Dog VS Cats

About 70 - 80 million dogs and 74 - 96 million cats are owned in the U.S. However, 30% - 37% of households are cat owners and 37% - 47% are dog owners. Now this actually makes sense to me. Cats populate the U.S. tremendously more then dogs do, but at the same time it is apparent that more households are dog lovers then cat lovers. Most people who have cats have more then one, which explains why the cat population is probably more significant then the dog population.
I fit into the stereotypical house of dog lovers. I own a beautiful dark sable German Shepherd named Caesar and he is by far my best friend (see I do not just love reptiles).

My Caesar boy

 So because I am a dog lover let me give you my biased opinion why dogs are better then cats and then I will get down to statistics.
My first reason would be that whenever I get out of bed or get home from  a long day the first living, loving face I see is my big boy Caesar. Now most people have a connection with their dogs and even though my Shepherd acts like a doof sometimes me and him have an understanding of each other. He knows when I am annoyed, tired, happy, or sad. He usually tries to brighten my day up, and I admit no matter how miserable my day was he is pretty good at putting a smile on my face.
Now my family does own some cats.... Scratch that I know some cats that own part of my family. From my experience the only time a cats wants a humane is for food, comfort, or for any other form of self gain. They meow and meow and meow and trust me I like cats they are furry and well friendly when they have to be, but cats have an arrogance about them that some people adore and thinks its the cutest thing ever, and well that's great, for them.

Cats and dogs really one is no better then the other it is all about personal preference. However studies have taken place where it proves that dogs actually love their owners more then cats. When mammals love something like their partner or offspring their brain releases a chemical in their brain similar to a chemical humans release when they love someone. This chemical is oxytocin. Now when tested cats did release this chemical but their blood pressure rose only about 12%. Normally the blood pressure is risen much more then this (usually between 40% - 60%). When dogs were tested their pressure rose to around 50%. Obviously this shows that the dogs love their owners more then cats when it come to interaction with chemical levels.
I know you cat lovers probably hate this and that's okay, because honestly I am sure you and your cat have a very special connection unlike any other relationship between a human and animal.
Its not fair to say dogs are smarter then cats. Cats have a much different life style then dogs do. However, dogs are known to do many miraculous things, such as herding sheep, working in the military, search and rescue, police force, personal aids, hunting, and many other forms of mental and aerobic training. Cats however are much different, they still have a predator approach to life. Pouncing and sleeping and just doing what they can to survive and do it with comfort. They dont really exert themselves. They can learn pattern and routine like most animals, and they enjoy company and companionship, like most animal.
Love your cats all you want they make good peaceful companions and go out there and play with your dog. Because honestly one is no better then the other when it come down to the furry friend that means the most to you.

Here are my info links:
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2014/04/cat_intelligence_and_cognition_are_cats_smarter_than_dogs.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/03/12/its-finally-proven---scientists-test-whether-cats-or-dogs-love-u/
http://www.aspca.org/animal-homelessness/shelter-intake-and-surrender/pet-statistics

The Blue Giant

It would only makes sense that the biggest animal in the world is also the strongest. The blue whale is an ancient mammal that dwells in the great blue sea.

https://www.google.com/search?q=blue+whale&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS709US709&espv=2&biw=1706&bih=792&site=webhp&source=lnms&tbm=
isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj_4ZOVrL3PAhXINx4KHczbBCgQ_AUIBigB&dpr=2.25#imgrc=dLJAXKjKeWvkTM%3A

 The blue whales(Balaenoptera musculus) rule the oceans; they travel through all the oceans and migrate north and south for breeding and feeding.

http://173.210.1.82/Activities/Perini/Emily%20Brawer%20Website%20Blue%20Whale/lives.htm

During the summer years they will migrate down south. When it gets to cold and time comes for winter they move towards the equator, this then brings the time of breeding. A blue whale calf will spend about a year in their mothers womb when they are finally born they follow their mother around for milk for about a year. These calves will live an average life span of 80 - 90 years, and grow to an estimation of 200 tons and a length of about 100 feet. These whales will travel in pairs or small groups and communicate to each other with moans and groans these noises also assist hem in navigating the ocean. A blue whale can hear another blue whales calls from hundreds of miles away.

To hear what a blue whale kind of sounds like check out this link: http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/acoustics/whales/sounds/sounds_whales_blue.html

Blue whales are very strong mammals they are the strongest mammals in the world capable of maximum forces of 60 kN! These whales get all their energy from krill which they gulp up and then filter in between their fine plated teeth.

