Ep.17 – Snakes, toads and frogs with Steve Allain (Herpetologist)

In this episode, I speak with UK Herpetologist, Steve Allain. We talk about frogs, toads, and snakes, as well as the diseases that affect them!

• What is a herpetologist? (0:00:40)
• Chytrid: a fungal pathogen! (0:02:04)
• Chytrid in North America (0:05:36)
• Is chytrid harmful to humans? (0:08:00)
• Treating fungal infections in frogs. (0:09:01)
• Can we eradicate chytrid? (0:10:05)
• What you can do about it (0:12:30)
• The plague of frogs (0:13:38)
• Why did Steve become interested in this? (0:16:59)
• Best way to preserve habitat for amphibians (0:20:10)
• How to handle frogs (0:22:15)
• Myths about toads (0:25:08)
• Where to find toads (0:26:47)
• Differences between frogs and toads (0:28:18)
• Steve is a vegetarian (0:30:33)
• Why Steve is fascinated by snakes (0:31:34)
• Snakes in the Arctic (0:34:00)
• What do Arctic snakes eat? (0:35:46)
• Snake fungal disease (0:37:22)
• Good news in conservation (0:40:07)
• Science communication online (0:43:22)
• Youthful enthusiasm in academia (0:46:19)
• Book reviews by Steve (0:48:40)
• Does Steve want to write a book? (0:51:43)
• Steve’s dream job (0:52:30)

Steve’s website: http://stevenallain.co.uk/ Follow Steve on Twitter: https://twitter.com/stevoallain Follow Steve on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SJRAllain/ Follow Steve on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevoallain/

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