froggielog
Established Member
Okay so I'm so excited!!! Im presenting my "lesson" for 3rd graders on friday. This is my personal project so it is a really big deal, you have to do well to graduate MYP and move up into DP. 
Okay so below is sort of a transcript of what I'm going to say and so forth...Im sorry it is so long but if anyone could skim it and give me any suggestions i would really really appreciate it! I also have a power point with pics and videos (which you cant see the vids when I uploaded it) D: (all which are given proper credit) I also am bringing Oliver and I know the kids will enjoy that.
http://www.slideshare.net/froggielog/oliver-16372909
• Hello, My name is Lauren and this is Oliver
• Story: To start off I would like to tell you a little story about how me and Oliver first met. When he was a little baby chameleon he came to me in the mail in a tiny little deli cup. He was only about 3 inches long/about the size of my thumb. Now I didn’t realize he would be this small so I took extra care of him to make sure he would be alright. He has a nick name at our house, he is called dive bomber. I bet you could guess why. The first week I had him, he was very skittish and proceeded to leap off my hands and onto the floor twice. This is why I never let anyone hold him the first few months. And this is why we must be very polite for Oliver and not scare him, you never know what this little chameleon will do.
• Ask if anyone knows anything about chameleons
• Today me and Oliver are here to teach you about how Oliver’s relatives live in the wild compared to how he lives with me. We are also going to teach you about some of the many adaptations that make [panther] chameleons wonderful creatures.
o Ask the students to draw a Venn diagram to compare how the chameleons live
• We are going to start off with a little general info on panther chameleons (explain this is the chameleon we will be focusing on): slides 5-7
• Panther chameleons live in the Madagascar rainforest
• Chameleons are found all over Madagascar, but panther chameleons (Oliver) are found in the pasterns and northern parts of Madagascar.
o [live in the tops of small trees and foliage](pic)
o They are Arboreal creatures (tree dwellers)
• Ask why the chameleons live in the rainforest(trees)..etc.
o Chameleons live in the rainforest because they were designed to be. They have many adaptions that make them perfect for a life among the trees
Tongue: They have a very long tongue, as long or longer then their body length. Think of it as a catapult, the tongue launches in less than a second and pulls the prey in. The tongue is all muscle and the tip forms a suction cup form to ensure the preys capture.
Eyes (The eyes are independent and they can look in two different directions at once. This gives them amazing depth perception and aids in their ability to locate and capture prey at a distance)
Feet (Panther chameleons are didactly: this means that on each foot, the five toes are fused together into a group of two and three, giving the foot a tong like appearance. These help to grip onto branches.
Prehensile tail (This tail acts as a fifth arm giving the chameleon a superb balance)
Skin (blend in)
• Common misconception: THEY CHANGE COLOR BASED ON MOOD/TEMP/LIGHT NOT BACKROUND
• Ask if the kids know about scientific names:
o Chameleon: Chamaeleonidae (Cammile-oney-di) (Family)
o Panther chameleon: Furcifer (Genus) pardalis (Species)
o Just like a dog: Canis lupus familiaris
o Just like a cat: Felis catus
• A few of the many different locals (explain what that is)
o (A different type of class within the same area, they all live in Madagascar and there is nothing physically different between them except color patterns)
• Ambilobe (pic) Ambanja (pic) Nosey Be (pic)
o However Female chameleons, while not as brightly colored as males are still pretty in their own way. They are generally smaller then males.
• Now does anyone have any ideas to what chameleons eat in the wild?
o They are called insectivores, meaning they eat all different kinds of bugs
o As you can imagine there are many different types of bugs in the wild so they are well fed
• Has anyone seen a chameleon eat before?
o Does anyone know why a chameleon needs to eat so many different types of bugs? Think if we could only eat one type of fruit, just apples, Would we be as healthy as we are now? No
Chameleons need different types of bugs to get all the nutrients they need
• ****SHOW WITH OLIVER*****
• When I first started to learn about chameleons I was very suspired to learn how they drink
o They take the little tip of there tongue and lap up drops of water from leaves and other things.
• Ask a question regarding whether Oliver is a cold blooded or a warm blooded animal
o What do cold blooded animals have to do?
o They have to bask
• The Sun
• Chameleons need a required amount of UVB a day and since they are cold blooded they spend about 12hrs a day basking (for warmth and vitamins)
• Very territorial
• Chameleons are solitary creatures and spend their time alone on their trees, when they do come in contact [males] nature has provided them with tools to help ward off ambitious chameleons
o First they have the ability to puff up and appear twice their size to scare the other male
o Then they display bright colors to assert their dominance
o After these battles the loser will retreat, displaying dark and drab colors.
• The only other time chameleons come in contact with each other is during mating season.
o When the Females are gravid (with eggs) they will turn a very dark shade of brown or black to ward off any males.
• Chameleons are oviparous (egg laying) and lay between 10-40 eggs per clutch depending on how much food and how healthy the female is.
