The 10 Best Lizards To Keep As Pets

Thomas The Tortoise Visits St. Francisville Rotary And School

Thomas, the 200-pound tortoise, recently visited the Rotary Club of St. Francisville and Bains Lower Elementary School, guided by handlers Cecil and Lauren Garaudy, of Denham Springs.

The father and daughter duo, both of whom work for DEMCO, took a moment away from work recently to deliver a presentation for the local Rotary Club and school to share their personal 20-year journey with Thomas.

Thomas, a Sulcata tortoise, also known as an African spurred tortoise, began as a small, palm-sized gift for Garaudy's son over two decades ago, and Thomas has grown to 200 pounds and 3 feet long.

Originating from the semiarid desert regions of Africa, the Sulcata tortoise is renowned for its friendly and engaging nature as a pet. This has resulted in extensive breeding programs across the southern United States, particularly in states such as Arizona.

Sulcatas, however, are not for everyone, Garaudy stated.

"They love to burrow large holes in the ground to avoid the extreme daytime heat, and their destructive behavior can wreak havoc on your yard's landscaping," he said.

Sulcatas also require a large and strong enclosure, otherwise they will wander off in search of food and adventure.

Owning a Sulcata, Garaudy added, can be a lifelong commitment as their life expectancy averages more than 70 years. While they belong to the same biological order as turtles, tortoises are distinctly different from turtles in that tortoises are exclusively land creatures whereas turtles are aquatic or amphibious.

Thomas' diet is fiber-rich with fresh vegetables and low protein, namely lettuce, bell peppers, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc. Given Thomas' healthy appetite, Garaudy said that planting his own vegetable garden might make sense to most people, but Thomas would inevitably penetrate any garden fencing only to gorge himself silly.

To put Thomas's strength in perspective, he has been observed casually pushing Garaudy's large riding lawn mower across the yard under his own power.

Many Rotarians and schoolchildren took turns posing for photos and petting his shell.

Despite Thomas's thick and hard shell, it is sensitive enough to sense even a gentle human touch. The Garaudys are supporters of St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital and often bring Thomas to events whenever there's a local St. Jude fundraiser or recognition program.

EYFS: Listen And Play - Loud Leopards And Terrific Tortoises

Songs about drums and drumming…and the story of The Leopard's Drum

Introduction• Key vocabulary: Africa, Jambo ('hello'), elephant, monkey, drum, beat, leopard, lion, tortoise,selfish, Kwaheri! ('bye!')• Listen all around: animal sounds - Cat greets the children with the African greeting 'Jambo!'and then invites the listeners to guess the sounds• Individual sounds: elephants trumpeting, monkeys chattering, drums beating• Cat then invites the listeners to imagine that they are beating a drum and banging it along to the sounds as they join in with 'Oh we can play on the African drum'

Rhyme: 'We can play on the African drum'Oh we can play on the African drumAnd this is the way we do itBang! Bang! Bang! Goes the African drum.And that's the way we do it.Oh we can play on the African drumAnd this is the way we do itBoom! Boom! Boom! Goes the African drum.And that's the way we do it.• When the rhyme is repeated Cat encourages the children to play their own pretend Africandrum by tapping their knees with their hands and saying the rhyme, as they tap out the 'Bang Bang Bang and Boom Boom Boom' with both hands• Help children to keep in time with a steady beat as they beat their imaginary drums• Cat teaches the children some African Swahili counting words (see below for pronunciation):Moja - one / Mbili - two / Tatu - three / Nne - four / Tano - five

Story time: The Leopard's drumOnce upon an African time…To help the children focus and maintain attention, provide a selection of resources and props (such as a lion, leopard, monkey, tortoise, drum) and use these items (along with pictures) to illustrate the story. These resources can also be used later as prompts to help retell and sequence the story.• Cat encourages the children to imagine what it is like to walk round like a tortoise with a shell/ house on your back.

