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REPTILES
Reptiles are tetrapods and amniotes, animals whose embryos are surrounded by an
amniotic membrane. Today they are represented by four surviving orders:
Crocodilia (crocodiles, caimans and alligators): 23 species.
Sphenodontia (tuataras from New Zealand): 2 species.
Squamata (lizards, snakes and amphisbaenids ("worm-lizards")): approximately 7,900
species.
Testudines (turtles): approximately 300 species.
LIZARD CLASSIFICATION
Infraorder Iguania
Family Corytophanidae (casquehead lizards)
Family Iguanidae (iguanas and spinytail iguanas)
Family Phrynosomatidae (earless, spiny, tree, side-blotched and horned lizards)
Family Polychrotidae (anoles)
Family Crotaphytidae (collared and leopard lizards)
Family Opluridae (Madagascar iguanid
Family Hoplocercidae (wood lizards, clubtails)
Family Chamaeleonidae (chameleons)
Infraorder Gekkota
Family Gekkonidae (geckos)
Family Pygopodidae (legless lizards)
Family Dibamidae (blind lizards)
Infraorder Scincomorpha
Family Scincidae (skinks)
Family Lacertidae (wall lizards or true lizards)
Family Teiidae (tegus and whiptails)
Family Gymnophthalmidae (spectacled lizards)
Infraorder Diploglossa
Family Anguidae (glass lizards)
Family Anniellidae (American legless lizards)
Family Xenosauridae (knob-scaled lizards)
Infraorder Platynota (Varanoidea)
Family Varanidae (monitor lizards)
Family Lanthanotidae (earless monitor lizards)
Family Helodermatidae (gila monsters)
Family Mosasauridae (marine lizards)
LIZARDS
Lizards are reptiles, which means they are cold-blooded, lay eggs, and covered by scales
instead of feathers or fur. Different types of lizards might live in trees, underground, on
the banks of rivers, or in the desert. Some varieties eat insects, others fruit, and still others
prey on small mammals. They come in all colors and sizes, equipped with innovative
methods of defense, reproduction, and predation.
TYPICAL LIZARDS
Typical lizards are hardy and easily kept in captivity though they move very quickly. The
structure of their tail supports fast zigzag movements and very accurate jumps that are
needed to catch their insect prey. They are all insectivores. Many will breed easily in
captivity. Most are egg layers though some give live birth.
Common House Lizard (Lacerta vivipara /Hemidactylus flaviviridis )
The house lizard is actually beneficial to us because it eats up the insect pests that invade
our homes. It can be seen running up the wall and upside-down on the ceiling. The house
lizard can cling to walls because its footpads are covered with uncountable little hairs
which are sort of like the fibres on your toothbrush, and each of these tiny hairs has a tiny
suction cup on the end. The microscopic hairs function as an adhesive and prevent the
lizard from falling down.
When chased by an enemy, the lizard can shed its tail at will, by a process called
autotomy, meaning literally "self cutting". Eventually, a new tail will grow in its place.
The common house lizard has five wide toe pads that help it to walk up walls.
Lizards are best controlled inside buildings by excluding them !
IMPORTANCE
ATTENTION
APPRECIATION
TO BE LIKED
BEST
WIN
AMBITIOUS
INDEPENDANT
LOVE FOR EXCESS MONEY , FAME
WORLDLY POSSESSIONS
SELFISH
GREED , UNSATISFIED , WANT MORE
PLAYFUL , JOVIAL ,FUN LOVING
TRAVEL
DANCE , MUSIC
CARS
CHEAT
LIE
TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF
WRONGED (rape , molest , abuse)
RIGHT-WRONG
DUTY
RESPONSIBILITY
JUSTICE , FAIR
HONEST
TRUST
NEEDS FAMILY :
•IDENTITY
•LOVE ,CARE
•ATTACHMENT
•GUIDANCE , ADVICE (stupid , cannot take decision)
•INSTILLATION OF VALUES
•SUPPORT
•COMPANY DESIRES OF
•CANNOT SURVIVE ALONE
•FEELS WEAK , DEPENDANT , HELPLESS
NOT SPEAK
KEEP QUIET
ADJUST
COMPROMISE
SUPPRESS
CONTROL (anger , jealousy , greed , violence , aggression)
FEELS CURBED , CLOSED IN
LIKE A CAGED ANIMAL
LOCKED , SECLUDED , DESOLATE
RESTRICTED IN PRISON
CONSTRICTED , CHOKED
CRUSHED
FREEDOM
LIBERTY
DO THINGS MY WAY
DO WHATEVER I WANT
SOCIAL PLEASURES
FEAR OF NON - ACCEPTANCE
FEAR ALONE
NEGLECTED
LEFT OUT
DIRTY
DISGUST
INFERIORITY COMPLEX
AWKWARD
ODD
IN-LAWS
FEAR / DREAM
/ DELUSION :
•BEING CHASED , MURDERED , KILL
•WATER
•FALLING
•FIRE , EXPLOSION
•FIGHTS
•GHOSTS
•EARTHQUAKE , VOLCANO
•ANIMALS
–LIZARD , CROCODILES , ALLIGATORS, WORMS , SNAKES , INSECTS
Bridge between source & theme
As they cling for support to the walls they have adapted to - for food & survival ;the
humans try hard to exclude them from their midst .
