Chameleons

A young Yemen Chameleon

Looks

Chameleons are lizards, best known for their ability to change colour. Many people think they do this to blend into the background—but scientists disagree. Instead they use this amazing ability to either send messages to other chameleons or adjust the temperatures of their bodies. But how do they do this, you ask?

Chameleons actually have four layers of skin, each one including different pigments. They create their colourful combinations by shrinking and expanding cells (called chromatophores), as an artist might mix their paints.

These remarkable reptiles can switch their skin to mixtures of pink, red, orange, green, black, turquoise, purple, and more! Some males even have decorative frills and horns; however, females are often rather bland—their horns are smaller than the males’ and their colours are dulled.

Along with this, chameleons possess feet that allow them to grip easily onto branches, and a tongue that can shoot out to almost twice their body length (not including the tail). And if that’s not enough, their eyes can look in two different directions at once, and focus in on their prey for better aiming.

Habitat

Half of the world’s chameleon population lives in Madagascar. They make their homes in rain forests, grasslands, forested mountains and even deserts!

Feeding

The chameleon’s diet consists of insects such as moths, crickets and caterpillars; larger species, however, may eat smaller lizards and even young birds. They use their muscled, sticky tongues to catch their food.

Breeding

After mating, the female lays her eggs in a hole she digs in the ground. The clutch size will vary between species—smaller chameleons tend to lay about three to five eggs, while larger species can produce up to one hundred!

Depending on the species, the eggs will incubate for about 12 months before the young chameleons hatch. Once free from the eggs, the young chameleons go off to find food and fend for themselves.

Galapágos Island Giant Tortoise

It is said in legends there were so many tortoises on the islands when the Spanish explorers found them that they named the islands after them—Galápagos is an old Spanish word for tortoise

Looks:

There are many species of Galapágos tortoise, and each differ in appearance. Most tortoises with domed shells live on wetter islands with vegetation near the ground, while others with flatter carapaces make their homes on dry islands. The ‘saddleback’ tortoises have shells that are raised at the rim above the neck so that the tortoises can reach up and eat from taller vegetation than the domed-shell tortoises. Saddlebacks are also smaller than the domed-shell species, and so are the islands they live on. There are, however, some intermediate tortoises whose shells are both domed and saddleback.

List of subspecies:

Abingdon Island tortoise

Volcán Wolf tortoise

Chatham Island tortoise

James Island tortoise

Duncan island tortoise

Sierra Negra tortoise

Hood island tortoise

Volcán Darwin tortoise

Floreana Island/Charles Island tortoise

Indefatigable Island tortoise

Volcán Alcedo tortoise

Iguana Cove tortoise

Feeding:

These tortoises are herbivores; their diet consists of cacti, grasses, leaves, lichens and berries. They can survive up to a year without eating or drinking, by breaking down their body fat to produce nutrients.

Breeding:

There is no specific breeding season for the Galapágos tortoise—mating will occur at any time of year. To compete for a female tortoise, two males stand as tall as they can, stretch up their necks and open their mouths wide. The tallest tortoise wins and gets the female, leaving the shorter one to back away.

Once they have mated, the females journey in July to November to dry sandy coast. They dig their nests, which may take many days to complete, using their hind legs to scoop out a hole in which the tortoise lays about sixteen eggs. When the hole is finished, the female seals the nest with a muddy plug.

The eggs are spherical and hard-shelled, and the amount of them varies with each species of Galapagos tortoise. Like alligators, the gender of the baby tortoises depends on the temperature of the nest; lower temperatures tend to produce more males.

After four to eight months, the hatchlings dig their way out of the nest. This process may take weeks, and if the soil is too hard or the nest is flooded, the newborn tortoises can die.

Life expectancy:

These tortoises reach maturity at about 20-40 years. They are known to live to about 100 years in the wild, making it one of the longest lived species in the world—an Australian tortoise, Harriet, died in 2006 in the Australian Zoo at approximately 170 years of age.

Habitat:

The Galápagos Islands, located on either side of the Equator, Pacific Ocean.

