Climbing Crocs

Recent studies have discovered that crocodiles can actually climb, after observing the creatures basking in trees.

 

 Their abilities vary between species and depending on size, with smaller crocs reaching the higher branches. It is believed that they do this not only to bask in the sun, but also to survey their area with a better vantage point, to be on the look out for prey, predators and competitors. 

The finding may have implications for the study of extinct animals from fossils, as little about the skeletons of living crocodiles suggests that they have climbing ability.  

Dr Paul Willis, director of the Royal Institute of Australia, in Adelaide, is a palaeontologist who published research on the possibility of extinct tree-dwelling crocodiles in the 1990s. He says that the idea was met with bemusement at the time, so the new finding is a pleasant surprise.

"But they're all together in the wild"

As every single herp enthusiast will say whenever talking about owning any species of reptile and amphibian, you MUST do research, and plenty of it, before going out and getting one of these animals. It is by no means like taking care of a hamster, feed it and clean out its home every so often. There are so many things to consider with reptiles and amphibians. Humidity, temperature, with gradients creating basking spots and areas of shade and cooling at nighttime. UV light, calcium:phosphorous ratios, live food vs veg etc etc etc. The list goes on, but it is clear to see that there is an extensive amount of knowledge that you need to have before becoming an owner of animals like these. Not to mention that different species have different requirements. I am going to talk about 3 easily overlooked problems for new owners. I think these may be overlooked more often because people will be more focussed on getting the lighting and feeding right and forget about simpler things that could cause the most problems earlier on.

Tokay Gecko Medicinal Value

Tokay geckos are brilliant to look at, they have some brilliant colour combinations. They are usually found in areas such as Asia, India and the Philippines to name a few. They grow quite large for a gecko reaching lengths of around 20 inches.

Unfortunately they are being threatened due to increased demand to be used for chinese medical remedies. The trade is actually illegal, but prices for large amounts of these animals can reach a staggering thousands of dollars allegedly. It is believed that these geckos can cure AIDS, cancer and be used as treatment for asthma eczema and various other conditions. There is so far no scientific evidence to suggest they can actually cure these conditions, however they are still being hunted in increasing numbers.

Something has to be done to stop this kind of thing before we lose such a beautiful creature. Currently these geckos are poorly protected, and that needs to change.

 

Calcium and your Reptiles

If you are keeping a pet reptile, I highly suggets you to extensive research into keeping reptiles, and specifically the type you are interested in. There are many things you need to know and need to make sure you do while having a pet reptile.

Not only are these pets expensive to keep, but they also require things like diet supplements that you may not be aware of. This is because their diet from the wild cannot be directly replicated in captivity, therefore they will not get certain minerals and nutrients in your home.

One of these highly important minerals is calcium.

Calcium is needed for proper bone growth and development, nerve function, hormone synthesis and females need extra in order to produce viable eggs. In order to give your reptiles this much needed supplemant, you can buy powdered calcium from many stores which you dust over their food before feeding.

John Taylor from reptileapartment, has recently published an article on calcium and reptiles. It is an iteresting read, if you wish to read more on this subject visit http://reptileapartment.com/2013/02/27/calcium-reptiles/

Axolotl

Axolotls I find, are very strange creatures. Originating from lakes in Mexico City, these relatives of the tiger salamander are favourites for medical research due to their brilliant ability to re-grow limbs.

Something similar you may have seen on the most recent Spiderman film.Where a scientist experiements with cross species genetics in order to try and enable humans to re-grow limbs also. However as it turns out, the experiement goes horribly wrong and he turns into a giant mutant lizard…..

Anyway, I always found this species strange as they fail to undergo metamorphosis, so their gills and aquatic-like features remain into adulthood. This occurs due to a thyroid issue in these animals. Their thyroid controls hormones, and one of the hormones normally produced is lacking in axolotls. Therefore they do not transform into what we see in other salamanders.

I believe it is possible to own an axolotl as a pet, however they take a great deal of care so I would recommend a lot of research before considering.

Top Ten Most Deadly Snakes

10) Anaconda
Anacondas are monsters of the snake world, found in South America, they can reach lengths of up to 28 feet and weigh up to 450lbs, gaining its title as the largest snake in the world. Although articulated pythons can grow longer, the anaconda is still known as the largest due to its weight and width. It is easy to see why these monsters are so frightening to some people, with its large size giving a fully grown one approximately 9 feet for striking distance. Doesn’t leave much chance for prey to escape.

These snakes are constrictors and therefore do not kill with venom, but bind their prey with their huge muscular bodies and squeeze the life out of them. Their power is so great that even an alligator would do well to survive an attack from this creature. Often found in swamps, marshes and slow moving streams, anacondas are hunters both in and out of water. With their eyes and nostrils being on top of their heads they are able to lay and wait in water for prey, feeding on a diet of wild pigs, deer, birds, turtles, capybara, caimans, and even jaguars. Snakes have extremely stretchy ligaments in their jaws which enables them to swallow prey whole regardless of size, and a big meal can last them for weeks or even months.

