Reptile Innovators

18/03/2024

Turtle Rescue & Rehab Program
The Turtle Rescue, Rehabilitation, and Placement program, TRRP (pronounced "terp") was set up by the Turtle and Tortoise Society of Charleston as a way to prevent the proverbial "road kill" from becoming a fatality. As such, TRRP will accept any turtle found ill or injured in the wild with the hope of healing their wounds and eventually releasing healthy turtles back into the wild. TRRP is working with the Sea Island Veterinary Hospital's Wildlife Rehabilitation Program to ensure that any turtle in need will receive the best veterinary care available in the Tri-County area.
TRRP is in need of donations of many kinds to aid in maintaining this program. Donations of turtle care supplies, aquariums, (broken or whole), medical supplies, food, whole fish, and money would be greatly appreciated and benefit our shelled friends. Call for information, donations and/or with turtles in need of help.

Turtles which are handicapped, permanently disabled, or which are not native to South Carolina will be placed through the society's adoption program with dedicated turtle lovers who will ensure the turtles enjoy a healthy and happy captive life.

Below are a few of TRRP's success stories. Just click on the photo icon to view the full size image.

Plastron of injured Yellow Belly Slider

Kemps Ridley Sea Turtle that swallowed a fishing hook

Box turtle injured by automobile

Snapping Turtle

Gopher Tortoise

Box Turtle Chew Toy

Redfoot Tortoise

The TTSC is a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization. Contributions are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.
Mail Check to: TTSC, P.O. Box 687, Ladson, SC 29456, (843)871-6606 INTERNET:

E-mail: [email protected]

Or you can reach out to me and I can get them from you and I will be sure that they get them.

17/02/2024

At the Southeast Wildlife Expo to see Jeff Corwin.

15/01/2024

A reptile owner, breeder, educator and conservationist to all of us in the reptile hobby. You will be missed but your legacy and work will carry on through your friends, family, coworkers and the rest of us on the reptile hobby.

04/08/2023

This copperhead was rescued from the Summerville president, their backyard in a safer environment.

26/06/2023

22/12/2022

A dear friend of mine passed away. She shared with me her passion and love for reptiles and other animals alike. She has helped me on various educational shows in the past. A very kind and compassionate woman but at the same time very stern and blunt. She would be honest with you even if you didn't want to hear it. I respected her for that because I'm the same way. She will be greatly missed and hope that she has peace in heaven....

09/05/2022

This past Saturday I went to visit the local reptile zoological park Edisto Island Serpentarium. One of the owners passed away back in 2017. It was the first time I had been back to the park since his passing. They had the memorial of them there and as I teared up a flood of memories came back. He was a friend and mentor. He used to take my family out on boat rides and we would collect snakes from the trees. We would go on his small little home he had on the Waccamaw river he would use as a getaway or for camping and taking friends and family for a weekend outing. I learned a lot from him and miss him dearly.

16/03/2021

Can snakes hear?

Unlike what common belief suggests, snakes can hear! You may be familiar with the three bones in the middle ear of mammals which allows us to hear: the malleus, incus, and stapes. Snakes don't have that. Instead, they have just one middle ear bone called the columella (shown in green in the diagram). The columella is connected to their lower quadrate bone (blue in the diagram) which is what allows snakes to hear.

Another common misconception is that snakes can only sense and "hear" vibrations through the ground with their jaw. They can also hear airborne sounds! However, they're not earing airborne sounds like we do. Vibrations through the air, like people talking or keys on a keyboard, hit the snake and are transferred into its body for the snake to process. They can't hear everything though--they can only process sounds between 80 and 1000 Hz; in contrast, we can hear sounds between 20 and 20,000 Hz. They can "hear" us, but they can't necessarily hear a typical songbird which transmits at 2,500 Hz and above. Snakes use their hearing to detect predators and prey.

20/04/2020

Got my baby Gila Monster. Been waiting a very long time to finally get one.

02/11/2019

Released a Copperhead today that a local resident had trapped in a snake trap in their backyard.

18/03/2019

This young lady here, Alexandria had her dad purchase one of our baby leopard geckos that hatched last year. Over this past weekend she got her first reptile and we are so proud to be a part of this moment with her. She names her gecko Limoncello.

16/03/2019

Today we had a very interesting event. A young lady was trying to knock some of the things off of her bucket list she's always wanted to do. It would appear that holding a tarantula was one of those things. We were honored that she chose us to help her cross that off her bucket list and help reduce her fear of tarantulas.

04/03/2019

Our new volunteer Kayla. We are glad to welcome her to the Reptile Innovators family. She is and will be a huge asset for education through future generations

04/03/2019

Just had to share this.

So I had a booth set up at Kids Fair today in downtown Charleston. My family had our reptiles their educating people. My wife was at one of our tables that had our Leopard Geckos there. A man asked about the purpose of their tail (being so fat and all) and my life began to explain that the tail holds water and food and such.