Helpless & dependant they strive to get in, & once they are in - feel a captive of the
concrete walls & human society they have chosen for survival .
This then is the conflict of the lizard expressed in it’s prototype the CHL .
The theme of the patient in the delusional state of CHL is ………
LIZARDS - theme
The lizard desires attention , importance , to be the best ……like other competitive
animals.
They also feel weak , dependant & need family for guidance (strontium).
Again like the other animals they then feel wronged , harmed , hurt , tortured by the
very people they are dependant on.
They want to retaliate , speak out , take revenge (snakes-reptiles) but can’t for fear of
bad opinion of others , non - acceptance & being left alone without support.
They feel split between the desire to retaliate & guilt & fear of losing support if they
do.
Thus this not expressing & lack of independence makes them feel locked , curbed ,
closed like a caged animal & they long for freedom & independence.
IGUANAS - pets !
The Iguana family is the largest of the lizard families,consisting of 60 genera with over
700 species.
Iguanas are a popular type of lizard because they make friendly pets. In the wild, some
species of iguana can grow quite large while they roam through arid and temperate
climates. They're entirely vegetarian, snacking on leaves and sweet fruits. Their main
defense is their sharply spiked tail that they can whip around when feeling threatened.
Green varieties stay up in trees while brown iguanas stick to the ground, digging burrow.
IGUANAS - PET OR PEST !
Iguanas are difficult, frustrating, complicated, complex--and potentially dangerous as
pets !
IGUANAS - PET OR PEST !
Regular, consistent, gentle handling is absolutely necessary to tame iguanas and keep
them tame and manageable as they get larger.Often a new iguana is quite docile for the
first few days after he is brought home.
At first the iguana may have been too nervous and intimidated by his new surroundings
to assert himself. However, as the iguana becomes more comfortable he is more likely to
show his displeasure with handling & starts showing signs of aggression .
Taming requires gaining trust, and this is something that will not happen overnight trust must be earned over time. Taming is also a balance between not pushing too hard
and showing the iguana who is in charge. You have to be firm and persistent without
completely stressing out the iguana. but try to make it clear that you are making the
decisions and in charge of the interaction.
Iguanas also need lots of real sunlight.
Many pet iguanas have died from metabolic bone disease,this is caused from a lack of
vitamin D.
Marine iguanas spend plenty of time laying on the beach and the rocks at the beach. They
jump off the cliffs and dive into the ocean so that they can get to the plant life at the
bottom for food. They are also vegetarians and there diet is derived from plant life in the
ocean.
The Marine Iguana is an endangered species and are not being properly protected.
CHAMELEON- A Truly Bizarre Lizard
The name "chameleon" means, "Earth lion" and is derived from the Greek words
"chamai" (on the ground, on the earth) and "leon" (lion).
Almost half of the world’s chameleon species live on the island of Madagascar. This
chameleon community is not only the world’s largest, it is also the world’s most unique.
Chameleons are famous for their ability to change their skin color to blend in with their
surroundings. But experts say camouflage is only half the story of the tropical lizard's
remarkable trait."Communication is also partly the function of coloration”.
With color, chameleons can communicate with others, expressing attitudes such as their
willingness to mate. Instead, their skin changes in response to temperature, light, and
mood.