These teeth are obviously not used for crushing animals or shredding but for only filtering.
 (https://www.google.com/search?q=blue+whale+teeth&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS709US709&espv=2&biw=1706&bih=792&)

These ocean mammals are beautiful creatures and provided much oil in the early 1900s. However, unfortunately conservation was not a big priority 100 years ago. In the early 1900s there was an estimation of 300,000 blue whales in the world. Today the population varies from 10,000 - 25,000 and is slowly rising. Blue whale however like most whales are in several accidents and have caused several injuries too humans, this is mostly because observers accidentally get tied up with whale pods or groups while observing and ships often capsize or sink do to whale running or jumping by and into them. Few scuba divers have accidentally gotten too close to blue whales while observing and have been knocked unconscious by their huge massive tails.

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/blue-whale/

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/explainer/2013/12/do_whales_kill_people_photos_show_them_lurking_under_whale_watching_boat.html

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150529-the-strongest-whale-in-the-world

Don't Snuggle To Close With These Furry Friends

Talking about animals in the herpetology field is super interesting, however, there are a lot more other interesting animals to talk about. Usually when people think of mammals they think about those cuddly cats and dogs. Personally I am a dog person... scratch that I am a snake person, but I do enjoy working with pretty much any living creature, including my dog. Dogs and cats are great companions. Mammals are probably the most popular type of animals, because people find them cute and cuddly. Unfortunately because of this people domesticate animals that are not made for pets. Many times this leads to invasive species (such as parakeets and ball pythons in Florida)or ends up badly for the animals health. I am by far not against having pets or domestic animals. I do think that people should not take care of anything living creature unless they truly know what they are doing.
So because of all that it should be clear that I am not talking about your fury friendly, cuddly mammals. I am talking about wild mammals. Mammals that have the unique defenses of venom and poison and that has the potential to make your life a miserable one.
Usually people do not think of poison and venom being related to mammals but many animals have the unique mechanism to defend themselves from other predators. So lets make a small list on some specific unusual venomous mammals!

http://roaring.earth/venomous-shrew-defeats-snake/ ; http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news/Vampire-bat-venom-may-help-treat-stroke-victims/articleshow/20781388.cms ; http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/platypus/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2248049/New-species-slow-loris-jungles-Borneo.html

Venomous Mammals

1. Duck Billed Platypus -  the platypus contains venom barbs on their hind legs, which are connected to crural glands, that are capable of injecting venom. All juvenile platipi come from their eggs with these barbs, however the fully grown females drop these barbs unlike the males. The venom of the male platypus is somewhat still a mystery of scientist. Some scientist have found one of the main substances is heptapeptide 1, which main cause is producing excruciating pain by speeding up nerve responses. The venom of a platipus is not lethal to humans but does provide much much pain. This venom is similar to neurotoxins which snake from the elapidae family use. (check out my post on venomous snakes for more info)  https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/presspacs/2010/acs-presspac-january-13-2010/unlocking-the-mystery-of-the-duck-billed-platypus-venom.html
2. Desmodontinae - vampire bats! they contain anticoagulants (similar to some vipers) in their saliva that eats away at a wound for future feedings.
3. Shrews and moles - Cuban solenodon, Hisponiolan solenodon, Mederterranian water shrew, Eurasian water shrew, American short tailed shrew, Southern short tail shrew, Elliot's short tailed shrew, Everglades short tail shrew, and European male are some mammals that contain venom. Shrew venom is used to cache (store food) living insects. The venom shut down insects bodies and the shrew will collect them for the winter. Shrews inject blarina toxins through grooves in their teeth. This toxin is lethal for mice but for humans it just causes severe pain. It brings out convulsions, irregular resperation, and paralysis in small organisms such as mice. http://www.uniprot.org/uniprot/Q76B45
4. Slow loris - is the only venomous primate. the slow loris is a cute big eyed primate. In their armpit area they contain external glands that they lick to them a venomous bite. They will also tend to cover their foul smelling yet useful toxins onto their youngs to protect the juveniles from harm. Similar to a poison dart frogs poison the slow loris's venom is a batrachotoxin, which can be cardiotoxic and neurotoxic. Many people bitten by a slow loris face anaphylactic symptoms such as severe bleeding, vomiting, swelling, rashes, and even tissue decay. Oddly enough the slow loris is a very popular animal in the illegal pet trade.

