248-Million-Year Old Fossil Shows Mother Reptile In Act Of Giving Live Birth

An ancient fossil specimen recovered in China shows a mother reptile in the middle of the giving live birth. The 248 million-year-old fossil is of a marine reptile called Chaohusaurus - a member of a bigger group of reptiles called Ichthyosaurs.

Scientists said the specimen is indicating that live-birth in air-breathing marine animals was not an aquatic adaptation.

Source: Here

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Reptile, Reptile fossil, reptiles,

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So Finally You’ve Decided to Get a Gecko!

So, finally, you’ve decided to get a gecko as a pet! After careful deliberation, you got one and that’s great! Having geckos in the house, according to tradition, create good omen. Well, whatever favor and luck it could give, sure makes this one a good-buy. Geckos can make excellent pets, exotic as they are, these reptiles are convenient to keep, inexpensive to maintain and easy to take care compared to other pets.

Now, that you have one or are still planning to buy one, geckos are easily sold at pet shops and do not require so much space. Before anything else, it is best to know a little something about these reptilian creatures.

Millions of years ago, along with dinosaurs, all but four of the reptiles were wiped-out from the earth’s existence. Among the four that remained, the largest of which are these cold-blooded animals called lizards. They thrive in the environment and are practically dependent of heat from its habitat. Today, lizards have about 3,000 species ranging from the smallest size of a Caribbean Dwarf Gecko at 35mm to the biggest size of a Komodo dragon at 3 meters. Although it would be daunting to have a Komodo dragon as a pet, the wisest choice there is to have a gecko!

You can tuck them in anywhere with a relative small space requirement in your home and they wouldn’t require constant bathing, no feathers or hair that continually shed and best of all, they do not need to be walked and trained given hectic schedules. Essentially, geckos live on the ground given the ability to climb, but with some limitations. Geckos that are smaller are soft and delicate, so it takes proper care and correct handling while those that are bigger are much easier to handle. Life span of most geckos is up to 20 years, so that sounds a through-thick-and-thin kind of care taking. They feed on meal worms, crickets and other locusts and by the way, geckos are nocturnal creatures and are most hyped-up when almost everyone has cooled down.

Although lizards in general tend to be intimidating and threatening because of their rough scales, mysterious bright eyes, fat tails, strong legs and reptilian stance, there are still a growing number of reptile enthusiasts that keep coming back for more reptiles to keep as pets, particularly geckos. There are five popular gecko varieties that are equally great choices for beginners and these are:

1.  Giant day gecko

2. White – lined gecko

3. Leopard gecko

4. Crested gecko

5. Fat-tailed gecko

6. House gecko

7. Tokay gecko

Pet 101 - Geckos

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animals, crested gecko, fat tailed gecko, geckos, Giant day gecko, home gecko, house gecko, leopard gecko, pet gecko, pet reptile, pets, reptiles, tokay gecko, white line gecko,

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Medusa Creeps Her Way through As Guiness World’s Longest Snake

Set to topple- off Fluffy’s long-standing record of 24 feet last year, Medusa creeps her way through as soon to be Guiness World’s longest snake breaking it at a length of 25 feet and 2 inches. Slated to be part of Guiness World Records 2013 edition, Guiness officials will be visiting her soon to verify this new and record-breaking title.

Medusa is a reticulated python that knows no bounds. Seven years ago, the 8-year old reptile used to be only 24 inches long and has grown tremendously through the years. What is interesting to note is that unlike Fluffy who has been held captive in Columbus Zoo and Aquarium until she died, Medusa on the other hand works as a major highlight for a haunted attraction, The Edge of Hell, produced by Full Moon Productions based in Kansas City. Business is ticking since Medusa spends most of her time helping build some good business by scaring people who are inside the attraction searching for some frightening adventure. Now that Halloween is fast- approaching, more and more people in Kansas will have a lot of fun in store!

Weighing 350 pounds, it would take 15 people or even more to carry this gigantic reptile. She happily coils up in a strategic place in the haunted attraction, making her life cozier compared to other reticulated pythons in the wild.

As for repercussions and fears of Reticulated Pythons being constrictors, meaning, they love to wrap themselves around humans and prey, Larry Edgar has this to say.

The Daily Mall notes that Medusa’s handler and Edge of Hell general manager, Larry Edgar states that:

““We try to keep Medusa well-fed and slightly out of reach as there have been instances with Reticulated Pythons where they’ve had to cut people out of them! We never underestimate that she does always have the upper-hand.”

Medusa is a star, an eye-catcher and crowd-drawer. She would always attract crowds – practically, befitting to earn this record-breaking Guiness title.

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animals, guiness snake, longest python, longest reptile, longest snake, medusa, pythons, reptiles, snakes, world longest python, worlds longest snake,

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Iguanas

Iguanas, as pets, have long been misunderstood, considered to be dangerous and deadly to have around.

The 1998 Hollywood remake of the blockbuster hit Godzilla, managed to add to the iguana’s already misunderstood standing, with the remake reimagining Godzilla as a mutated iguana, growing into a gigantic monster with the capacity to destroy New York.

But as countless iguana pet owners would confess, iguanas are far from being the monsters their outward appearance has led many to assume of them, let alone the monster illustrated in the 1998 remake of the Japanese classic.

Quite docile and quite cool tempered, iguanas are actually popular in exotic pet circles, described as the preferred scaled pet of choice given the relative ease involved in their care and upkeep.

Though certain specifics have to be considered with where an iguana’s enclosures or pens are being talked about, ample lighting – preferably with UV benefits – stand to be one of the must-have essentials required in keeping healthy pet iguanas.

In terms of feeding, iguanas are more inclined to diets of vegetative nature, with the occasional inclusion of insects and small bugs. Fruits and green leafy vegetables are popular among iguanas, though certain species have been found to not work well certain vegetables and flowers.

As with most domestic animals, an iguana bite is not unheard of, though their bites are not venomous. Still, an iguana bit hurts, and depending on where a person is bitten, significant medical attention and treatment should be immediately administered during such occasions.

Generally cool, calm and collected, iguanas may strike the average casual observer as a deadly creature, but beyond its monstrous form, they are actually humble creatures which prefer not to be bothered because of their looks.

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