Not So Creepy Critters Newsletter
 
October 2011
deer
Greetings!

Courtney and I are enjoying learning about native critters we often see in our own backyard. Since our move to New Braunfels, our focus has been on Texas critters, and we have written a new presentation featuring Texas reptiles, amphibians, and insects. This newsletter has information on some of the critters we've been studying. We also have exciting news!


P.S. We've had friends tell us they can't view our photos on the Not So Creepy Critter newsletters. If you're having trouble, click on the button above that reads, "Having trouble viewing this email? Click here." We personally check out each and every link to make sure all our links are as kid friendly as our newsletter! 



                                                                                     
                                                       ~Erik


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News
Reggie 
Not So Creepy Critter Book
Erik and I are very excited to announce that we have a book called Not So Creepy Critters coming out this fall. Erik and I wrote the book to help young readers learn about different critters, and we feature some of our own pets, like Reggie, our blue-tongued skink shown in this photo. There will be blank pages in the back of the book for nature drawings. Erik and I usually have a nature journal with us when we're hiking and enjoy sketching  pictures of critters we see in the wild.  All of the photos in the book were taken by my mom, Erik and me. My cousin, Dylan Crespo, Erik and I illustrated the book. We'll keep you updated!

                                                                  ~Courtney 

 
Exploring Central Texas
bone collecting
Erik and Jack
Courtney and I are finding many fun things to do in the country! My friend, Jack, lives on 4 acres, and we like to collect bones when we visit him. We also like to hike and fish! Our friend, Austin Orr, took us fishing in Gruene, Texas, and we caught Rio Grande Cichlids and Hybrid Blue Gills. We caught some of the fish on flies we tied ourselves. Austin Orr is a fishing guide and taught us how to tie flies a couple of summers ago. If you are  looking for a great fishing guide, you may contact Austin Orr at 830-928-4272 or [email protected]. Austin is a FFF Certified casting instructor and an ACA Certified Paddling Instructor.
                                                     ~Erik  
 fishingErik's fish
Texas Amphibians and Reptiles   

Amphibians
Tree Frog
 

Amphibians start  their lives in water and breathe through gills. As they grow, they go through many changes. During their metamorphosis, or change,  they exchange their gills for lungs and their tails for legs. Some amphibians continue to live in the water their whole lives,  but most live on the land while still being able to swim. Amphibians are frogs, toads, newts, salamanders and caecilian. Caecilian are worm-like and live underground, so they're not seen very often. We don't have caecilians in Texas. Amphibians are cold-blooded, vertebrate animals that lay eggs in water. We found this gray tree frog, pictured above, living near the fountain in our backyard. He was easy to catch and was released after we took the picture. Unfortunately, many amphibians are endangered and some are recently extinct. You can help by keeping water clean. 

 

Reptiles 
Tx spiny lizardanole

 

We have seen many lizards and snakes on our hikes in Central Texas. Lizards and snakes are reptiles. Reptiles are cold-blooded vertebrate animals.  The photo on the left is a Texas Spiny lizard and can be found in Mesquite trees. They're diurnal, which means they're awake during the day and asleep at night. They eat lots of insects. This anole lizard, pictured on the right, wasn't happy about me picking it up. Their bites don't hurt, however, so I could wait for Erik to snap the picture. I wanted to be very careful when handling this little guy so it wouldn't release its tail. It would grow back, but I wanted him to be able to keep his tail! Many people believe the anole lizards are chameleons because they can change their color.  But anole  lizards  aren't chameleons. Lots of lizards can change colors to help them hide from predators or prey.   


We've spotted a black-necked garter snake in our yard a few times. She's beautiful. We're watching for her to come out again so we can take her picture. We named her Lady Bird. Lady Bird lives in some brush by a fort we're building out of branches. We haven't seen wild rattlesnakes, but we visited the Snake Farm on Hwy 35 and saw  numerous snakes there. The Snake Farm has many different critters, including the top ten most venomous snakes in the world. We learned that there are about 115 snake species in Texas, and only about 15% of those are venomous. Most snakes you'll see in Texas are non-venomous. All snakes are helpful by eating disease-carrying rodents. Even though black-necked garter snakes are non-venomous, we don't try to catch them. All snakes can bite, and a snake bite will hurt a little more than this anole's bite. We'll leave Lady Bird in her natural habitat and just try to take her picture!  

 

                                                                    ~Courtney    

In This Issue
Not So Creepy Critter Book
Exploring Central Texas
For Sale
Quick Links
About Us 
Courtney and Erik

horns and antlers
Horns vs. Antlers

We've seen many deer walking through our yard! My dad found these antlers, pictured on the right,  when he was clearing paths in our backyard. Neighbors have told us that it's rare to find shed antlers, because squirrels and rats will eat them! We traded some tarantula molts for the horn, pictured on the left,  at the Dallas Zoo. There are simple ways to tell horns from antlers. Horns are permanent, while antlers are shed once a year and are branched. Males and females can have horns, but only males have antlers. Horns and antlers are used by males when fighting.

We always have horns and antlers on our display tables during presentations and birthday parties so people can check them out. We place fact cards by all our organic displays to help people learn more. 


            ~Erik 



 

sling
For Sale
Last year Courtney and I learned how to breed tarantulas, which can be tricky because the females will try to eat the males. Sometimes they succeed. Courtney and I were taught how to use special tongs to help the males escape.
breeding
Our spiderlings, or 'slings' for short, are ready to sell. Courtney has Curly Hair tarantulas and I have Rose Hair tarantulas. We selected species that are easily bred and make great starter tarantulas. Both Rose Hair tarantulas and Curly Hair tarantulas are docile and most can be handled.  Our slings are sold in deli cups  and are $3 per sling. They can live in the deli cups for several more months. We haven't learned how to ship tarantulas, so these will be for sale in the Corpus Christi area or the New Braunfels area. Call us at 361-443-3288 or contact us through our website if you're interested in one of our slings!

    
  ~Erik

tarantula
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