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www.sidandlisa.net |
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The Backyard Zoo By Jim Dunlap "Gila Monster" |
| She is
Sheila the Gila--monster. But then, what's in a name for she certainly
is no monster. Of 3000 different species of lizard only two are
venomous, the Gila monster and the Mexican beaded lizard. They live
adjacent to each other; the Gila in Arizona and the beaded in northern
Mexico. Scientists at first thought the Gila was harmless but knew that
the beaded lizard was venomous. One senses that by the species names.
The Gila is Heloderma suspectum and the beaded is H. horridum, which
seems a bit bassakwards, but illustrates this suspicion all the same.
These slow moving lizards spend most of their time in their sand burrows coming out during the infrequent rains and then only at night. They eat mostly things that do not run away like the eggs of birds and other reptiles, along with baby birds, rats, and mice. The venom glands are in the lower jaw and the teeth in both jaws are grooved. Each gland has several ducts that open into a groove between the lower lip and the gum. He must grab and hold on with a vise-like grip and a chewing motion works to move the poison into the wound. The last count of human bites numbered only 34 and only 8 of those died. Most who died were either in poor health or drunk at the time. Sheila has been absent from us for over five years. I loaned her to a herpetologist friend and after four tries with different mates, Sheila produced only one infertile egg. I guess she is just not cut out to be a mother. I am using her for presentations and it reminds of my age. I held her out to some fourth graders and invited them to touch. In the past I have used Grandma’s beaded purse as a comparison of the skin texture. One of the students looked up at me quizzically and asked, "Grandma’s what?" |
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