Coming soon: Survival of the Slowest

• Sloths have been around since the last moments that dinosaurs roamed earth–about 65.5 million years.
• Sloths can hang motionless on branches for up to 15 to 20 hours every day.
• Sloths are primarily what we call folivores. They feed on mostly leaves, fruits, and the sap of various trees.
• They eat very little food per day since their metabolism is so slow–it sometimes takes days or even weeks to digest something fully!
• Their large stomachs have multiple chambers! This helps them to digest tough, fibrous plants like leaves.
• Their fur is a living, breathing microcosm that acts as home to many different organisms, microbes, insects, fungi, and algae.
• Sloths are mainly found in the tropical rainforests of Central and South America.
• Sloths are surprisingly strong swimmers! Some sloth species will sometimes drop into bodies of water and swim large distances (in a short amount of time) when searching for potential mating partners or seeking new territory.
• The longest ever recorded lifespan for a sloth species is 43 years. The average lifespan of two-toed sloths is believed to be up to 20 years.

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• The average lifespan of a hedgehog in the wild is 7 years.
• Hedgehogs are carnivores, eating insects, small mice, snails, lizards, frogs, eggs, and even snakes!
• Hedgehogs use their prickly spines for defense by curling into a tight ball and tucking the most vulnerable parts of their body in–the head, tail, belly, and legs!
• When hedgehogs are born, their spines are soft and short. Their spines harden for three weeks while they remain in the nest.
• Hedgehogs are mostly nocturnal creatures, being most active with their hunting at night.
• Hedgehogs are immune to certain poisonous plants, so they’ll eat these plants to make a frothy saliva in their mouth and coat their spines with it.
• Hedgehogs are typically found across Europe, Asia, and Africa.

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• Horned Frogs are sometimes referred to as Pacman frogs due to their round shape and large mouth.
• Female frogs are typically larger than male frogs, but males don spotted chests.
• The average lifespan of a Horned Frog in the wild is between 1 and 4 years, but they can live up to 15 in captivity.
• Horned Frogs prefer a diet of insects, small mammals, fish, other frogs, and small reptiles.
• They have a very sticky tongue which allows them to catch prey and pull it into their mouth.

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• The average lifespan of a Russian Tortoise is 40 years.
• Russian Tortoises are much smaller than typical tortoises, measuring in at about 6-8 inches in length.
• They can reach 5 MPH in speed.
• This species of tortoise is only found in Central Asia. They are known to burrow into the ground to insulate themselves from colder weather during the winter months.
• Female tortoises are typically larger than male tortoises.
• Russian Tortoises have four toes.
• These tortoises are herbivores, eating only plants.

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• The Uromastyx lizard lives in desert habitats and rocky areas where it can burrow into the ground.
• When these lizards are frightened, they use their spiked tails to hit predators and hiss at them.
• Female lizards dig holes to lay their eggs–between 7–17 at once. Their babies can hatch after just 60 days!
• The lifespan of a Uromastyx is 15 years.
• These lizards can gather water or moisture from seeds or plants to survive. They love the sun and can survive up to 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Males are brightly colored with dark undersides while females have duller colors and a light belly.
• The Uromastyx will hibernate in the winter for 2-5 months.

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• Like a large scaly sausage with tiny legs, blue tongue skinks will move through the forest floors, as if they’re swimming and using their body like snakes.
• Because they have smaller limbs (little arms), they are considered a “transition” animal, that shows how other scaly reptiles evolved into snakes millions of years ago.
• These animals have a powerful bite which they use to crush hard-shelled prey such as snails and beetles, but also to hold on to other large food items. They are omnivorous creatures that eat flowers, fruit, and other small garden insects.
• Blue tongue skinks love sunbathing. They’ll bask in warm daylight hours to get enough sun exposure.
• Blue tongue skinks prefer to defend themselves by exposing their large dark colored tongue and mouth lining, scaring would be predators.

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