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70 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 13, NUMBER 1  •  MARCH 2006 CONSERVATION RESEARCH REPORTS

Erosion Netting a Threat to 
Snakes and Lizards

Erosion netting consists of woven mats
of seed-implanted straw or jute layered
between two sheets of netting. The most
commonly used size of netting is 20 x 20
mm. Although supposedly photodegrad-
able, netting may remain intact after as
many as eight years. WALLEY ET AL.
(2005. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (16):
26–28) documented the threat of this
netting to lizards and snakes, which
become entrapped in it. Entangled ani-
mals may perish from heat exposure or
starvation or suffer injuries that might
prove fatal due to constriction of vital
organs or infection.

CITES-listed Lizards in the 
French Pet Trade

During the 1990s, over 100,000 CITES-
listed lizards were imported by the
French pet trade, with the numbers per
year increasing dramatically during the
last half of the decade. Reporting results
of a study funded by WWF-France,
AFFRE ET AL. (2005. Herpetological
Review 36:133–137) examined the data
pertaining to imports of CITES-listed
lizard into France, which is a growing
distribution center for reptilian pets in
Europe. The top five species imported
during the 1990s were Iguana iguana

(over 40,000 individuals, mostly from
the United States), Phelsuma madagas-
cariensis (almost 6000 individuals, almost
all from Madagascar), Uromastyx acan-
thinura (over 5000 individuals, mostly
from Mali), Chamaeleo senegalensis (over
5000 individuals, nearly all from
Senegal), and Varanus exanthematicus
(nearly 4000 individuals, largely from
Togo). Data indicated that increasing
numbers of imported CITES-listed
lizards were captive-bred, reflecting the
farming of Green Iguanas (I. iguana) in
Central and northern South America.
These data, however, are misleading in
regard to other listed species, which are
almost always wild-caught, as are many
non-listed species for which data are lack-
ing and about the status of which we
know essentially nothing.

Habitat Quality and Australia’s 
Most Endangered Snake

Fire suppression over the past two cen-
turies has produced increases in vegeta-
tion density and canopy cover in many
Australian landscapes, potentially affect-
ing small populations of nocturnal rep-
tiles that use exposed shelters for diurnal
thermoregulation. WEBB ET AL. (2005.
Copeia 2005: 894–900) tested the effect
of removing overhanging vegetation
from shaded rocks on use by Australia’s
endangered Broad-headed Snake,
Hoplocephalus bungaroides. One year after
clearing vegetation, basking rocks were
hotter and were used more frequently by
three reptilian species, including Broad-
headed Snakes and an important prey
species (Velvet Geckos, Oedura lesueurii).
The authors suggest that, until effective
fire management measures are in place,
sapling removal from overgrown rock

outcrops could help to protect small pop-
ulations of endangered reptiles.

Island Boas of Belize
Boa Constrictors (Boa constrictor) inhab-
iting islands off the coast of Belize have
been heavily collected for the pet trade,
which describes these as a “dwarfed” race.
BOBACK (2005. Copeia 2005: 880–885)
determined that, compared to mainland
boas, island boas have significantly
smaller litters of smaller neonates and
have extraordinarily small population
sizes that range from 8–88. Evidence of
declining population sizes and applica-
tion of IUCN criteria indicate that island
populations of Belizean boas warrant
immediate conservation priority due to
their low reproductive output, small pop-
ulation sizes, and continued demand in
the pet trade.

C O N S E R V A T I O N  R E S E A R C H  R E P O R T S

During the 1990s, nearly 4000 Savannah
Monitors (Varanus exanthematicus) were
imported by the French pet trade, mostly
from Togo.

JO
H

N
 B

IN
N

S

Butler’s Gartersnake (Thamnophis butleri)
from Ozaukee County, Wisconsin showing
injuries from erosion netting.

G
A

R
Y

 C
A

SP
ER

Australia’s endangered Broad-headed Snake
(Hoplocephalus bungaroides) may benefit from
clearing vegetation that has overgrown bask-
ing sites after two centuries of fire suppression.

PA
V

EL
 G

ER
M

A
N

/W
IL

D
LI

FE
 IM

A
G

ES

This adult male Crawl Cay Boa (Boa con-
strictor; 116 cm SVL) was one of only about
eight free-ranging individuals on an island
that has been heavily impacted by collection.
After completion of the initial study, the
author returned to the cay in 2003 to find
that more land had been cleared and that a
new structure was being built. In only a very
short amount of time, the author and his col-
leagues found no boas.

SC
O

TT
 M

. B
O

B
A

C
K

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