Remarkable
reptiles, amphibians and other Animals |
Here is a slideshow of the animals throughout this year. 😊It has been a year of learning with these little creatures! They have grown and changed so much over the last year. We have built new enclosures, figured out the best diets, researched what plants are best for them and so much more. It has been such a fun journey with these animals so far and I can’t wait to keep learning as they continue to grow.
We brought Allistar and Aesop home on May 31, 2019. My family stayed up until midnight putting together their enclosures. When we were putting them together, I remember thinking these cages are way too big! That was not the case because in a few short months, I was thinking the opposite! These lizards that started out so small grew and grew and grew. I would say the lizards at least doubled in size. We also received Atlas a couple days after bringing Allistar and Aesop home. I didn’t know what to expect with a tadpole but we followed the directions and began watching! After the lizards and tadpole being at our house for a couple weeks, we moved them to the Art room for Summer Rec. So many kids were able to watch them grow throughout the summer! It was hard work because I had to go to the school every single day of the summer (even the weekends) to make sure their lighting was right and to feed them. Chameleons and Bearded Dragons eat A LOT when they are little. When the summer was over, the lizards and tadpole (yes, Atlas was still a tadpole after 3 months) moved into the Empowering Teens Room. Aesop needed a bigger cage and Allistar was fitting perfectly in her cage. Then you guys met them and were so excited! I think I had at least one person ask to hold the lizards every day. In October, I went to Petco and saw this amazing looking chameleon and fell in love! I called Mrs. A and said we need this lizard! She said that it was up to me but it might be too much work. I decided to leave the store without him and tried not to think about him. A few weeks later on October 20th, we went back to Petco and I saw that this little Chameleon was still there and he was getting pretty big compared to all the other ones. I looked at Mrs. A and said “We have too.” He was even half as much as a Piebald Veiled Chameleon usually was. We brought him home that day and set him up in Aesop’s old cage. Atlas finally became a frog in December. All the animals came home with me during Christmas break. They enjoyed their time getting spoiled at my house. Then when we came back, you guys began planning Aesop and Apollo’s new enclosures. You did such a great job researching and building their enclosures. They have so much room and so many places to hide. They love their new enclosures so much. I brought them home again when we stopped going to school for the year. They continue to grow and change. We learned that Allistar is a girl and she continues to eat whatever she is given (especially collard greens). Aesop is getting healthier and healthier as he continues to eat his baby food and insects. Aesop is huge and is eating well and Atlas is probably not even the type of frog that we told he was but is thriving. Every new adventure is interesting and having these animals has definitely been an adventure. We will continue to learn how to improve their lives as they continue to grow and change. This is the last animal blog for the school year. I will post animal updates once a month throughout the summer if you want to see how they are doing! Have a great summer!
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This week has been interesting! 😊 We found out a lot of information about our animals this week. We found out what Apollo really enjoys. We found out what Aesop doesn't. We found out that we may have been wrong about what type of frog Atlas is. Also, we finally figured out if Allistar is a girl or a boy. This whole experience of having our chameleons, bearded dragon and frog has been a learning process but we wouldn’t change it for the world!ALLISTARAllistar is a GIRL! We are 98% sure that Allistar is a girl which means we will have to be very watchful when it comes to her behavior. I have done a lot of research this week on how you can tell if a bearded dragon needs to lay eggs… We will have to watch to see if she is digging around her enclosure a lot, gaining weight, losing her appetite, and I will have to feel her belly to see if she has eggs. When she does need to lay eggs, we will have to configure a lay box. I will still have to do some research to figure out the best way to do this. Other than finding out her gender, it has been a pretty normal week for Allistar. She is eating well and enjoying all the attention she gets from my family. ATLASWe also have learned some interesting information about Atlas. When we ordered the tadpole kit, the seller said that it would be a Northern Leopard Frog. As Atlas has developed, I have been confused as he has not developed the spots that Northern Leopard Frogs have. I did some research and I believe we actually received a Northern Green Frog. Of course, I am not 100% sure and probably never will be. I included a picture of both the Northern Leopard Frog and the Northern Green Frog to see what you guys think. 😊 Atlas is still eating well and enjoying swimming in his pond. He has started to burrow a little bit more which I believe is because it has gotten a little colder. I am excited to upgrade his enclosure, so he has more room to swim and burrow. 😊 APOLLOApollo has had a good week. He has been eating the baby food and is seeming to be more interested in his worms again. He loves to go from the top to the bottom of his cage several times throughout the day. He digs quite a bit and loves to watch our dogs. Our pug is really interested in him as well and they stare at each other a lot through the cage. The best thing for Apollo this week was definitely the time he spent in the shower. He seems to really love the water. I wanted him to be comfortable so I put a plant in the shower that he could hold on to and it worked really well. It was fun watching him relax and enjoy the water. He continues to be very interesting to watch and learn from. AESOPAesop is doing well. He DOES NOT like showers. He seems really stressed when he is in the shower, so I probably won’t put him in the shower as much as Apollo. I will probably only put him in the shower once a month just to let him get hydrated. He has been eating the baby food really well. I mix the insects in with the baby food so they are getting all the nutrients in the baby food as well as the protein from the insects. They seem to be doing really well and Aesop’s colors just keep getting better. He has been using his cage more. He will crawl on the ground sometimes and then climb to the top throughout the day. It is fun to watch how much he has been moving. I am excited to see how much they change throughout the years. It has been a difficult journey so far learning about these animals but so worth it. They continue to do things every day that make me laugh, worry, and learn. I can’t wait for you guys to be able to see and hold them again!
Our animals are still doing great! Last week was a cleaning week for them. I changed the water for the chameleon cages and made sure the bottom of each cage was clean. I still have to take out all the vines, leaves, etc. and disinfect those too. I will have to do that this week. I also cleaned Allistar’s cage which took a while but needed to be done.
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