Lizards :
What is this thing called a lizard ?
It looks like a mini- dragon with long legs, a long tail and those sharp claws. Boy, lizards can look really scary!
But, lizards are not mini- dragons. Some lizards have long legs because they have to run fast to catch the bugs that they eat. Some long legged lizards can even run on water like the Basilisk lizard from South America.
Most lizards have long tails for balance and some lizards can use their tails as an extra hand to hold on to tree limbs that they might climb on. Some lizards have very sharp claws to dig in the dirt to make a tunnel to sleep in and to find buried bugs that might make a tasty snack. Some lizards grow only a few inches and only live for a year or two. Some lizards grow to be five or six feet long and can live to be fifty years old. Skink lizards, hardly have any legs at all and they can swim through the deep sand where they live. Green Anole lizards can change colors from brown to green and sometimes even a little of both colors. Chameleon lizards have feet that look like mini-hands to climb on the branches that they live on, the Chameleon has eyes that can see in two different directions at one time so the Chameleon can really see what's coming and going.
Boy, lizards are not scary, there fun !
A good book and the library....
Working to create a better understanding
of Reptiles and Amphibians for children.
The Fairbanks herpetoculturial Society.
Don Petty (c) 1991
