Chameleons

Chameleons are reptiles, which means they are cold blooded and have scaly skin.  The Chameleon is a lizard, which means he has a elongated body with four legs and a tail.

Chameleons have a unique foot structure that gives them excellent mobility when walking on a branch but lousy mobility when walking on a flat surface.  The appendage at the end of the Chameleon's limb features fused toes so that the animal has the appearance of only two or three tong-like fingers.   Chameleons move slowly.  You might say they do a good sloth impersonation.  It is believed that to their prey, the Chameleon looks like a dried leaf moving in the breeze.  With that sort of camouflage, changing color seems unnecessary.

Speaking of changing color, the Chameleon does change color.  Apparently the color change is effected by both the environment and the animal's state of mind.  If sitting in bright light, the Chameleon is likely to become darker.  A Chameleon at rest is usually wearing his lightest hue.  When ready to mate, both male and female sport distinct coloration.

Very solitary and territorial, the Chameleons only get together at breeding time.  Males appear at the edge of a receptive female's territory and do battle.  These contests involve hissing, inflated body posturing, pushing, shoving, biting and head butting.  The vanquished male turns black and retreats.



Some Chameleon Facts

-  more than 85 species

-  range in size from less than an inch to two and a half feet long

-  they have a sticky tongue that is longer than their body.  The tongue is used to catch prey similar to a frog.

-  most have prehensile tails which are kept coiled when not in use

-  their two eyes are situated on turrets that allow them to see in all directions, each eye independently

-  they do not seem to have keen hearing.  There is no external auditory membrane.

-  diet:  bugs, small birds, mammals and reptiles

-  the designated sleeping area is adorned with spit to mark the spot

-  some species lay eggs (the young are born with an egg tooth), some species live birth.  The size of the clutch varies from 14 to 120


Keeping Chameleons as pets is challenging.  They require a vast assortment of food, mostly insects.  A monotonous diet often leads to refusal to eat.  Chameleons don't drink from a water dish but from moisture off of leaves, thus, frequent misting is necessary.  In addition, the temperature requirements of many species require daily variations to mimic their natural habitat.  Even when given very attentive care, a captive Chameleon rarely lives longer than two years.



See a nice picture.  See another nice picture.

King Zack

Zacharia is twenty-two years old. In snake years, that's senior citizen. Snakes aren't gifted with keen eyesight, even so, for the past few years, let's just say Zack has needed glasses. Only yesterday he tried to eat his own tail. Seriously.

Kingsnakes, like Zacharia, are what you might call "easy keepers". They are mellow enough to tolerate, maybe even enjoy, handling. As long as you maintain temperature in the range of 76 to 85 degrees, provide water, a place to hide, some light and some food, the snake should do well.


Kingsnakes are of the Family Colubridae. This is the largest of the snake families (subdivision of the suborder Serpentes). Colubridaes are mostly harmless snakes, that is, not very many are venomous or are likely to hurt you.

The group is quite varied to include burrowing snakes, constrictors, nocturnals, aquatics and so on. These snakes are considered "common" or "typical" in their snakeness. They are slender bodied and agile. (In contrast, the Boa Constrictor and the Anaconda are of the Family Boidae. These snakes are thicker in build and generally much longer in length.)

Kingsnakes are medium sized, three to six feet in length. The King designation is because of the not so insignificant fact that Kingsnakes are tough. They can, and do, overpower and eat Rattlesnakes.


The Kingsnake is a constrictor, which means they kill their prey by wrapping their body around the quarry and squeezing. The constriction doesn't crush the animal but with slow and steady pressure makes it impossible for the prey to expand their lungs to breathe. This of course, causes death. Then the snake swallows the victim whole.






Snakes are lovely pets: low maintenance, attractive, a joy to hold- literally. No, snakes are not slimy (unless it's an Anaconda fresh from a swim and only a crazy person would keep a pet snake big enough to eat you).

Once a Kingsnake is accustomed to being handled he usually is gentle and enchanting. When handled, Zacharia moves slowly along and coils around my hand or arm, his strength and beauty on display. The only time Zack doesn't appreciate being handled is just after he eats, mostly because he is sort of lumpy after swallowing five mice.

Because Zacharia was captive born, he's never had to hunt down and constrict critters for his meals. As a baby snake, he was fed dead baby mice. As he grew, the size of the rodent meal grew too. Zack the adolescent snake, ate baby rat. As an adult, he eats adult mice, five at a time about once a month.
How do you know when he's hungry? He stops pooping. Honestly. It takes some weeks for a snake to digest. And no, I don't catch mice in my garage and slit their little throats to feed my snake. It's all very civilized. Frozen mice are available for purchase at the local pet store. When it's time to feed, the mice sit in a pretty bowl till they thaw out. Then I drop them into Zack's cage and hang around till he's swallowed all the mice to be sure he doesn't accidentally swallow his own tail.





Recommended reading:
"The General Care and Maintenance of Common Kingsnakes" by David Perlowin
"The Book of Snakes" by Thomas Leetz

http://www.desertusa.com/magfeb98/feb_pap/du_kingsnake.html