather than birth live young. This is a contributing factor as to why they are not found in Scotland as they need warm enough temperatures through the summer months for their eggs to incubate. 

Adder
Smooth snake
Grass snake

Our other three reptile species are types of lizard. Sand lizards are another rare UK reptile as their habitats are greatly limited to certain sandy heathlands. The sand lizard is our only lizard in the UK to lay eggs, which they bury under sand in sunny areas to allow for them to incubate. Like our other lizards, they can drop their tails as a defence mechanism against predators. 

Common lizards are widespread throughout the UK, though their numbers are thought to be declining due to habitat loss. They are fairly often mistaken for newts as they are quite similar in appearance, the best way to tell the difference is to see the scaly skin of the lizard versus the smooth skin of the newt, they also move a lot faster. 

Our final, and perhaps most confusing reptile is the slow-worm. Many could mistake a slow worm for a snake, given they have no legs, but they are, in fact, a lizard. They are distinguished from snakes by their ability to blink and drop their tails when threatened. ​

Sand lizard (female) (c) Tracy Farrer
Common lizard (c) David Palmer
Slow-worm

 

Disease in Amphibians

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Written by Ellia Cobb, Transforming Lives Trainee

Disease is a huge issue for our amphibian population, Ranavirus and Chytridiomycosis being two of the main diseases that threaten our native species. It is thought that these diseases were introduced by non-native species being released into the wild. One third of all amphibians are at risk of extinction with heavy declines across the globe.

A frog with ranavirus (c) Dee Wilkinson

Ranavirus is somewhat new to the UK and is mainly found in common frogs, some of the symptoms are skin ulcers which are commonly seen on the skin around the legs and pelvic area. The frogs infected will also suffer from internal bleeding which you may only be able to identify from redness around the mouth and cloaca. Frogs may also show signs of lethargy, but they won’t always show obvious symptoms of this virus. Ranavirus is only active during warmer temperatures, but can be devastating to pond populations around summer time, it is fatal and can affect the entire pond population.

Chytrid infection has been responsible for mass mortalities within the UK’s amphibian population and in some cases, it has caused extinctions. Most native natterjack toad populations have tested positive for the infection, but seem to be unaffected. That however, doesn’t stop them from spreading it to other amphibian populations. Evidence suggests that chytrid causes death by preventing sufficient uptake of salts through the skin. Amphibians need these salts for their circulation and without this, their hearts cease to function. Symptoms of this include ulcers, reddening, shedding and unusual behaviours.

There are steps everyone can take to prevent the spread of amphibian disease:

  1. Do not transfer animals or plants from one pond to another. 
  2. Do not purchase wild-caught spawn, tadpoles or adult amphibians online. Not only is this against the law, but you do not know the origin of the animals. 
  3. Do not release pet/exotic amphibians into the wild. It is against the law and can cause severe damage to not only the released amphibian, but the local population too. 
  4. If you suspect disease in an amphibian, report it to Garden Wildlife Health

The Big Draw

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Written by Chloe Davey, Transforming Lives Trainee

Creativity is something we have within us all and it can be expressed in many ways. Did you know that a charity known as The Big Draw holds an event that encourages creativity every year? This year focuses on drawing with an interesting twist, using the five senses: Sound, sight, smell, touch and taste. The Big Draw runs from the 1st of October to the 31st and I encourage you to participate. Go ahead and express your creative side! We can even offer you some inspiration to help with your artwork, inspired by both our common interests and the five senses.

Sound – As we know frogs and toads despite their similarities, are quite different. This includes their croaks, particularly during mating season. Frogs have a deep yet quiet croak whilst a toad has a much louder and higher pitched croak.

Sight – Landscapes of nature are always a truly beautiful sight to behold. There is so much to see when you look across the horizon and really puts you in the mood to venture on to discover its every detail for yourself.

Smell – Nature has many unique but wonderful smells, whether it’s the brisk country air or the sweet scent of wildflowers. My favourite smell would have to be the fresh aroma of grass after exposure to rain.

Touch – Surprisingly a great crested newt’s skin texture is quite different to the other species of newts in the UK. Great crested newts have bumpy skin. However smooth newts have, as the name suggests, smooth skin as do palmate newts too.

Taste – It’s important to know what you can and can’t eat before foraging. Blackberries are sweet and juicy on their own, but they can also be used in multiple recipes. Mint leaves can also be foraged and have a cool taste.

Hopefully you are now inspired and intend to create your own art piece. It would be amazing to see what you come up with. If you want to share your drawings on social media, remember to hashtag #DRAWINGWITHSENSES #BDF2023 #TheBigDraw.

Why not take a look at our draw-along videos for even more inspo?

Draw Along: Adder Edition

Draw Along: Newt Edition

Draw Along: Toad Edition

 

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