Many venoms from these creatures are used to help people. Many medical advances have been accomplished from the neurotoxic like venom of the shrew, platipus, and slow loris. For example strong pain releivers and medicine for wrinkles. Vampire bat venom also is known for maybe being able to help assist stroke victims. 

Most mammals which secrete toxins usually are technically considered venomous not poisonous. Meaning that their toxic defense is often injected into the blood stream. Poison is not a popular defense mechanism with mammals. However if you are interested in the cause and affects of poison I encourage you took look at my previous post on Poison Dart Frogs.

Thanks for reading hope this was interesting and helpful! Feel free to leave a comment and drop some ideas for my future posts.

Amphibians and Their Defenses

Okay so yesterday I talked I talked about snakes and the ways they protect themselves and some of the other unique abilities they have to help them to survive in this big big world. Today were moving on to the other side of the herpetology world and are going to look at amphibians. Now when I went over snakes my goal was to hit on their main defensive mechanism, which is venom. For amphibians we are going to look at the popular mechanic of poison. This is going to lead us a very popular host of venom, which is the poison dart frog. However, for the record there are many other kinds of animals that are poisonous such as snails, fish, mollusks, and one snake (Asian Tigersnake).

The Asian Tiger snake is one example of a poisonous snake and is also venomous. They are in the class colubridae and receive their poison from toads they eat. For more info - (http://www.snakesoftaiwan.com/Rhabdophis%20tigrinus%20formosanus/species_rhabdophis_tigrinus.htm)

So the difference between venom and poison are quite simple. Venom must be injected to take affect, and poison can be ingested or injected or just pretty much absorbed in any way. For instance if I grab a poison dart frog in the middle of a rain forest. I would absorb the poisonous toxins from the frogs mucous-like skin and probably die if not come close to it. Venom, unlike poison, must be injected. So if I grab a king cobra and he spits venom onto my skin I would be fine (except for the fact that I should probably do something before the cobra spits ion my eyes or bites me). Now in the cobras venom would go into an open wound or if the cobra was to bite me then its neurotoxins would slowly start to shut down my body. 

However awesome venom may be! I already talked about it and encourage you to read my previous post about snakes and venom (Some Deadly Defenses). So poison is an awesome thing it affects your body in many ways. There are many different kinds of poisons that you can get from many hosts. The poison dart frog (Dendrobatidae) is the host of the day, however, because a certain family member of the poison dart frogs can kill 10 full grown men with a drop of poison. Batrachotoxin is the specific type of poison used in this frog. Like the neurotoxic venom of a snake this frogs poison damages the humans nervous system. The frog that contains this toxin is the golden poison dart frog.

The golden poison dart frog is the most toxic in the poison dart frog family. He is one of the three popular, lethal dart frogs towards humans.  (http://biologypop.com/poison-dart-frog/)

The poison dart frogs can be found in the South American Amazon. There it faces little predators that are willing to eat it yet alone get near it. However, the Fire-bellied snake is one predator of the poison dart frog. It is supposedly able to break dine the poisons to be able to digest the frog, but full grown poison dart frogs have been know to kill this snake even with this snake's ability to overcome the poison.
Poison dart frogs receive their poison from the insects they eat, such as ants and termites. Theses insects often get it from plants that they harvest. They are alkaloid-containing organisms. They receive their poison from another host, which receives it from an organic plant. (Alkaloid is specifically a nitrogenous compound) Poison dart frogs can specifically contain alkaloid and naturally will secrete it through their serous glands onto their skin.  This gives the poison dart frogs a mucous look along with their flashy, flagrant color. The reason scientist have come to the conclusion that poison dart frogs receive their toxins from other hosts is simply because, when in captivity the poison dart frog will not contain any alkaloids, when they are fed organisms which contain no alkaloid, but when they consume arthropods that do contain alkaloid they are then "poisonous". To simplify. A poison dart frog is only poisonous when fed certain poisonous arthropods.
Links that assisted me write this page: 1. http://www.lakeforest.edu/live/files/538-altoreviewpdf  2. http://biologypop.com/poison-dart-frog/

(For more information on some other poisonous cool amphibians such as: newts belonging to the genus taricha (which contain tetrodotoxins), the Mantella (look similar to poison dart frogs), and the invasive cane toad) check out these links: Cane  Toad
http://australianmuseum.net.au/cane-toad
Mantellahttp://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Frog-Amphibian-Species/Poison-Frogs-of-the-Genus-Mantella/
Taricha
http://amphibiaweb.org/species/4288

Feel free to comment for any questions! Or any ideas for my next articles.

