Posts Tagged With: reptiles

Snakes in the Ocean

Posted on October 14, 2019 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Snakes in the Ocean

Happy Monday! We’re meeting some more snakes during our Creepy Crawlies month. We know these reptiles can be scary, but let’s remember they are important parts of the environment. Today we’re meeting a snake that lives in the ocean.

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Banded Sea Krait Fun Facts: 

  • Banded sea kraits are found mostly in coral reefs.
  • They do come ashore to drink fresh water, lay their eggs and when they shed their skin.
  • These water going snakes have flatten tails to help them swim.
  • These venomous snakes mostly prey on eels.
  • Their prey- the eels, are bigger than they are and it can often take weeks to fully digest. They will haul on to land to digest their food.
  • They are considered to be shy and fairly docile.
  • Females are larger than males and can grow up to 4 feet long.

 

Who knew the ocean had snakes? And knew it could take weeks to digest your dinner? Crazy!

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, nature, oceans, science, Today's Post, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Boom!

Posted on October 3, 2019 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Boom!

Today we’re meeting another venomous snake with a funny name- the Boomslang! Come join us as we learn more about another legless reptile!

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Boomslang Fun Facts: 

  • They get their name from the Afrikaans for tree snake.
  • Boomslang as their name implies are arboreal.
  • They are particularly shy and flee from anything large.
  • These snakes call sub-Saharan Africa home.
  • They can grow up to 5 feet long.
  • Boomslangs eat lizards and eggs.
  • They are highly venomous with slow acting venom. They are rarely encounter by humans and most bites occur when they are cornered or when someone attempts to handle them.

 

These snakes have gorgeous coloration. They gain that coloration as they mature.

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, endangered species, Environment, nature, reptiles, science, snakes, Today's Post, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Our New Band Name

Posted on October 2, 2019 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Our New Band Name

We’re meeting another snake today and it’s named the Bandy-bandy! It just may be the best name ever and when we start our own elephant & horse band we’re naming it Bandy-bandy!

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Bandy-bandy Fun Facts: 

  • Of course the bandy-bandy is named after the rings of black & white on it’s body.
  • These small round headed snakes grow up to 2 feet long.
  • Bandy-bandies are residents of Australia.
  • These burrowing snakes are nocturnal.
  • They are venomous and are known to eat other snakes.
  • Bandy-bandies are known for their “stance” when threatened- they form a hoop or u shape to look bigger.

 

We like these cool little snakes. They are rarely seen by humans, due to being mostly nocturnal. Now if you had to name your band after an animal what would it be?

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, endangered species, Environment, nature, reptiles, science, Today's Post, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ribbons!

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Ribbons!

Today we’re meeting an interesting mostly aquatic snake- called the ribbon snake. Any guess where they got their name from?

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Ribbon Snake Fun Facts:

  • Ribbon snakes call marshes, ponds and lakes home.
  • They are excellent swimmers.
  • They are related to garter snakes.
  • These slender constrictors only eat ectothermic prey including frogs and fish.
  • They use their site and hearing senses when hunting for prey.
  • Ribbon snakes hibernate during the winter.

 

These neat little snakes have small heads and therefore eat smaller prey. Like all snakes they swallow them whole.

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, endangered species, Environment, nature, reptiles, science, Today's Post, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Creepers Month!

Posted on September 30, 2019 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Creepers Month!

It’s October tomorrow and that is the traditional month for creepy crawlers- you know the usual suspects; bats, spiders, bugs, blacks cats and snakes! We had a request to share more about that last one- so we’re meeting some snakes from around the world.

Today we’re meeting the black rat snake- a constrictor and helpful snake.

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Black Rat Fun Facts: 

  • They are also known as Eastern Rat Snakes.
  • These large constrictors can grow up to 7 feet long.
  • They call suburbs, woodlands and farms home.
  • Their favorite prey are eggs, amphibians and birds.
  • Black rat snakes are excellent swimmers and climbers.
  • They can release a foul order to deter predators, including hawks.

 

These snakes are harmless to humans and are helpful to keep rodent populations in check. If you see one, just let them be and wave from a distance.

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, endangered species, Environment, nature, reptiles, science, Today's Post, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What’s a Mata Mata You?

