Other pets (pics and discussions)

[mikem]

Nice to see little Presley again

[ProXimuS]

He really is a cute boy

[Invisible Snake]

You can't get another one?

I probably can (even though the new building rules don't allow it) but it wouldn't be the same. Growing up we had a female chihuahua who was literally part of the family everybody loved her, she had the loudest bark but no bite lol and unfortunately she died in 2007 of old age (she was 17). My older brother got a puppy (a pitbull) the following year in 2008 but it wasn't the same. To me it was like a family member died and then a new person came as a replacement. I don't know I guess it was too soon.

But on the bright side I'm now addicted to garter snakes and now have 20

[-MARWOLAETH-]

In the bottom picture it looks like a dog flavored sandwich...

[Invisible Snake]

This cat is purrrdy!

Two-faced cat is drawing double takes across Web - Animal Tracks

[ProXimuS]

That's soooo cool! The eyes and the hair and everything! I know a dog that we call "Two face" that is light brown with a darker brown have of his face, but not to that extent, and not different eyes like him. That's really amazing!

[ConcinusMan]

Awesome! So cute What kind are the last two pics? Are those the kings?

California King Snakes. Lampropeltis getula californiae. Even in the wild, in coastal San Diego County, CA, I've found newly hatched litters under boards, with striped and banded babies, and one time, several albinos together, along with their empty egg shells. All the ones you see there are naturally occurring morphs.

But really, it's a caterpillar. Swallowtail butterfly larva.

I agree. I've only found bright green ones though. They live in tree tops as larvae. By the this time of year, they are ready to pupate and sometimes can be found on the ground. Then, they crawl up and find a suitable sheltered place to hang as a pupa.

I have pics I posted somewhere of a pupa I had, but I can't find it at the moment. The pupa looks like this:



I'd say your location makes it most likely that your caterpillar is that of a western tiger swallowtail, like the one in this video I shot a while back:





The "eyes" aren't really eyes. They're just markings. Presumably there to startle or surprise a would be predator.

[ProXimuS]

That butterfly is really pretty. It looks nice on those colorful flowers too

[ConcinusMan]

Also our largest butterfly here in the west. They're huge. You can actually hear the sound of their wings flapping as they "flutterby"

[Spankenstyne]

Here's something I'd like to share, a personal first: baby Russian Tortoises!


I caught the biggest female digging what I thought was a nest hole to lay some eggs, but when she was done she didn't fill the hole back in like she normally does. Upon closer inspection I was absolutely shocked to see a fresh baby sitting up in the dirt at the edge of the hole under the cover of their hide. A careful sweep of the hole with my hand to see if I could find more of the eggs (they have usually laid 2-3 at a time) and I saw movement beneath. One more baby poked it's feet and head out of the dirt.


I had decided this spring after several years of nice looking but infertile eggs, "screw it... I'll leave them in the dirt and see" since I've tried pretty much everything else with no success. What I found fascinating was how the mother took the time to dig out the dirt to help the babies come out, or at least appeared to be doing so. The dirt was pretty dry as well which was really surprising.


A quick shot taken this morning of them. The first one I had just rinsed off and the second one was exactly as I found it, seconds out of the dirt.