Some Deadly Defenses 

So far I have been majorly hitting on the herpetology. I have been talking about some of my experiences with the reptiles I own, and then I hit on some things about amphibians and their amazing function of metamorphosis. So as many as you can guess from my title, we are going to look at some of the defenses of the herpetology world, and from there I am going to transition into some animals outside the herpetology world in my other articles.

First things every animal has a form of defense in some way. Second thing is most animals DO NOT ATTACK. Many animals that show signs of aggression simply are doing it in a defensive way. Whether they are protecting themselves or their territory or their family. 

Statistics very on deaths from reptiles and amphibians each year. Many places in the world, such as Africa have anywhere from 3,000 - 30,000 fatalities per year and that is just from venomous snakes. In America we have something like maybe 5 deaths per year from venomous snakes, so with those two in comparison we can obviously tell that most third world countries are in more danger of venom (this is due to the fact that it takes much longer to receive and get to antivenom in time). Venom is one of the most thought of defenses when people think of snakes, but actually the majority of snakes are harmless and contain no venom. Most snakes (especially in North America and Europe) are nonvenomous. However, like every animal these nonvenomous snakes still do have a defense. 

Many nonvenomous snakes still use venom to their advantage. For example we have the milk snake. The milk snake colors are very similar to the colors of a coral snake. If you want to separate these two snakes apart keep in mind: "Red on yellow kills a fellow, red on black venom lack" Milk snake however are not the only "copy cats" of the snake world. The scarlet kingsnake also has a similar color pattern to the coral snake.

Left - Scarlet Kingsnake (http://www.jeffpippen.com/herps/scarletkingsnake.htm); Middle - Coral snake (http://www.nature.com/news/snakes-mimic-extinct-species-to-avoid-predators-1.15397); Right - Milk snake (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_snake)

Oddly enough many people will get a harmless corn snake confused with a copperhead. I own a corn snake and do not seem to notice the similarity, but nevertheless the easiest way to tell a corn snake(colubridae) from a copperhead (viperidae). Is the viper like triangle head. 

Copperhead (notice the larger body, the "V" shape head, and fat body) (http://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/reptiles/snakes/northern-copperhead/northern_copperhead.php); Corn snake (http://www.thecornsnake.co.uk/corn_snake_photos.htm)

I believe you have about three or four main classes of snakes you should know: colubridae, viperidae, elapidae, and (then your constrictors) pythonidae and boidae. Colubridae or better known as your "colubrids" mostly consist of harmless snakes, such as my corn snake, western hognose, and kingsnakes. They have one or two venomous snakes. One being the Asian Tiger snake, which is both venomous and poisonous (there is a difference). The colubrids also consist of your rat snakes your garter snakes and pine snakes. The list goes on and on. Pretty much if it is not venomous it is probably a colubrid or in the constrictor families. Colubrids perform almost any action in self defense before biting. Some well shake their tails rapidly to try to sound like a rattlesnake. Others will hiss and pretend to strike by just hitting their snouts against whatever is bothering them. Western hognose snakes have an interesting tactic in where they can flatten their whole body in the same way a cobra will cape up. Many snakes spray musk and defecate to try to discourage predators and agitators.

 The two constrictor classes I mentioned previously (pythonidae and eunectes). Pythonidae is of course your family of pythons (ball pythons, reticulated pythons, burmese pythons, etc.) and the boidae family has your anacondas and boa constrictors. 

So onto the mechanics of venom, you have two main venom families viperidae and elapidae. Viperidae are your vipers. Snakes that fall within this family are moccasins, rattlesnakes, bushmasters, jumping pit-vipers, the cottonmouth, and etc. These vipers usually contain pits that act as heat receptors and make these snakes lethal when they are hunting their prey. These snakes can only inject so much venom at a given time. So when they bite out of self- defense many records show that they are dry bites, which mean they don't inject venom. Many of these snakes contain warnings and if you are careful you can avoid being bit by one of these snakes. Some people have in their minds that these snakes want to kill them. The foolishness in such an idea is wrong. Yes they have the potential to kill you but that does not mean they want to. They are more afraid of you then you are of them. To them your a big clumsy giant thats going to step on them. These snakes would much rather use their venom on prey such as mice, birds, amphibians, and other small reptiles and mammals. Most vipers,excluding the Mojav rattlesnake, have hemotoxins,which break done red blood cells, many have anticoagulants, which keeps your blood coagulating (clotting). Necrotising toxins are in most kinds of venom. They break down tissues and organisms.