Posted on September 26, 2019 by Ellie and Edmond ©

What’s a Mata Mata You?

We’re meeting a funny looking reptile with a funny name. Are you ready to learn more about the Mata Mata turtle?

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Mata Mata Fun Facts:

  • Mata mata turtles call rivers and streams in the Amazon home.
  • They rarely leave the water, except to lay eggs.
  • They are pretty sedentary.
  •  Mata Matas grow to about the size of a dinner plate- up to 20 inches.
  • Their necks are longer than their vertebrae. They can stretch them to breath while they stay on the bottom.
  • These turtles can not pull their heads into their shells, but they can turn them sideways.

These weird and wild turtles are always one of our favorites to learn more about. Would you like to “snorkel” with one?

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, nature, reptiles, science, Today's Post, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Not Really Made of Wood

Posted on June 18, 2018 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Not Really Made of Wood

We are meeting a creature that you often find sunning themselves on branches along the shore of Lake Salamander. These reptiles are called Wood Turtles- but guess what, they aren’t made of wood- hehehe.

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Wood Turtle Fun Facts:

  • These little turtles grow up to about 8 inches long.
  • There scutes are slightly domed shaped.
  • These omnivores eat fruit, leaves, insects and worms.
  • Wood turtles thump on the ground with their feet to make earth worms come out of the ground. They then snatch up the worms.
  • They are listed as Endangered by the IUCN.
  • It is thought that their lifespan is over 60 years old.

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These neat little turtles are losing their habitats. That’s why intact and clean habitats like our lake here at camp are so important.

 

Categories: adventure, Animals, camp, Children, conservation, education, endangered species, Environment, nature, reptiles, science, Today's Post, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Armored Lizard

Posted on April 18, 2018 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Armored Lizard

We decided we haven’t met enough lizards on our trip so far and headed out to meet one with some most interesting scales. This reptile was a definite look don’t touch kind of creature. Get ready to learn more about them.

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Giant Girdled Lizard Fun Facts: 

  • They are also known as the sungazer lizard.
  • Giant girdled lizards grow to about 7 inches long.
  • Though they live in rocky areas, they do dig their own burrows for shelter.
  • They are insectivores.
  • They live in groups.
  • They secret scents to communicate with other sungazers.
  • Giant girdled lizards are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN.

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We enjoyed spotting this little spiked lizard. It would be a smart predator to stay away from those scales.

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, endangered species, Environment, lizards, nature, reptiles, science, Today's Post, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Doing Some Geometry

Posted on April 10, 2018 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Doing Some Geometry

We headed out today with a local tracker to find a species that is critically endangered. We did find one of these special animals and we couldn’t wait to share more about them with you!

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Geometric Tortoise Fun Facts: 

  • These tortoises grow put to 6 inches long.
  • They have a geometric, radiating pattern on their shell that help them camouflage.
  • These herbivores eat flowers, leaves and shoots.
  • Once thought to be extinct, a small population (around 2,000-3,000) was found in the west cape of the country.
  • They are thought to be aestivate (be dormant) in the summer.
  • Females are larger than males, but have shorter tails.
  • They are highly protected by the local conservation organizations and the government.

We were super excited to spot this little rare tortoise. They are shy, so we had to be very quiet and patient. We were lucky to have such a great tracker with us. We wonder who we might find tomorrow.

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, endangered species, Environment, nature, reptiles, science, Today's Post, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Dragon in the Water

Posted on March 21, 2018 by Ellie and Edmond ©

A Dragon in the Water

We are off to meet a little reptile who is called a dragon! They don’t look like dragons, but they are neat!

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Chinese Water Dragon Fun Facts: 

  • Chinese water dragons grow to around 3 ft long. Their tail is about 2/3 of their body length.
  • Those tails can aide in balance, swimming and protecting themselves from predators.
  • Males are slightly larger and have larger crests on their heads.
  • The crests under their throats can be all kinds of colors, including purple, peach and blue.
  • These arboreal lizards are diurnal.
  • They are omnivores that eat insects, small fish and some vegetation.

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We love spotting small animals as much as we love seeing the big, famous ones. For habitats and ecosystems to be healthy, all the animals that live there must have healthy populations.

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, nature, reptiles, science, Today's Post, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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