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Understanding Reptiles

Did you think a frog is a reptile? Maybe it would help to learn the difference in reptiles and amphibians. Amphibians can’t travel far from a water source because their skin would dry out. Their eggs wouldn’t survive either since they must be laid in water. Reptiles, on the other hand, already have tough hard scaly skin.

Snakes are well-known and feared reptiles. Many people simply misunderstand the snake. It’s a benefit to the balance of nature. They consume rodents, amphibians, and insects as well as providing a source of food to other animals. They’re valuable additions to our animal world because of the importance as predators and as prey.

Many people kill snakes without knowing whether or not they are dangerous. Some snakes are “good” snakes in the way that they kill the bad snakes. Those annoying mice are controlled because of the snake population, too. But before you decide that you’d rather have a bigger mouse population than snakes, you would surely agree that everything was created for a reason. Just because you may be scared of something does not mean it is less important to our world.

Have you ever struck out in fear, by instinct or reflex? Sometimes a reptile is forced to do the same thing in order to survive. It doesn’t stop to think first because the time could cost it a life. Snakes do not strike out because they hate humans, lizards do not bite because they are holding a grudge, snapping turtles do not snap because they don’t like the blouse you decided to wear today. A reptile attacks because it feels threatened or because it is hungry.

If you live in an area where the venomous snake population is higher than normal or maybe your chance of coming into contact with such is higher, you may want to purchase a Sawyer Pump Extractor. This handy little machine suctions out the venom from the bite, reducing your chances of more serious illness or death.

There are some helpful do’s and don’ts to know once you’ve been bit. Of course, you should get away from the snake first. Although it is scary, you will less affected if you can make yourself stay as calm as possible. Remove jewelry that may become binding should your arm or hand swell from a bite. Wrap a wide band of material or elastic bandage above the bite area and leave in place until proper medical help is achieved. Do not wrap this too tightly. Alert an emergency center of your upcoming visit if possible.

Don’t take any alcohol or drugs as this may interfere with your treatment once you arrive at the medical center. It could also inhibit your ability to get there if you are forced to drive yourself. Applying ice or electric shock of any kind is not advised.

It will help to pay attention to the reptile that bit you so that you can relate the information to the medical personnel when you get help. It may help them identify your needs quicker.

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A Lizard’s Eye View of Life as a Reptile

If you think of lizards at all, you think of those little reptiles that you see scurrying down a tree trunk or across your back door at dusk. There are many different types of lizards in the reptile family, and the group as a whole has some very interesting behaviors. The first unusual behavior, and the one most people know, is that they can separate from their tails when they are in danger of being caught. You may have experienced this as a child when trying to catch one of the small lizards or striped skinks, and ended up with only a tail in your hand.

The Texas gecko actually uses his tail as a decoy when confronted by a predator, such as a snake. The gecko makes his tail point straight up, waves it slowly from side to side, and then sheds the tail. The tail itself continues to wriggle for several minutes, and is hopefully more interesting prey than the gecko itself. Lizard’s tails are made so that a wall of cartilage passes through several vertebra in the tail, and the blood vessels and muscles are modified at these points to allow easy breakage without much damage to the lizard. It will grow a new tail, but never quite the same as the original tail.

A number of lizards also avoid being eaten by changing color, in order to blend in with the background. It generally only takes several seconds for a lizard to expand the pigment in its skin to become more like his surrounding colors. This color change is made even more effective if the lizard remains motionless. Even without color change, a number of lizards can effectively play dead, or, as we normally call it, “play possum”. A number of predators need the vibration or sounds of movement to detect the where the lizard is, and so becoming entirely rigid can be an effective way of disappearing from the menu of the predator.

When a lizard is not being chased by a predator, it can do interesting and unusual things with its tongue. The tongues of reptiles can come in a number of different shapes, and lizard tongues are usually either long and narrow with a forked tip at the end, or short and broad. Both kinds of tongues are used to collect molecules from the air and bring them back to an organ in their mouth. This is a sense different than either smell or taste, but somewhat similar to each in some respects. Geckos use their long tongue to clean off their eyes, as many geckos do not have eyelids, and so wipe their eyes with their tongues. One Great Plains lizard regularly licks her eggs while waiting for them to hatch. In Australia, a skink with a bright blue tongue sticks out its tongue at predators, and lets it stay lolling out of its mouth. Naturalists are not sure of the reason for this behavior. Finally, chameleons use their long and sticky tongue to reel in their nightly diet of insects.