Notice that the vipers are not the only venomous snakes with fangs. However, their fangs are alot more pronounced (http://www.prn.usm.my/old_website/mainsite/bulletin/2007/prn44.html)

Elapidae is a family of venomous snakes that inject their venom in a different way unlike two big long fangs like vipers have these snake contain venom sacks that often lie in their gums at the base of their teeth. Snakes in the elapidae family would be cobras, coral snake, mambas, the sea snakes, kraits, brown snake, and many other venomous snakes. Many of these snake contain neurotoxins, which are nasty. These affect the nervous system and can shut down any muscle in the human body, either by speading up nerve receptors or by creating a barrier in between nerve receptors. Spasms and respitory failures occur along with brain malfunctions and heart failure. Spitting cobras are popular in the family and are know of course for spitting their venom into the eyes of their prey or a predator. The world record king snake, which belongs to the family elapidae, is about 18 feet long. Snakes that cape up, such as the king cobra, can cape up to 1/3 their body length. So this world record cobra can cape up to 6 feet, which is about the height of an average person.

Thanks for reading I plan on hitting more details in the future I hope this increased your knowledge of venom and some of the snakes I mentioned. Next article will be on Poison. Poison and Venom are different! Thanks again. Feel free to subscribe and follow!

Metamorphosis and Cool Amphibians

http://animals.mom.me/develops-first-back-front-legs-frog-3440.html

Alright so lets think amphibians. Amphibian meaning "two lifed". "Two lifed" meaning metamorphosis that's right ladies and gents today metamorphosis is the discussion. Now some people beleive that metamorphosis is connected to evolution, which is an interesting idea, but honestly in metamorphosis we see no change of kind at all. We see one thing (a larvae) turning into another thing (an adult). We don't see any change of kind but rather a change in maturity. Tadpoles can't breed. I know big surprise there right! Metamorphosis can be categorized as many things such as: adaptation, maturing, a genetic cycle, a change in structure, and even just simply growth. You seen think of a tadpole as a fetus.

http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artnov04macro/mlchicken.html

They are both not fully developed they are both still growing and are both obtaining nutrients to grow. However, unlike a fetus a tadpole is more vulnerable to their surroundings such as elements and predators. Considering tadpoles live in the water it is very slim that they would ever starve to death considering they just simply graze on algae. The point I am trying to get across is that metamorphosis is in no way connected to evolution. Metamorphosis is simply just growth. In fact I would go out even farther and say it is not even micro evolution, but just simply growth. Because unlike micro evolution the genes of a tadpole turning into a frog have been constant as far as any historical science can record. Unlike Darwin's finches that adapted different genes after constant breeding, tadpoles will always try to turn into frogs no matter what you do to their surroundings. Now after several years a frog could adapt to their surroundings by maybe changing size or color, but still the genes of a tadpole will always try develop organisms to become a frog, unless mutation occurs, which in the case would probably end up killing the tadpole.

Now of course nature is always containing rule breakers to throw everything off balance. There are some species of frogs found in various parts of the world called Microhylidae. Now these frogs completely skip that tadpole step I was just talking about. So yes all tadpoles turn into frogs but thanks to these cool little guys not all frogs come from tadpoles.

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/microhylid-frog-with-eggs-high-res-stock-photography/128596109 (photo creds. too Michael McCoy) Here is a female guarding her eggs. For more info on these little guys check out this link: http://amphibiaweb.org/lists/Microhylidae.shtml

Okay so lets talk about salamanders real quick. So unlike frogs there is a variety of salamanders that stay aquatic through adulthood. Examples of these wood be Axolotls and Olms, which are are very interesting aquatic specimens (for more info on Axolotls check out this link: http://www.axolotl.org/tiger_salamander.htm) Now Olms also know as (Promius Anguinus) are very interesting because they are the only aquatic salamanders in Europe, which is pretty impressive. Now don't get me wrong all salamanders and newts are mostly aquatic in fact most amphibians are, but what I am talking about here is that these salamanders (Axolotl and the Olm) do not under normal circumstances lose their gills and gain lungs. Instead these two species keep their external gills and live their lives in the water. Other then that most salamanders mature in the same way frogs do. They hatch from a gooey egg and then have an aquatic like larvae stage and then mature into a permanent adult stage that consist on land.

