Living the Dragon Life

By: Judi Stuart
Port Discover - Visitor Services Manager

LIVING THE DRAGON LIFE
Last week was “Be Kind to Animals Week” and our reaction at Port Discover was “isn’t that every week?” Humans have been known to go to extremes to make an animal happy. My case in point is Angus, the fifteen-inch bearded dragon, who now lives at Port Discover.

When the brownish-orange Australian native arrived at the science center, preparations escalated to make him contented in his new atmosphere. Research began as to what a proper Australian name would be, favorite diet items, habitat needs, personality traits, compatibility, and temperature requirements.

Soon, plans evolved for the construction of a palatial habitat fit for a dragon. With the help of the world’s best volunteers, one of the front display windows at the center was transformed into a little piece of pseudo-Australian heaven in which Angus would live.

A floor of sand and rocks, greenery, heating lamps, and special warming areas were all assembled to meet his every need. There’s even been talk of a pool for wading. Angus is an inland bearded dragon whose relatives lived in the arid woodlands and deserts of central Australia. His Port Discover habitat now has the long tree branches and rocks that he would have enjoyed basking on in his native land.

Angus spends his days catching crickets, munching on greens from the Kid’s Grow Garden, and going on field trips with the Port Discover educators to Albemarle area classrooms . He also makes public appearances at special events like the Saturday Farmers’ Market. Several days a week, he takes a stroll in the garden and swims in his own pool.

A harness was purchased for use during his outings, but when the leash was attached, we saw his “beard” and his spiky scales suddenly extend to full capacity in his attempt to show his displeasure. Maybe that had something to do with the fact that snakes along with birds and crocodiles are his natural enemies, so he might have mistaken the leash for and opponent.

Some visitors have suggested that Angus might need a friend to share his life. Since male bearded dragons are territorial, that might be a poor choice, and a female friend might mean babies eventually. For now, he seems quite happy with being the single king of his domain.

Our new pet has attracted a lot of attention from humans of all types. Kids come just to see how he’s doing and ask that he be taken out so they can pet him. Adult passers-by often stop to watch him, talk with him, and comment on his activities. It’s rather amusing to see an adult talking to a lizard on Main Street. His regular visitors delight in finding where he’s hiding or how high he’s perched on a branch.

Pets add a richness to our lives that can only be experienced by establishing a relationship between human and animal. Angus and the women at Port Discover who love him know that well.

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Dragon in the House

By: Judi Stuart
Port Discover - Visitor Services Manager

Dragon in the House
Just when you think life can’t get any more interesting, something new comes along. This time it’s a lizard, a Pogona vitticeps, to be exact, otherwise known as a Bearded Dragon. The Australian native is normally a terrestrial, desert-dwelling lizard, but he also makes a wonderful pet.

Recently our two pet rodents, Squeakers and Lilly, departed this world, so we wanted to replace them. While having that conversation, we decided that it would be a good time to add to our species at the center.

We had many ideas, but acquiring a bearded dragon seemed to be the best prospect. We had the aquarium, a window that needed changing, and the knowledge about how to take care of the new animal.

One trip to the pet store, and he was ours. Our new pet is three years old and is accustomed to being held. We also got two young female rats which had been slated to be dinner for the snakes at the pet store. Saving them from that awful fate was an added benefit for us.

Bearded dragons are probably one of the few reptiles that can be tolerant of being handled by humans, which was a requirement for us because we wanted to be able to use it in some of our programs. Our new pet is three years old and is already accustomed to being held.

We are having a naming contest for the dragon, and visitors can vote for the names Angus, Edmund, Burnie, Heath, or Bruno which are all common Australian names. The name with most money in the jar will be the winner.

Both male and female lizards from “down under” have an expandable throat pouch with spiky scales that look like a beard when they are inflated for mating and aggression displays. Their body color depends on the soil in the region where they reside. Ours is a gold and light orange combination.

Our “beardie” is about a foot long and likes to spend long hours stretched out sunning himself in the window. He is furnished with his favorite foods, crickets and veggies from our garden.

Australia has not allowed the export of any native wildlife since the 1960s, so our pet was probably born in this country. Their pleasant disposition and manageable size make bearded dragons popular pets. In the wild, their enemies are primarily snakes and kookaburras.

We plan to design a habitat for him in the front window where he can be seen by people walking by and where he can also enjoy basking in the sunlight. Already people are enjoying watching him from the sidewalk.

The jars are filling up with votes and the favorite name appears to be Bernie so far, but things might change as time goes by. Personally, my choice would have been Dundee (Crocodile Dundee).

Come in soon to meet our new friends and vote for a name you like.
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What do you think our bearded dragon's name should be? -- Cast your vote in the unofficial poll -- HERE

People To The Rescue!

