...soon after purchasing a juvenile exotic reptile. Unfortunately, for many pet owner’s, the answer is to release the pet into our neighborhoods and parks creating a multitude of problems for homeowner’s, State officials and the environment. Probably the best known pet to become a predator is the Burmese python, also known as the Indian python. Burmese pythons average approximately 13 feet in length, but can grow to over 20 feet. (Indian Python) Their weight may exceed 200 pounds. Most owners begin feeding their juvenile pythons mice, but a snake grows quickly and graduates to rabbits, chickens and eventually pigs. A full grown python requires a cage of at least 8 feet in length. Because a Burmese python has a life expectancy of over 20 years, the potential buyer must carefully evaluate the long term commitment required with this purchase. Another well know pet to predator is the Nile monitor lizard. These lizards average 4 to 6 feet in length, but can soon grow to 7 feet. They are a carnivorous lizard that as a juvenile begins eating crickets, then graduates to gold fish and later to rats and other small animals. When full grown, monitor lizards like the Burmese python, need an enclosure of at least 8 feet, however, it is recommended that they have their own room. Because they are water lizards, an owner should also provide a monitor lizard with a small swimming pool. The Nile monitor lizard can live 10 to 15 years. Again, a potential buyer must evaluate the long...
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...affect an ecosystem. Prerequisite Knowledge: Before beginning this lab, you should be familiar with these concepts: • the definition of invasive species • the types of interactions that occur between different species in an ecosystem Introduction: Ecosystems are webs of intricately balanced interactions. But what happens when a new species is introduced that uses a disproportionate share of the ecosystem’s resources? In this lab activity, you will determine how an invasive species, the Burmese python, affects other species in the Florida Everglades. Part A Normal conditions (no pythons) Enter the Ecology Lab Room by clicking the button. Then follow the Lab Procedure. [pic] |Lab Procedure | |Four species appear in the Species Tracking box in the lower left: cougar (or Florida panther), house mouse, Burmese python, | |and red-eared slider. Note that the python population is set to 0 because in this first simulation, they have not yet been | |introduced to the ecosystem. | |Click the green play button on the Controller, the device sitting on the floor of the Lab Room. | |Let the simulation run until 20 years have passed, as displayed by the graphs that appear in the data window on the right side| |of the screen. (Years are...
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...Burmese Pythons Have you ever went to the everglades before? If so then you’ll realize how much Burmese pythons they’re in the Everglades. Now the first thing you’ll be thinking of is Burmese pythons not belonging here in Florida and should be in Southeast Asia where they’ve originated but here is where I get into detail about this. First off, what is a Burmese python? “The Burmese python is a magnificent and powerful animal”. “Native to the grassy marshes of Southeast Asia”, capable of growing to an astounding length of 23 feet and a weight of up to 200 pounds”. (Paragraph 1 of Burmese Python: The Snake That’s Eating Florida). Also Burmese pythons are carnivores and survive by eating small birds and mammals. Although they got no venom, they kill their prey by grabbing the prey with its back teeth and when the prey tries to run, it only sinks further into the python’s grip and then the python wraps its body around the body and squeeze until the animal is dead which then the python swallows the prey by its unique hinged jaws which allows it to swallow an object five times as wide as its own head....
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...Burmese Pythons These animals, called Burmese pythons, are huge snakes that run the Everglades. They have jaws that are hinged, to eat big animals. They also weigh more than an average twenty year old. Burmese pythons came here from an effect of a storm. There was also some human activity that brought them here. Lately, these giants have been devastating the unique ecosystem, called the Everglades. The Burmese pythons lay tons of eggs. To be exact, the average amount of eggs they lay is thirty-five. The largest amount of eggs they can have is as many as one-hundred. Burmese pythons breed in early spring. These months are March and April. “Burmese Python: The Snake That’s Eating Florida” (Paragraph 1) “Native...
