We don’t often talk about reptiles here at Talk2theAnimals. So today we’re going to change things up with some trivia. The following facts were gleaned from Reptile Knowledge and the Smithsonian National Zoological Park. Here are some fun facts about reptiles for your viewing pleasure:
- Reptiles are ectothermic, meaning they get their body heat from external sources. They cannot regulate their body heat internally like warm-blooded animals do. Picture a lizard sunning himself on a rock.
- About 2/3 of the world’s snakes are actually non-venomous. Only about 500 species are venomous. In the United States, only rattlesnakes, copperheads, cottonmouths, and coral snakes are venomous.
- Though most reptiles do not like the cold, the Blandings turtle can be found swimming under the ice in America’s Great Lakes.
- There are about 8,240 species of reptiles, living on every continent in the world except Antarctica (only because it’s too cold!).
- Some turtles and tortoises can live to be over a 100 years old.
- Chameleons actually do not change their skin to match their surroundings–they are naturally camouflaged to their surroundings, in most cases to look like trees. They change their skin in limited ways, like lightening and darkening the color. But these changes are linked to emotional changes or temperature regulation.
- The scales of all snakes and many lizards are made of the same substance that makes up human fingernails and hair.
- When in danger, some species of geckos use their tails as bait to lure the enemy in, and when the attacker bites down, the gecko will detach its tail and escape.
- Reptiles are the oldest animals on the planet. Turtles have been on the planet for more than 200 million years.
- While most snakes lay eggs, 1/5 of all snakes bear live young, like the rattlesnake.
Harmony,
Janet Roper
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