# I need facts people....facts!!



## Jamie (Nov 18, 2007)

I'm going to be doing talks in 'bug world' at Shepreth Wildlife Park through the summer. I know a bit about the animals we have in there and I'l be doing more research online.

But I thought I'd ask you guys if you have any _*interesting facts*_ about the following animals.....

bearded dragons
geckos
blue tongued skink
spiney tailed lizard
black and white tegu
emperor scorpion
T's - chile rose, red knee, zebra and goliath
giant mombassan millipedes
madagascan hissing cockroaches
assain bugs

Thanks in advance for any replies!


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## HadesDragons (Jun 30, 2007)

Have a look at http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/lizards/92338-incubation-temperatures-sex-determination-bearded.html - I don't know what level you want to pitch your talk at, but bearded dragons than can change from Male to Female might be an interesting fact to slip in...

Otherwise, see if you can find a BD skull / picture of a skull to show people what proportion of the head is brain, and what is jaw muscle. Then compare it to a human skull...

I'm sure info on gecko tail regeneration would be interesting if you kept it fairly simple - there aren't many animals that can lose a body part and just grow a new one.


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## Jamie (Nov 18, 2007)

Cheers Andy, I was hoping you would step forward with some beardie facts!! :no1:

I like the idea of comparing beardie and human skulls, what are the differences by the way? just one question tho....where would I find a beardie skull??


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## Sarracenia (Mar 20, 2008)

You could possibly mention that geckos (and Crocodile Skinks) are the only reptiles to vocalise. For the 'Roaches, you could maybe talk about how, when kept together, they form caring, family groups in which the young are protected from danger. With the Blue Tongue, I'm sure the story about the Pygmy Blue Tongue discovery could be interesting.


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## Jamie (Nov 18, 2007)

Sarracenia said:


> You could possibly mention that geckos (and Crocodile Skinks) are the only reptiles to vocalise.


hmmm this sounds very interesting, could you explain a bit further please?


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## freekygeeky (May 25, 2007)

fan footed geckos make an amazing noise!!
cresties sound liek ducks!!!
and somthgin i find amazing is when a leo mates, the male wags his tail, and wow, for any leo breeeders out there, isnt that noise amazing?!!! amazing!¬


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## brittone05 (Sep 29, 2006)

Agree FG - the noise from a male leos tail is fab 

You can go on gekkota.com and listen to the noises of some gecko species 

You could also talk about how geckos eat thier shed skin as opposed to discarding it like a snake does and then talk about the geckos which can climb using lamellae (sp) on thier feet which I beleive is actually hairs


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## skimsa (Sep 28, 2007)

roaches hiss out of spirricles on the sides of their body its not a vocal nosie. Because of these air holes they can breathe without their heads wich is how they survive.

millipedes legs are controlled subconciously


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## Jamie (Nov 18, 2007)

Cheers guys! Keep em coming!!


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## skimsa (Sep 28, 2007)

emp scorps have between 2-5 pairs of eyes. their pincers are called pedipalps and are not counted as joints like a leg or an arm the are solely there as feeding instruments which is why the aren't classed as crustateons


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## matt1977 (Jul 1, 2007)

I like the idea of comparing beardie and human skulls, what are the differences by the way? just one question tho....where would I find a beardie skull??[/quote]
It worries me that you dont need to ask where you would find the human skull:lol2::Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## Robbie (Dec 4, 2006)

Ignore me. I didn't read the post correctly.


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## Robbie (Dec 4, 2006)

I don't know an aweful lot about lizards sadly. However you could mention that female Emp Scorps carry their offspring on their back  If someone could get you a picture I think that would be quite cool. They look like little bogies


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## freekygeeky (May 25, 2007)

graham just gave me one, wont og in to much detail as its for kids!! but
some uroplatus (leaf tailed geckos) hang unside down from branches/twigs/leaves, so they look like/immittate leaves, looks amazing!


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## Incubuss (Dec 19, 2006)

Robbie said:


> I don't know an aweful lot about lizards sadly. However you could mention that female Emp Scorps carry their offspring on their back  If someone could get you a picture I think that would be quite cool. They look like little bogies


Here is a pic of one of mine.


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## Robbie (Dec 4, 2006)

Incubuss said:


> Here is a pic of one of mine.


Weee! That makes me happy


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## HadesDragons (Jun 30, 2007)

Jamie said:


> I like the idea of comparing beardie and human skulls, what are the differences by the way? just one question tho....where would I find a beardie skull??


If I told you where to find one it would take away the fun of looking for it yourself... (I actually have no idea - zoos / museums possibly - most museums have various animal skeletons, but I don't know if you'd be able to borrow one)

The main differences are to do with general structure, like muscle attachments - our heads are mainly brain, with a bit of muscle and a small mouth; beardies heads are mainly mouth and jaw muscle, with a little bit of brain thrown in for good measure. It gives you a persepective on what our evolutionary roles are - ours is to work things out and survive by cunning - theirs is to eat and to survive by eating whatever stands in their way! 

The two "lumps" towards the back of tops of their heads are actually jaw muscles (watch them when chewing) that run past their braincase; whilst our skull *is* our braincase, beardies have a separate little compartment (kind of like a skull-in-a-skull) for their brains within the main skull, to protect it from all of the muscles that they have inside their skulls to give them such a strong bite... It doesn't sound that exciting, but when you actually look inside a reptile skull and see how much is brain and how much is open space (= muscle) you get a kind of "wow" moment and realise why they're not the cleverest animals around...

Colour changing would be good (if you have a warmed up beardie with you at the beginning of the talk, it should demonstrate colour changing nicely in 15 minutes or so) - most people assume only chameleons can change colour. The dark pigment is the same one that gives us a tan, so the beardies is effectively sitting on you knee / shoulder giving itself a tan whenever it wants to - I'm sure lots of humans wish they could do that...


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## Jamie (Nov 18, 2007)

matt1977 said:


> I like the idea of comparing beardie and human skulls, what are the differences by the way? just one question tho....where would I find a beardie skull??


It worries me that you dont need to ask where you would find the human skull:lol2::Na_Na_Na_Na:[/quote]

lmao! um..........:whistling2:


Cheers andy, lots of stuff in that long and well thought out post. Thanks for taking the time.

Cheers everyone else, please keep them coming!


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## Jamie (Nov 18, 2007)

Threads that go* bump* in the night!!


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## amazoncat (Feb 12, 2008)

I think it's really cool how geckos actually share intermolecular forces (tiny bonds) with the surface of what they're walking on. So to say they have sticky feet is inaccurate it's all about the tiny hairs on their foot pads which share forces with surfaces. This is why they can walk on glass and why they curl their toes when they walk (beyond 30 degrees the bonds are broken). I think this is cool but then I'm a science geek!


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## Issa (Oct 13, 2006)

Not sure its too relevent but I found it interesting when I found out that bearded dragons have venom sacs (no fangs to deliver it mind), Evolutionary holdover from venomous ancester apparently.


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## sami (Oct 23, 2006)

Beardies: 

there's a bit on the top of their head which is a parietal eye... it's used for detecting the photoperiod, so they know what time of year it is, for breeding etc. it has a basic lens and stuff, it's just not joined up to the optic nerve, so doesn't actually see images, just shades of light and dark. 


there's more info and pics here: 
The Parietal "Eye"

Sami


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