rear fanged

Fresh, live Blue Crabs in the wild! For the aquatic species, I try to keep the videos a little shorter. Being on camera may be hard enough for them without having to worry about being out of the water too long.

The Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus) is another incredible sea creature that often winds up on the plates of some hungry humans. The Blue Crab industry brings in millions of dollars each year, and I too find them to be delicious. They can be found along the Atlantic Coast from North America all the way down to Argentina. The one in this video was caught in the Gulf of Mexico. What a beautifully colored crab!

Like many other crabs, they are omnivores and will eat both plants and other creatures, whether live or dead. I really appreciate animals like Snapping Turtles, Turkey Vultures, and Blue Crabs that help clean up the carcasses of dead animals by eating them.

What crazy-cool insects with incredible camouflage! Stick insects are incredible, and can be found all over the world on every continent except Antarctica. This group of insects also contains the species that is the world's longest insect, although sizes, shapes, and colors can vary between individual species.

I grew up enjoying these amazing creatures in Wisconsin, and we certainly have a few down here in Arkansas too. Many of you have probably seen at least some kind of Stick Insect in your lifetime. Though some people are afraid of them, I think that they are amazing.

This is another common gecko in the south that is not native to the United States. In fact, this little nocturnal gecko can now be found all around the world in warmer climates, although it is originally native to only Southeast Asia.

The Common House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) will usually run away from humans who find them. Since they hide during the day and come out at night to feed, their contact with most native animals is far less that if they were a daytime reptile. When grabbed, the small lizard will often bite, and may even lose its tail as a defense mechanism.

These beautiful little lizards feed mostly on insects, and can often be seen at night on the outside walls of buildings near lights, waiting for bugs to come flying in. They only grow about six inches long, and it is believed that they can live for about five years.