By Colin Meeks
Curator of Live Exhibits
The opening of our new Amazon exhibit in the Mezzanine Gallery began with a serendipitous call: a request to donate some red turtles. We expected yet another offer of red-eared sliders, a commonly released pet, now invasive on every continent short of Antarctica. But no: it was Bones and Touie, our red-footed tortoises finding their way to their forever home at the Sciencenter!
Bones and Touie, our two red-footed tortoises.
Bones and Touie have been living together since they were young turtles, although they are not related. They are both over 18 years old and can potentially live up to 40-60 years. Bones is the bigger of the two, and they communicate with each other by using head movements.
Recognizing their uniqueness, we knew we had to create a space for them. At the same time, we were considering what to do with our old Mars Rover space. Clearly a match, and thus, our “Turtles on Mars” project was born!
Creating a vision is the first step in developing a new Live Exhibit: tapping into a dreamer state to envision a habitat that conveys a location suitable for the animals and looks super cool. I often do this by drawing on zoo and aquarium visits, friends’ collections, trade magazines, and internet searches.
Rainforest mural by local artist Paulina Melechkina.
Once a clear idea of the Amazon exhibit formed, it was time to plan out the steps: infrastructure upgrades (new electrical circuit, pond liner, wall coverings, priming, painting, grow lights, etc.), muralist selection (after working with local artist Paulina Melechkina on the Ocean Gallery mural, we knew she was the one to do the backdrop for our new exhibits), substrate (sooo much coco coir!), hardscape (it’s not easy to source 12 foot sections of jungle lianas!), plants, climate controls, and so many odds and ends. Putting it all together was no easy task, but we somehow managed to finish it just in time for its grand opening!
Lasi, our salmon pink bird-eater tarantula.
Of course, transitioning animals into a new exhibit is only half the battle. Once the tortoises were in their habitat, we needed to observe how they interacted with their environment and discuss all the tweaks that would help the exhibit be just right. We learned the seasonal thermodynamic variations of the space and adjusted heating and lighting for optimum warmth and humidity. We also learned that tortoises are little living bulldozers that will eventually destroy everything in their path.
The final touch for our piece of the Amazon was making it a more robust slice of a Neotropical rainforest by increasing the animal diversity. Lasi, our salmon pink bird-eater tarantula, the third largest spider species, has lived in a cage within the exhibit for several months now. Its venom is mild, but its long fangs can deliver a painful bite. We recently introduced an Amazon tree boa, a nocturnal creature that hides high in the exhibit during the day and only ventures out at night. Even though it may appear small and balled up during the day, it can stretch out to reach a length of over 6 feet! Amazon tree boas are known to be very nasty, but our boa, Paulie, has always been a sweetie!
Paulie, our nocturnal Amazon tree boa.
Later this year, we will continue to add more critters that can live harmoniously together, contributing to the diverse array of over 200 animals at the Sciencenter. Come meet them today!