VS
• Captive Chameleons (Like Oliver)
• Make sure to always compare back to wild, so that it doesn’t become just a care lesson, that’s non relevant
Enclosure:
• Remember what we said about how chameleons like to be up high in trees?
o ASK
o Well to replicate this I keep Oliver in 4ft tall cage (bigger is better)
• To give them protection/shelter *Reference what we said when we talked about WHY a chameleon lives in the rainforest/tall trees)
• We put many live plants (humidity), sticks and vines to make them feel at home and safe from predators
• I keep the cages above the ground so that they are above eye level
• I use a 2x2x4 all screen cage, to give proper ventilation
Lighting:
• As in the wild the sun would give them all they need, we use two lights to replicate this: (12 hr cycle, no lights at night)
o A UVB Florescent light: needed for calcium absorption (prevents MBD)
o A Basking bulb (wattages vary): needed so the chameleon can regulate body temperature and digestion
• To replicate the ever changing temps in the rainforest, the lights should make a temperature gradient in the cage so that the top is hotter and it gets cooler as you move down
Hydration:
• In the wild the chameleon would drink the dew/rain off of the leaves, we simulate this by misting the cage
• This also helps keep the humidity up, and this helps when they shed:
• Instead of hand misting I use an automatic mister, this runs 3-4 times a day for a few minutes each, with ample dry time between misting
Diet:
• For chameleon in captivity, variety is key! If you compare how many different types of bugs the chameleon would eat in the wild to the few that are available commercially it is very limited. The trick is you don’t want one bug taking up more than 20% of the chameleons diet.
• For Oliver I feed him dubia roaches, hornworms, silkworms, butter worms, and the occasional super worm.
• Many other types of bugs are available such as crickets, stick bugs and butterflies but never as many as in Madagascar.
• To simulate hunting and how a chameleon would catch its prey in the wild I feed Oliver with tongs (demonstrate)
Bug Nutrition:
• Remember how we said that variety is key for nutrition? Well for chameleons like Oliver in captivity we must do two other things to ensure he gets all of his vitamins
o First is gut loading:
• The idea is what ever nutritious food you feed your bugs, then your chameleon gets to eat nutritious bugs.
• Simply I feed them a high protein chow (depending on the bug) and many leafy vegetables and fruits.
o The second thing to make sure they get all the needed vitamins is supplements. These are powered vitamin D3/calcium and a multivitamin all in one. All I do is dust a light coating on the roaches before I feed them off.
Conclusion:
Thank you very much for having me and Oliver join you in your class. I hope you all enjoyed and learned a little about chameleons
Does anyone have any questions?
Okay so below is sort of a transcript of what I'm going to say and so forth...Im sorry it is so long but if anyone could skim it and give me any suggestions i would really really appreciate it! I also have a power point with pics and videos (which you cant see the vids when I uploaded it) D: (all which are given proper credit) I also am bringing Oliver and I know the kids will enjoy that.
http://www.slideshare.net/froggielog/oliver-16372909
• Hello, My name is Lauren and this is Oliver
• Story: To start off I would like to tell you a little story about how me and Oliver first met. When he was a little baby chameleon he came to me in the mail in a tiny little deli cup. He was only about 3 inches long/about the size of my thumb. Now I didn’t realize he would be this small so I took extra care of him to make sure he would be alright. He has a nick name at our house, he is called dive bomber. I bet you could guess why. The first week I had him, he was very skittish and proceeded to leap off my hands and onto the floor twice. This is why I never let anyone hold him the first few months. And this is why we must be very polite for Oliver and not scare him, you never know what this little chameleon will do.
• Ask if anyone knows anything about chameleons
• Today me and Oliver are here to teach you about how Oliver’s relatives live in the wild compared to how he lives with me. We are also going to teach you about some of the many adaptations that make [panther] chameleons wonderful creatures.
o Ask the students to draw a Venn diagram to compare how the chameleons live
• We are going to start off with a little general info on panther chameleons (explain this is the chameleon we will be focusing on): slides 5-7
• Panther chameleons live in the Madagascar rainforest
• Chameleons are found all over Madagascar, but panther chameleons (Oliver) are found in the pasterns and northern parts of Madagascar.
o [live in the tops of small trees and foliage](pic)
o They are Arboreal creatures (tree dwellers)
• Ask why the chameleons live in the rainforest(trees)..etc.
o Chameleons live in the rainforest because they were designed to be. They have many adaptions that make them perfect for a life among the trees
Tongue: They have a very long tongue, as long or longer then their body length. Think of it as a catapult, the tongue launches in less than a second and pulls the prey in. The tongue is all muscle and the tip forms a suction cup form to ensure the preys capture.
Eyes (The eyes are independent and they can look in two different directions at once. This gives them amazing depth perception and aids in their ability to locate and capture prey at a distance)
Feet (Panther chameleons are didactly: this means that on each foot, the five toes are fused together into a group of two and three, giving the foot a tong like appearance. These help to grip onto branches.
