Monday, January 11, 2010

Meet Ollie, Yoda and Harry

I volunteer at Heritage Park Rehab and Long Term Nursing Facility. Once a year Live Pet Show comes for a visit. They bring monkeys, a parrot, tarantulas, python, and tortoises. I love them all but my three favorites are featured today.


Ollie is a Bearded Dragon. He looks prickly but is very soft to the touch. Bearded dragon lizards are native to Australia. They live in rocky and arid regions of the country and are adept climbers. Dragons have large triangular heads and flat bodies with pointed ridges along the sides. They are omnivorous, eating both insects and plants

Below is a Veiled Chameleon,last week we met Yoda, the newest addition to the show. He is my favorite because he is so ugly he is beautiful. Chameleons are specialized tree-living lizards that catching insect prey. Their bodies are flattened from side to side, and more or less leaf-shaped. They remain still and concealed for long periods of time and wait for their prey to come near


They have eyes that can move independently and look in two directions at once, as well as swivel nearly 180 degrees. They are therefore able to look in any direction, and even follow moving objects, without turning their heads or shifting body position.

Chameleons are famous for their ability to change color Chameleons are highly arboreal (tree-living). They have grasping hands that work much like human hands. Three fingers are fused together and face toward the inside. They also have a prehensile tail that they use as a fifth appendage

the one on your LEFT is Johnny the monkey, do I look like I was having fun?and this little guy is Harry the Hedgehog.

Ginny, the blue condensation on yesterdays blog was my living room window, which faces north with no sun. the green is the bedroom window which faces south. The color was caused by light and lack of light.

11 comments:

Ginny Hartzler said...

What a great surprise! Ive never seen a chamelion that looked like that, with the green stripes. I wonder if there are different kinds. The hedgehog would be my favorite, as I love them and have a little hedgehog figurine. That's a great picture of you, though! You look so happy with the monkey! I'd be very nervous sitting next to a monkey! Unpredictable, you know. I hope there's more coming!

Sunny said...

I respect all living creatures, with that said if you brought me a Bearded Dragon and his friends you probably would have an available bed! LOL
Johnny the monkey is cute and so is Harry.
You look like you were having a great time.
Sunny :)

Dawning Inspiration said...

Yes! Looks like you had a great time - what a "ham" that little monkey looks like! Too cute!

Madeline said...

Great blog! That is the best, most natural picture I have ever seen of you. You are obviously having a great time and not aware of the camera. That is why it came out so good! I think the camera makes us all uncomfortable. Love the little creatures! I think the hedgehog is my favorite too.

Anonymous said...

Wow, I learned a lot! Bet the residents enjoyed their visitors as well! Thanks for the info on the critters. Great pics!

Unknown said...

Great pics Snapper I. But I can't resist "I like the one of the two monkies best" he he he he, Now I'm just kidding.

Anonymous said...

Great pictures. That must be a great place to volunteer.

Beverly said...

I was going to ask which one was the monkey, but you clarified before I even had the chance to ask.

I adore the little hedgehog. They are just so cute. We had a little film we used to show the children in school about "The Mole and the Hedgehog." I don't even remember the story right now. It was one of those films with no words. When I went to Estonia, I found books in Estonian about the mole. If I ever get back to Estonia, I'll be sure to buy one.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Not only did I enjoy seeing your face ---but I would have loved to have seen the faces from the residents at the nursing home. I remember when I worked for the church and we'd take groups to the nursing homes--they loved children, music and animals the most....

Thanks for a cute post.
Hugs,
Betsy

Holly Salvato said...

Love love love the hedgehog! We had Jackson chameleons for a year but they require such specialized care and I really feel they belong in the wild or at least a zoo!

SquirrelQueen said...

From the looks of the comments above Harry and Johnny are getting all the attention. I think Ollie is so cute, I would have no trouble holding him. I was kind of hoping for a glimpse of the python.

Judy