Eyes in the back of his head

Back in October 2012, I had a week volunteer experience as a zookeeper in Kirkley Hall Zoo Gardens in Northumbria. It has been the best week of work experience I have had so far, exactly what I want to do in the future. I spent 3 days in the reptile house, and 2 days outdoors. The reptile house was quite small, however it had a great range of reptiles and amphibians to see. I was taught about food preparation, enclosure cleaning and maintenance, but also I got to see first hand how zoos are run. I had the opportunity to handle many of the animals there, including snakes, scorpians, newts, frogs, and my favourite, Trevor the chameleon.

Chameleons are fascinating creatures. From some species’ ability to chnage colour to adapt to surroundings, to their stereoscopic eyes, to their unusually shaped feet. These creatures are usually found in warm climates varying from the conditions of a rainforest to deserts, in places such as Africa, Madagascar, Southern Europe and South Asia.

They vary in size across the species, ranging from 15mm to 68.5cm. When handling a chameleon I was intrigued by its feet, they were such a unique shape. Chameleons have 5 toes on each foot, which are grouped into 2 fascicles, where they are bound together in a flattened group, giving them an appearence that resembles tongs, this enables then to grip branches easily. But of course, when people think of chameleons they think of their eyes, how they can rotates a full 360 degrees, that move at incredibly rapid pace, and seperate from each other, they can look at 2 different objects at once. This comes to a great advantage when avoiding danger. The chameleons’ colour changes act as reactions to temperature change and other conditions, but also of course for camouflage.

The change in skin colour can symbolise the animal’s physiological condition and intentions to other chameleons. For example, they tend to show darker colours when angered or attempting to scare others, but when trying to attract females, the males show lighter more colourful skins. They achiece this colour change through specialised cells, and the pigments in the cytoplasm, which are 3 layes below the surface. Each layer has a different set of pigments:

1. The cells in the upper layer,  contain yellow and red pigments
2. The second layer of cells appear blue or white
3. The third layer of cells, contain the dark pigment melanin, controlling how much light is reflected

Different combinations of the pigments in these layers sets the overall colour.

Poison Dart Frogs

Native to the tropical environments of Central and South America, commonly found low to the ground near rivers, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, lakes and swamps. The dart frogs get their common name from the way that the indigenous peoples of the Americas used the poisonous secretions from the frogs’ skin on the tips of their blowdarts.

Dart frogs vary in toxicity throughout their species range, however all have some level of toxins that are secreted from their colourful skin. The poison protects these small animals, whose length ranges from approximately 1.5cm to 6cm, because it deters predators warning them of the danger of eating such creature. Eating a poison dart frog could possibly kill the predator, however the taste from the toxins are so unpleasant that most will be spat out before any damage can be done. This warning serves well for protection to compensate for their lack of camouflage. The toxic secretions come from the diet that these frogs have in the wild, as a result, those bred in captivity are harmless.

Some species of dart frog are listed as threatened or endangered in the wild. This has happened mainly as a result of increasing habitat loss due to logging and farming. Many wildlife organisations are campaigning with conservation projects in an attempt to save many endangered species. Find out how you can help here
http://www.wwf.org.uk/how_you_can_help/

But also it is reported that some dart frogs are dying as a result of Chytrid diseases, which are fungal infections. In an attempt to tackle these diseases zoos have tried to treat infected frogs by using an antifungal agent that is commonly used in humans to treat athlete’s foot.

Many zoos around the UK have poison dart frogs in enclosures for people to go and see up close. Please feel free to send in any photography or art related to poison dart frogs that you may have.

Under Cover

In order to gain protection from predators in the wild, many animals have skin/fur colour that will blend in to their surroundings, in order to create a camouflage effect and make them more difficult to spot. However some reptiles and amphibians such as the sea-snakes, coral snakes and frogs of Central and South America ect, have some incredible bright colours and patterns on their bodies. This makes them very easy to spot, which contradicts the common sense notion of blending into surroundings for protection. However, these bright colours are not only great to look at, but they actually do aid in these animals’ surival against predators. These attractive looking animals are actually poisonous (or making it look as if they are).

The colours warn predators to avoid eating them, if they were to attempt it anyway, the poison would have such a bad taste that the predator would spit out its prey before the poison can cause any damage. A good example of this would be the poison dart frogs, which secrete poison from their colourful skin. The enemies then over time learn to avoid these colourful animals in the future.

Some non-poisonous species have now evolved to re create this effect with colourful skin, without actually being poisonous themselves. Though the predators do not know that and this fools them, as they see the bright colours and avoid the potential meal.