Prehensile tail (This tail acts as a fifth arm giving the chameleon a superb balance)
Skin (blend in)
• Common misconception: THEY CHANGE COLOR BASED ON MOOD/TEMP/LIGHT NOT BACKROUND
• Ask if the kids know about scientific names:
o Chameleon: Chamaeleonidae (Cammile-oney-di) (Family)
o Panther chameleon: Furcifer (Genus) pardalis (Species)
o Just like a dog: Canis lupus familiaris
o Just like a cat: Felis catus
• A few of the many different locals (explain what that is)
o (A different type of class within the same area, they all live in Madagascar and there is nothing physically different between them except color patterns)
• Ambilobe (pic) Ambanja (pic) Nosey Be (pic)
o However Female chameleons, while not as brightly colored as males are still pretty in their own way. They are generally smaller then males.
• Now does anyone have any ideas to what chameleons eat in the wild?
o They are called insectivores, meaning they eat all different kinds of bugs
o As you can imagine there are many different types of bugs in the wild so they are well fed
• Has anyone seen a chameleon eat before?
o Does anyone know why a chameleon needs to eat so many different types of bugs? Think if we could only eat one type of fruit, just apples, Would we be as healthy as we are now? No
Chameleons need different types of bugs to get all the nutrients they need
• ****SHOW WITH OLIVER*****
• When I first started to learn about chameleons I was very suspired to learn how they drink
o They take the little tip of there tongue and lap up drops of water from leaves and other things.
• Ask a question regarding whether Oliver is a cold blooded or a warm blooded animal
o What do cold blooded animals have to do?
o They have to bask
• The Sun
• Chameleons need a required amount of UVB a day and since they are cold blooded they spend about 12hrs a day basking (for warmth and vitamins)
• Very territorial
• Chameleons are solitary creatures and spend their time alone on their trees, when they do come in contact [males] nature has provided them with tools to help ward off ambitious chameleons
o First they have the ability to puff up and appear twice their size to scare the other male
o Then they display bright colors to assert their dominance
o After these battles the loser will retreat, displaying dark and drab colors.
• The only other time chameleons come in contact with each other is during mating season.
o When the Females are gravid (with eggs) they will turn a very dark shade of brown or black to ward off any males.
• Chameleons are oviparous (egg laying) and lay between 10-40 eggs per clutch depending on how much food and how healthy the female is.
VS
• Captive Chameleons (Like Oliver)
• Make sure to always compare back to wild, so that it doesn’t become just a care lesson, that’s non relevant
Enclosure:
• Remember what we said about how chameleons like to be up high in trees?
o ASK
o Well to replicate this I keep Oliver in 4ft tall cage (bigger is better)
• To give them protection/shelter *Reference what we said when we talked about WHY a chameleon lives in the rainforest/tall trees)
• We put many live plants (humidity), sticks and vines to make them feel at home and safe from predators
• I keep the cages above the ground so that they are above eye level
• I use a 2x2x4 all screen cage, to give proper ventilation
Lighting:
• As in the wild the sun would give them all they need, we use two lights to replicate this: (12 hr cycle, no lights at night)
o A UVB Florescent light: needed for calcium absorption (prevents MBD)
o A Basking bulb (wattages vary): needed so the chameleon can regulate body temperature and digestion
• To replicate the ever changing temps in the rainforest, the lights should make a temperature gradient in the cage so that the top is hotter and it gets cooler as you move down
Hydration:
• In the wild the chameleon would drink the dew/rain off of the leaves, we simulate this by misting the cage
• This also helps keep the humidity up, and this helps when they shed:
• Instead of hand misting I use an automatic mister, this runs 3-4 times a day for a few minutes each, with ample dry time between misting
Diet:
• For chameleon in captivity, variety is key! If you compare how many different types of bugs the chameleon would eat in the wild to the few that are available commercially it is very limited. The trick is you don’t want one bug taking up more than 20% of the chameleons diet.
• For Oliver I feed him dubia roaches, hornworms, silkworms, butter worms, and the occasional super worm.
• Many other types of bugs are available such as crickets, stick bugs and butterflies but never as many as in Madagascar.
• To simulate hunting and how a chameleon would catch its prey in the wild I feed Oliver with tongs (demonstrate)
Bug Nutrition:
• Remember how we said that variety is key for nutrition? Well for chameleons like Oliver in captivity we must do two other things to ensure he gets all of his vitamins
o First is gut loading:
• The idea is what ever nutritious food you feed your bugs, then your chameleon gets to eat nutritious bugs.
• Simply I feed them a high protein chow (depending on the bug) and many leafy vegetables and fruits.
o The second thing to make sure they get all the needed vitamins is supplements. These are powered vitamin D3/calcium and a multivitamin all in one. All I do is dust a light coating on the roaches before I feed them off.
Conclusion:
Thank you very much for having me and Oliver join you in your class. I hope you all enjoyed and learned a little about chameleons
Does anyone have any questions?
