2026 AZA Herp TAG MEETING
Welcome to the 2026 AZA Herpetology Taxon Advisory Group meeting at the Phoenix Zoo! See below for the itinerary and some food, entertainment and hike recommendations!
Itinerary
Monday, April 27
9 – 9:30 a.m. | Welcome, CAG activities and updates
9:30 – 9:45 a.m. | Tomistoma SSP Update
– Kevin Torregrosa on behalf of Kevin Alvarez
9:45 – 9:50 a.m. | Chinese Alligator SSP Update
– Kevin Torregrosa
9:50 – 10:10 a.m. | AZA Cuban Crocodile SAFE Update
– Michael Ogle
10:10 – 10:30 a.m. | World of Darkness: Working with crocodilians and other herps in the dark
– Avi Shuter
10:30 – 10:45 a.m. | Break
10:45 – 11:10 a.m. | Crocodilian Disease: The New, the Overlooked, and the Unpredictable
– Robert Ossibof, DVM, Ph.D, DACVP – University of Flordia
11:10 – 11:40 a.m. | How do you get a West African Dwarf Crocodile Pooh-ing Again?
– Jennifer McPheeters
11:40 – Noon | When Less is More: Hands off Management of a Jaw Fracture in a Chinese Alligator
– Kevin Torregrosa
Noon – 1:30 p.m. | Lunch
1:30 – 4 p.m. | Closed Business Meeting of the CAG Steering Committee
Tuesday, April 28
9 – 9:05 a.m. | Welcome, Opening, Introduction of Steering Committee
9:05 – 9:20 a.m. | Virgin Island Boa ex-situ aspects of VI Boa Recovery Program
– Chris Shupp, North Carolina Zoo
9:20 – 9:35 a.m. | Louisiana Pinesnake, Pituophis ruthveni update
– Drew Foster, Phoenix Zoo
9:35 – 9:50 a.m. | Narrow-headed gartersnake breeding for release program
– Whitney Heuring, Phoenix Zoo
9:50 – 10:10 a.m. | Radiographical gender determination of Tentacled Snakes
– Melissa Mason, Wildlife Conservation Society
10:10 – 10:25 a.m. | Packing to Prevent Panic; How to ship animals safely and effectively
– Chris Baker, Memphis Zoo
10:25 – 10:40 a.m. | Break
10:40 – 11:05 a.m. | Candid Moments in Zoo Herpetology
– Robert Mendyk, Audubon Zoo
11:05 – 11:35 a.m. | Hidden in Plain Sight: Uncovering the Complex Behavioral Repertoire of “Simple” Species
– Craig Ivanyi, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
11:35 – 11:50 a.m. | Desert rattlesnake water balance, immune function, and tolerance mechanisms in a changing environment
– Dale Denardo, Arizona State University
11:50 a.m. – 1:10 p.m. | Lunch
1:10 – 1:30 p.m. | Effects of programming and increased vertical space upon barrier-directed behaviors in an ambassador Ball Python (Python regius)
– Christopher Jackson, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
1:30 – 1:45 p.m. | Ball python activity budget and endocrine study
– Angelea McPartlin, Oregon Zoo
1:45 – 2:40 p.m. | Crotalus willardi obscurus project
Andrew Holycross
2:40 – 2:55 p.m. | Break
2:55 – 3:10 p.m. | King Cobra Leukemia treatment
– Avi Shuter, Wildlife Conservation Society
3:10 – 4:10 p.m. | Recognizing Diseases and Pathogens in Captive Snakes
– Dr. Robert Oz Ossiboff, University of Florida
4:10 – 4:40 p.m. | Ectotherm Welfare Assessments
– Chelsea Grubb & Damien Renner, Phoenix Zoo
4:40 – 5 p.m. | Continuation of Discussion of Welfare
5 p.m. | Open discussions as needed or break at 5 p.m.
Wednesday, April 29
8 – 8:05 a.m. | ChAG Update
– Michael Ogle, Zoo Knoxville
8:05 – 8:10 a.m. | Sonoyta Mud Turtles (Kinosternon s. longifemorale) Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
– Tom Weaver, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
8:10 – 8:15 a.m. | Rote Island Snake-necked turtle (Chelodina mccordi) update
– Avi Shuter, WCS – Bronx Zoo
8:15 – 8:30 a.m. | Surveying for Rough-footed Mud Turtles (Kinosternon hirtipes murrayi) in West Texas and Mexico
– Bekky Muscher-Hodges, San Antonio Zoo
8:30 – 8:55 a.m. | Restoring Widl Bolson Tortoise (Gopherus flavomarginatus) Populations in Northern Chihuahuan Desert Grassland Habitat – An Update and View Toward the Future
– Chris Wiese, Turner Endangered Species Fund
8:55 – 10 a.m. | Vet Discussion on Chelonian Pathogens
– Dr. Matt Allender, University of Illinois/Brookfield Zoo, Dr. Robert Ossiboff, University of Florida & Dr. Sean Perry, Midwestern University
10 – 10:15 a.m. | Break
10:15 – 11:45 a.m. | Vet Discussion continued
11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m. | Lunch
1 – 1:45 p.m. | Q&A with vets
1:45 – 2 p.m. | Session ends
2 – 2:20 p.m. | Load buses to head to Phoenix Zoo
2:20 – 5 p.m. | Free time at the Zoo (see Zoo reptile map here)
5 – 8 p.m. | Drinks and Dinner (Desert Groves and New Native Lizard Habitat)
8 – 8:15 p.m. | Board buses back to hotel
Buses Provided by:
Thursday, April 30
9 – 10:25 a.m. | Welcome and ATAG Business
Steering Committee Introductions
Election Results
ATAG General Updates
2026 ATAG Grant Update
Puerto Rican Crested Toar Update – Diane Barber
Houston Toad Program Update – Audrey Koepp
Panamanian Golden Frog SSP Program Update – Vicky Poole
Wyoming Toad Program Update – Derek Benson
AZA ATAG Husbandry Course Update – Mark Vassallo/Robert Hill
10:25 – 10:45 a.m. | Break
10:45 – 11 a.m. | ATAG Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) Workshop: Impact, Direction and Output
– Derek Bensen, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo
11 – 11:15 a.m. | Over 30 Years of Chiricahua Leopard Frog Head-starting and Breeding for Release at the Phoenix Zoo
– Piper Press, Phoenix Zoo
11:15 – 11:45 a.m. | Toad in the Road: Biocultural History and Conservation Concerns of the Sonoran Desert Toad (Incilius alvarius)
– Robert A. Villa, Tuscon Herpetological Society | The Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hills, University of Arizona
11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. | Dispersal patterns and diet/reproductive ecology of invasive American bullfrogs in southeast Arizona.
