REPTILIAN TUESDAY # 69

REPTILIAN TUESDAY # 69

It’s that great day of the week when we head out to meet a reptile! We’re staying close to South America and off to meet a tiny little lizard. Are you ready for this tropical adventure?

MEET THE STRIPED DAY GECKO!

   Range/Habitat: South Caribbean-Trinidad/ rainforests

  Diet: carnivore: insects, spiders

  Length/Weight: 2 ¾-3”

  Conservation Status: common

 

Fun Facts:

•          Striped Day Geckos are diurnal.
•          Striped day geckos live mainly on the ground.
•          Male striped day geckos have a white stripe down their back.
•          The females lay eggs the size of peas.
•          Female striped day geckos nest together.

Striped Day Geckos are really adorable little lizards. Like other geckos they have suction cup feet. We wish we had suction cup feet so we could climb like geckos!

SUPER SURPRISE THURSDAY # 65

SUPER SURPRISE THURSDAY # 65

It’s time to guess the animal! Read the clues, check out the picture and tell us your answer in the comments below!

• I am the largest lizard on earth.
• I live on an island that I share my name with.
• My bite is known to be quite toxic.

WHO AM I?

REPTILIAN TUESDAY # 57

REPTILIAN TUESDAY #57

We’re back to our regular schedule after celebrating black and white birds and small fluffy tailed rodents! We’re off to the deserts of South Africa today to meet one cute reptile! Grab your sunscreen and khakis and let’s head out on today’s adventure!

MEET THE WEB FOOTED GECKO!

   Range/Habitat: Western Southern Africa/ desert

   Diet: Carnivore: insects

   Length: 4 ¾-5 ½”

   Conservation Status: common

 

 

Fun Facts:

• Web Footed Geckos are pink with dark markings.
• They have webbed feet that helps them run across the sand.
• Web Footed Geckos have large eyes.
• They dig long tunnels in the sand for shelter.
• They drink water that condenses on their skin overnight.
• Web footed geckos have wide range of vocalizations.

We really think these awesome little reptiles are cute! They have some amazing adaptations for living in a harsh desert environment.

 

Year in Review!

2012 YEAR IN REVIEW!

Wow! We have one exciting year here at Ellie and Edmond headquarters! We’ve been to every continent on the planet in search of amazing animals and wow did we find some! We’ve met reptiles, mammals, fish and birds in almost every kind of habitat on earth! We sat down and looked over all our stats to see our most viewed post of the year and we’re re-posting it for you today! So let’s take one more adventure in 2012 and head out to meet one nifty reptile again!

AMERICAN ANIMALS WEEK DAY #2

It’s day two of American Animals week and we drove the RV down to the Southwestern United States to find a really cool reptile! Grab your sunscreen or mud and your sunglasses, because it’s going to be a hot one!

MEET THE GILA MONSTER!

   Range/Habitat: Southwestern US-desert, scrub, rocky outcrops

   Diet: Carnivore: eggs and small animals

   Length: 14-20 “

   Conservation Status: threatened

 

 

 

Fun Facts:

• Gila Monsters are one of two venomous lizards in the whole world (the other is the Guatemalan Beaded Lizard.)
• They brightly colored to ward of predators.
• Gila Monsters have a forked tongue like a snake and it helps them “smell” for prey.
• They inject venom into their prey when they bite. They have special glands in their lower jaw that stores the venom.
• Gila monsters’ tails store fat so they can survive when food is scarce or when they hibernate in the winter.
• Gila monsters have bumpy heads. Those bumps are part of their skull.
• They are not harmful to humans, despite their bad reputation! So Gila Monsters aren’t so monstrous after all!

We think Gila monsters are super cool! These amazing reptiles are protected here! That is good news, because it sure would be a shame if we didn’t have this neat lizard to see!

  

REPTILIAN TUESDAY # 53

REPTILIAN TUESDAY #53

Today’s reptile can be found in Eastern Australia, so let’s head to the land down under! Grab your hiking boots and walking stick and let’s head out to meet…

MEET THE LACE MONITOR!

   Range/Habitat: Australia/ forests

   Diet: Carnivore: birds, eggs, reptiles

   Length: 5-6 ft

   Conservation Status: common

 

 

Fun Facts:

• Lace monitors are gray-bluish with yellow spots.
• They have long claws for climbing.
• Lace monitors have long necks.
• Lace monitors are solitary.
• They are Australia’s second largest lizard.
• Female lace monitors lay their eggs in a termite mound.

Lace monitors are super cool lizards. We were wondering if they would make tree climbing buddies. What do you think?

 

REPTILIAN TUESDAY # 44

REPTILIAN TUESDAY #44

We’re off to the Southwestern area of South America to today to find a small reptile up in the trees! Let’s get on our tree climbing gear and head up to find this lizard!