  

Here is a picture of some Olms and an Axolotl, notise those external gills. http://cellularscale.blogspot.com/2012/02/you-cant-trust-your-receptors-smell.html --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axolotl

Now apparently there are ways you can get an axolotl to mature into a less aquatic salamander there rumors that you can introduce the axolotl to certain chemicals or to slowly remove the water in the axolotl's tank. I recommend you do not try to do this as it may end up killing the axolotl, but if you are curious how that exactly works then clibk on the first axolotl link that I posted. 

Well thats all I have for tonight guys! I hope you guys enjoyed this. I know I did! There is so much on metamorphosis that you can research on and i tried to touch on it as much as I could! So feel free to follow or subscribe and share the post with friends. Oh! and by the way check out this crazy video on axolotls!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxA0QVGVEJw

So you may hear them at night or see them while your fishing or while taking a casual walk. At night some of them can be found hunting for some bugs to munch on. They can be big they can small and have two stages of life. They have that moist, slimy skin. Thats right i said moist. MOIST. I know a lot of people who hate that word, but unlike the word "moist" dont hate these guys because they keep a lot of our bug population from being. well... over populated. If you are clueless and havent guessed what Im talking about then you should feel ashamed! Obviously we are going to be talking about amphibians! Actually no one is talking. I am writing and you are reading.
The ratio of amphibians to reptiles is about 3/4 which is pretty close actually. These two classes do make up the herpetology department that so many people know and love! However close these two classes may appear, they consist of some diverse and pretty amazing creatures, and they have quite different life styles and characteristics. Since so far I have been talking about reptiles, I guess the only way I could be a proper "herp" is to have a few articles, which will consist of today and tomorrow then later in the week I will discuss defensive traits that is mixed up and connected to the two classes.
Amphibians as I said before usually have two main stages in their life. In fact the word "amphibian" comes from the Greek language meaning "two lifed". Metamorphosis is the reason for the separate stages, and I will get detailed in exactly how that happens in my next article, so I digress. The first stage usually takes place in the water. This is the eggs hatching. The eggs of most amphibians are jelly like little bulbs. Some amphibians, such as most frogs, will lay their eggs in a jelly cluster or in strands among the edge of the water in algae or other plant life. When the eggs hatch the young amphibians will have gills and some type of aid in swimming. Tadpoles for example have a strong tail they wiggle to propel themselves forward. As you can see in the diagram below the tadpole eventually adapts to land where it then becomes a frog over a period of time and then will mature and lay eggs of its own. There are two man parts of a frogs life that is the tadpole phase (larval phase) and the frog phase (adult phase). Many species of frogs and toads grow in this way, although toads we know have lives that are more independent from water then frogs, and their skin structure is different then that of a frog.

Alright so lets move on from toads to salamanders, which get even better. Now I really want you to get this whole metamorphosis and amphibian "double life" idea in your head because that is a major factor in amphibians life and is something I found very amazing about them. As I said before I plan on talking about how the metamorphosis of an amphibian exactly works and why in my next article. So your salamanders are similar to the stages of a frog they have the larval and adult stages, however the salamanders external gills are easily seen. Newts are very similar to salamanders. Newts spend more of their time on dry land then most salamanders do and their bodies are shaped a bit sturdier then that of a salamander (not so much sluggish). So think about it this way, a salamander is to a newt, AS a frog is to a toad.

http://www.animalspot.net/salamander

So your Poison Dart frogs (which are wicked crazy and I will discus them later this week much more) are like this along with your African bull frogs (big looking dudes) and your Green and Gray tree frogs and your Cane toads and your Pacman frogs and your Fowlers toad and your American toad. You get the point yet? If its a toad or a frog its life cycle looks something like this.

• Image ID:317950838      
• Copyright: Kazakova Maryia
• http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?irgwc=1&utm_source=38919&tpl=38919-111120&id=317950838&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=Eezy%20Inc
• 
  

Amphibians like reptiles are cold blooded and when the weather gets cold many of them will hibernate in borrows or underwater. Some frogs, who aren't the best burrowers will actually find a safe crack or crevice and actually let their bodies freeze. They bodies do have a type of chemical reaction however that serves as an anti-freeze so the toad will just thaw out when Spring comes around, for example wood frogs in Alaska would do this.

So frogs hibernate in some pretty amazing ways but before i end this article I wanna talk about a cool salamander. I mean i personally like salamanders much more then frogs, but that's beside the point. So moving to warmer climates such as Japan we see the monsters of all salamanders, the famous Japanese Giant salamander.

http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2013/09/27/rare-giant-salamanders-bred-in-captivity/

So yeah the two lifed is pretty cool if I may say so myself. Visit my blog the rest of the week and see my other post about amphibians! Thanks for reading! Feel free to ask questions or subscribe! Thanks again!