Final rhyme: 'Mrs Tortoise round and low'Mrs Tortoise round and lowI know why you move so slowYou carry such a heavy loadMoving your house down the road.• Cat repeats the rhyme and encourages the children to join in with some actions as they listen: put one hand out in front of you and point your fingers down towards the floor; wriggle them very slowly to show the tortoise legs; now, make your other hand into a tight ball; and put that hand on top of the other one, to show the tortoise shell• 'As I say the rhyme, move your tortoise around, very, very slowly'

Final song: 'Once a Leopard had a drum' (tune - 'London Bridge is falling down')Once a Leopard had a drum,Had a drum, had a drumOnce a Leopard had a drumBut he wouldn't share it.All his friends said 'Let me play''Let me play, Let me play'All his friends said 'Let me play'But he wouldn't share it.This made the Sky God very sad,Very sad, very sadThis made the Sky God very sadBut he wouldn't share it.Then the Tortoise played a trickPlayed a trick, played a trickThen the Tortoise played a trickSo Leopard had to share it.

• Bye! - 'Kwaheri!'

Follow-up ideas• Discussion: encourage the children to talk about African animals• Play 'word tag' - eg 'In Africa I saw some…lions'• Continue and tag the new words on, leopards, monkeys, elephants, etc…encouraging the children to remember the correct order as they participate

Extension activity• Consolidate counting in Swahili:I saw one 'moja' MonkeyI saw two 'mbili' LionsI saw three 'tatu' LeopardsI saw four 'nne' ElephantsI saw five 'tano' Tortoises• Counting in Swahili: 1 = moja (mo-jah); 2 = mbili (m-bee-lee); 3 = tatu (ta-too); 4 = nne (n-nay); 5 = tano (tah-no); 6 = sita (see-tah); 7 = saba (sab-bah); 8 = nane (nah-nay); 9 = tisa (tee-sah) and 10 = kumi (koo-mee)

Other rhymes• I hear thunder (tune - 'Frere Jacques')I hear thunder, I hear thunder(Bang hands on knees or feet on the floor)Hark, don't you? Hark, don't you?(Hand to ear, pretend to listen)Pitter patter rain dropsPitter patter rain drops(Indicate rain falling with fingers)I'm wet through. So are you!(Point to self, then to others)• Music, movement and memory - with more able children, try teaching 'I hear thunder' as around

Other related rhymes and songs• 'Rain, rain go away'• 'I hear thunder'• 'It's raining, it's pouring'• 'Oh I can bang on the big bass drum'

More follow-up ideas• Can you change the volume? Whisper quietly, shout it out loud - supports L&S 'voice sounds' and 'adjust the volume'.

Large class activity - Monkeys and lions• This activity requires some space, ideally in a large hall, or on the playground as it provides great opportunities for lots of action and movement• Children can initially run, skip or hop around, reinforce good listening and following instructions• In a large space choose one child to be the lion and stand alone in the middle• The other children are the monkeys and they are at the side of the room. The teacher asks'Lion, are you ready?' The Lion responds with roars and gestures• The teacher asks 'Monkeys, are you ready?' The monkeys respond with 'We're not afraid!' and then dance around and make noises like monkeys• The teacher and monkeys say '1, 2, 3…Lion, Lion you can't catch me!'• The monkeys dance and move around and try not to get caught by the lion as they try to get to the opposite side of the room• If the lion touches a monkey, that monkey becomes a lion and the lions hold hands• Continue playing until all of the monkeys become lions or have reached the other side of the room. As the line of lions gets longer there is less space for the monkeys to get past. It also gets more difficult for the lions to move as quickly.

Phase 1 - Aspect 4 Rhythm and Rhyme• Drum outdoors. Take it outside and give each child a beater encourage the children to explore the outdoor area and discover how different sounds are made by tapping, banging or stroking, with their beaters on the floor, upturned pots, the wire fence, a wooden door, drainpipes, the brick wall• Encourage the children to drum along to familiar songs and rhymes, provide upturned buckets, bins and bowls, wooden spoon beaters• Encourage children to enjoy experimenting with the sounds different objects can make

The Art And Science Of Turtles And Tortoises

People often use the words turtle and tortoise interchangeably, but these reptiles have distinct differences: Turtle shells are typically more flattened and not as deeply domed as tortoise shells, but there are always exceptions to these rules. In many turtle species, females are larger than males, while generally speaking, tortoise males are larger than females. Most turtles are aquatic or semi-aquatic, while tortoises live on land. Tortoises, however, are often good swimmers. Turtles are among the most endangered vertebrates. Habitat destruction, illegal collection, water contamination, and massive harvesting of wild turtles are decimating the world's turtle population. Learn more about turtles and tortoises at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and sea turtles at the Smithsonian's Ocean Portal. 

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