#arboreal reptile

[herpsandbirds]

Mexican Alligator Lizard aka Green Arboreal Alligator Lizard (Abronia graminea),  endemic to the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca highlands of Mexico

ENDANGERED.

Black-eyed form, Xalapa City, Veracruz

Possible intergrade between black-eyed and blue-eyed forms, Pico de Orizaba, Veracruz

Blue-eyed form, Acultzingo, Veracruz

photograph by Vojtěch Víta

[moghedien]

This lady thinks she’s an arboreal gecko

[waxscentedcandles]

Alligator-porcupine-chimpanzee hybrid.

Is it called an Alligorcupanzee or a Chimgatorcupine or a Porcupanzetor

[ragsy]

I'm thinking about Acquiring Lizard for the first time in two decades, and not having to defer to my parents on how big it can be is INTOXICATING. And then I realize I instead have to defer to the physical constraints of my living space instead

[paulpingminho]

[julianova44]

Big Guy Iguana at the San Pedro Iguana Eco Sanctuary

It’s a neat, small piece of land lined by mangroves and lagoon and swamp, and if you go I recommend going around 9 or 10 because that’s when they get fed.

This lovely lady was provably the most social and when offered a banana elected to lick my sleeve instead (I assume in the hope it might be lettuce).

[talonabraxas]

The flying dragon lizard (Draco volans) So dragons still exist, only now they are very small!Meet the Draco volans, known as the common flying dragon.Draco volans, a species of lizard in the family Agamidae, is native to Southeast Asia and Southeast India. This species can reach up to 22 cm in length, including the tail, and males are usually shorter than females.Draco volans is endowed with wing-like lateral extensions of skin, called patagia, which give it the ability to glide. In fact, the reptile is entirely arboreal and is considered a passive glider or parachutist. The male's patagium is tan to bright orange with dark bands, while the female's has irregular patterns instead of bands.

[subbalakshmisastry]

Green Vine Snake In Mysore Zoo

[bufomancer]

“Climbing” as a reptile behavior is used so... imprecisely? In the community and honestly this has fed into some pretty big issues with husbandry.

Climbing is not a strictly arboreal behavior. Climbing encompasses much more than scaling trees or walls. Any species of reptile or amphibian may explore changes in elevation in their environment... Such as climbing over a tree stump, or some rocks, or even the stairs of a building.

Most standard enclosures are about 2 feet tall. Add in substrate and some empty space at the top and you typically get no more than an 18-20 inch change in elevation from the lowest point in the enclosure to the highest. Depending on how this is set up, this is hardly even really climbing... Certainly not climbing behavior like what a true tree dwelling species exhibits. If you only have near vertical branches, then sure. But most climbing enrichment consists of much more gentle inclines, usually with a good texture for easy gripping. For example my leopard gecko’s enclosure features a number of ledges built into the wall at varying heights to create a kind of spiral staircase. You can easily create elevation changes that even clumsy animals can safely explore. If you have an animal who has never been exposed to this kind of stimuli, or is poorly muscled, or has coordination issues, etc you will of course need to be careful that there are plenty of fall breaks and providing broad, gentle inclines rather than narrow precipices. But they can still be provided elevation changes safely, and as they practice they will become better at it... Though obviously a primarily terrestrial species is not going to suddenly become a tree dweller just because it was given some ramps!

People say “x species doesn’t climb” and are usually correct that they are not scaling trunks and do not spend the majority of their time several feet up into trees. But this is not an excuse to keep these animals in a 6 inch tall rack enclosure. Changes in elevation are a normal part of any animal’s environment, in the wild this is something that they learn to navigate. There’s no reason not to provide thoughtful enrichment of this variety as part of an quality captive environment. If your animal has disabilities, you may need to be even more careful to provide fall breaks, gentle slopes, broad ledges, etc but it is still possible.

When you give your reptiles the opportunity to make new choices & explore complex environments, they just might surprise you with all that they are capable of.

TL;DR: Not all climbing is scaling near-vertical surfaces or navigating spindly, precarious branches. Terrestrial animals can and do explore changes in elevation and should be provided this kind of climbing enrichment in captivity. An animal does not need to be arboreal in order to benefit from climbing enrichment.

[herpsandbirds]

Mexican Alligator Lizard (Abronia graminea), family Anguidae, endemic to the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca highlands of Mexico.

ENDANGERED.

photograph by Savannah Noland

[moghedien]

My uromastyx’s new favorite trick is to climb up the artificial cactus he has and jump from there, onto his hammock

[pteryx-pets]

Pierogies is a cozy spiral (there’s a heat mat in the roof)

[uncharismatic-fauna]

What's your favorite snake overall? Favorite hot snake? Favorite constrictor? Favorite misc category? Favorite arboreal lizard? Favorite aquatic herp? Favorite turtle? Favorite birb?

Ah, now here's something that's right up my alley!

My favorite snake overall are probably garter snakes, just because they were my introduction to herpetology- every spring when I was a kid I'd go out to catch them and beg my mom to let me keep one (she said no).

2. Favorite hot snake-- not sure what you mean by this one; there isn't a group collectively known as 'hot snakes'. But I've always had a soft spot for the gaboon viper!