"Most of the time, chameleons are behaving as highly cryptic animals trying to avoid
detection from predators,"
A chameleon’s colorful beauty is truly skin deep. Under the transparent outer skin are
two cell layers that contain red and yellow pigments, or chromatophores. Below the
chromatophores are cell layers that reflect blue and white light. Even deeper down is a
layer of brown melanin . Levels of external light and heat, and internal chemical reactions
cause these cells to expand or contract. A calm chameleon, for example, may exhibit
green, because the somewhat contracted yellow cells allow blue-reflected light to pass
through. An angry chameleon may exhibit yellow, because the yellow cells have fully
expanded, thus blocking off all blue-reflected light from below
Chameleons have many other features that distinguish them from their lizard cousins.
They are the only lizards with zygodactyle feet, or pincers. These grasping feet are ideal
for tree climbing. Chameleons also have an extremely extensile tongue. The tongue is
used to snap up insects and out-of-reach food, and can be up to twice the length of a
chameleon’s body. Also distinctive are the independently moveable eyes, which allow
chameleons the ability to survey the world with nearly 360-degree vision.
When prey is located, both eyes can be focused in the same direction, giving sharp
stereoscopic vision and depth perception.
They lack a vomeronasal organ. Like snakes, they don't have an outer or a middle ear and
seem to be deaf; at least they cannot detect airborne sounds. But some, maybe all, can
communicate via vibrations that travel through solid material like branches.
UVA is actually part of the visible spectrum for Chameleons. Primarily this wavelength
affects the way a chameleon perceives its environment and the resultant physiological
effects. Chameleons exposed to UVA light show increased social behaviour and activity
levels, are more inclined to bask and feed and are also more likely to reproduce as it has a
positive effect on the pineal gland.
CHAMELEON - theme
Key theme that differentiates chameleon from other lizards is the need to camouflage or
hide one’s true colors .
The need to camouflage comes from the common need to have company of family for
guidance & support.To be able to do that one needs TO MERGE with the group.
To be part of the group one needs to have a good impression for which one needs to
camouflage the “ BAD PART OF ONESELF”…..(the anger , revenge , jealousy ,
competition , one upmanship)
Thus there is always fear of losing control.
There is also a feeling that everybody else around camouflages the ‘ bad ‘ & thus the
inability to trust anybody because you don’t know what their true colors are or at what
point they are going to show their true colors.
MONITOR LIZARD
Monitors belong to the family Varanidae. Some are small reptiles of less than a foot in
length, while the Komodo dragon, the largest living lizard, grows to 364 lb. All monitors
are tropical reptiles. They are active lizards, that may be very hostile, lashing out with
their tails upon the slightest provocation. Even a small monitor can produce a stinging
lash with its tail.
Varanid lizards, including the Komodo dragon, are indeed venomous and do not produce
strains of deadly bacteria as previously thought. However, instead of injecting the venom
into prey from fangs like most of their snake cousins do, the venom stays around the base
of the teeth.Some, if not all, monitor lizards are capable of parthenogenesis.
Monitor lizards are considered to be the most highly developed lizards, possessing a
relatively rapid metabolism for reptiles, several sensory adaptations that benefit the
hunting of live prey, and a lower jaw that may be unhinged to facilitate eating large prey
animals.
The claws of monitors are long and sharp. The jaws are very strong. Once they bite
something it is very difficult to get them to let go.
It has been said that the name of monitor lizards is derived from a superstition that the
creatures would give a warning about the presence of crocodiles. However, this
explanation may be apocryphal.
Many species hold their heads erect on their long necks, which gives them the appearance
of being alert. They intimidate predators by lashing out with their tails, inflating their
throats, hissing loudly, turning sideways, and compressing their bodies.
They are mostly terrestrial, but many are agile climbers and good swimmers. The tail is
somewhat compressed in tree dwellers, very compressed in semiaquatic monitors.
DIET: All monitors are carnivorous. There diet ranges from bugs while they are young
to mice, frogs, birds, and lizards smaller than themself.
REPRODUCTION and GROWTH:
Combat between males is frequently observed during the breeding season in some
species.
The Gila monster - Heloderma suspectum
This ferocious-looking lizard got its name from the Gila Basin in Arizona.
Physical Characteristics :
The Gila monster is one of two known venomous lizards, the other being the Mexican
beaded lizard, Heloderma horridum. It is a stout animal which usually weighs 3 - 5
pounds. Its length varies from 12 - 24 inches for an adult
The Gila monster has skin which feels granular or bumpy. The bumpy scales on the upper
body gradualy turn into plate-like scales on the underbelly. The coloration of the skin is
black with contrasting pink, yellow or orange. This animal has five toes on each foot with
claws that are short and sharp.