These behaviors are only the tip of the iceberg for this fascinating group of reptiles. Make your own study of these beautiful and unusual creatures, whether capturing one in your backyard, or discovering those a world away at the library.

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Reptile Accessories and Supplies

Large reptiles need large cages or other enclosures. They will also need bedding, a water source, tunnel logs, rocks, trees, steps, plants, a ground cover of some sort for the bottom of their enclosure, and more food than a small pet. The costs can add up before you realize it! But once you have taken care of the initial investment, the big worry lies in being able to provide the proper amount and type of food and bedding. Vet care should also be considered. If you can’t afford to have the reptile treated, you may want to pass on adding it to your home.

If you’re interested in keeping a snake for a pet, you may want to consider the cost and accessibility of the food necessary for the reptile’s survival. Do you have freezer room and a strong stomach for the little frozen mice and rats you’ll need to feed your pet? Mice and rats can cost up to %1.50 each, with the average snake needing 4 a month. Distilled drinking water costs from 58 cents to %1 per gallon and should last a month just for drinking. Of course, if you have a large snake, you’ll need a large source of water for its bathing.

You should plan on spending at least %100 for the corn snake aquarium, rocks, heat source, water dish, and two pieces of indoor/outdoor carpet for the floor. The carpet is the most economical investment for bedding as it can be washed and reused, keeping one piece clean at all times. The corn snake itself can cost from %20 to %350, depending on what type you choose.

Pet care books are available at local libraries. But if you can’t find the one you want, they cost less than %10 even in most pet stores and can be purchases at local discount stores. Filters for turtle aquariums can cost from %18 to %30. Food for iguanas can become costly as they need fresh fruits and vegetables on a regular basis in addition to food you can purchase in dried form. A 40 ounce container of Iguana Juvenile pellets costs around %16.

Bedding for all reptiles must be kept clean to avoid disease from overexposure to its own urine and feces. The cost can start at %2.50 and rise depending on where you purchase and what you prefer. Just keep in mind that not all bedding is safe for all animals. Replacement will depend on the size of the housing, the size of your reptile, and how many reptiles you own.

If you have a reptile that climbs, you may need a fresh air habitat with a mesh screen and water resistant bottom. The small ones can cost around %30 for one that stands 20 inches tall or %80 for one that stands 30 inches tall.

Lighting costs about %18 for a 10 inch clamp-on lamp that dims. A combination lamp can cost %48. An infrared heater can cost %23. There’s also the cost of the electricity needed to run the environmental equipment.

Other items you may need to price are huts for hiding, chemical additives for the water-dwellers, pumps, liners, netting, stands, bulbs, sterilizers, and algae scrapers. If it seems overwhelming, take your time to digest the information and make the best decision. It’s not fair to the pet to provide less than adequate housing and other needs.

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Rattlers – The Dangerous Reptiles!

Snakes are probably the reptiles that fascinate and repel us the most. One of the most visited booths at any outdoor show is the reptile area, with the little kids standing around and squealing at one special area – the area where the rattlesnakes are kept. Milking rattlesnakes has been a popular sideshow item for many years at local fairs and county shows. There are about thirty different species of rattlers, and all of them live in America.

Let’s look at these wonderful reptiles and get to know them a little better. The two largest, on average, are the eastern and western diamondbacks. The average length of an adult eastern diamondback is around four feet, and the average length of a western diamondback is about three and a half feet. There are reports of diamondbacks that were more than ten feet, but facing a live rattler may add a few feet to the story. The largest ones that have actually been measured have been just under eight feet long. A six-foot rattler can weigh as much as 11 pounds.

