Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Axolotl report

Our task for writing was to write a report on the Axolotl. This is mine

Axolotls

Axolotls are Mexican walking fish. They are amphibians which means they are cold blooded vertebrates that spend their whole lives underwater.


Appearance
An Axolotl is grey or white in colour with black eyes. The colour of an Axolotl depends on its cells. Albino or White axolotls are most common in captivity. They can grow up to 30 centimeters in length and can weigh from 60 to 227 grams. The Axolotl ages but it remains in its larval form for it’s entire life.

Habitat
Axolotls are found in high altitude freshwater lakes near Mexico city and are native to Lake Xochimilco (pronounced SO-chee-MILL-koh) and Lake Chalco in Mexico.Unfortunately Lake Chalco is drying up causing the Axolotls to be  mainly found in Lake Xochimilco.They can live up to 15 years in the wild and live permanently in water.


Diet
Axolotls are carnivorous meaning they only eat meat. They have a diet of Mollusks,Worms,Insect larvae,Crustaceans and Daphnia (water fleas) including other salamanders. In Labs axolotls are given Brine shrimp and Salmon pellets to eat.Terrestrial salamanders are fed crickets, worms, and beef liver.  In the Ambystoma Colony, aquatic salamanders are fed food pellets.

Breeding
Axolotls reach maturity levels between 5 months and several years depending on the frequency and quality of food. Axolotls usually begin to mature when they’re 7 inches long. Male axolotls reach maturity levels earlier than females.

The Axolotl is a critically endangered species which population is decreasing.

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Nan's house

For writing we had to write about our holidays and what we did. I wrote about going to my nan's house and playing with my cousins and sister. Enjoy :)

🏠 Nan’s house 🏠
1.Arriving 2. Down the lane  3. Eating feijoas 4. Boil up
The truck slowly pulled up. Mum got out of the car with baby and Carney.  Dogs barked at me as I opened the car door. I strolled to the front door and  slipped off my gumboots. I sauntered into the house and hugged my nan then wandered off to find my cousin. We both hugged and searched around the back of the house to find my other cousins. After our tiny reunion she suggested we go for a stroll to cool off, since the heat was getting warm.

The sun’s heat was mild at first as we trudged down Whiu road towards the river. I offered my cousin a piggy back on the way down. As we arrived, Carney unclipped the gate lock and the metal gate swung back against the tall grass. We all ran down to the river and dipped our feet in the water. The water froze our feet nearly instantly. I climbed up the tree that the rope was attached to and flung it towards Carney. We all dared her to swing on the rope. She refused for a while then after a few minutes of encouragement Carney swung off the rope, landing in the river. She rapidly doggy paddled to the mud and got out. After Carney got dried we noticed the cows coming closer and quickly got our gear and headed for the gate. I closed the gate behind me and slipped my gum boots back on. We all marched back to Nan’s house and noticed a wide feijoa tree in the front yard of the house.

I dashed over to the tree with Carney and my cousins following. I picked a plump juicy one off the ground and ripped it open with my teeth. I squeezed the inside of the feijoa into my mouth until it was all gone then munched out on some more I found on the ground. One by one the feijoas disappeared from the ground. After scoffing down a dozen feijoas nan called us in for lunch.

We all galloped to the bathroom to wash our hands then waited patiently for lunch to be served. Nan had cooked some bacon-bone boil up for lunch with some crunchy watercress, thick doughboys and salivating bacon bones. To wash it all down Nan used her soda stream and made us a lemonade fizzy. We gobbled through our boil up like dogs then rested our stomachs. After a lot of playing Mum and Dad pulled up in the truck and it was time to go home.