For some extra info or to see where I received some of my information check out these links. Much of my information came from experience and schooling. 

Links: 

http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-alaskan-frozen-frogs-20140723-story.html

http://www.californiaherps.com/allfrogs.html

http://animals.mom.me/sequence-frogs-growth-3558.html

Okay so I am going to go off a whim here and talk about lizards today. Only because this just came up recently. So i have two leopard geckos and I love them. They are very dear to me. They both live in about a 40 gallon tank together and have seem perfectly content with each other, and that is because I have two females. Now if I had two males that would be a different story. Now you may be wondering how can you tell a male gecko apart from a female. Well it is actually fairly simple. Leopard geckos are as many may know dessert geckos. They live out in the Afghanistan areas and in parts of Asia. They do have tails that can come off when they feel threatened or stressed. So I warn you before you try seeing if your gecko is male or female make sure it is comfortable with being handled. Male leopard geckos will simply have preanal pores (there is a link at the bottom of the article to a useful website for further images). These pores are much, much harder to see on females if seen at all. The males will also have two bigger lumps in the postanal section (so where their tail and anal groove meet). These preanal pores are there for territorial purposes. A male leaves his scent to attract females and to alert other males that he is around and that he gets all the ladies. The bulges at the base of tails on males contain sexual organs most lizards have called, hemipenes (these bulges would sometimes be called hemipenal bulges). Leopard geckos are fascinating little land geckos. One interesting fact about them is that their gender is sometimes impacted when they are being incubated. Lower temps of incubation will lead to more females. Where as higher temps will lead to males. For details on this I will also provide a link.

Here is a picture of one of my females. notice if you look carefully you can see her "V" shaped preanal scales but no apparent pores, and she does not have as big as lumps (hemipenal bulges) below her anal like most males would.

Here are the links:

http://www.reptilecare.com/leopardgender.htm

http://www.geckodaddy.com/blogs/news/1727752-sexing-leopard-geckos

Many lizards are similar when it comes to identifying male or female, but here are a few explanations for other lizards just in case you know a friend or someone who may be interested.
(So maybe you have a bearded dragon or some other type of lizard you would like sexed well here is some advice.)

Bearded Dragons: many say that males tend to only flash a black beard. Well that way may work for some but the best way to see if it is actually a male or a female is to gently lift its tail and on its tail you will see either two bumps, one bump, or no bulge at all. If you see two bumps then your looking at two hemipenal bulges so you have a male. If you see one small bulge at the very base of the tale or none at all then you have a female
Monitors: once again a big give away is the hemipenal pores on males. for some species like the Savannah monitor, red dots are around the preanal area on females. Males also tend to distribute more territorial actions from time to time.
Chameleons:The males will within a few months of growth have a hemipenal bulge at the base of the tail. Females will be smooth. For most species males tend to be larger and most males contain tarsal spurs on their hinds legs ( look like barbs)
Iguanas: these guys have femoral pores on their hind legs and the males are very easy to tell apart from the females. They males contain very strong muscular jaws and they also contain several fat deposits in the head. Both of these factors add to the males bulkiness and size. opposed to the females who have a more narrow and lean head and body. Of course the females femoral pores are not near as significant as the males.
Chinese Water Dragons: So similar to the iguanas the males have more protruding femoral pores (similar to preanal pores only located in the hind legs.) the males on a chinese waterdragon, when fully grown, will have nice beautiful long spikes down their spine and have an easily seen bony, cartilage like vertebrae that should be easily seen. The females do not have as apparent vertebrae. Males a broader and bulkier look.
Other geckos: most geckos have sexual characteristics related to each other, such as the preanal pores and hemipenal bulges as i mentioned before. Many kinds of geckos have barbs that assist in breeding as well. Of course the males will have bigger barbs then the females. Males bodies and head are stouter and bulkier in shape and size
Hope the information helps all you lizard lovers out there! I have links at the bottom of the page where I obtained some of my information. So look for those hemipenal bulges they're the biggest give away, and feel free too comment below if you have any questions. I would be interested to know what kind of lizard you have and if I helped you identify it at all! Thanks feel free to follow and subscribe!

http://animals.mom.me/tell-difference-between-boy-girl-geckos-6735.html
http://www.triciaswaterdragon.com/sex.htm
http://www.greenigsociety.org/malefemale.htm
http://www.wikihow.com/Tell-if-a-Chameleon-Is-Male-or-Female
http://animals.mom.me/savannah-monitor-boy-girl-10592.html
https://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/sexing/

Okay so I promised some pictures of my western hognose set up today. Keep in mind, prepare your hognose about a week in advanced with as least stress as possible. For instance I keep my hognose in a dark enclosure. Not all the time but just for a week before I feed it.

