Reptile Park
We went to a Reptile Park in South Africa. We got to feed terrapins (turtles), black mambas (snakes), and Giant Plated Lizards. The terrapins and Giant Plated Lizard ate hibiscus flowers and the mambas ate mice. When the Giant Plated Lizards climbed on to our hands to eat the flower we could lift them up until they were done with their snack. When they were done they would jump on to the rock.
They had some chameleons and Bearded Dragons that had been mistreated by their previous owners who had dumped them at the park. A Bearded Dragon had been put underneath a bad heating system and had been badly burnt. He had to have his tail and 2 legs cut off. A chameleon had been fed wrong and was weak and small instead of being strong and bright and colorful. The park was trying to help them but unfortunately the damage was permanent.
Almost every day the park gets called by people to take away snakes and even lizards from their property. Some of the cultural beliefs think chameleons and geckos are bad. Once they collect the reptile from the house they do scientific research on it and see if it is sick or not. If it is sick, they will take care of it until it’s better.
At the end of our tour our guide let us hold a big Burmese Python. Most people think snakes are slimy but it is the exact opposite. The Python felt smooth and soft. The reason people think snakes are slimy is because the reflection off their scales make them look like they are wet and slimy, but it’s just reflected light.
It was very exciting at the Reptile Park and I wish I could go there again.