Ok, so this weeks post is going to serve a couple of purposes, 1. Is to tell all you folks out there that there will be a new person posting the blog entries, so things may look a little different and bare with us if anything doesn’t work properly and 2. To tell you that this week our teachers have been spreading the knowledge all about nocturnal creatures. We do this every year at this time to tie in to the wonders of Halloween.

As you can imagine there is a treasure trove of learning to be delved into concerning nocturnal animals and their adaptations to life in the dark. We will be teaching all about the super senses that nature has equipped the night dwellers with such as improved sight and hearing, as well as a keen sense of touch. Finding out that lots of nocturnal animals come from very warm countries and they sleep, hidden away, during the hot daytime and come out at night to hunt and forage for food. Learning how some animals try to avoid certain predators by only being active in the dark and conversely how nature has also made quite a few specialized nocturnal predators as well.
The picture above is of one of our Green Tree Pythons (Morelia or Chondropython viridis) These snakes are almost entirely nocturnal and arboreal (lives in the trees). They are equipped with special pits along their lips that are heat sensitive. These act like infrared vision, allowing them to ‘see’ their prey by its body heat, they can detect changes in temperature of as little as a 100th of a degree. This is very handy when you are trying to catch a rat, bird or bat while hanging from a branch in the middle of the night.

So, Happy or Spooky Halloween to you all. Have a safe and fun time Trick or Treating.

Here are some more of Tree Frog Treks nocturnal creatures.

Another Green Tree Python (Morelia or Chondropython viridis)

A Whites Tree Frog (Pelodryas caerulea)

A Tokay Gecko (Gekko gekko)

Photo Credit: Ross Beswick

The Western Toad is widely distributed throughout the western United States. The subspecies Bufo boreas halophilus is found from California to Baja California and the subspecies Bufo boreas boreas is found from Alaska down through California to New Mexico. These toads can live at a variety of elevations from sea level up to 7,370 feet in the Steens Mountains in Oregon.

Western Toads live in habitats ranging from mountain meadows to desert flats. They are most commonly found around marshes and small lakes.

Western Toads have dry bumpy skin, two horny tuberoles on their hind feet, distinct oval paratoid glands, and horizontal pupils. They range in color from reddish-brown to gray to olive green. They have a cream-colored stripe that runs down the middle of their back and their underside is yellow or cream color with dark blotches.

Western Toads will eat many kinds of insects, such as moths, beetles, and crickets. We have six Western Toads at Tree Frog Treks: Clark, Mr. Bufo, Eenie (newly morphed and featured above), Meenie, Minie, and Moe.

Stop by next Thursday to learn about more Bay Area natives!

Pacific Tree Frogs range all along the West Coast from British Columbia to Baja and inland as far as Idaho. Most are found in native scrubs near a water source and vary in color from dark brown to bright green. (Interesting fact: The green frogs can sometimes turn brown in color but the brown frogs cannot turn green.) As tadpoles, these frogs eat mostly algae but sometimes their smaller siblings or bugs. As adults they are entirely insectivores.

We have two Pacific Tree Frogs at Tree Frog Treks named Capp and Mish. These two were raised in a local backyard in the Mission District from tadpoles fro the first few months of life. They were descended from the population that was rescued from an engineering yard here in the city. This population has been living here at least 100 years. Capp and Mish both morphed in 2008 and their sexes are unknown.

Related “Know Your Natives” Posts:
Pacific Gopher Snakes
Spadefoot Toads

Hi Casey,
I love all of our animal ambassadors at Tree Frog Treks but if I have to choose my favorite it would be Julie the Burmese Python. Julie is a real sweetheart and has been with us for over 6 years. She was donated to us by an Elk Grove California Montessouri School teacher in 2003. Her son raised Julie and then went into the air force. He used to water her on their front lawn and was well known in the neighborhood. Check out the video below to learn more about her.

GET OUT and GET DIRTY!
Sincerely,
Mr. Science (a.k.a. Chris Giorni)

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Pacific Gopher Snakes range from Oregon continuing south through western and central California to Santa Barbara County. They are generally straw or straw gray in color. Their dorsal blotches are dark to chocolate brown with their sides generally brown or gray. Their ventral sides may be cream-colored to yellow with dark spots.

These snakes inhabit dry sandy pine-oak woodlands, cultivated fields, prairies, open brush land and rocky desert chaparral. They are generally diurnal but become more nocturnal during the summer months in the warmer parts of their range. They often hide in mammal or tortoise burrows and under rocks or logs.

Tree Frog Treks has five Pacific Gopher Snakes. Speedy (see above image) was found with two of his peers on the runways of the San Francisco Airport. He was rescued by firemen and kept at the station until they donated him to us. Speedy was born in 2003.

Stop by next Thursday for information on another Bay Area native plant or animal!

