Published on: 7 June 2013



Meeting Fluffy, a four-kilogram carpet python, along with her other reptilian friends was the highlight of a recent Year 1 incursion. The boys were fascinated by facts about the West Australian pythons and lizards and stretched their vocabulary to describe the hands-on encounters.

Year 1 teacher Grace Curtis said Cass, from Roaming Reptiles, began the session by introducing the boys to a toy lizard to demonstrate how the boys were to hold and stroke each of the reptiles. The five reptiles included a Simpson’s python, a blue tongue lizard, a frilled neck lizard, a black-headed python and a carpet python.

Ms Curtis said the boys were fascinated by the facts Cass shared with them whilst Baldrick the black-headed python wrapped itself around her head. “We learnt that no pythons are poisonous and as soon as the eggs hatch the mother leaves the baby,” she said. “We did not realise that the tiger snake actually gives birth to live babies, as we had thought all snakes laid eggs.”

“Our burning question was ‘do snakes have tails?’ To which Cass confirmed that yes, they all do. The very last section of their body is their tail.”

Ms Curtis said Cass really encouraged the boys to use as much vocabulary as possible to describe the feel of the snakes and lizards. They included:

“I think it feels slimy and a bit cold,” James MacGregor said.

“The lizard is rough and bumpy,” Ben Frank said.

“It is sort of scaly and tough,” Aidan Greene said.

“It is bumpy like a pinecone,” James Chipper said.

“She is dry and cold but it makes her feel wet… even though she is not,” Michael Riddell said.

Both Year 1 classes were very brave and enjoyed stroking and holding the reptiles – even the teachers had a go!