Snakes and lizards lethargic after Sandy – via Herp Digest

February 1, 2013 - NEPTUNE CITY - NewJerseyNews12.com

Pet owners may have noticed that their pet lizards and snakes have been especially lethargic since Hurricane Sandy. There's an explanation as to why these animals are eating less, moving less, and sleeping more.

Mike GaNun, the owner of Mike's Pet Center in Neptune City, explained to News 12 New Jersey that the storm brought along colder than usual temperatures. "When Hurricane Sandy came, it got real cold," GaNun says. "People didn't have power in the house. It started a false hibernation for a lot of reptiles."

He says pet owners shouldn't worry too much. Most of the reptiles will be fine by March.

Sadly, many tropical lizards that can't hibernate and need warmth died during the extended power outages. However, many dragons and snakes normally cool down in the winter months, so they've survived the cold and outages by entering a longer, deeper hibernation than usual.

GaNun recommends feeding snakes and lizards less live food during this hibernation period. He says any live food that is not eaten should be removed so the pets are not harmed by it.

Reptile owners should also keep some hand warmers in the house. In case of an extended power outage, owners can break them out, wrap them with newspaper, and put them in the animal's tank. Snakes and lizards will curl up next to them to keep warm. 

Bird’s eye view of Sandy’s fury

By Lisa L. Colangelo / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Superstorm Sandy wreaked havoc on Rockaway and Broad Channel as well as the fragile eco systems that surround them.

As residents struggle to rebuild their homes, environmentalists are trying to determine the best way to repair damage to Jamaica Bay, Jacob Riis Park and other Queens sections of the Gateway National Recreation Area.

New aerial photographs released by the National Park Service show stunning before-and-after images of the storm’s fury.

COURTESY OF NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

The West Pond of Jamaica Bay, a man-made freshwater pool of water, was breached. Salt water now pours into the pond, endangering the habitat for wildlife.

Sand blanketed acres of Riis Park, while waves knocked down part of a brick wall behind its historic art deco bathhouse.

“It was shocking,” said Dave Taft, coordinator of the Jamaica Bay Unit for the National Park Service. “This is an important scenic place for New Yorkers and it’s a place where naturalists cut their teeth.”

The storm created a channel from Jamaica Bay into the freshwater pond, created more than 50 years ago. It is a popular spot for bird watchers.

Taft said the agency is mulling ways to restore a portion of the pond as freshwater so it doesn’t lose the population of snapping turtles, muskrats and migrating birds that have grown to call it home.

“This is a wrenching question for the Park Service,” said Dan Hendrick, who is working on a documentary about Jamaica Bay. “Does it make sense to rebuild some of the man-made structures that didn’t hold up? Water quality is also an issue. It had been improving.”

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/bird-eye-view-sandy-fury-article-1.1258060#ixzz2KJjzpFZa

Sandy damages aquarium, but animals survive storm

POINT PLEASANT BEACH — As superstorm Sandy’s furious waves devastated the New Jersey coastline, eight caretakers worked to protect animals living a few feet above the storm surge.

Despite the evacuation of Point Pleasant Beach, the caretakers, called “Team Sandy,” stayed to protect the animals that know Jenkinson’s Aquarium as their home.

When the power failed in the building about 6 p.m. on Oct. 29, the animal handlers rushed to hook tank aerators to batteries and generators.

“The very first concern is to make sure there was air or dissolved oxygen in the tank ... (so) that these animals can continue to breathe,” said Cindy Claus, director of the aquarium.

The aerators kept alive the aquarium’s assortment of sharks, corals and fish.

While they worked, the Atlantic Ocean filled the building’s basement, destroying holding tanks, pumps, filters and a quarantine room, Claus said.

“The entire contents of the basement were washed out by the ocean into the parking lot and adjoining neighborhood,” she said.

But the flooding never reached the ground level floor, the aquarium director said.

Continued:  http://www.app.com/viewart/20121118/NJNEWS/311180046/Sandy-damages-aquarium-animals-survive-storm

How was Jamaica Bay, NYC (Gate National Park) Affected by Hurricane Sandy? – via Herp Digest

Go to http://birdingdude.blogspot.com/ For a short and depressing summary by a birder, so no turtles but go for the photos. 

Summary: As the photos will show, the trail around West Pond, the part of the trail that faced the Bay was devastated. That part of the trail was where the terrapins climbed up to find a place to lay their eggs. Sometimes in the trail, sometimes on the other side. But with the trail destroyed, the fresh water West Pond becoming salter by the day as the breaks in the trail allow the Bay’s brackish water to mix with the pond’s fresh water. Where will they lay their eggs in 2013? 

Skeletal Remains Found In Upended Tree: The Death Investigator Exhumes Skull

(Updated 11:30 p.m.) A homeless woman made a spooky Halloween’s eve discovery on the Upper Green: bones from a centuries-old human body unearthed by a giant oak tree toppled by Superstorm Sandy.

The woman, Katie Carbo, made the discovery around 3:15 p.m. near the corner of College and Chapel streets. Visible among the roots of the tree is the back of skull, upside down, with its mouth open (pictured). It is still connected to a spine and rib cage.

Carbo called police, who confirmed the discovery. Detectives headed to the scene to investigate.

Sgt. Anthony Zona said the police do not suspect foul play. He noted that that part of the Green long ago served as a burial ground.

“That body has probably been there a long, long time,” Zona said.

“Twenty-four years on the job,” he added, “and different things just happen all the time.”

Continued:  http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/skeleton_found_in_upended_tree_on_green/

Sandy May Drive Subway Rats onto NYC Streets

New Yorkers may see an unwanted group of refugees in the wake of Hurricane Sandy — the rats that live in the city's subway tunnels.

As of Noon on Tuesday (Oct. 30), seven subway tunnels under the East River had flooded due to Hurricane Sandy, and many of the other subterranean lairs the seemingly invincible creatures inhabit were also inundated. That may push the rodent survivors of the deluge onto the New York streets.

"Most of the rats that are living there will actually drown," said Herwig Leirs, a rodentologist at the University of Antwerp in Belgium.

Continued:  http://www.livescience.com/24415-hurricane-sandy-nyc-subway-rats.html