Generally reptiles are not thought of as beautiful animals, but a rattler has many wonderful designs to look at. The eastern diamondback, with a general pattern of grey brown diamonds all along its body, has a raccoon-like black mask over its eyes. The Santa Catalina rattlesnake (found only on Santa Catalina Island) has markings similar to heavy eyebrows above its eyes. Another fascinating feature of a rattler is the pits seen on either side of the face. These are not related to the venom glands, but are organs that detect radiant heat. The snakes use these to detect things that are close by and are warmer than the general surroundings. In this way, the pits can help locate of small animals such as mice. Since these reptiles have poor eyesight, they use the pits and their sense of smell to determine where their next lunch is coming from.

The most noticeable feature of the rattlesnake is the rattle itself, and rattles are not found on any other reptiles. The rattles are made of the same material that forms horns, claws, and our fingernails. The “fingernail” at the tip of the tail forms a rattle, and when the snake sheds its skin, this part does not come entirely off, forming a new rattle. A few snakes have been found that have as many as twenty-three rattles on their tail.

Reptiles, and snakes in particular, have very unusual ways to get around. A rattler can use the muscles in its body to push against small irregularities, or bumps, in the surface of the ground. As the snake goes by, each part of the snake pushes against the bump so that it looks like the standard snake “wiggle”. The bumps may not seem very visible to us, and it might just be a slightly thicker than usual clump of grass in a grassy field. But what happens if a western diamondback is caught on a flat rock with nothing to push against? In this case, it uses the scales on its belly, and uses them in the same way a multi-legged caterpillar uses its feet. This motion is much slower, but is also quieter, and is used by rattlers to silently get their prey within striking distance.

This is a short introduction into one of the most absorbing of the reptiles, the rattlers. Visit a rattlesnake exhibit at your local zoo or county fair, and look closely at them and watch their movements. You will be delighted.

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Introducing the Reptiles!

The family of reptiles is made up of turtles, lizards, snakes, different kinds of crocodiles, and a small group in Southeast Asia called tuataras. Some people think that snakes and lizards are slimy, but all reptiles are covered with dry, horny scales. These scales might be hard to notice for animals like the turtle, whose large scales (or plates) have grown together into one hard shell. Not only have the plates grown together, but the turtle’s backbone has also grown into the shell!

All reptiles have to be really aware of how cold or hot they get, for their body temperature depends on the temperature of their surroundings. They spend much of their time doing two things: looking (or waiting) for food, and moving between sunny spots and shady (or wet) spots to warm up or cool off. If a reptile gets too warm, they can get very sick, and if it gets too cool, it is hard for the animal to have enough energy to move to a warmer spot. These warm spots are often the places that you find reptiles: turtles that come out of the water to sit on a rock or tree branch, and lizards that sit on a fence or sunny wall in order to catch the rays of the sun. Sometimes this search for warmth can dangerous, like the snakes that lie on a warm road at night.

Reptiles have some interesting ways to communicate with each other. People communicate by talking, and reptiles also make all kinds of noises to each other. Baby alligators start chirping just before they hatch from their egg, in order to tell their mother that it is time to dig them out of their dirt nest and bring them to the water. Male alligators can make an enormously loud bellowing noise, kind of like a big engine! They also raise their heads and slap the water loudly with their chins in order to chase other male alligators away. Lizards also chirp and bark at each other, and some male lizards nod to each other, bobbing their heads up and down vigorously. Snakes are generally silent, and use their tongues not to communicate but only to smell. However, a frightened snake will hiss or rattle to as a warning.

How do reptiles defend themselves when they are frightened? The biggest alligators don’t have to defend themselves from anyone except man, but smaller alligators are defended by their mothers until they are more than a year old. Many lizards have tails that break off to let the lizard escape when it is in trouble, and another tail regrows later. One lizard even wiggles its tail, breaks it off himself, and the tail continues to wriggle for a few minutes to make the predator go after the tail rather than the lizard. Many frightened snakes will play dead until they think the threat has gone away. The Eastern Hognose snake is among the best at this playacting: when scared, it first flattens its head like a cobra and hisses loudly, then, if it needs to, rolls over, moves around as if it was wounded, sticks out its tongue, and plays dead.

These fun facts are just a glimpse into a whole world of fascinating behaviors and unusual animals in the reptile family. Find out more information about your favorite reptile at the local library, or on the Internet!

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