As you can see it get pretty dark in its tank when covered.

Now since western hognose's have a basic diet of small amphibians. I usually scent mine with gecko or toad. You can get these sources usually online or from a local pet store. (I will add a link to an online source at the bottom). My Western hognose is very alert and active after being in the dark for awhile, and her territorial senses trigger when i open her tank. She will his and maybe even strike at the mouse when I put it in, which is a good sign. As long as she gets her mouth around it she will most likely eat.

As you can see she was very alert and intuitive right when I opened her tank.

So I did make her tank by myself with some wood and plexi glass so I will show you a picture of that below. Keep in mind im not saying this will work for any snake or any western hognose. This worked for me and I wouldnt be surprised if it worked for you. I struggled awhile before I finally found this technique. I was to the point where i was considering force feeding, but thankfully I found this technique. If you continue to have problems with a snake not eating and nothing you do works please see a vet or someone with experience! Especially before you try force feeding! You do not want to accidently harm your snake. Thanks for reading dont forget to check out that link below on some scented food supplies. Feel free to subscribe! 

http://www.backwaterreptiles.com/feeder-lizards-for-sale.html

Here is by self made tank every side is enclosed except for one, which is a glass slide out door.

Just something that was crossing my mind today. You see im just a nature fanatic in general. So I saw the skies were clear tonight, so i went star gazing. While I was out i saw the big dipper and Orion and some other constellations. What amazes me to think is just how idely dispersed the stars are. I mean to us they seem like no big deal, just stars, but next time you look at the sky just think about it. These stars are light years away from each other. Some of these stars are so far out that we could never reach them if we went on a voyage into space. It would take us so long to reach them that our bodies would physically not be able to last. For instance the North Star is about 323 light-years away. Meaning that we would be long dead before you even reach half the length of getting there. The massive gas balls are way out into oblivion, and its amazing to think how great and broad our universe is. The Milky Way now is about 100,000 light years across so we are talking just massive distances. There is an estimated 100 billion - 400 billion stars in the Milky Way. So lets put this to scale. So I read up some articles obviously I didnt get this info by doing all these calculations, because honestly im no astronomer. Calculations have been made, however that in comparison if the earth was a grain of salt the Milky Way would be about 5.1 MILLION miles! just baffeling! I ask you check out the links on where I obtained some info. My full respect goes out to the astronomers and their amazing work. The galaxy and all it contents is an amazing thing. Feel free to comment or subscribe!

https://www.spaceandintelligence.com/index.php/space-exploration/188-milky-way-s-central-bar-stirs-in-stars-like-a-candy-floss-mixer

(Image Credit: The COBE Project, DIRBE, NASA) http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/features/cosmic/milkyway_info.html

https://blogs.nrao.edu/askanastronomer/2012/09/09/relative-sizes-of-the-earth-and-the-milky-way-galaxy/
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/12/121204-north-star-distance-closer-solar-system-space-science/
http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/features/cosmic/milkyway_info.html
http://asd.gsfc.nasa.gov/blueshift/index.php/2015/07/22/how-many-stars-in-the-milky-way/

First things first welcome to my blog, and thank you for reading. This is my first blog and i dont have to much time to write right now so let me get straight to the point. Western hognose snakes is the subject mainly because i own one and have had some issues with mine. Dont get me wrong shes a sweet heart but like many western hognose snakes she was shy on eating. So heres some info if you have a shy snake give them time to get used to their knew enclosure if they are in one and try to make their knew enclosure as least stressful as possible. For example i put my hognose in complete darkness for about a week before feeding her. This relaxes her but also helps her develop a more territorial trait that can be found in almost any snake. So after about a week of darkness for my snake ill open up her tank and put a dead mouse in along with some scent of a toad or gecko. (Western hognoses eat toads in the wild).Well i have to go hope this post may be helpful for those snake lovers out there! I will post some pictures of my western hognose set up tomorrow! thanks for reading! Feel free to ask me any questions and subscribe!