This guy out of nowhere asks how the Leopard Geckos retrieve the food and water from their tails. Before my wife could explain it to him he asked does the gecko just turn around and suck it out of his tail like a straw.....

I was speechless......

31/01/2019

Reptile Innovators

31/01/2019

Here is a coupon for one free adult, but you have to bring a child!

24/01/2019

Sunday, March 3rd is the annual Kids Fair in downtown Charleston at the Gilliard Auditorium. We will have a booth out there displaying and letting everyone interact with the reptiles. Come see us! It's a free event for kids and parents are just a few bucks to get in. In addition to us being there, they will have games, activities, food, and more.

02/12/2018

ABDragons

ABDragons

🎶 Baby Louie doo doo 🦈🦎 🎶

Credit: Tanah Tyoe

02/10/2017

Interesting find for those who didn't know.

I commonly read on many pages, forums and other places of Bearded Dragon owners bathing their pets in an effort to rehydrate them. Many of these keepers are under the false impression that their dragons will absorb water up through their cloaca. To my knowledge there is no scientific proof this occurs and have always questioned it... in fact I have never believed it!
Recently I performed an experiment to test if my thoughts were correct. I had an older female Central Bearded Dragon recently surrended to me to be euthanased for a number of reasons. Prior to doing this she was placed in a warmed bath of water containing a blue dye for 18 hours. After she was euthanased we performed a post-mortem examination to see if she had taken any of the stained water into her cloaca. The results were very conclusive and clearly showed she had NOT absorbed any water up through her cloaca. Myth BUSTED!!!


EDIT: As of 21/1/2019 this post is closed for comments other than constructive and civil questions regarding the information. For those people who cannot be bothered to actually read the comments regarding this animal:
1. The animal had serious health concerns that would have required ongoing care that would have meant ongoing suffering. It was not euthanased because the owners could not afford it or did not want to treat her. They were aware of what we did with the lizard and we had their full permission.
2. The lizard was monitored the entire period and was able to move out of the water should she wish.
3. This was never set up as a scientific study. There are far too many variables involved. It was designed to demonstrate to those people that think dragons actively suck water into their cloacas is false and should not be relied upon as a method of rehydration.

23/09/2017

Did you know a Box turtle only roams 1 mile its whole life? If it is removed from its area/home then for the rest of its life it will roam aimlessly stressed out... trying to find "home" until it dies a very sad death.

Please do not remove turtles. Do not take them home as pets. If one is injured please mark the exact spot found for the wildlife center. If a turtle is in the road you can help by moving it directly across the street in the direction it was heading. Thank you!

I post this every few months because it's not really known. Many people think it is harmless to let their children take home a docile turtle to play with and release it someplace they see appropriate. I was once that kid. Please share the knowledge.

25/06/2017

25/06/2017

MISSION STATEMENT
Reptile Innovators of South Carolina is a not-for-profit group. Our mission is to infuse communities, governments (state and local), and our children in the truths of reptiles and their counterparts both native and non native. To achieve success in educating people to respect, understand, and show how these animals can enrich our lives. We also demonstrate through education the responsible, safe, and proper care and husbandry of these animals in captivity. We also strive to debunk the myths reptiles and their counterparts get from folklore and Hollywood films. It is our overall social and personal responsibility to represent and protect these animals in a positive manner and give them a voice to aid in conservation. We work diligently to achieve these goals through outreach programs, periodic meetings, and community events.

25/06/2017

Go to the Notes section to find information on federal laws, SC laws, and list of reptile and amphibian species native to SC.

17/06/2017

Just some Cottonmouth (water moccasin) info to share today.....courtesy of USARK.

Myth: Cottonmouths are aggressive and will chase you.
Fact: [No, they are not and no they won't.] They have no good reason to chase you or start a fight.

Myth: Cottonmouths are everywhere.
Fact: Cottonmouths only live in the Southeast and [small portion] of the Midwest [U.S.}.

Myth: Cottonmouths will fall from a tree into your boat.
Fact: They rarely bask in trees & aren't likely to fall boats. That's probably a harmless water snake trying to flee.

Myth: You can fall into a cottonmouth breeding ball.
Fact: Although [nonvenomous] water snakes may gather into a ball for mating, cottonmouths don't.

06/05/2017

Laura

Here is a Hognose we rescued from our own neighborhood and released to a safe place.

Eastern hog nose snake rescued from the neighbors yard. You can hear him hissing trying to make himself seem more threatening then he really is.

06/05/2017

Here is a Rat Snake we rescued from a garage in Charleston. Released in a safe place away from homes.

25/03/2017

Charleston Kidsfair

Come out and see us Sunday March 26th (11-5) for the 29th annual Charleston Kids Fair. We will have a booth set up with a lot of our reptiles.

Charleston SC's Premier Event for Children and Families

23/03/2017

The Pet Collective

Cute and funny.....

These reptiles are so EPIC:

23/03/2017

Timeline Photos