Predators:

Galapágos tortoises have few predators, because of their size and isolation, but introduced creatures like cats, pigs, rats, and other species feast on the tortoises’ eggs and food. Juvenile tortoises are also attacked by birds of prey such as the Galapágos hawk. Due to this, the Galapágos tortoise has now been added to the list of endangered animals.

Galapágos tortoises are the largest tortoises in the world

Thorny Devils

Link

The thorny devil is known by a variety of different names, such as the thorny dragon, thorny lizard, mountain devil, and moloch. Did you know that it is the only animal in the genus Moloch?

Looks

Thorny devils are a small, grey brown desert lizard covered with spiky armour. On the back of their necks is a “false head.” They display this to enemies by tipping their actual head. Its spikes protect it against its predators and help it to camouflage, also collecting dew in the ridges and moving the water to the mouth using grooves between the spikes. Their colours change, lighter in hotter weather and dark in cold. In all, the thorny devil is a cleverly created creature.

Habitat

These lizards live in the scrubland and desert areas throughout central Australia, and therefore it makes use of the spinifex clumps common in the regions.

Feeding

Thorny devils mostly eat ants. They eat many, many of them in a single day. It can drink in water from any part of its body.

Breeding

In the breeding season, September to December, Females lay three to ten eggs in a burrow. After three or four months, the eggs hatch. At only a couple days old, the babies have dig their way out of the sand and into the world.

Predators

Birds, goannas, and humans. Buzzards hunt these lizards for prey.

Lifetime

About 20 years. At 3 years old Thorny Devils reach maturity.

Thorny Devils are endangered animals. Humans have been protecting their nests by putting wire around them, keeping enemies away from the newborn lizards.

Watch this great video about these cool lizards!

King Cobras

King Cobras are known for spitting venom in the eyes of prey, blinding them. Despite what their name suggests, they are not actually cobras.

Looks

Their patterns depend on where they live, but their colours are the same. They are brown and yellow with black stripes. When they are hatchlings, the black bands are stronger, but as they grow the black fades until the stripes are only vague.

Feeding

King Cobras eat mostly other snakes. Their diet of snakes includes small pythons, ratsnakes, and mangrove snakes.

Habitat

These snakes live mostly in plains, forests and rainforests in China, Southeast Asia, and India. Also liking mangrove swamps, King Cobras are good tree climbers.

Breeding

King Cobras are the only snakes who make nests and guard them fiercely. A shedding of skin marks the beginning of the breeding season, which starts in January. Sadly, the eggs can be broken, trampled or eaten by wild boars and mongooses. The female will lay 20-50 eggs. The baby grows inside, then, when it has grown big enough to hatch, it makes a hole in the shell and slithers out. Like other snakes, King Cobra eggs have soft shells.

Enemies

King Cobras have enough poison to kill an elephant. They have a “hood” on their necks, which they flare when the snake is threatened or angry. When about to attack, King Cobras rise up off the ground, spread their hoods and hiss ferociously. 
They usually shy away from humans, only attacking when the snake is cornered. Mongooses are the main predators of these snakes. Another enemy of the King Cobras are humans, who destroy their habitats, driving them out where they can kill them.

Here's a link to a video of a Mozambique spitting cobra!

Red-eyed tree frogs

Red-eyed tree frogs are not reptiles.They are amphibians.

Feeding

Red-eyed tree frogs feed on flies, crickets and moths, using their long tongue to snatch them out of the air.

Breeding

Red-eyed tree frogs breed from the end of May to the end of November, in the wet season. Once they have mated, the female frog lays a large clutch of eggs on a leaf. The tadpoles change into frogs in about 80 days.

Looks

Red-eyed tree frogs have bright red eyes and webbed orange-yellow feet. They are lime green with yellow and blue patterned sides. Luckily they do not carry poison, unlike the poison dart frog. They like to keep moist and stay near the water in case an enemy approaches.

Habitat

These frogs live in rainforests and the tropics. They also live in ponds in gardens and forests.

Nocturnalism

Red-eyed tree frogs are nocturnal.

Lifespan

These frogs live up to 5 years.