– Javan Bauder, University of Arizona
12:15 – 1:45 p.m. | Lunch
1:30 – 2 p.m. | Amphibian reintroductions and chytrid disease mitigation research
– Brian Gratwicke, PhD, Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute
2 – 2:20 p.m. | Salamander Conservation following a 500ish year storm in North Carolina
– Dustin Smith, North Carolina Zoo
2:20 – 2:35 p.m. | Developing egg counting software for use in the Houston Toad Recovery Program
– Audrey Koepp, Houston Zoo
2:35 – 2:55 p.m. | Break
2:55 – 3:20 p.m. | Updates of the Saint Louis Zoo’s Amphibian Conservation Center
– Justin Elden, St Louis Zoo
3:20 – 3:50 p.m. | Adaptive Recovery of the Southern Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog (Rana muscosa)
– Leah Jacobs, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance
3:55 – 4:45 p.m. | Roundtable Discussion: Amphibian Biobanking Network: A Collaborative Approach to Conservation. Targeted roundtable/discussion group on the establishment, maintenance, and logistics of amphibian biobanking within your facility.
– Allison Julien, Ph.D., Fort Worth Zoo, Derek Benson, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium
Friday, May 1
8 – 8:30 a.m. | Closed TAG Meeting
8:30 – 9 a.m. | Closed Program Leader Meeting
9 – 9:15 a.m. | Welcome, opening and review of RCP goals and TAG SC meeting
9:15 – 10:15 a.m. | Program updates
9:15 – 9:25 a.m. | San Esteban chuckwalla
– Kelly Garner, Zoo Atlanta
9:25 – 9:35 a.m. | Black tree monitors
– Kate Gore, Chattanooga Zoo
9:35 – 9:45 a.m. | Komodo dragon
– Chris Baker, Memphis Zoo
9:45 – 9:55 a.m. | Cyclura spp.
– Cayle Pearson, Jacksonville Zoo
9:55 – 10:15 a.m. | Fiji Island iguana
– Brett Baldwin, San Diego Zoo
10:15 – 10:30 a.m. | Break
10:30 – 10:50 a.m. | “Casting a wide net for sustainable conservation”
– Brett Baldwin, San Diego Zoo
10:50 – 11:10 a.m. | “¡Larga Vida a Las Lucias Gigantes! A conservation initiative for giant Hispaniolan galliwasps”
– James Flaherty, Nashville Zoo
11:10 – 11:30 a.m. | “Insights on a living fossil: Current studies on Lanthonotus borneensis at Audubon Zoo”
– Robert Mendyk, Audubon Zoo
11:30 – 11:50 a.m. | “Gila monsters – a well-adapted but atypical desert lizard”
– Dale DeNardo, DVM, Ph.D., Arizona State University
11:50 a.m. – 12:10 p.m. | “Advances in reproductive monitoring and assisted reproduction in Phrynosoma cornutum”
– Allison Julien, Ph.D., Fort Worth Zoo
12:10 – 1:25 p.m. | Lunch
1:25 – 1:50 p.m. | Uroplatus program updates, including results from a coordinated Crypto project between RBZ, UF, and UGA
– Sean Foley, Riverbanks Zoo & Garden and Robert Ossiboff, DVM, Ph.D., DACVP (Dr. Oz), University of Florida
1:50 – 2:35 p.m. | “Crypto management in a large herp collection”
– Vicky Poole and Kim Rainwater, DVM, Fort Worth Zoo
2:35 – 2:55 p.m. | Texas Parks and Wildlife Department YouTube video or continued crypto discussions with the full group
2:55 – 3:10 p.m. | Break
3:10 – 4:10 p.m. | Panel discussion: “Crypto Quest, the eternal search for a better understanding of this mysterious and confounding parasite”
4:10 – 5 p.m. | Other open discussions
Food & Entertainment
Loco Patron (Mexican food) – 222 S Mill Ave #115, Tempe, AZ 85281
Daily Jam (breakfast/brunch) – 310 S Mill Ave #A101, Tempe, AZ 85281
Mill Ave/Rural Rd. (near ASU’s campus – restaurants/bars/shopping)
Culinary Dropout (restaurant) – 149 S Farmer, Tempe, AZ 85281
Snakes and Lattes (board game cafe) – 20 W 6th St, Tempe, AZ 85281
Pedal Haus (brewery) – 730 S Mill Ave #102, Tempe, AZ 85281
The Shop Beer Co. (brewery) – 922 W 1st St, Tempe, AZ 85281
Four Peaks (brewery) – 1340 E 8th St, Tempe, AZ 85281
Fate Brewing (brewery) – 1312 N Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85257 or 201 E Southern Ave, Tempe, AZ 85282
