Basilisk Lizard

The Basilisk Lizard was recommended to me by two cool girls.  One was my mom's friend when she was little - Penelope Sisk Peter.  The other girl is sort of my cousin and her name is Corinna Shea Casey.  Thanks a lot to you both for the suggestion of this awesome reptile.

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The Basilisk Lizard lives in Central and South America.  They live in the treetops and it can jump out of the trees to get food.  During the day, they like to lay on rocks near the river because the rocks are warm.  At night, they sleep on top of a tree to keep safe from predators.

There are two cool things about the name "Basilisk Lizard".   The first cool thing is "Basilisk" comes from the Greek "basiliskos" which means "little king".  In the old days, the greek people thought Basilisk Lizards could turn men into stone by just looking at him!


The second cool thing is that his nickname is "The Jesus Christ Lizard".  This is because this lizard CAN RUN ON WATER!!!  He can run up to 5 feet in a single second!!  He does this by slapping the water down so hard that he makes air pockets.  It is actually the air pockets (not the water) that keeps him up.


Basilisk Lizards can get up to 2 feet long, including their tail.  They lay up to 20 eggs per year.  There are a lot of them, so we don't have to worry about extinction.  Also, they can stay under water for up to a half an hour!!  They can live about 7 years if you take good care of them.

Hey everyone, make sure you check me out on twitter, Facebook and even Pinterest!  I'm everywhere and T-shirts are coming soon!

Armadillo Lizard

The Armadillo Lizard was recommended to me by my best friend Dyllan Bui!

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The Armadillo Lizard is found in the desert of the southern tip of Africa.  They get to 17 inches at the most and the tail is 14 inches of that, so they are like, all tail.  They can weigh up to 17 pounds, which is like three gallons of milk.  It lives in rock crevices.  They come out in groups, so if one sees danger, they all run.  They go out in the morning for sun.

It has its babies in the late summer.  The baby's worst fear is HUMANS, who collect them, which is terrible.  If you get one as a pet anyway, you will need a 30-gallon cage, with hot rocks and it will need a rock to go under.

They will also need a heat lamp.  They gnaw on the rocks to sharpen their teeth.  They do not bite much.  Their tale will grow back if it falls off, which is lucky.  This technique is so if a bird snatches him by the tale, he can just rip it off and he will escape and grown another.  Pretty cool.





One of the awesome things about this lizard is that it can roll up.  When it rolls up, all the spikes are facing out, so it will defend itself.  To roll up, it will bite its tail and make a donut out of itself.  But not one you would want to eat!!!

Carpet Chameleons

This reptile was recommended to me by Nicole Pierce, which was nice.  She was runner up and is dedicated to my blog.

She dances so You can see her stuff here:

http://www.egoartinc.com/

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Carpet Chameleons are found in Madagascar, which is wicked far away from me.  They live at the very top of trees.  They are also known as the Jewel Chameleon.  They can get 6-8 inches long, which is pretty long for a Carpet Chameleon.

In the animal kingdom, the male is usually more colorful than the female.  But for Carpet Chameleons it is the opposite, which is weird.  The males are green.  The females are all different colors and their lips are striped.  But do not forget this chameleon can change colors.  If you get one as a pet, it will need a screen cage - NOT A GLASS ONE.  They cannot understand glass.

Also they will need a big, leafy thing to climb on.  The plants in the cage will have to be alive, no fake stuff.  They are used to drinking rain that moves, so they can not see non-moving drinking water - so don't just put a bowl of water in there.  If you have one as a pet, you will have to keep the water moving or it will die of thirst.





They live five to eight years, so do not get sad or let down when it dies.  If it gets to eight years old, you have took very good care of it, so be proud.

MYTH BUSTER

People say that ALL chameleons can change colors, but some CANNOT change colors, so HAH!

Horned Lizard

A super big shout out to my cousin JEFF HAGOPIAN for his suggestion for this blog post.  HE WON THE CONTEST!

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Horned Lizards are found in North America's deserts.  Most people call them Horned Toads.  But that is not right.  They are LIZARDS!  One of this lizard's awesome abilities is that it can shoot BLOOD out of its EYES!

WHAT THE WHAT?!?!

It can shoot its blood up to four feet.  That is pretty high and long and far.

When a predator comes, the lizard quickly increases the blood pressure behind his eyes.  Then, when he is ready, he shoots out the blood in a powerful jet into the face of the predator.  Not only does this scare the predator, but it also tastes bad.  I bet it does!  The Horned Lizard is the State Reptile of Texas. 

They are also the world's best digging lizard!  Just like a Sea Turtle, the Horned Lizard buries their eggs.  

They make sorta good pets.  If you do get one, it will need very good sand to dig in.  It will also need the right kind of light.

The number of Horned Lizards is going down.  So, if you find one, make sure you set it free in a good spot.  Not on the road.

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King Cobras

King Cobras get 18 feet long and that is a very big snake.

They are found in India.  The heaviest one ever found was 28 pounds.  They use their tongue to smell.


The Cobras name means "snake eater".  It can kind of stand up.  It is the only snake in the world to make a nest for its young.  The King Cobras hood is its ribs.  It can move them UP!  They have the biggest venom sacs in the world which can hold up to two teaspoons of venom each.  That is enough to kill 20 men or women.  Do not go near one.  It is not worth it.  You can die in minutes.

The hiss is not a hiss - it is a growl.  If you encounter a King Cobra, the best thing to do is to throw a hat on the ground and slowly get out of there.







The main thing that a King Cobra has to look out for, though, is the MONGOOSE!  Check out the video below...

MYTH BUSTER

NOT ONE SNAKE IS POISONOUS!  THE ONES YOU THINK OF AS POISONOUS ARE REALLY VENOMOUS.  DO YOU KNOW THE DIFFERENCE?

Komodo Dragons

Komodo Dragons are found on Komodo Island in Indonesia.  

They can get to 10 feet.  They are the biggest type of lizard in the world.  

They are one out of the two types of poisonous lizards.  

The other one is the Monitor Lizard, which is in the same family.  

They are the only lizards to hunt in packs.  They eat deer and carrion.

Because it is an Island, they will run out of food, so they will eat HUMANS!

Komodo Dragons were originally found in 1910, not that long ago.  the people

who lived on the island call them "Ora".  That means "Land Crocodile".

Its tongue is yellow.  They are practically deaf, but they have great smell. 

Since they have great smell, they go into human grave yards and dig up the bodies.  

So the humans of Komodo Island have to bury their dead relatives in clay and under  piles of rocks.

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Alligators

Alligators are deadly.










They are found in swamps in Florida, Louisiana and China.

They can rip your head or arm off in a second.    

  

Alligators are from dinosaur times.  They were huge and some got to like 50 feet long back then.  They could even eat small dinosaurs.  Back then, alligators were huge and crazy and if we had those in the present time, we wouldn't live long.  

In the present day, if one gets your arm and you try to get out, it will do something called the "death roll".  What the death roll is:  It will grab you and spin in the water.  You will drowned.

There are some people who play with them.  This means that they will stick their arm or head in the alligators mouth.  As soon as you touch the inside of its mouth, it will slam shut.  This technique is used to catch fish, so when the fish is swimming and it goes into the alligators mouth, the alligator will slam down on the fish. You don't want that to be your leg.

Some crazy people have them as pets.  Do not get one as a pet unless you are crazy.  They are meant to be wild.

That's it.