MEET THE CHILEAN SWIFT LIZARD!

   Range/Habitat: Southwestern South America/ forests, suburbs

   Diet: Insectivore: flies, insects

   Length: 7 ½-12”

   Conservation Status: common

 

 

 

Fun Facts:

• Chilean Swift Lizards are arboreal (spend most of their time in trees).
• They are also known as the Thin Lizard.
• Chilean swift lizards have scales that overlap one another.
• They are often found in higher elevations.
• Chilean swift lizards live in small groups that are made up of one male and several females in one tree.

These cute little lizards sure are neat! We wish would could spend some time at the tops of the trees, there are so many cool creatures living up here!

 

REPTILIAN TUESDAY GREATEST HITS!

REPTILIAN TUESDAY GREATEST HITS!

We went to North Africa to meet a great lizard on this past Reptilian Tuesday! We’re off to the desert to meet one cool lizard! Grab your sunscreen and hat and let’s head out!

MEET THE SPINY DAB LIZARD!

   Range/Habitat: N Africa/deserts

   Diet: Omnivore: insects/plants

   Length: 12-16”

   Conservation Status: Common

 

 

 

Fun Facts:

• Spiny Dab Lizards is also known as the Spiny tailed lizard or Uromastyx.
• Their tales are covered with spiny scales.
• Spiny Dab lizards are often found in burrows in the desert. They will stick their tails out of the entrance of the burrow to protect it.
• Males are very territorial.
• They hibernate during the winter months.
• Spiny dab lizards change their color according to the temperature of the environment. They are yellowish/gray during the winter and orange/green or red during the warmer months!
• Spiny dab lizards come out during the day to warm themselves in the sun. They are more active during warmer periods.

Animals have some great adaptations! These awesome lizards not only have spiny tails but they can change their color! We wish we could change colors! What color would you want to be? Ellie wants to be purple !

  

REPTILIAN TUESDAY # 43

REPTILIAN TUESDAY #43

We’re taking a hike in Southern Europe to find a lizard that looks like a snake! Yep folks, we’ve heard that there are lizards in the world that don’t have legs! Are you ready to go exploring?

MEET THE EUROPEAN GLASS LIZARD!

   Range/Habitat: Southeast Europe-W. Asia/ dry grasslands, rocky areas

   Diet: Carnivore: slugs, snails, invertebrates

   Length: 3 ¼-4ft

   Conservation Status: common

 

 

Fun Facts:

• European glass lizards are legless lizards.
• They are grey as juveniles and brown as adults.
• European glass lizards have movable eyelids.
• They are diurnal (active during the day).
• European glass lizards don’t just realize their tails, they shatter it. The tail falls off in pieces in order to fool their predators.

These cool lizards think they’re fooling everyone looking like a snake! They’re not fooling this elephant and horse though! How about you?

 

REPTILIAN TUESDAY # 41

REPTILIAN TUESDAY # 41

We’re staying in western Africa today to meet a brightly colored lizard! Be careful where you step though, these little reptiles like to live among the leaves of the rainforest floor! Let’s be quiet and see if we can find…

MEET THE AFRICAN FIRE SKINK

   Range/Habitat: West-Central Africa/ rainforests

   Diet: Insectivore: insects, spiders

   Length: 9-14”

   Conservation Status: common

 

 

Fun Facts:

• African Fire Skinks are also called the fire-sided skink.
• They have red and black bands on their body and blue and black bands on their tails.
• African fire skinks live in the leaf litter of the rainforest floor.
• They burrow underground.
• African fire skinks can shed their tails.
• They can live for 15-20 years.

These skinks are so colorful. Everyone thinks lizards are green or brown, but they can come in a huge variety of colors. Do you have a favorite lizard?

REPTILIAN TUESDAY # 41

REPTILIAN TUESDAY # 41

Let’s pack our bags and head off to the Far East today to find a brightly colored lizard! Grab your wellies because we’re heading into the wetlands to locate these little reptiles! Are you ready?

MEET THE CHINESE CROCODILE LIZARD!

   Range/Habitat: East Asia (China)/ wetlands

   Diet: Carnivore: fish, tadpoles, insects

   Length: 15- 18”

   Conservation Status: vulnerable

 

 

Fun Facts:

• Chinese crocodile lizards have enlarged scales down their tails, similar looking to crocodiles.
• They live near or in watery habitats.
• Chinese crocodile lizards are excellent swimmers and can stay submerged for long periods of time.
• They will “freeze” or stay perfectly still for hours to defend themselves.
• They can even shut down on extremely cold evenings.
• Chinese crocodile lizards are called by local people “lizards of great sleepiness”.
• Male Chinese crocodile lizards are more colorful than the females.

Wow! These lizards are amazing! They look a bit like little dinosaurs. Watching them has made us soooo sleepy. Who else needs a nap?