Habitat
The Gila monster seems to prefer an area which is wet enough to support shrub life. They
are found more often in the rockier, wetter desert scrub but they are also found in drier,
sandier areas. They prefer rocky foothills to open land or agricultural areas.
In the wild Gila monsters eat small mammals, lizards, frogs, insects, carrion, birds and
birds' eggs. They hunt primarily with their sense of taste and smell instead of with their
eyes. They grab their prey and subdue it with their jaws and teeth. They have poison
glands which are modified salivary glands. Nonetheless, venom flows into the bite
wounds after infliction.
Social Habits
Gila monsters are solitary creatures who are inactive most of the time. They hide under
rocks and also in burrows. Sometimes they steal burrows from other animals but they can
also dig their own. The Gila monster does hibernate in winter, using the fat in its tail as
sustenance. In the summer, this lizard is active only at twilight in order to aviod the heat.
When this animal is threatened it uses a burrow for escape or it will inflate its body for
intimidation.
This animal has evolved to fit in well with its surroundings. The colorful, beadlike skin of
this creature is great camouflage in the desert. Its claws are great for digging burrows and
for digging out other animals' eggs. The tongue is a very important feature. It helps the
Gila monster to hunt and to receive information about its surroundings via scent. These
scents are transformed into a specialized taste organ called Jacobsen's organ. The fat
storage in the tail has also proven to be very important to the survival of the Gila monster
during times in which food supply is diminished.
HELODERMA - theme
Gila monster is one of the two poisonous lizards found in Arizona, Texas, New Mexico.
It is found in dry desert habitat near water beds & in volcanic areas & hence dreams
include dr : of dry dusty road
dr / fear / del : volcano , water.
The fact that it is poisonous is expressed in its fear & dreams of being poisoned.
In its proving it causes intense COLDNESS at the level of mind & body which is one
of the important characteristics to prescribe heloderma.
The main feeling of heloderma is the feeling of powerlessness when alone & hence a
need for someone as a guide & power.
However on feeling provoked or somebody entering the space they have anger &
aggression with desire to strike, punch & even to kill.
This violence is often without remorse or much emotion where it resembles
Androctonus which came again & again in the proving of heloderma as dr : scorpion to
symbolize the common state that they share.
The theme of cold anger & of cold rage is also a very intense theme in Androc.
Because of intense feeling of weakness & powerlessness & need for somebody
there…there is a strong feeling of being overpowered , or under control or of being
possessed which gives rise to the feeling as if being a robot.
Intense ego & need to be the best , to excel is much higher in this remedy than others.
HELODERMA (Rowe’s proving)
 The central idea of this remedy is expressed in the following: I am busy (industrious),
centered (balanced) and speeding in my space but don't bother me or I will get irritable
and lunge. This idea was well expressed in the dream of prover #3 who dreamt that she
was possessed by a scorpion and had to keep attacking others who would get into her
space but when left alone she felt centered and at peace.
The theme of aggression was also present. For the most part this took the form of
irritability and the need to protect one's space. However, a number of provers had violent
dreams and one prover described aggressive feelings of wanting to punch others in the
jaw. The aggression and irritability seemed to be without remorse or much emotion. In
general the provers noted a lack of maternal feeling with this proving.
 Mental / Emotional: Intermittent depression; Emotional roller coaster; Could not deal
with people; Irritable and urge to punch someone; Wanted to hit someone in the jaw;
More verbal fights;.
Dreams: Dream of dry dusty road; bus drove into a bank that was hidden by an illusion;
people in the bus were being shrunk and kicking like babies in the womb; green grassy
bank and dry dusty roads.
 Fire dreams (2); fire fighting friends who were women; lava flowing down streets;
people getting burned.
 Dreams: Robots; teachers were robots and made of metal.
 Dreams: Dream of making a robot that killed other robots.
GECKOS
Geckos are found worldwide in all the warmer regions. What distinguishes them as a
family is that they have the ability to produce sounds. Some make high pitched calls,
some sound like ducks, and others like barking dog. Most geckos have fused eyelids
(like snakes) and they lick them with their protrusible notched tongue to clean them. 75%
of them are nocturnal so their pupils are narrow and vertical to block out light.
