Herps of Wyoming

By Isabella Carroll

When you hear the name Wyoming you normally wouldn’t think it would be a place full of all sorts of reptiles and amphibians. Wyoming is a huge landlocked state in North America with It has the smallest human population of only 578,759 residents. Wyoming’s climate is generally semi-arid, being drier and windier in comparison to most of the United States with greater temperature extremes. The heat in Wyoming ranges from 85 and 95 °F in most of the state. The winters, on the other hand, are a whole different story, it can get 20 below 0 with snow showers and blizzards lasting well into May. Despite the weather reptiles and amphibians still thrive in Wyoming which is home to some incredible and rare amphibians and reptiles.

Invasive amphibians in Wyoming 

Wyoming does have an invasive amphibian that is messing up ecosystems. That is the bullfrog, the bullfrog is found in the eastern states but has found itself living in Wyoming. Bullfrogs are relentless predators and will eat other frog species and fish eggs even their own kind. 

The Pygmy Short-Horned Lizard

The pygmy short-horned lizard (Phrynosoma douglasii) is a small horned lizard that can be 1.5- 2.5 inches in length snout to vent. Depending on where you are in Wyoming, they can be darker or lighter in color but overall they are a gray yellowish with orange on their back. Much like the one in the photo the babies are way lighter than the adults. Though hard to find you can find them in hilly areas where there is plenty of rocks and grass to hide in. 

Native Painted turtles or released pets?

In the town of Gillette, there is a lake with tons of painted turtles, and some common snapping turtles that can be seen basking on the shore. When I say there are tons of these turtles I mean you will look on a rock by the reeds and see 30+ of them. It is clear to see that people must have let their turtles go when they got too big or bored of them and just tossed them in the lake. You can find both painted turtles with their classic red plastron and what seems to be a yellow belly slider. if this identification is right that means there could potentially be hybrids between the painted turtles and yellow belly sliders. at times at the lake, you will find a turtle with strikingly similar face markings to a yellow belly slider and the shell that is a very light red. If this is the case that the two turtles are breeding it goes to show that you shouldn’t get a pet reptile y (or any pet for that matter) you aren’t ready for or don’t fully understand how big it will get. It’s really sad to see all the painted turtles on pet adoption sites that just got too big. Yes, it may seem cool to get a turtle for 15 bucks when it’s the size of a waffle but you need to be prepared before you get an animal, especially a reptile. 

The Wyoming Toad

Before the 50s the Wyoming toad was everywhere but in 1975 the population crashed. What happened to the Wyoming toad? Well, there are a lot of those surrounding what had happened. But a common theme seems to be the toad had a short lifespan compared to most toads, a cold snap in the early 70s killing lots of the tadpoles, salamanders would seek out their eggs or a fungus found in one of the lakes they inhabited. The species was listed as endangered in 1984 and was declared extended in the wild in 1991. But there is good news! Slowly conservationists have been breeding the Wyoming toad with the few specimens they have in captivity. Since 2012, 800 toadlets were let go and it was found that 507 toads were found living happy and healthy. It’s a remarkable story of people helping a species they thought was gone make a comeback. It might take a long time but maybe someday the Wyoming toad will be seen as a common toad again. 

The Great Plains Toad

Much like the Wyoming toad, these are large beefy toads found in Wyoming. These toads much like many other toads will bury themselves and only come up at night. They live in loose soil and primarily are found in grasslands though I have found a few near a lake called a keyhole. They make a loud chirping noise that can be heard from quite a ways. The common garter snake will feed on younger toads. They feed on insects like ants and termites. They are a fairly large species of toad reaching 4 inches. This toad has parotoid glands on its shoulder that will secrete a white liquid that can make an animal sick when it gets in its mouth (it also really hurts when it gets in your eye, trust me I know)

 All in all

Wyoming is a diverse and incredible state with tons of potential for people who want to go herping. If you ever drive through this amazing state, take 30 minutes to look around you are almost guaranteed to find something amazing.