KIDS HOPE AUS

THEMED MENTOR HOUR

AUSTRALIAN

REPTILES

INTRODUCTION

Australia has more different types of reptiles than any other country. It's a reptile lover's

paradise with more than 750 different species.

Start this topic by doing a brainstorm with your child. First of all, see if you can answer the

question:

What is a reptile?

See the following pages for ideas.

There is also a You Tube clip which answers this question:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLtkB60JRkY

ALL ABOUT REPTILES

So what makes a reptile a reptile?

The two biggest clues are:

1. They are cold-blooded, and

2. They are covered in scales.

Being cold-blooded means that their bodies react to the temperature of their

surroundings. When they get too warm, they can go into the water or shade to cool off.

A turtle finds some shade to cool down. A lizard catches some sun to warm up. Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery

When they get too cold they can hang out in the sun to warm themselves up.

Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery

Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery

Some creatures that belong to the reptile group of animals are snakes, alligators, crocodiles,

tortoises, lizards, etc.

A crocodile's back has large bumpy scales. Snake Scales. Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery

Scales protect their bodies. Scales can be hard or soft, large or small. Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery

Reptiles are born on land and are born with strong

instincts, so they are on their own at birth. Just

think, no parents to nag them about cleaning their

rooms!

Make a list

List all the Australian reptiles you and your child can remember. See if your child has a favourite

reptile which they would like to learn more about. Then using books and the Internet, produce

a chart/poster on which to display your findings.

Here are some ideas for areas to study:

Habitat

Food

Enemies/predators

There is detailed information about a couple of Australian reptiles you may find useful at the

end of this document.

Write 9 things you know about reptiles:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

WORD SEARCH – REPTILES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Further word searches: http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/australian-animals-word-search

EGG CARTON SNAKE

Wool is used to tie the cups together and the snake actually slithers when you drag it along.

You can paint your snake whatever color you like.

We used wiggly eyes for our snake but you could draw them on or make your own.

Materials

cardboard egg carton - you need five cups

scissors,

green and brown tempera paint (or any other colours you want for your snake)

paint brush

string, wool or pipe cleaners to assemble your snake

sharp pencil

red construction paper for the tongue

wiggly eyes and glue or black marker or red construction paper for the eyes

Instructions:

Cut 5 cups from the cardboard egg carton and trim to smooth out the tops.

Paint each of the cups green first and let dry. At least one cup should be painted inside

and out. This will be the cup for the head.

Paint a brown stripe over the middle of 4 of the cups. (The cup without the stripe is the

one for the head.)

Arrange the painted cups in a line the way you want your snake to look. (See picture

below.) The cup that is the head should be standing vertically.

An adult should take care of poking holes in the cups with a sharp pencil.

Tie each egg carton to the next using wool. This will allow your snake to wiggle and

slither.

Tip: If you have trouble putting the wool through the hole, tie a piece of wool to a

pipecleaner and use that as a "needle and thread"

Note: Remember, the head is different from the other pieces. Stand it up and poke a

holethrough the top. Tie a large knot in the wool to hold the head on (or if you have a

large hole, tie a small bead or button to the wool so that the head doesn't slip off).

Tongue:

Cut a tongue shape from red construction

paper.

Glue the tongue into the head of the snake.

GECKO PAPER CRAFT

Contributed by Leanne Guenther

This is a simple cut and paste paper craft good "just for fun", a reptiles theme, or a Mexico

theme.

Geckos are a type of lizard found in warm climates all over the world -- including Mexico,

Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand. Geckos come in lots of different colours including purple,

pink, blue and green so feel free to colour yours in pretty shades. Some species of gecko can

even change their colour to blend in with their surroundings.

Geckos have special feet that allow them to stick to things -- they can easily climb up walls and

trees.

Materials:

something to colour with

scissors,

glue, and

paper

wiggly eyes (optional)

Instructions:

Print out the craft template of choice.

Colour in and cut out the template pieces.

Pressing gently, use the tines of a fork or a ruler's edge to "score" along the thin dotted

lines on the template: o score between the head and body

o score between each leg and body

o score down the centre of the body

o scoring works well on thick paper (construction paper or cardstock) but not so

well on printer paper. If you're using printer paper, score LIGHTLY so you

don't cut through the paper.

Flip your gecko over so you're looking at the backside. Repeat the process of scoring,

following along the same lines as before.

o Again, score lightly, especially for printer paper.

o Flip over so you see the coloured side. Use tiny pinches to fold along the line

and give him a 3D effect.

Decorate your gecko with the tongue, eyes and hearts. Instead of the hearts, you could

draw your own decorations.

Fold the legs and head a little bit so it looks like your gecko is standing up.

AUSTRALIAN SALTWATER CROCODILES

Australian Saltwater crocodiles are by far the

most dangerous animals in Australia.

They are huge, aggressive, territorial, and plentiful

across the north of the Australian Outback.

Crocodiles kill on average one to two people per

year!

Below you will find information on the life, habitat

and conservation of the Australian Saltwater

Crocodile.

(Photo by fvanrenterghem)

You don’t need to be worried about crocodiles, but you do need to be aware of the danger in

you travel in the northern Australian Outback.

