Toe the tagger skin#

Visible Implant Elastomer tags are an excellent choice for batch identification, and they also offer a surprising number of individual codes if colors and body locations are combined.

In a novel approach to monitoring the development of salamander egg masses, Regester & Woosley (2005) used VIE to identify and track the egg masses. (1998) state that the consistency and biocompatibility of the VIE tags allows for the tagging of small animals, including larvae, that could not be tagged using other methods.

Toe the tagger skin#

Because the material is fluorescent, it can be seen under pigmented skin and at night with the help of the VI Light. Others have developed techniques in which the animal is placed in a plastic bag with some water and they tag through the bag.Д¬orrect injection provides high retention and readability. Many researchers do not anesthetize amphibians, while others prefer the ease of handling that anesthetic provides. Please contact NMT ( if you would like help finding relevant references or would like help determining if VIE is suitable for your project and species. Visible Implant ElastomerВ (VIE) is probably the most widely used alternative to toe clipping for identifying reptiles and amphibians, and many publications about its use are available. This anole lizard is shown with a yellow tag in the front leg, and an orange tag in the hind leg. Reptiles and amphibians can be tagged with Visible Implant Elastomer. VIE and VI Alpha tags can usually be seen in ambient light and tag detection is greatly enhanced by fluorescing the tags with NMTвЂ™s VI Light. All three tag types are injected beneath the skin with little effect on the host animals. Our Visible Implant Elastomer TagsВ (VIE), Visible Implant Alpha TagsВ (VI Alpha), and Coded Wire TagsВ (CWT), offer alternatives for identifying reptiles and amphibians. In an article in Nature, May (2004) questioned whether this practice is ethical. 1994), and larvae and the adults of certain species lack limbs.

Furthermore, toe clipping is unreliable because digits may regenerate (Donnelly et al. Toe clipping can reduce survival ( Clarke 1972 McCarthy & Parris 2004), and cause infection at the wound site ( Golay and Durrer 1994). Although the potential detrimental effects have been well documented, the removal of one to eight digits is used extensively because it is inexpensive and quick. In the past, the most widely used method of identifying amphibians and reptiles has been toe clipping.