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...Burmese Pythons. At 200 pounds and 23 feet, curl around their prey and squeeze it to death. The animal 5 times its size is know annihilated inside the vicious monsters mouth. There are thousands of these snake in Florida's most well know landmark, the Everglades. The presence of the Burmese pythons are changing the Everglades. They are annihilating local animals, affecting people, and changing the ecosystem. People don’t understand the gravity of the situation. To begin, Burmese pythons are killing the local animals. The Everglades is full of life! To millions of animals , it is their home. Prior to when Burmese pythons were released into the Everglades, many animals thrived. Text 2, paragraph 1, says, “With no natural predators, these eating machines appear to be wiping out huge numbers of opossums, raccoons, and bobcats, as well as many bird species.” This infamous species is also eating...
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...Burmese Pythons Soon it would become a deserted wasteland. To us, we see the Everglades as a beautiful swampland that’s home to many animals. However, the truth is hidden. The Everglades is slowly dying. Its wildlife is reaching extinction. What is to blame? The invasion of the Burmese Python. The presence of the Burmese Python is ruining the unique Everglades. The Burmese Python is 23 feet in length and can weigh up to 200 pounds. It has a beautifully patterned skin. The python can devour up to anything that is 5 times as wide of its gaping mouth. It mostly feeds on small mammals. Its method of eliminating its prey is by grasping its prey with their fangs. If the animal tries to struggles to break free, the fangs sink only deeper. The python slowly starts wrapping its body around the struggling mammal and squeezes it until its last breath. The python then swallows it whole. These invasive species originated from Southeast Asia. “The Burmese Python is a magnificent and powerful animal (paragraph 1).” They mostly breed in swampy areas such as marshes....
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...the Burmese python to the Everglades in Florida. The arrival of the...
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...The Burmese Python in the Everglades What is 23 feet long, as wide as a telephone pole and eating up the Everglades? Why, it is the Burmese python. First, the python is different from other snakes. Secondly, it has had a massive effect on the area it has invaded. Thirdly, it has gotten there through many means. And finally, we are helping to stop this invasion. The invasive Burmese pythons are leaving a wake of destruction in the delicate ecosystem of the Everglades. First, we need to understand the structure of the Burmese python. The Burmese python is powerful, and with its massive strength can eat anything to soothe its appetite. Among the largest snakes in the world, the python can be as long as 23 feet and sport a girth as wide as a telephone pole. This carnivorous snake has no venom and instead relies on its strength and back-curving teeth to take down its prey. Even though these snakes have poor eyesight, they have found ways to hunt unlike the average snake. It finds its prey by using...
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...Burmese Pythons are an invasive species in the United States. Since inception, they have rapidly overwhelmed the natural wildlife to become the dominant species in Florida’s Everglades. According to Florida’s Python Hunt, “Tens of thousands of Burmese Pythons are estimated to be living in the Everglades.” To contain their rampant numbers, various initiatives have been introduced. A month-long hunt has been sanctioned by the State of Florida and the Fish and Wildlife Commission. This draws in large numbers of hunters - experienced and inexperienced alike - to the Everglades. The huge influx of hunters brings with it many unique challenges to both the natural habitat and humans. The Burmese Python, native to southeast Asia, can grow up to 23ft. and weigh up to 200lbs. Although these snakes have no venom, that doesn’t make them harmless. Their remarkable hinged jaws enable them to consume prey five times the width of their head. Even though the Burmese Python has the ability to swallow a victim larger than it’s head, that doesn’t mean that these Pythons ignore small prey. Along with mammals, The Burmese Python mainly lives off small birds. With no common predator, these creatures will continue to eliminate the native...
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...original intentions of the Lacey Act are far different from what the act has become today. The recent addition of the Burmese Python, Yellow Anaconda, Green Anaconda, Reticulated Python, DeSchauensee’s Anaconda, Beni Anaconda, and two types of Rock Pythons to the Lacey Act, (16 U.S.C. §§ 3371-3378) is a tragedy and will inhibit not only the livelihoods of the breeders, keepers, and...