]]> http://www.treefrogtreks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=674 2 http://www.treefrogtreks.com/blog/?p=657 http://www.treefrogtreks.com/blog/?p=657#comments Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:51:06 +0000 Tree Frog Treks! http://www.treefrogtreks.com/blog/?p=657 Dear Mr. Science,
How did you get all of your animals? Do you take care of them all? Blondie is my favorite!
Sabrina, age 8

Hi Sabrina,
This is a great question! All of our animals were either donated to us and/or rescued. Blondie the Albino Burmese Python was actually donated to us by a couple of teenagers who started a reptile boarding business. One of their clients, Blondie’s owner, dropped her off and never returned. The teens decided to donate her to us. Blondie has been with us for 3 years and is a great addition to our program. Other animals were donated by schools, former Tree Frog Treks students, by the San Francisco Fire Department, the Zoo, and by pet stores who went out of business.

Ross, our Animal Care Director, takes care of all of our animals. He has been employed with us for over 7 years feeding, maintaining, and caring for all of Tree Frog Treks creeping crawling critters. He also leads our quarterly “Animal Care Internship Program.”

I hope you enjoy the video below!

Cheers,
Mr. Science (a.k.a. Chris Giorni)

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It appears that our beloved sea lions that lay along the docks at Pier 39 have disappeared. Reports state that just one month ago there were a record number, 1, 500, at the pier and now they are gone. Scientists say that they are migratory and probably left to find a food source.

The sea lions moved to Pier 30 after the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. Let’s hope they come back soon, we will keep you posted!

For more information on this story and to watch a video, please click here.

]]> http://www.treefrogtreks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=607 0 http://www.treefrogtreks.com/blog/?p=570 http://www.treefrogtreks.com/blog/?p=570#comments Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:38:58 +0000 Tree Frog Treks! http://www.treefrogtreks.com/blog/?p=570 Scientists discovered an octopus that collects, stacks and transports coconut shells to use as portable armor. See for yourself!

]]> http://www.treefrogtreks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=570 0 http://www.treefrogtreks.com/blog/?p=285 http://www.treefrogtreks.com/blog/?p=285#comments Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:35:34 +0000 Tree Frog Treks! http://www.treefrogtreks.com/blog/?p=285

Buddy the Green Iguana (1998-2009)

Buddy touched all of us at Tree Frog Treks. Here are some words from Director, Chris Giorni, about Buddy and the time she spent with our company:

Buddy came to Tree Frog Treks in 2000 as one of our first animal ambassadors. She was in a small glass aquarium, without proper lights and probably too cold when she was rescued. It was a next door neighbor in Placerville, who had just had a baby girl and could not take care of both Buddy and his new daughter. Buddy was a sweetheart from the start. I remember meeting her for the first time and saying “Hey little Buddy” and the donor told me – “That’s her name, Buddy”. We were friends from the start. She was a little smaller than normal because she did not get enough sun when she was young, but she had a big heart. She spent her formative years with Midas the Iguana, living together in his deluxe three story metal enclosure. When Buddy and Midas reached maturity we separarted them to keep buddy safe from Midas’ advances.

Buddy will be greatly missed. She was the Diva of Tree Frog Treks. She helped create the Animal Ambassador Program as it is today – with the mantra ” Be a stick or a stone and let the animals roam” being largely based on her relaxed personality. In her ten years with us she must have met over 75,000 children, all of whom loved her at first glance. Many of the children still call on us and ask “How is Buddy?” – years and years later. Buddy was the kindest, nicest, gentlest Iguana that any of us here at Tree Frog Treks have ever met. She would sit on your lap, ride on the dashboard of the car enjoying the sun on the way to a program (watch out when she crawled down to the floor boards – because an Iguana poop was sure to follow in short order), eat out of your hand and in her early days she would roam freely in the house taking up residence on the warm top of the mac computer monitor at Nicole’s house.

Thank you Buddy for everything: for making instant friends with anyone you met, for helping us work together to save, preserve and maintain our home and for being such a wonderful, friendly, Buddy.

We will miss you greatly.
Mr. Science

(Feel free to leave your own memories of Buddy in the comments section of this blog entry)

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Name and Personal History: Squiggles was placed for adoption on Craigslist. We contacted the owner and he donated her to our program. Squiggles is approximately three years old as of 2009.

Native Habitat: Asian Water Dragons range throughout South-East Asia; however, most imported animals come from Thailand, Vietnam, China, and Zaos, Burma, and India.

Environment: Asian Water Dragons’ favored habitat are trees and bushes that grow next to permanent bodies of water. As their name would suggest, they are completely at home in an aquatic environment.

Physical Characteristics: Asian Water Dragons are strong swimmers and have specially adapted scales on their feet that are enlarged to help push them through the water. Their tails are slightly laterally compressed which also helps to propel them through the water like a paddle. They have the ability to change the color of their skin to help in both camouflage and thermoregulation. For example, the darker in color they are the more warmth they can absorb.

Diet: Asian Water Dragons are carnivorous, eating a variety of invertebrates such as crickets, beatles, and spiders. They will also gladly consume small lizards, rodents, and fish if they are able to catch them.

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