Hobbies And Interests
Colubrid Snake Family
Snakes live in nearly every habitat of the world --- trees, water and land --- and a few species produce a deadly bite. Most, though, are harmless. Colubrid is the world's largest family of snakes, making up roughly two-thirds of the Earth's serpents and including more than 1,600 species, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. Species include crowned, blackhead, water and garter. Garter snakes are perhaps the best known and most common in parts of North America. They feed on small animals, amphibians and earthworms and excrete a foul-smelling liquid when startled, according to the University of Massachusetts's Extension Service.
Viperidae Snake Family
Viperidae are snakes of the viper family. North American species include rattlesnakes, copperheads, cottonmouths, sidewinders and massasaugas. They are often thought of as the most advanced family of snakes because of their "sophisticated venom delivery system," according to the University of Pittsburgh. Vipers are known for their large, hinged fangs that can be folded up when not being used. North American vipers have heat-sensing pits between each eye and nostril.
Turtles and Tortoises
Turtles spend most of their lives in water and tortoises prefer living on land, surviving on shrubs and grasses. Turtles live all over the world, but the majority of the earth's 240 species live in eastern North America, according to Louisiana wildlife specialist James Fowler and aquaculture agent Jimmy Avery. Turtle species include mud, musk, bog, painted and spotted. Most species feed on insects, fish, dead meat, aquatic weeds and small organisms. The exception is the snapping turtle, which prefers a high-protein diet of fish. They will eat from a stringer of fish dangling over the side of a boat.
Alligators and Crocodiles
Alligators and crocodiles are well known for their powerful jaws and long rows of sharp teeth as well as their ability to glide through water with their eyes and ears above the surface and their massive bodies hidden. What you might not know is that crocodiles have outlasted the dinosaurs by 65 million years, according to PBS's NOVA. Most of the ancient fossils are very similar to the ones living today, and none of the world's current 23 species have gone extinct since humans have been at the top of the food chain. Alligators' lower teeth are mostly hidden when their jaw is closed, but crocodile's teeth are exposed and a large fourth tooth on the lower jaw is prominently displayed.
Lizards
According to the San Diego Zoo, there are 4,675 species of lizards, including geckos, gila monsters, iguanas, chameleons and skinks. While most species live in the ground, some can be found in the water, in trees or in burrows. They have a lot in common with snakes; some are legless, all of them smell with their tongues, and they shed their skins when they have outgrown them. Horned lizards can squirt blood from their eyes and some species have tails that break off when they are caught.