What does that mean? Herp abbreviations & acronyms

[kc261]

A lot of internet forums have lists of the terms, abbreviations, and acronyms that are commonly used on the site but aren't general knowledge. BP.net didn't have one (that I could find at least), and I do see the questions asked a lot, so I thought it might be useful. I started a list a few weeks ago, and added to it every time I noticed something come up, but I'm sure there is plenty more that could be added and/or the definitions improved. I focused on abbreviations and acronyms for now.

A note about the breeders I included: they weren't picked because I thought they were the biggest or best. I choose them because they are commonly abbreviated, and because they are used as part of the names of certain morphs, and the combination can make it confusing. If I had thought of other breeders that fit that (or had a similar reason I thought they belonged here), I would have included them too.

• 1.2.3 (or any similar group of numbers & decimal points) – a way of representing the number of males (first number) and females (second number) and unsexed animals (third number, if there is a third) in a group. 1.2.3 means 1 male, 2 females, 3 unsexed. 4.2 means 4 males and 2 females.
• Afrock - african rock python
• amel - short for amelanistic (lack of black pigment)
• anery - short for anerythristic (lack of red pigment)
• ASF or ASFR - African soft furred rat
• ATB – amazon tree boa
• BCC - Boa Constrictor constrictor - red tailed boa
• BCI - Boa Constrictor imperator - common boa, although also sometimes called a red tailed boa
• BCL - Boa Constrictor Longicauda - Commonly refered to as Peruvian Long-tailed Boa or "Longi"
• BCO - Boa Constrictor occidenalis - Argentine boa
• beardie - bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps)
• BEL - black eyed leucistic or blue eyed leucistic
• BHB - Brian Barczyk - Large breeder based in Michigan
• BOI - Board of Inquiry - A board for researching, and posting experiences with, different people in the herping buisiness. http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...splay.php?f=13
• BP - ball python
• BRB - Brazilian rainbow boa
• BTS - blue tongued skink
• BWT - Black & White Tegu
• CBB - captive bred & born
• CH - captive hatched, from eggs that were either collected in the wild or from eggs from a WC female who was gravid when captured
• co-dom - short for co-dominant, a genetic term meaning a trait which is the result of 2 equally dominant traits both being visible. A popular example is roan cattle which have a red gene and a white gene and have both red & white hairs. Curiously, most of the BP traits which are commonly referred to as co-dom are technically incomplete dominant traits, which is when 2 equally dominant traits blend together, such as pink flowers which have red gene and a white gene
• CHE - ceramic heat emitter
• Cloaca - The rear opening in which waste is passed and breeding is conducted - aka "vent"
• dinker - Something of interest, to breed and prove out
• DIY - Do It Yourself
• Dum's - Dumeril's Boa (Acrantophis Dumerili) One of the ground dwelling boas from Madagascar.
• DUW - Dial-Up Warning...referring to a thread with lots of pictures that may be slow to load
• ETB – emerald tree boa
• fauna - faunaclassifieds.com
• f/t - frozen/thawed - refers to rodents or other prey items which are humanely killed, then frozen for storage, then thawed and warmed up to body temperature before feeding
• FWC - False Water Cobra
• GMHS-Giant Malagasy Hognose Snake
• GTP - green tree python
• het - short for heterozygous, a genetic term meaning having 1 each of 2 different genes. Often used to refer to an animal that is known to carry a recessive gene but does not display the recessive trait
• IBD - inclusion body disease - untreatable disease which can affect boids (boas and pythons)
• JCP - jungle carpet python
• KS or KS.com - Refers to the classifieds section of Kingsnake.com
• KSB - kenyan sand boa
• Leo - Leopard Gecko
• LFS – local fish store
• LPS – local pet store
• LTC - long term captive
• Lucy - short for leucistic
• MBD - metabolic bone disease - usually in the context of lizards or turtles, and usually caused by calcium deficiency or lack of UV light exposure
• MBK - mexican black king snake
• Mojo - short for mojave, a BP morph
• NERD - New England Reptile Distributor, a major snake breeding facility, owned & operated by Kevin McCurley. Also used to refer to a particular strain developed at NERD, such as NERD pastels
• OP - "Original poster" - The writer of the first post of a new thread
• PAM - Provent-A-Mite - a brand name of mite treatment which is widely recommended as being the most effective and safest way to treat snake mites.
• PEW - pink eyed white - in rodents, your typical albino with pinkish eyes. See also REW, sometimes used interchangeably
• pied - short for piebald, a ball python morph with patches of white scales
• p/k - pre-killed - refers to rodents or any prey item that has been killed before offering it to the snake, most often it refers to a freshly killed prey item to distinguish from f/t
• POG - pastel orange ghost, a BP combo morph
• RBI - Reptile Basics, Inc
• RDR - Ralph Davis Reptiles
• RES - red eared slider (turtle)
• RETF - red eyed tree frog
• REW - ruby eyed white or red eyed white - in rodents, an albino with reddish eyes. See also PEW, sometimes used interchangeably
• RHP – radiant heat panel
• RI - respiratory infection
• RTB - red tailed boa
• SPOG - super-pastel orange ghost, a BP combo morph
• STP - Short Tailed Python
• SVL - snout-to-vent length
• T - Tarantula
• t-stat - Thermostat - a device to automatically regulate the temperature of a heating unit
• tic - short for Reticulated Python - aka "retic"
• TSK – The Snake Keeper, a major snake breeding facility, owned & operated by Dan and Colette Sutherland. Also used to refer to a particular strain developed at TSK, such as TSK axanthics
• URI - upper respiratory infection
• USARK - United States Association of Reptile Keepers - very influential association in the politics of keeping our reptiles
• UTH - under tank heater or under tub heater
• UV - short for ultraviolet; spectrum of light required for vitamin D production in diurnal lizards and turtles
• VBB - Vietnamese Blue Beauty ratsnake
• vent - The rear opening in which waste is passed and breeding is conducted - aka "cloaca"
• VPI - Vida Preciosa International, a major snake breeding facility, owned & operated by Dave & Tracy Barker. Also used to refer to a particular strain developed at VPI, such as VPI axanthics
• WC - wild caught
• WHS-Western Hognose Snake
• WLP White Lipped Python