Maryland Reptile Conservation Center

04/04/2026

03/17/2026

A few facts on about one of the Caribbean’s most fascinating—and imperiled—iguanas: the 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱'𝘀 𝗥𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗜𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗻𝗮 (𝘊𝘺𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘪).

⭐ 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗲: With only a few thousand individuals estimated across its range, the Ricord's Rock Iguana remains one of the most endangered rock iguanas, threatened by habitat loss, invasive predators, and human encroachment.
💦 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗾𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘾𝙮𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙧𝙖: Unlike many of its relatives that favor dry scrub and rocky hillsides, Ricord’s Rock Iguanas are often associated with lagoons, mangroves, and wetlands in the Enriquillo Basin. They’ve even been observed swimming across channels between habitat patches.
🌿 𝗔 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗲𝗿: While these iguanas consume a wide range of vegetation, field observations show a strong seasonal reliance on certain plants around hypersaline lakes, a dietary niche not widely seen in other 𝘊𝘺𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘢.
🪨 𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻: Ricord’s Rock Iguanas frequently dig deep nesting and refuge burrows in compact soils rather than loose sand. These burrow systems can persist for years and may be reused by multiple generations.
🦎 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴: Nesting tends to coincide with seasonal rainfall patterns in the Enriquillo region, which influences soil moisture and incubation conditions—subtle environmental cues that can strongly affect hatchling success.

Ricord’s Rock Iguana represents a special ecological story—an iguana adapted to harsh, saline landscapes where few other large reptiles thrive. That’s why IIF provides grant funding to help support this mighty iguana!

01/16/2026

Ever wonder how the Shenandoah salamander survives winter?

Amphibians like the Shenandoah salamander enter a state of reduced activity called brumation. During this time, they burrow into the ground, hide under logs and rocks, or shelter within leaf litter to escape the cold. Their heart rate and metabolism slow dramatically to conserve energy, and some can even partially freeze.

Don’t worry, these resilient amphibians have natural “antifreeze” chemicals called cryoprotectants in their blood that help prevent their cells from freezing solid. As temperatures warm, we can expect to see them emerge again around April.

Learn more about this amazing amphibian: https://www.nps.gov/shen/learn/nature/shenandoah_salamander.htm

01/16/2026

The same snake that can kill you… might be the reason you survive.

Snakes terrify people for good reason. But their venom, a hyper-precise chemical arsenal is rewriting medicine. Here’s the deeper science behind this villain-to-hero transformation.

snake venom contains proteins and peptides that
affect certain human traits.
-Disintegrins latch onto blood platelets to prevent clotting.
-Phospholipases shred cell membranes.
-Neurotoxins precisely jam nerve signals.
This laser-focused action makes venom better than most synthetic drugs at unlocking biological secrets.

Real Drugs, Real Lives Saved
-Captopril: Brazilian pit viper venom showed scientists how to block ACE enzymes. Result? The first modern blood pressure drug, now treating 40+ million people yearly to prevent strokes and heart failure.
-Eptifibatide & Tirofiban: Rattlesnake and saw-scaled viper venom proteins stop deadly clots during heart attacks used in emergency cath labs worldwide.
-Batroxobin: Jararaca snake venom clears dangerous fibrin clots in stroke patients.

The Cutting Edge
-Cancer targeting: Some viper toxins seek-and-destroy tumor blood vessels while sparing healthy tissue. Clinical trials underway.
-Chronic pain: Mambalgins from black mamba venom block pain pathways that opioids miss, no addiction risk.
-Anticoagulants: Ancrod from Malayan pit viper thins blood safer than heparin for certain surgeries.

Protecting these animals isn’t just ecology, it’s medicine.

12/31/2025

The tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) has been protected by law since 1895. While popular articles about them frequently play up the species as a ‘living fossil,’ or make big news of their parietal eye, that is a small part of what makes this reptile species interesting.

First, know that a tuatara is not a lizard. Outwardly, it looks very much like a lizard, having four stout limbs, a thick tail, and dorsal spines that somewhat resemble an iguana’s. The presence of a parietal eye is even known in most species of lizards, frogs, salamanders, and some fish, so while it is an interesting feature, it is not what sets the tuatara apart.

Tuataras are endemic to New Zealand. As the lone extant species of the order Rhynchocephalia, their distant cousins certainly did walk among dinosaurs. Rhynchocephalians are believed to have originated around 250 million years ago during the Triassic period, appear to have reached global distribution and peak diversity during the Jurassic period, and aside from the tuatara, went extinct around 60 million years ago. Fossils of some of these extinct Rhynchocephalians have been found in the United States, and recently described (2022). This is where it becomes tempting to refer to tuataras as ‘living fossils,’ but apart from the retention of several features representative of Rhynchocephalians, we don’t have the evidence to claim that tuataras have remained entirely unchanged in the millions of years that have passed since the rest of their taxonomic order died out.

As for those non-lizard features? Tuataras have very unique dentition, and the ability to chew with a very effective saw-like motion. Their teeth are also fused to their skull. Additionally, the tuatara has gastralia, which are rib-like dermal bones in the ventral body wall (belly) which do not articulate with the spine or thoracic ribs. Gastralia are known in modern crocodilians as well, but not in lizards. Tuataras are extremely long-lived, with ages up to 60 years considered to be common, and captive tuatara are known to have lived for over 100 years. They do not reach reproductive maturity until around 20 years of age, and even then, the process of reproduction has been estimated at 2 to 5 years. This leaves the species vulnerable to the faster paced threats of human activity and rats.
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More about parietal eyes:
Katie Irwin, Ashley Margret Rasys, Tathiana Roldan, Douglas B Menke, James D Lauderdale; The lizard third eye. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2018;59(9):577.
https://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2693578
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Recently found fossil relative eusphenodontian:
David G. DeMar Jr., Marc E. H. Jones & Matthew T. Carrano (2022) A nearly complete skeleton of a new eusphenodontian from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation, Wyoming, USA, provides insight into the evolution and diversity of Rhynchocephalia (Reptilia: Lepidosauria), Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 20:1, DOI: 10.1080/14772019.2022.2093139
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14772019.2022.2093139
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The photograph used in this post shows a tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) on the forest floor. The photo was taken by Steven Baxter, and shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. The image was not altered for use in this post.
View license information here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

12/31/2025

12/31/2025

Today, we want to share with you an incredible story that reminds us of the truly immeasurable impact of wildlife rehabilitation.

During a recent oil spill, Tri-State's Oil Programs team was met with 78 Northern Water Snakes needing immediate help among countless other species. Each was diligently cleaned and cared for, resulting in an impressive 100% survival rate.

Not only did all of the affected water snakes make a full recovery, but of the 6 snakes that were treated at DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center, 120 total babies were born in care and then released! These accomplishments, both in partnership and rehabilitation, are incredible reminders of the gravity of our work. It is never one patient's life at stake, but rather the generations to come after their release.

Our sincerest gratitude to Oil Programs staff and CORE volunteers for their ongoing commitment to saving birds, mammals, and reptiles alike who have been affected in oil spills across the country.

11/26/2025

11/08/2025

The Grenadines clawed gecko (Gonatodes daudini) is one of the most endangered and rarest reptiles in the world. This tiny colorful lizard was discovered in 2005 on a very small cliff side of Union island. They inhabit an area of less than 500m2. This means one stray cat, rats or invasive lizard species may wipe these lizards out. Development of the area by humans is another major threat.

10/13/2025

Maryland is also home to hellbenders, a.k.a. snot otters.