3. My favorite constrictor are anacondas for sure; I love me a big wet noodle

4. Favorite misc. category (of reptile) are frill-necked lizards! I used to have a stuffed animal of one that I slept with every night.

5. Favorite arboreal lizard: Probably iguanas. I don't know why, but there's something about those huge scales on their cheeks that really appeals to me.

6. Favorite aquatic herp: Sea snakes! They're just so crazy!

7. Favorite turtle: This one is really hard; probably a tie between the Asian forest tortoise and the Mojave Desert tortoise. I've had the opportunity to work with both, and they're just so neat!

8. Favorite bird (I will say (and I know this is controversial) that I don't think that birds and reptiles should be in the same category. But I digress): Again, this is a toughie, but I get really nostalgic for red-winged black birds; I'd hear them all the time growing up, and they have such a distinctive call.

[cryptile]

Tell me about. Lizards :3

Did you know that lizards and snakes are very closely related to eachother on a bigger scale? Infact with how messy official taxonomy is, sometimes zoologists call snakes lizards as well!

Sauria - so reptiles is split into two groups, birds + crocodiles and snakes + lizards. Any real zoologist will also tell you that birds are reptiles, and if you decide they're not, that means that crocodiles arent reptiles either :)

Lizards are an incredible group, very diverse! Monitor lizards are the only (i think) lizard that can breathe while running and their hearts mimic those of mammals. They are called MONITOR lizards because they stand like meercats and monitor their surroundings. They're INCREDIBLY smart!!!!! And an absolute delight to be around always, at least when you know how to read their body language and are chill enough.

Monitor lizards themselves are a diverse group on its own. You've got your terrestrial guys (on the ground), arboreal guys (on trees) and some guys that like water! (Like my favourite animal ever: the nile monitor :D

Pretty sure this is some kind of nile monitor, or related to it but I just love this image so much)

[willtheweaver]

A writer’s guide to forests: from the poles to the tropics, part 8

We’ve made it to the tropics. I hope you enjoyed this, and found it useful in your writing.

Tropical rainforest

Probably the most recognizable of forest environment, and among the most threatened.

Location-Latin America, Africa, Australia, Indonesia, and the Pacific islands in between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Many forests have been felled or heavily altered by human activity.

Climate-Subtropical to tropical, with conditions being wet year round. Rain does not fall all the time, with a defined rainy and dry season. (What’s the difference? Rainy season has rain almost daily while in the dry season you will have to make do with high humidity and morning fog) At higher elevations, nights are cooler, though still well above freezing, and mist and rain are more common(this is why mountainous RF are called cloud forests)

Plant life- This is a tree dominated environment. The understory and forest floor are dark, unless trees have recently fallen. Many small plants are arboreal, nestled in the upper branches of trees. Vines and other climbers use larger plants as scaffolding. In areas of poor soil, tropical pitcher plants (Nepenthes spp.) and bladderworts (Utricularia spp.) get much needed nutrients from animal sources.

Animal life- Rainforests are the most biodiverse environments on Earth. Insects are everywhere, as are the animals that eat them. Birds and primates can be found from the canopy to the forest floor. The moist conditions make for an ideal habitat for frogs and toads. Apex predators are the big cats-think jaguars, tigers and leopards. Some species of herbivores can be quite large; Africa is home to gorillas and forest elephants, while the island of Borneo, Sumatra, and Java support rhinos and orangutans (though the further of these species is uncertain)Waterways are home to all sorts of fish(there are more species in the Amazon river than in the Atlantic Ocean), and larger animals, such as otters, crocodilians, and even river dolphins. Isolated islands have far fewer mammal species, with bats being the only ones, but hardy insects, reptiles, and birds making up the majority of the biomass. Deforestation and the introduction of invasive species have caused the extinction of many animal species, with island forests being the hardest hit.

How the forest affects the story- When one thinks of societies in the tropics, it usually is through the lens of western stereotypes designed to shock audiences and give ‘civilization’ something to conquer. Avoid this at all cost! There is more to the forest. Before the Spanish conquest, the Amazon was home to cities, and the agricultural societies of New Guinea are believed to be contemporaries with the farmers of Mesopotamia.

Grain does not do well in the tropics, so farming will be based around plants such as açaí, coconuts, taro, breadfruit, bananas, and manioc. These can be supplemented by hunting and fishing, but long term storage will have to be addressed. High humidity is a breeding ground for bacteria and fungi, so organic material will have to be kept dry so they don’t rot. The concentration of microorganisms also means that good hygiene is needed to avoid disease.

Settlement will always cause disruption, and the extent of your character’s activities can have a big impact on the forest, and your story. And remember, the activity of a small village will be different to that of large scale logging. Management, use, and abuse of the rainforest can be a driving factor in the plot. How will your characters react? Is the threat from outside or from within? The destruction of the rainforest is one of the main factors, along with unmitigated greenhouse gas emissions that is causing the current climate crisis. Can your characters do better? Or will you create a cautionary tale that shows us the grim future we are currently barreling towards? (That choice, my dear writers, is completely up to you)