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...Today in South Florida, we face an invasion from a silent and slithery enemy, the Burmese python. To give everyone some information on the reptile I did some fact finding on the internet (Wikipedia) to get some basic information on the size of this animal, wow was I amazed at the results. The most important item I was curious about was; is this animal venomous, which it is not. Hurray for us on that one. However, the Burmese python is one of the largest snakes in the world; it reaches lengths of up 23 feet and weights of over 200 pounds. The largest python found thus far in the Everglades was 16 feet long and weighed 152 pounds. Hatchlings range in length from 19-31 inches and can more than double in size within the first year. Burmese pythons are light colored with dark brown blotches bordered in black, and a pale belly. They grow much longer and heavier than any of Florida's native snakes the largest is the indigo snake that grows to 8.5 feet. It is estimated that these reptiles are escaped or discarded pets. State rules that went into effect this year should help prevent those less ethical individuals from dumping these creatures into our beloved eco system. The laws include a $100 annual permit to own “reptiles of concern,” and a mandatory microchip. Nevertheless, it is imperative that more be done to educate people about the problem of turning loose non-native species. In the past several decades, this species of reptile has thrived in the warm...
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...From the decorative, invasive kudzu vine that can grow up to a foot in just one day, to non-native pythons that are up to 20 feet in length and can weigh up to 250 pounds, invasive species can pose a serious threat. They not only affect local vegetation and other wildlife but can impact humans as well. KUDZU The kudzu vine might sound like a great plant but, the truth is that it is not. The kudzu vine has become a noxious weed. At first “The attractive kudzu vine, with its large leaves and sweet-smelling blooms, was greatly admired by the Americans.” Later, “it Turned kudzu from a pretty plant to a noxious weed.” It turned into a noxious weed because it was easily planted and not enough animals are there to eat...
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...There is over 350 wildlife bird species including many species of birds, such as spoonbills, egrets, herons, wood storks, numbers of smaller migratory birds and many more. Land dwellers that inhibit the Everglades include alligator and crocodile reptiles, Florida panther, Burmese python, West-Indian Manatee, sea turtles, and raccoon and etc. As far endangers species, Florida panther is considered most endangered, because there are or maybe as little as 100 panther remaining in the natural wild today (National Wildlife Federation,...
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...autumn months (Aber, 2009). Organisms found in the Everglades Plants The Everglades is home to a wide diversity of plants. The two million acre wetland ecosystem is inhibited by wetland plants that include sawgrass, bladderwort, cypress, mangrove trees, and others that serve as primary food sources and shelters for many consumers of this habitat (National Wildlife Federation, 2012). Animals The Everglades is home to numerous species of animals including those native to the lands, threatened, and considered endangered. Wildlife populaces include over 350 bird species including the Great Blue heron, great egret, and wood stork. Land dwellers that inhibit the Everglades include Alligator and crocodile reptiles, Florida panther, Burmese python, West-Indian Manatee, sea turtles, and raccoon just to name a few. The Everglades most endangered animal is the Florida panther, of which approximately only 80 now survive (National Wildlife Federation, 2012). Organisms in the Everglades Producers Consumers Decomposers Monocotyledons Manatee Bacteria Saw grass Alligator Gar Fungi Pond apple tree...
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...Australia. The tree’s roots disrupt the nesting of the native creatures such as the American crocs and turtles. Brazilian pepper plant- This pepper tree was brought over from Brazil to market the peppers. As birds ate the seeds, they begin to spread them from their feces. As these trees begin to spread throughout the Everglade, its dense structure allowed it to form concentrated thickets displacing native vegetation. Animals – Green iguana- These iguanas were imported from Central America as pets. As they begin to get to big, the owners started to let them free. They live off of the native vegetation and repopulate quickly. They also began to eat the native tree snails which are threatened and rare. Burmese python- Also brought over as pets from Southeast Asia, these pythons have...
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