Help the Hellbender

Hellbenders unique coloration and spot pattern helps them blend into the stream bottom!
They can be different shades or combinations of brown, orange or green.
Their spot patterns can range from many to almost none and can also vary in color!

Happy National Zookeeper Week to all the dedicated, passionate hardworking zoo keepers across the country!

Zoo keepers tirelessly provide expert care for their animals, through good days and bad, rain and wind, heat waves and ice storms!

Over 13 zoos and aquariums raise hellbenders for release back to the wild!

Check out your local Zoo to see what conservation programs they support and give a big thank you to all the keepers!

Is that a ghost!?
Close, it's a Hellbender's shed skin!

Hellbenders shed their skin as they grow. Like most amphibians, Hellbender eat their skin as they shed, because the skin is rich in proteins and other nutrients.

This shed skin got caught on an air bubble, allowing it to float in the current.

Can you make out the toes on the different feet?

Now you know what a Hellbender tongue and teeth look like!

While the Hellbenders were under anesthesia for transmitter placement recently, we took the opportunity to do a full physical. Collecting weight, total length, snout-vent length, blood samples and cheek swabs.

Each Hellbender had their own swab to avoid cross contamination. We used a wooden swab handle to gently open their mouths.

This Hellbender is actually laying on its back on the measuring tape, which is why the perspective looks strange.

All Hellbender procedures are performed by licensed veterinarians after being approved by Purdue's Animal Care and Use Committee and IDNR.

Looking for a fun outdoor event with good music that supports conservation in Ohio and Kentucky?

Consider visiting the Thomas More University Biology Field Station in northern Kentucky on Saturday, July 25 between 3-9pm for its annual bluegrass music festival: "Raisin' Hellbenders on the River: Concert for Conservation." 

This event includes live music, free kayak rentals to paddle on the Ohio River, laboratory tours in the renovated lockhouse, an environmental organization showcase (learn more about the Louisville Zoo's & Kentucky Wild's programs, too!), food trucks, Mad Tree drinks, and the first public unveiling of the Station's new biodiversity mural that highlights our favorite salamander, the eastern Hellbender.

This is a family friendly event; children under 5 enter free. Visit tmuky.us/concertrsvp to purchase your tickets starting at $15.

These hellbenders are waking up after a procedure. We know the anesthesia has worn off when they are able to flip themselves over.

For Hellbender procedures, we soak them in anesthesia, which is absorbed through their skin. We will monitor the hellbenders and place them on their backs when movements slow down. We know the anesthesia is working when they cannot turn themselves back over.

It is the reverse when they are waking up. After the procedure the hellbenders are placed on their backs in the recovery tank. When they are able to flip over we know that they are awake and can be moved back into their home systems.

The two animals that have flipped themselves over are ready to go back, while the one who is upside down needs a little more time.

Did you know hellbenders are the state amphibian of both Kentucky and Pennsylvania?!
Only 28 states have designated state amphibians.
Ohio and North Carolina have both a state frog and state salamander!

Good water quality is really important for hellbenders!
We check dissolved oxygen (DO) and temperature every day with the DO probe.
Weekly we use a photometer to check ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels. These are produced mainly from eating and 💩.
Nitrifying bacteria in the systems break down the most toxic ammonia into less toxic nitrite then to least toxic nitrate, which can then be removed through water changes.
Hellbender egg systems are checked more frequently to ensure the systems are cycled and all the water parameters are where we want them!

It's prime crayfish season for our younger hellbenders!
We utilize minnow traps in our half acre aquaculture ponds to catch small crayfish that the one and 2-year-old hellbenders love!
We catch naturally occurring virile and calico crayfish both of which are native to Central Indiana.