Radical Reptiles - W.A. - Flat out like a lizard drinking!!

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Flat out like a lizard drinking!!

Posted by radicalreptiles at 02:14 AM on March 02, 2007

Well if you have ever seen a lizard drinking you will know what I mean.

I have been extremely busy, down at the Peel Zoo in Pinjarra helping the team to promote the Zoo with my scaley mates.

I recently spent a week at the Kwinana Hub shopping centre and had a fantastic time. Although one gentleman was quite irate that i should be letting children hold my very friendly critters, and that I shouldnt have them in cages, would he prefer that the poor things are killed when the bulldozers destroy their home. Keeping reptiles in captivity or any animal is a touchy subject, but with the rate of habitat destruction moving as it is, these animals are being diplaced and it seems that none of the developers have any idea or even care of the damage they are doing to our native flora and fauna. Very few developers even consider relocating the fauna, there are few that do care, I just wish that all developers stopped a minute to think of the life they are about to destroy, when they send the bulldozers in, how can you possibly see a bobby underneath a bush, or a bearded dragon on a branch or even a monitor hiding in its hole from the top of the bulldozer?? I'll get down off my soapbox now....

Another point this elderly gentleman made, was how can a child tell the difference between a venomous snake and a python, i replied "Do you really think i would be standing here holding a venomous snake? Part of my program is to educate the children on our venomous snakes and I always tell the kiddies that it is ok to hold my snakes but never to pick up one in the bush". He was not satisfied with my answer. You cant please everyone! So sad, but true.

One of the highlights of my time in Kwinana was when a young indigenous Australian boy came up to me and was terrified of my Pythons, by the end of the week he was holding them and thanking me for letting him, and said that he never thought that they were such beautiful creatures, another convert!!!

I visited North Dandalup PS and helped some of the students overcome their fear of snakes and was absolutely blown away by the knowledge of the children about reptiles. Many of the city schools I have visited are quite ignorant about our native reptiles and it is great to be able to share my scaley mates with them, to see the wonder on their faces and know that I left them with a lot more respect for our reptiles. My favorite saying is that without lizards we would have bugs everywhere and the girls all go eeeeeek, the boys giggle, and without snakes imagine the rodents everywhere. Kids are amazing, they are willing to learn and hopefully they go home and tell their mum and dad, "dont put snail pellets down it will kill the Bobbies, dont use insectisides they will kill the lizards and the bugs", and how to make their yard safe from our venomous friends.

I am waiting patiently for some SW Carpets to hatch and am enjoying all the baby beardies that have hatched so far this year. They are so cute and real little piggies.

I love my job and love to share my friends with you all, catch you soon at my next Radical Reptiles show.

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4 Comments

Reply CANE TOAD LOVER

02:15 PM on June 09, 2007

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Reply sugar

02:19 PM on June 09, 2007

Narrow minded people like you love deadly posinus snakes but freak out over a cane toad so wear gloves! It is bad enough Austailia kills thousands they should sell them to zoos and pet stores around the world instead of killing them

Reply Karen - Radical Reptiles

03:33 AM on June 10, 2007

Sugar, we are all entitled to our opinions, I do not love our venomous snakes i have a deep respect for them, all of our creatures deserve a place in the wheel of life. If you saw first hand the devastation the cane toad is causing our wildlife you might not be so narrow minded. But we are learning to combat the problem without killing them too...so before you make such bold statements you should do your research! Cane toads are not native to Australia and our animals dont know that they are toxic, they are learning, but how many species will become extinct before they do... They would make awesome pets but the problem of irresponsible keepers would once again pose the problem we already have from a species not native to our country destroying our native animals.

Reply Justin

11:13 AM on August 18, 2007

Hi there ,I'm Justin and i was really facinated buy your web site and some of the pics you have ahha Sorry no need to convert me being from the country and always enjoying nature ,i was along time ago . . As i lived in the country for the better part of my childhood and always had a facination with nature and the better part scaly critters .Much to the disgust of my mother i often brought home bobbies in a bucket and spending some time deticking them and then releaseing them back into the areas that i found them , as a child i always wanted a carpet python and just recently well within the last three years i finally obtained my cat 3 ticket and purchased a Stimsons whom unfortunatly was stolen when my home was broken into I was devastated . I learned in that in the time that i did have Styphon that it (sex unknown) it was wild caught and to be honest was a little dissapointed as i do feel strongly about takeing native animals out of the habitat just for sale , but as yourself i fear that without people such as yourself & I and as a society are looseing our native wild life to cats,rabbits and foxes and other vermon such as the dreaded Cane Toad & the worst the destruction of habitat. We as the human speacies are a greedy & OFTEN CRUEL KIND of mammal . Anyway I purchased my second Stimsons as a hatchling on the 03/12/05 and have once again been enjoying the pleasure of owning my own reptile and recently learned how to tell the sex and believe that i am the proud father of a boy ahhaha.. My most recent edition to the family after obtaining my cat 4 is a flatshelled turtle (m and unfortunatly wildcaught) ,whom i named Blinx and the wife and daughter have both warmed to very much as well I also own a Freash/Salt water long fined Eel that i bought in a fish shop (haha and to my horror have also seen in fish monger shops for sale as a delicasy ready for the dinner table) at about 300mm and is now about 1050mm and wacks a real nasty bite Seth lives in a 3 meter tank that my wife has affectionatly nicknamed the lappool. As you can see i have a varied Zoo myself my wife and i own three cats(wifes and through my insistance all have double bells on to try and safe guard against birdcatching ) & two dogs . I know cane toads are one of gods extremlly toxic creatures but i plan on buying a freezer as this is the most humain way of killing them and a decent blender as apparently they make great fertilizer. As I have also learned in my youth is that most of the native plants in Australia have actually safe guarded themselves against being eatin from wildlife with a very toxic venom of there of wich we humans have made a derivitive we called DDT so i believe.