Meet some of our Scaly Friends
One of our two Sulcata Tortoise
Tortoises are beautiful, slow-moving animals (the record for the fastest-moving tortoise was 0.63 miles per hour). Tortoises are the longest-living land animal in the world, with the record for the longest-living tortoise going to a Galapagos tortoise who lived to be 188 years old!
A tortoise shell is made out of keratin, the same thing as our fingernails! If you tap your fingernails you can tell how hard a tortoise shell is. Tortoises can not leave their shells (like hermit crabs can) but instead their shells are a part of their bodies that grow with them throughout their lives. A tortoises’ rib cage is attached to the inside of their shell and they even have nerve endings in their shells which means that they can feel it when their shells are pet or scratched!
Vera, our Argentine Tegu
One of our two Corn Snake's
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Charlie, our Gargoyle Gecko. He is one of 3 Geckos that we have.
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Millie, our Ball Python
Billy, one of our 4 turtles.
Bubbles, one of our two Axolotl's
Waffles, our adult Bearded Dragon
Bearded dragons, like their dragon namesakes, have an armor of protective scales and spikes along their sides and beards. Bearded dragons use their beard as a defense mechanism. When they are scared they open their mouths wide and puff out their beard which instantly turns jet black. This shocking sight gives predators a second thought about messing with this otherwise docile reptile.
Bearded Dragons have three eyes! Their two primary eyes see images, just like our eyes. And their parietal eye, located on the top of their head, doesn’t see images but is an optical lobe on the top of their head that can sense shadows and changes in light. In the wild, their main predator is a hawk. When a hawk swoops down to grab the Beardie, this animal can sense the change in light from the hawk’s shadow and run away.
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Pancake, our baby Bearded Dragon
The silliest thing about bearded dragons is that they don’t run on their four legs but will run on their two hind legs just like people. This doesn't help them run faster, but instead helps them run further by allowing the air to cool their body as they run.
In the wild, Bearded Dragons are semi-arboreal and spend their days hanging out in bushes or trees. They like to be up high to search for bugs and see what’s going on around them. They also love being on warm surfaces. This makes their warm human friends a perfect vehicle to ride around on. Bearded dragons literally enjoy “hanging out” with us. Many owners will carry around their beardies on their shoulders while doing chores, watching TV and taking walks.