Saltwater Crocodile Facts

The Australian Estuarine or Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus potosus) can be found all across

the north of Australia, and in countries north of Australia. From the Soloman Islands and

Vanuatu, across Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, the Philipines, Malaysia, all the way to Vietnam,

Thailand and India, and everywhere in between. They can travel over a thousand kilometres by

sea!

Only the populations in Australia and Papua New

Guinea are stable. Illegal hunting and habitat

destruction has severely depleted their numbers

elsewhere.

Australian saltwater crocodiles are the largest

reptile in the world in terms of mass (can be

1000kg). Males can reach 7 metres, females up to 3

metres. This is a large headed species with a heavy

set of jaws.

Photo by “b@t”

“Salties”, as we Aussies call these Australian Crocodiles, eat mainly small reptiles, fish, turtles,

and wading birds, but they can also kill and eat much larger prey, such as pigs, buffalows, cattle

and horses.

The name saltwater crocodile is misleading. Salties can live in the brackish waters along the

coastlines but are just as happy in freshwater rivers, swamps and billabongs many hundred

kilometres inland.

Breeding and raising of the young saltwater crocodiles actually happens in freshwater areas.

Between November and March the female lays 40 - 60 eggs in a nest made from plant matter

and mud on a river bank. The location of the Australian crocodile nests is sometimes used as an

indication of how much rain can be expected during the upcoming wet season... But the

crocodiles don't always get it right. Many nests are flooded every year, killing the embryos.

The mother guards the nest, even preventing it from drying out if necessary by splashing it

with water. The eggs take 90 days to develop. Interestingly the sex of the young Australian

saltwater crocodiles is determined by the incubation temperature. Below 30oC the hatchlings

will be female, and above 32oC they will be male.

When the little crocs are about to hatch they make chirping

sounds in their eggs, and the mother helps them by digging

them out of the nest. Then she takes the hatchlings to the

water's edge in her mouth and from here on watches over

them until they are able to look after themselves.

It takes females 10 to 12 years, and males 16 years and more

to reach maturity... Despite mum's caring ways less than 1% of

the hatchlings will get there. Predation by turtles and goannas

takes its toll in the early days, and later on the juveniles are often killed and eaten by territorial

mature males.

The territorial behaviour of the male saltwater crocodiles forces the young crocodiles

out of the region in which they have been raised. They have to find an unoccupied territory for

themselves. If they are unable to do that they will either be killed or be forced out to sea. Here

they will move around until they find another river system.

Australian Saltwater Crocodile Conservation

You might have heard or read that today there are more Australian saltwater crocodiles living

in the Northern Territory than Territorians. I'm not sure about that, but there are certainly

more crocodiles than people where I live, in the Kimberley in Western Australia.

The Australian crocodile population is estimated to be over 150,000. It makes Australia a major

stronghold of the species, and possibly the only one.

Things didn't always look so good for our saltwater crocodiles.

From the late 1940s to the 1970s extensive hunting for their hides (the most valuable of all

crocodile skins) had reduced their numbers to a critical level. Their reputation as a man-eater

didn't help them much either. The two facts combined made crocodiles just about disappear in

other countries that previously had healthy populations.

When the Australian crocodiles were finally made a protected species their numbers slowly

recovered. Today several breeding programs exist in Australia, for skin and meat

production. For this Australian crocodile eggs are collected from the wild. The egg collection

so far hasn't shown any detrimental effect on the population numbers. Neither has the

permission of limited hunting that was given to native people of the area. The numbers are so

good that some regulated trophy hunting is being discussed.

Aggressive trapping of problem crocodiles and their removal to Australian crocodile farms

has reduced the numbers of conflicts between humans and reptiles. Despite the trapping and

ongoing education campaigns there are many calls by residents to shoot the b......s again. I know,

because I live in serious crocodile country. All of the Kimberly with its abundance of tidal rivers

is perfect habitat for Australian crocodiles.

I moved here over 12 years ago. Back then it was safe to swim in our lake, and in several places

along some rivers. Not any more... The territorial nature of the males requires every

mature male to have its own territory. As saltwater crocodile numbers increase they

move further and further inland, and closer and closer to human settlements. We have been

watching it with our own eyes for years. The potential for conflict is certainly there. Monitoring

and trapping helps, but it doesn't eliminate all risk.

FRILLED LIZARD

The Frilled Lizard has a large, thin frill around its head, which it displays in order to frighten

enemies. To appear even more impressive, it also opens its mouth wide and often rears up on

its hind legs. When frightened, this lizard will run away, using its back-legs only, earning it the

nickname, the "bicycle lizard."

Habitat: These lizards spend most of their life in trees (they are primarily arboreal). They live

in the north of Australia and in New Guinea. They inhabit moist tropical and warm-temperate

forests and in woodlands with shrubby understory.

Anatomy: When displayed, the frill is 9.5-14 inches (24-34 cm) wide. When the lizard is at

rest, the frill folds down on its shoulders. Adults are over 8 inches (20 cm) long.

Diet: Frilled Lizards are carnivorous (meat-eaters). They eat bugs (like cicadas, ants, and

spiders) and small lizards. They hunt in trees and on the ground.

Reproduction: Female frilled lizards lay 8-12 soft-shelled eggs in a clutch (a set of eggs laid at

one time).

Classification: Class Reptilia, Order Squamata, Family Agamidae, Genus Chlamydosaurus,

Species kingii. It was named by John Edward Gray in 1825.