By: Judi Stuart
Port Discover - Visitor Services Manager

People To The Rescue
Anyone who has a pet knows that there is a special communication between people and animals. Just ask about someone’s pet, and you will hear stories about unspoken communication. Animals know much more than we give them credit for.

Recently, when our area was shocked by a tornado, an earthquake, and a hurricane people observed that animals in all kinds of environments reacted to the impending events in unusual ways. Many wildlife biologists agree that animals can sense when air pressure drops or vibration occurs.

Even at Port Discover, we saw what may have been animal reactions the day before Irene’s arrival. Our resident corn snake, “Cornelia” slithered out of the educator’s lap and tightly wrapped herself under the chair bottom. The Cope’s Gray tree frog went AWOL for a day and was found not far from his home.

Biologist at the National Zoo in Washington, DC reported that lemurs, orangutans, and a gorilla were restless and made noises before the earthquake that shook the east coast. Reports were that snakes began writhing and flamingos huddled together.

Animals have good cause to express fear when faced with disaster because often they are defenseless and abandoned. During the tornado in Joplin, MO 160 people were killed and the SPCA took in 1,300 lost or abandoned cats and dogs. Only 300 were returned to their owners. An adopt-a-thon held after the storm drew 5,700 people from 24 states that wanted to rescue the homeless pets.

The ASPCA recently reported that in a survey they learned that 42% of pet owners claimed that they would not evacuate if their pets could not go with them. After Irene more than a dozen animals were taken to the Norfolk SPCA from shelters in NC that were overflowing.

As the clean-up began after Irene, more than 100 baby gray squirrels that had been knocked out of their nests were found. My grandchildren in Wilmington were given two baby squirrels to care for by their neighbor who is a veterinarian. He has coached them through the rehabilitation process. After being fed formula for a couple of weeks, they are now dining on cranberries and cheerios. They will eventually be released in an area where they can successfully get back to the life that Mother Nature intended.

Wildlife that is rescued by people should be released into an area away from the neighborhood where they were nurtured because they might continue to expect food from the humans that cared for them. Squirrels have been known to become aggressive in such situations.

There is much to be considered when rescuing wildlife, and it is much more complex than simply feeding them. You can become a certified wildlife rescuer if you sign-up and complete training. Websites such as www.paws.org/become-rehabilitator and www.wildliferescueme.org/northcarolina have information about how to pursue that goal.

Mohandas Gandhi said, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” People to the rescue!
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Critters Among Us

By: Judi Stuart
Port Discover - Visitor Services Manager

Critters Among Us
Lilly and Squeakers are best friends and cage mates. They live in a four story condominium that was custom made for them and furnished with ladders, hammocks, and the finest of bedding. They get room service everyday with their favorite foods (corn, cheese, cheerios, lettuce, carrots, seeds, etc.). The two female rats are among the many critters that inhabit Port Discover.

Did you know that rats have personalities? Squeakers is a thief while Lily is a hoarder. The thief who was the first to move in is fatter than the hoarder. At first they didn’t have much to do with each other and slept in separate hammocks. Then one day when the center was opened one hammock was empty, and we thought someone had escaped. On second inspection, they were both in the same hammock on the top floor. Ever since that, they usually are found napping together.

Although sometimes reluctant, adult and kid visitors to the center enjoy holding the long tailed pets. The rodents use their tails to control their body temperature because they cannot sweat. A rat’s teeth are always yellow upon maturity and don’t stop growing until the animal’s death. Both of these characteristics make the creatures unappealing to some people. Once you understand them, you might accept them.

Rats have been proven to make a laughter like noise which is unable to be heard by the human ear alone when tickled and to dream while sleeping. They have terrible eyesight so you’ll rarely see them in the middle of a room where their whiskers aren’t touching the wall.

Normal lifespan for the friendly creatures is 3 years with the oldest having been 7 years and 4 months. Females can produce 1-20 babies every month until the age of 2. That’s a potential of 460 offspring.

Neighbors of the rats are a Cope’s gray tree frog, a toad, some Madagascar hissing cockroaches, Bess beetles, a variety of fish, and most recently 3 freshly hatched chickens.

The North Carolina Extension Service provided us with an incubator and some fertilized chicken eggs. We then set everything up so that the hatching process could be seen on our website. After 3 days we had 3 noisy chicks and lots of visitors to share in the excitement.

The next big animal event will be the creation of butterflies in the front window of the center. Right now the caterpillars are feasting on the parsley planted for their enjoyment. We await the day when beautiful butterflies appear for our enjoyment.

The emphasis on hands-on science at the center has reached a new level with the installation of the Kids Grow Garden. Lots of big and little hands have made the thriving garden a reality over the last month. A wide variety of vegetables and herbs live in the transformed downtown area. Both animals and plants live in endless varieties among us and bring us immeasurable joy.