Profile: Cane Toad (Bufo marinus)

The Cane Toad can also be referred to as the Marine Toad, South American Cane Toad, the Giant Neotropical Toad, Giant Marine Toad and Dominican Toad. The common name ‘Cane Toad’ was adapted from the main reasons of using the animal to eradicate pests that are usually found in sugar cane plantations.

Profile: African Clawed Frog (Xenopus laevis)

The African clawed frog is also known as platanna and originates from South Africa, and along the Rift Valley south of the Sahara in southern and east Africa. In western Africa, they can be spotted in Angola and Namibia. That not withstanding, they can now be spotted all over the world, in fresh water areas such as Europe, South America and North America where they are found as an invasive pest. The species is aquatic, thus are mostly found in rivers and ponds in sub-Saharan Africa.

Profile: Fire Salamander (Salamandra salamandra)

The term salamander originates from an Arab term meaning ‘lives in fire’. Traditionally, the species was seen crawling and coming out of logs that were put in campfires while cooking. Myths have it that the fire salamander could endure in fire, but you don’t want to find out the hard way if they can, because their skin does not offer any such protection against fire. The fire salamander can trace its origin in southern and central Europe as well as the Middle East and Northern Africa. The species prefer deciduous forests as they will be found in the hilly parts of Central and Southern Europe hiding in fallen leaves. They also can be found in tree trunks. Basically, the species is unnoticeable because they spend a lot of their time hiding under woods, stones, regardless of where they are, be it in water or in terrestrial areas.

Profile: (Venomous) Death Stalker Scorpion (Leiurus quinquestriatus)

Photo © Furryscalyman
The death stalker Scorpion is also known as Israeli desert Scorpion and Omdurman Scorpion, Arabian Deathstalker Scorpion, Egyptian Scorpion, Yellow Scorpion, Israeli Yellow Scorpion and Five-keeled Gold Scorpion. Some general confusion tend to arise with other scorpions of the same family thus the death stalker scorpions are normally referred by their scientific name; Leiturus Quinquestriatus, which simply translated means ‘five-striped smooth-tail’.

Profile: Giant Prickly Stick Insect (Extatosoma tiaratum)

The Giant Prickly Stick Insect (Extatosoma tiaratum) is also known as Macleay’s Spectre Stick, Spiny Leaf Insect or Macleays Phasmid. This species is one among the over 2,500 stick insects whose behavior resembles that of leaves and twigs, thus the name. Giant prickly insect is native to Australia and New Guinea regions.

The insect, which features a large body, can make a very nice addition to your collection. Be advised though that although the insect does not sting and are known to be generally harmless, they should be handled with great care as they are fairly prickly.

Profile: Indian Star Tortoise (Geochelone elegans)

The Indian Star Tortoise, as the name suggests is found in India, the central and Southern parts of India, in West Pakistan and in Sri Lanka. It prefers semi-arid, grasslands and thorny habitats and can equally be spotted in areas with high precipitations level. The name Indian star tortoise is derived from the 12 yellow lines radiating yellowish star patterns from its shell in the centre of either pyramidal bump, to create beautiful golden brown patterns. When the tortoise is amongst tufts of grass, it breaks up the shape of the shell thus the coloration beautifully blends in with the environment.

Profile: Moorish Geckos (Tarentola mauritanica)

The Moorish Gecko, scientifically known as the Tarentola mauritanica, also has other identities such as Salamanquesa, Mauritanaca Gecko, Crocodile Gecko, Leopard Gecko or European Gecko. The Moorish Gecko is a petite type of gecko in the geckkonidae family that is found in many countries, mostly in the Mediterranean areas. The name Crocodile Gecko was derived from its body features full of rough scales as those found on crocodiles.

Profile: Emperor Scorpions (Pandinus imperator)

Scorpions, especially the emperor scorpions, are steadily becoming popular pets. These are not great pets to handle but they are clean, quiet and are can be easily cared for. It can be a problem finding a pet sitter for the emperor scorpions, which have a lifespan of six to eight years. This makes having them a fairly long term commitment.

Profile: Praying Mantid (Sphodromantis spec.)

The praying mantids are associated with diverse religious and pharmacological beliefs. Mantis means fortune teller of prophet in Greek. In China, the mantis are believed to cure anything from impotence to goiter. It is also believed that giving your children the mantis’ roasted egg cases helps the children stop bed wetting, but you must eat the egg cases after taking some food or else you risk becoming sick. These assumptions are interesting but no research has been carried out to ascertain whether these ancient claims are true.

Profile: Crested Geckos (Rhacodactylus ciliates)

Photo Copyright: Thor Hakonsen (http://flickr.com/photos/thorhakonsen/)
Origin
Crested Geckos, also identified as the Eyelash Gecko, Guichenot’s Gecko or the New Caledonian Crested Gecko originates from New Caledonia, found northerly of New Zealand and easterly of Australia.
New Caledonia is made up of three moist, warm and densely forested islands: Isle of Komoto, Isle of Pine and the Grand Terre [...]

Profile: Chinese Water Dragons (Physignathus cocincinus)

Origin
Chinese Water Dragons, binomially known as (Physignathus cocincinus) can also be referred as Asian Water Dragons, Green Water Dragons or Thai Water Dragons. The dragons are found on low and high land forests of Southern and Eastern Asia such as Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Burma, on the highlands and lowlands of Southern and Northern China [...]

Profile: Bibron’s Thick-Toed Geckos (Pachydactylus bibronii)

Profile and Characteristics
The Bibron’s gecko has a large head, stout body and its tail and legs are heavily covered with raised tubercles. When compared to other geckos, its toes appear swollen and almost rounded. Its body color is tan to gray or brown, with irregular dark bars. The African specimens reach up to 8 inches, [...]

Profile: Corn Snake (Pantherophis Guttata)

Corn snake, also known as red rat snake, is a species of rat snake that is a native of North America. Its name is derived from its belly that resembles a corn with its maize-like pattern. These snakes are widespread throughout central and south-eastern United States. Growing up to lengths of 1.2 to 1.8 meters, [...]

Profile: Western Hog-nosed Snake (Heterodon nasicus)

Origin
Western hognose snakes are mainly found in the regions of southern Canada ad extending into northern Mexico. It is found in the area bordered to the east by Illinois and to the west by Wyoming and Colorado.
This snake is found in areas elevated at 90 to 2400m. It prefers areas that are mostly dry and [...]

Profile (Venomous): South African Flat Rock Scorpion (Hadogenes troglodytes)

Origin
The South African Flat Rock Scorpion is also commonly refereed to as the Flat Rock Scorpion or South Africa Rock Scorpion. Its species are found in a wide range of places across southern Africa. The main countries where they are located are Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Profile and Species
H. troglodytes comprises of a [...]