Adventist Adventurer Awards and Answers/Lizards

What is a Herper and how can you become a Herper?
Reptiles (lizards, snakes, and turtles) and Amphibians (salamanders, toads, and frogs) are called herps, which means “crawling things.” If you really like herps and like to watch and learn about them, you are a herper. If you go to college and study herps, you can become a herpetologist and teach, or work in a museum or a zoo.

Learn about lizards in your area.
Maryland

According to MD DNR http://dnr2.maryland.gov/wildlife/Pages/plants_wildlife/herps/Fieldguide_SubOrder_Lacertilia.aspx

There are six species of lizards living in Maryland. Of the six, four are in the "skink family (Scincidae); including the broad-headed skink (Plestiodon laticeps), common five-lined skink (Plestiodon fasciatus), northern coal skink (Plestiodon anthracinus anthracinus), and little brown skink (Scincella lateralis).... As a group, the skinks are characterized by smooth, flat scales that make the lizard look shiny. They also have small, flat bones (osteoderms) under each of the scales on the head, body, and tail. The legs are relatively short for lizards. There are two other families of lizards that have been found in Maryland, and they are each represented by one species. The whiptails (Family Teiidae) are represented by the eastern six-lined racerunner (Aspidoscelis sexlineatus sexlineatus) and the spiny lizards (Family Phrynosomatidae) are represented by the eastern fence lizard (Sceloporous undulatus)."

Learn how to care for a lizard.

 * If keeping the lizard for a short time, use a plastic see-through jar with air holes.
 * If you keep the lizard for more than a few hours you must:
 * Know what type of lizard it is and how to care for it.
 * Provide a larger container, water, and food.
 * Place newspaper or sand in the bottom of the container to keep it dry.

Read Leviticus 11:29-30.
29 “‘Of the animals that move along the ground, these are unclean for you: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard, 30 the gecko, the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink and the chameleon.

External Resources
Enjoy this Lizard lapbook from Home School Share