Page 8 - Dinuba Sentinel 7-5-18 E-edition

A8 | Thursday, July 5, 2018
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The Dinuba Sentinel
Reptiles
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scorpion, I would not recommend picking it up,” he added. “It’s sting will hurt, so don’t do it.”
The next critter was one far less intimidating, a young Eastern Box Turtle named Bowser. Named for its ability to completely box itself in its shell for protection, the box turtle’s natural habitat is in the water and its diet consists of mainly small bugs.
Reptile Ron made sure to point out the difference between a turtle and a tortuous, noting that turtles live predominately in water whereas tortuous’ live on land. Also, he explained, the diet of a tortuous is made up of mostly vegetables and they are known to live well past 100 years. He also said that the oldest known living tortuous is 256 years old.
As excited as the little ones were to see a scorpion and box turtle, that excitement grew when they laid eyes on Phanos, an orange Bearded Dragon about the size of a small dog.
Known for their prickly beards, the Bearded Dragon also has the ability to change the color of that beard to black, said Hayden.
“If it were to see a female it would change the color of its beard to black to impress her,” he explained. “It also changes the color in territorial encounters with other male Bearded Dragons.”
And the critters kept getting bigger, as they brought out Odi, a large Tegus lizard from South America. The spotted black- and-white lizard was quite a bit bigger than its Bearded Dragon counterpart, and boasted a whip-like tail that was at least three feet long.
Tegus lizards, according to Reptile Ron, are known for two things; their cheeks and their tails. They have large expansive cheeks that are used for attracting female Tegus’. The bigger the cheeks the more likely they are to find a mate. Their tails are used like whips to defend themselves against predators in the wild.
From lizards the crawly things moved to snakes, first being
a Dumerils Boa Constrictor, which this reporter had non- voluntarily wrapped around his neck. The snake’s name was Ares and its species originates from the island of Madagascar. According to Reptile Ron, this is one of the smaller constrictors, reaching a maximum length of about five to six feet. When told that the snake was cold-blooded, the children in attendance were asked if they knew what that meant.
“It means that they have to live in warm weather,” said one child in attendance.
“They also have the ability to adjust their body temperature,” said a young girl in the front row.
“Wow,” said Reptile Ron. “I have to say, not only am I impressed with what a good group you kids have been, but I’m also impressed with how knowledgeable you are.”
Ares was a small snake compared to the largest spectacle of the presentation. While a volunteer named Jasmine stood facing the children, the crowd
was asked to not say a word as the two brought out their next reptile. Out from a large plastic tub, just barely big enough to hold its tenant, emerged Sunshine, a ginormous Albino Burmese Python.
With care, Reptile Ron and Hayden draped Sunshine over the shoulders of Jasmine as the children gasped and laughed with nervous excitement. Sunshine, they said, was only three-years old and measured at least 12-feet long and weighed about 60 pounds.
As big it was though, at full maturity the Burmese Python can grow to be over 16 feet long and weigh more than 150 pounds.
And Jasmine was not the only one to feel the weight of what is known as the world’s biggest snake. At least 16 other children got to hold Sunshine as they stood in a row, eight at a time, and still could not hold the entirety of the snake.
Reno followed Sunshine, after having squawked several times from her covered cage during
the hour-long presentation.
But the last animal had the children on the edge of their seats, or floor in this case. At first it was with a bit of fear as Reptile Ron introduced it as coming from the ‘deepest darkest jungles of Peru’. Not knowing what to expect, the
children sat in anticipation.
“I give you The Undertaker,”
said Reptile Ron.
The anticipation turned to
wonder, and perhaps a little confusion, as Hayden pulled out from a box a small ball of curly brown fur.
“Can anyone guess what it is?” he asked the children.
One by one the guesses missed the mark.
“I’ll give you a hint,” said Reptile Ron. “It starts with a Guinea and ends with a...”
“It’s a Guinea Pig!” shouted several children in the audience. The presentation then ended with every child able to pet The Undertaker on the way out. It was also mentioned that The Undertaker has a Guinea Pig
buddy named John Cena.
Photos by Rick Curiel | The Sentinel ABOVE: Jasmine has "Sunshine", a large Albino Burmese Python, draped around her neck by Reptile Ron, right, and assistant
Hayden.
RIGHT: A young boy meets "Ares", a Dumerils Boa Constrictor at the Dinuba Branch Library
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