The Animals of Environmental Education

Great Horned Owl Bubo virginanius “Aldo” is 28 yrs. Old, imprinted male life expectancy over 40 years in capivity Note the facial disk, feathered feet, blunt wings, talons. head will swivel 270 degrees

Great Horned Owl Eyeballs as large as ours, fixed visual acuity 100X ours in dim light. (5-7 X in normal light) B & W vision only. hear animal sounds at 1/4 mile. No sense of smell Aldo is an imprint. Great horns are crepuscular.

Chinchilla Thick furred Andean member of the rodent order. Needs occasional dust baths to keep fur clean 60 hairs per folicle ranched for their fur thin ribs, hold by the tail

Guinea Pig No longer classed as rodents bred for food in tropics can live without water if fed vegetables also called cavy require little attention and care to keep them happy We currently don’t have one

African Pygmy Hedgehog very popular exotic pet insectivore, will also rob ground bird nests. live 3-5 years nocturnal cannot shoot quills which are glued hairs will jump or twitch to poke a predator with quills

Rabbit not a rodent, a lagamorph lagamorphs are rabbits, hares and pikas originally from Southern Europe and North Africa live in “warrens” except cottontail

Gerbil originally a desert dweller one of the least likely to bite rodent pets elongated back legs good hopping and jumping ability live in dry, sandy, or sparsely vegetated areas of Africa and Asia

Rats belong to the largest family of rodents responsible for more deaths than any other animal raised for snake food, owl food nocturnal

Mice small domesticated rodent raised for snake food important as a research animal

Zebra Finches Most common of the society finches Sexual dimorphism, males more brightly colored Often used to study social structure, organization

Cockatiel originally from Australian interior great whistler, poor talker males more brightly colored numerous breeds, found in parrot order. diet of nuts and seeds, approximately 8 in. tall, life expectancy yrs.

California King Snake king snakes are so named because they eat other snakes many are lizard eaters as well very popular pet snake banded and striped phases Maximum 4 feet after a good meal it can go several more months without any food immune to the venom of other snakes

Rosy-Haired Tarantula arachnid, spider, primitive wandering spiders most common pet tarantula females live up to 20 years males only 1 year covered with utricating (irritating) hairs All spiders are venomous but only two local ones are dangerous

Leopard Gecko docile, easy to handle, captive bred segmented tail nocturnal insectivore

Piranha carnivore, not as dangerous as portrayed evolved from fin-nipper parasites razor sharp teeth 15 different species, this is a red-bellied.

W. Painted Turtle formerly sold as pets by the 1000s source of salmonella males with long front claws for courtship basking turtle carnivore/omnivore

Red-eared Slider Chrysemys scripta red or yellow patch behind eye most common local pond turtle also called pond slider strong swimmers

Sulcata Tortoise “Jackson” is only 14 years old 3rd largest species in the world from sub-saharan africa

Bull Snake Largest snake in KS Keeled scales, grow to 6 ft plus Habitat is open grassland, open woodland and edge. hiss and bluff, won’t usually strike Diurnal Primarily a rodentivore, will take birds/eggs worth over $1000 to a farmer in less rat damage

Bearded Dragon Native of Australia Common pet lizard, grow to by 2 feet in length carnivore/omnivore that will eat prepared food

Plated Lizard Native of the Sudan Gentle, easy to raise lizard Member of the race-runner lizard family, fold along the body is distinctive

Fire-bellied Toad From Asia The warning coloration on the belly indicates it is distasteful Not toxic to us like a poison arrow frog would be

Corn Snake Named because of the pattern on the belly, or habit of haunting corn cribs, not necessarily found in corn fields Good climber, member of the rat snake family

Ball Python Small member of python family Also called Royal Python Curls in a ball when threatened Native to India

Tiger salamander Found state-wide hibernate and estivate state amphibian

Veiled Chameleon Also called the Yemen Chameleon Life span is 5-8 years Insectivore Feet adapted for arboreal lifestyle Eyes move independently Tongue length can equal body length

White’s Tree Frog Also the Australian Green Tree Frog or Dumpy Tree Frog Native of N. Australia and New Guinea Life span to 16 years Easy to handle Color from light blue to emerald green Not threatened or endangered

Pineapple Green-cheeked Conure One year old Small, curious, member of parrot family Native to South Am. Forests of Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina Life span years Flocks of 20-30, fruit and grains in wild Endangered in wild

Dumeril’s Boa Only large snake of Madagascar Ours was donated with a stumpy tail a threatened species because of habitat destruction, easily captive bred

Scarlet King Snake Or Milk snake Bright colors are warning coloration

Xenopus African Clawed frog Have been released and become a pest in places

Blue-tongued Skink Native of Australia Diurnal omnivore Tongue is a defense mechanism

Marine Toad Have become a pest in non-native habitats One variety is called the cane toad Most widespread sp. Of toad

Hermit Crab Common crustacean pet Use snail shells for home Change shells as they grow Can give a painful pinch

Ring-necked Dove African native Feed young with crop milk Close relative of the pigeon

Degu From the other side of the Andes Mts. as the chinchilla Take dust baths like the chinchilla

Parakeet Also called budgerigars Native of Australia

Iguana Common green iguana Iguana iguana “chicken of the trees” common food in Central America was endangered but rescued by breeding programs will dive from trees into water to escape a predator up to 6 feet long (mostly tail) 700 species they are a source of salmonella Vegetarian Poor pet because they grow too large

Ferret Domesticated European Polecat domesticated 300 BC - Egypt member of the weasel family brought to America for rodent control very strong musk glands, flexible back bone predator, preys on mice

Mexican Red-kneed Tarantula Most popular tarantula pet Extremely docile and unlikely to bite Formerly common in desert SW Now a threatened species because of collectors. We currently do not have one