Our June meeting saw us return to Naragebup for the evening, where guest speaker Pauline Whitehead delivered a talk on Reptiles. The reason for the venue change was so that Pauline could give us a hands-on experience using the reptiles from the exhibit at Naragebup.

The first exhibit she showed us was not a reptile—it was an amphibian, the Magnificent Tree Frog. However, it is part of the reptile exhibit. Pauline fed it a cricket, which it pounced on with no hesitation. The question was asked about what the frogs eat; the answer was ‘anything it can fit in its mouth’! It is a beautiful animal and worthy of its common name.

Next out was a Bobtail Skink, which Pauline handed around for everyone to hold. It was very tolerant of the interactions with members of the audience, obviously used to such events as Pauline regularly has groups of students attend the centre. Pauline explained that Bobtails give birth to live young, typically one but often two, after a gestation period of three months—the longest gestation period amongst the skink family. It is a ground dwelling skink.

By contrast the next exhibit, a Bearded Dragon, with its longer legs, claws and long tail is at home in trees and shrubs. Its skin colour provides a nice camouflage in its habitat. We were then shown two Blue-tongue Skinks; one was the Eastern species and had a dark skin colouration. The other, the Western species, had much paler colours.

Pauline next reached into a container to pick up a bag with something wriggling around inside, making some members of the audience a bit nervous. However, there was nothing to be concerned about: the snake turned out to be a Stimson’s Python, the most common pet snake in WA. It was very well behaved and all those who wanted to were given the opportunity to hold it for a while. Pauline gave some advice on what to do if one encounters a snake in the garden or bush. The main thing is to not attempt to catch the snake, as that is when most people are bitten. If in a home garden then the best thing to do is to phone a licensed snake remover.

The last exhibit was a South West Carpet Python. This was a beautiful snake with really nice skin markings. Naragebup has two on show, both obtained from a private owner who could no longer look after them. We were encouraged to hold it and once again it was a very quiet snake that calmly accepted being handed around the group. It was a nice way to finish the presentation. All members showed their appreciation to Pauline and her team with a round of applause. It had been a very good evening.

After a couple of troubled years that saw Naragebup closed down for an extended period, a new committee and team of volunteers are now resurrecting this marvellous community asset and are to be congratulated for their efforts. It is now open four days a week, including all weekends, and is well worth a visit if you are in the Rockingham area.

Colin Prickett