Regardless of its reputation for fierceness, the tokay gecko's beauty, hardy nature and
modest price have made it a popular "pet store" lizard. First-time owners are rudely
awakened when "a good beginner's gecko" turns out to be an animal with a personality
that is pure evil!
Geckos are diminutive, tropical lizards with bright green bodies and often orange or
yellow feet. Their fascinating toes, like suction cups, allow them to shimmy up vertical
surfaces in their search for insects. Sometimes people see them climbing glass windows
with ease.
The digits of their feet (kind of like toes) are adhesive because they have rows of tiny
hooked bristles which allow them to climb straight up walls and across ceilings. Many
will also breed easily in captivity.
However, the gecko does not use the friction between her foot and the micro pits to
stick. Her way is subtler and more powerful.
Instead, she capitalizes on the transient electrical forces between her hair molecules and
the molecules of whatever surface she scampers across. She places her foot "palm" first,
uncurls each toe like a party favor, sticks each spatula hair into the glass skylight, pushes
the spatula flat, and gets the hair molecules so close to the glass molecules that they
electrically bond for an instant. The sticking power is 600 times greater than friction.
The temporary bond, due to van der Waals attraction, depends on the shifting dance of
electrons about the nucleus. Consider two jammed-together molecules. At any given
instant, the electron cloud about a molecule in the gecko’s foot will be more piled up on
one side than the other and therefore more negative than usual on that side. The negative
charge pushes the electrons in the nearby glass molecule away to its other side and the
opposite charges attract each other briefly. This condition oscillates back and forth
(resonates), causing the two molecules (foot and glass) to stick together.
She unzips her feet like tape from a ceiling 15 times per second, peeling off and curling
up each toe like a party favor coming back to normal. She simply lifts the flattened
spatula hair by restoring the angle that the hair shaft makes with the glass to 30 degrees
and the hair pops off. That’s geometry.
By the way, Andre K. Geim of the University of Manchester has imitated the gecko’s
adhesive and produced one square centimeter of "gecko" tape. When we make enough to
cover your hand (200 sq cm)—you can suspend your 90-pound (41 kg) body (sorry,
that’s all) from a pane of glass with that one hand.
WORMLIZARDS (Amphisbaenidae)
Suborder Amphisbaenia is a group of peculiar, usually legless squamates distantly
related to lizards and snakes, in spite of their resemblance to worms (many possessing a
pink body color and scales arranged in rings). They are very difficult to study due to the
mechanics of dissecting something so small (most species are less than 6 inches long).
A unique modification of the middle ear in which an elongated structure, the
extracolumella, attaches to the stapedial bone of the middle ear extending forward to
attach to tissue along the sides of the face and allowing the reception and transmission of
vibrations to the inner ear.
Mythology
The Amphisbaena is a Greek serpent with two heads and eyes that glow like candles-In
mythology. It has a head at each end of its body. This is how it got its name which means
"goes both ways" in Greek. It is also called the "mother of ants", because it feeds on ants.
If it is chopped in half, the two parts will join again.
The skin of amphisbaenians is only loosely attached to the body, and they move using an
accordion-like motion, in which the skin moves and the body seemingly just drags along
behind it. Uniquely, they are also able to perform this motion in reverse, just as
effectively.
Bridge between the source & theme
Adaptations for survival bring their own conflicts.So also with the Amphisboenids.
Small,vulnerable -they have a highly developed unique middle ear for increased
transmission of ground vibrations to the inner ear, which warns them against predators .
They also move in both directions effectively.
This translates into the theme of amphis patients as an amplified confusion of which
path to choose,which direction to go at the emotional level &, severe vertigo expressing
the sensitivity of the middle ear at the physical level.
AMPHISBOENA - theme
In amphisboena the stress is on - need for guidance & hence underlying confusion that
accompanies it in the smallest of decisions.
This is expressed in the vertigo of amphisboena , or a feeling of being imbalanced ; not
understanding head from tail literally or in which direction to go .
This is interesting because amphisboena lizard can move in both directions.
AMPHISBOENA (ref…..)
 Amphisbena is a snake-like lizard, without limbs, and progressing (as its name implies)
either backwards or forwards. (clarke)
 Tender sadness, which disposes one to be gentle and meek. (allens)

Vertigo, as if one would fall towards one side, and is then impelled towards the
opposite side by a contrary oscillation. (allens)
 Horrible headache, with sensation as if the feet were in the brain. (allens)