Herpetological Highlights

Toads continue to amaze us - this time they are using their sense of the Earth's magnetic field to find their way home. But how important this sense is for cane toads as they travel home from long jo…

We recap some of our recent travels, and then chat about bearded dragons. A new study shows that these lizards are making decisions about how they maintain their body temperature, and this has a knoc…

In this episode we are talking chameleons, one of nature's most famous colour changers. But despite their famous status, very few studies have actually demonstrated that they can change colour under …

The minds of reptiles remain largely mysterious to us, and we often wonder what kind of emotions they are capable of feeling. In this episode we dig into a new study which tries to uncover some of th…

A monumental new study has addressed the likely impacts of climate change on the activity of desert lizards in Africa and Australia. Hotter temperatures will likely ‘squeeze’ the activity window of s…

Bats have famously good hearing, and fringe-lipped bats in Panama have tuned theirs to listen out for frogs calling out for mates. But these bats are quite particular about which amphibians they eat.…

New research suggests that tokay geckos can distinguish between different people, shedding further light on the intelligence of lizards. We delve into this study and voice warranted concerns about th…

Almost all pythons and some boas have heat pits on their faces. This extraordinary adaptation lets these snakes 'see' the heat signature of their unsuspecting prey. A new study has determined the evo…

Day geckos and certain plants share a long evolutionary history, with day geckos feasting on nectar and in return pollinating plants. A study from back in the mid 2000s proved this neatly, and we del…

A new study has proven that ancient iguanas rafted over sea all the way from North America to Fiji, a staggering 8,000 km away. We discuss this epic voyage, and then turn our attention to a colourful…

Are rare meadow vipers under threat from the world’s smoothest snake? We find out, then we chat about why asp vipers come in different colours. 

Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighligh…

This episode is all about the problems rattlesnakes face in the wild. A brilliant new study uncovers whether predatory birds in America are resistant to the toxins of the rattlesnakes they eat, and t…

Some tree-dwelling salamanders have a remarkable ability to ‘sky-dive’, controlling their descent after leaping away from predators. New research tests the gliding ability of a number of different sp…

We are talking about our own work this week, focusing on our latest research into Europe’s foremost colubrid, the Aesculapian snake. We chat about radio-tracking these beasts and dive into some of th…

Salamanders and frogs return to their home pools to breed, but removal of these pools is making life more difficult for them. New research discovers how artificial pools can affect the genetics and f…

The Asian common toad (aka Asian black-spined toad, Asian toad, black-spectacled toad) is a remarkably successful species, living alongside humans and colonising new lands. A new study suggests there…

Our understanding of the social lives of snakes is evolving at breakneck speed. This week we discuss a new study which has revealed that ball pythons have social behaviour. We also talk about sociali…

A wildly ambitious new study manages to test how the personalities of sleepy skinks influence their success at finding food in the wild. Then we hit upon a beautiful new frog species from China.

Beco…

Blindsnakes have taken over the continent of Australia at rapid speed. We chat about their different body types and finish with some listener-submitted wild observations of unusual reptile behaviour.

A clever new experiment has shown that bearded dragons can learn skills by copying other dragons. Then we have a brand new orange and black newt species.

Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/her…