RedsFaunaverse

* TW medical imagery in second photo* Update on Wednesday the Leopard Gecko! Her surgery last Thursday was a success and here she is now, showing off her battle scars 💪
Last Easter weekend she was diagnosed with having follicular stasis and needed surgery as soon as possible. They effectively removed 4 of these unovulated yolks/cysts from her abdomen (pictured in second photo) and performed a spay. Surgery was the only option otherwise these would’ve ruptured or decayed in her abdomen, causing death.
She is bright and alert now, currently in a simple hospital setup on paper towel, and on pain/anti-inflammatory meds. She still has not eaten so I will be having to syringe feed her grub pie until she decides the eat on her own. Her recheck in scheduled for April 21st to see how her abdominal incision is healing ❤️‍🩹
I wanted to thank every single one of you who donated or shared her GoFundMe and believed in little Wednesday 🙏 We were able to raise almost 60% of the cost for her surgery and medical bills! 🎉 I will leave her GoFundMe up until we reach the set goal as I am still in some debt from this emergency situation. But I am so grateful and emotional for the amount that has been raised so far. You guys are amazing and I love you all so much for you kindness and generosity 🫶
You can find Wednesdays GoFundMe here 👉 https://gofund.me/d38ba9724

One of our animal ambassadors needs your help! Wednesday our Leopard Gecko is in need of life saving surgery. Please check out and share her Go Fund Me to help give her a second chance at life ❤️‍🩹

Donate to Life-Saving Surgery for Wednesday the Leopard Gecko, organized by Natasha von Richter Hello, my name is Natasha and I’m a passionate wildlife educat… Natasha von Richter needs your support for Life-Saving Surgery for Wednesday the Leopard Gecko

Can you spot the difference?
These are actually two completely different species of snake, the Emerald Tree Boa (Corallus caninus) and Green Tree Python (Morelia veridis).
These snakes are an amazing example of convergent evolution. Convergent evolution is when two different species develop similar traits and characteristics due to similar pressures in their environment.
They look almost identical to the untrained eye despite living in opposite parts of the world. The Emerald Tree Boa can be found throughout South America while the Green Tree Python can be found in New Guinea, Eastern Indonesia, and the very north of Australia.
Some ways to tell the difference between the two are the size of the scales on top of the snakes head. The Boas have larger scales above the nostrils while the Green Tree Python have many smaller scales. The Boas also have more heat pits located on the upper and lower lip.
The Boas are typically larger, heavier, and more muscular than the Pythons and retain more white pigmentation.
And lastly Pythons lay eggs while Boas give live birth!

Did you know that crocodilians can replace a tooth up to 50x times in its life time? 😁 Crocodilians are polyphyodonts meaning they can continuously replace their teeth throughout their life! This means that they will never lose that sharp bite that is so essential to their ability to hunt and eat prey.
Other animals that are polyphyodonts are most reptiles, amphibians, toothed fish such as sharks and piranhas, and a few mammalian exceptions such as manatees, elephants, and kangaroos.
Humans and other mammals are diphyodonts meaning we only have two sets of teeth. Research is being done on polyphyodonts in hopes of advancing human dentistry for the future! 🦷

Cuvier’s Dwarf Caiman (Paleosuchus palpebrosus)

Tomorrow I’ll be at Mystik Cafe leading my Turtle and Tortoises workshop! Last chance to sign up today!

Today I’ll be at Mystik Cafe sharing where we’ll dive deep into the wonderful world of reptiles with this interactive workshop! We’ll learn more about the importance of reptiles, natural history, conservation, human-wildlife co-existence and more!

My holiday wreath I made out of invasive plant species! I’m actually so happy with how it turned out and my grandmother loved it as a gift. I’m looking forward to learning more about invasive plant species in Ontario and volunteering more in the New Year. Special thanks to Don't Mess with the Don for this workshop.

Had such a great time making holiday wreaths out of invasive plant species today! We used grapevine and buckthorn to create the base and decorated it with other botanicals and craft materials. Looking forward to future art workshops and volunteer opportunities!