We want sunshine and warmth!
🌞🌡️

Luckily, spring is coming.
My leopard geckos ended their winter rest 10 days ago. On Monday they move back into the big terrarium.

I have made a few improvements to the terrarium. You can also look forward to a live cam, which will be available on my website soon.

In the photo you can see me together with Nameless.🤍

Warning! Not suitable for imitation! Even slightly poisonous animals can be fatal and any animal can behave unexpectedly at any time.

I've had a persistent fascination for getting bees, wasps and spiders on my fingers since early childhood. I've always wondered why everyone panics when an animal like that is around. Panic isn't necessary. Only respect and prudence. I've never been stung or bitten, apart from a few accidents, when I stepped on or reached into it unnoticed. Still, I wouldn't dare to pick up my Chilean rose tarantula (Grammostola rosea). I don't think that's even possible without stressing both of us.

With my deeply relaxed Vietnam forest scorpion (Heterometrus laoticus) I had the impression that it was easily possible and I couldn't resist giving it a one-time try. The species is known for its peacefulness. He crawled onto the hand by himself and behaved relatively calmly. Scorpions always observe their surroundings very closely with all their senses and sometimes react to it in a startled way. He moves backwards away from the potential danger and can easily fall off the hand.

Scorpion stings are described as extremely painful. It's considered to be one of the most painful poisons in the world. The reason for this are special acids it contains. A good first remedy for the pain is said to be strong chewing tobacco that is applied to the area. According to scorpion researcher Martin Handjaba, who handles many different species, he and his colleagues have been stung many times. With the first sting, usually no poison is injected. Young scorpions like to shoot a full load straight away and every animal is different! You shouldn't try to figure out. They feel most comfortable in a natural or nature-like environment anyway.

Merry Christmas from my 21 year old me!✨🐣🎄✨
I'm Santa, Bruce Willis... and an angel. 😇

My 35 year old wishes you a Merry Christmas too! May the spirit of love and harmony be with you!❤️✌️✨

Back then I loved to create such compositions with Photoshop. There are many more like this, for example of me as a robot, a lizard and a naked mole rat on space vacation. But I don't think I'll show you. Better let your imagination run wild.😋

The Abbey of Averbode in Flemish-Brabant, Belgium, was founded in 1134 on initiative of Arnold II, Count of Loon. The church was built between 1664 and 1672 and is a synthesis of Baroque and Gothic, with Renaissance ornament details.

It's a nice place to visit, especially in combination with the nearby nature reserve. The abbey also runs a cafe and shop where they sell their own gingerbread, cheese, bread and beer.

That's my nevus flammeus🔥, better known as port-wine stain🍷. It's a harmless capillary malfunction in the skin. The fine blood vessels that run below the epidermis are increased and widened, which causes the reddish color. It's already present at birth. In most cases, it's linked to a somatic mosaic mutation with exchange of a base pair in the GNAQ gene🧬. Mosaicism is a condition in which a single organism possesses more than one genetic line. Getting rid of it wouldn't be a problem these days. But I like the feature!✌️

My Chinese zodiac animal is tiger, element fire.🐯🔥

When you think about the universe, don't forget to take a look inside.

Wish you a pleasant weekend! 😊

A reptile that hugs you is only looking for your warmth or tries to eat you.

Kleptothermy, theft of warmth, is a form of thermoregulation. It occurs in a wide variety of animal species, including human. For example when we cuddle up because it's cold.

Reptiles* cannot create body heat themselves. Their metabolism is dependent on external heat sources.

When your reptile hugs it body against you, it certainly feels safe. But it doesn't do it out of affection, but because you are warm.

It's still a nice feeling.

You should always keep in mind, that it's better for the animal not to take it out of the terrarium.

My leopard geckos are about to winter rest. I initiate a near-natural rest at a temperature of around 12°C.
It's important to get an accurate picture of the animals health beforehand. This includes taking fecal samples, scanning the body for abnormalities and assessing the strength of the animal.

*From a cladistic point of view, which is the scientific standard today, the reptiles as a monophyletic taxon, i.e. as a natural (complete) descent group (Reptilia as clade), should at least also contain the birds, which are warm-blooded.

Some selfies when I was hiking in the Peruvian Cloud Forest near of Machu Picchu. Only 1% of the global woodland consists of cloud forests. It's the habitat of numerous unique animal and plant species. Cloud forests are among the most endangered terrestrial ecosystems on earth. They are particularly dependent on constant climatic conditions (e.g. leaves that are very drought-sensitive), which will change as a result of climate change. Many cloud forest regions are important agricultural production areas due to their always humid and mild climate.