Comment: Hi Tim,please could you tell me does a millipede really have a thousand legs? and how do you tell the difference between the boys and the girls?

Comment: Hi Sharon! No, no millipedes really have a thousand legs, even though this is what the name means. The giant African millipedes generally have around 240 legs. The millipede with the most has about 800 legs. Millipedes generally have 4 legs per segment, so to find out how many legs an individual has, just count the segments and multiply by four!In the boys - one or both pairs of legs on the 7th diplosegment serve as gonopods....in other words the first pair of legs on the 7th segment are reduced or missing on the males.

Comment: Hi Tim, in the last couple of days my two young sons have found two caterpillars which after a little inet surfing are those of the Figure of Eighty and the Pale Tussock moths. We wanted to keep them until they emerge as adults so have put them in an empty fish tank with the appropriate food. They are very lethargic - is there anything I can do to ensure they live long enough to adulthood?

Comment: Hi John,Thanks for your message. If they are looking sluggish, chances are they are getting ready to pupate. This is especially likely if the boys found them wandering rather than sitting on the foodplant. Tussock Moths will spin a loose cocoon, not sure about Figure of Eighty, may form a cocoon or may pupate in the soil. Best thing you can do is put a little loose soil in the tank to a couple of inches and add some leaf litter for the Tussock caterpillar to spin up in. Once they have pupated, you will be in for a long wait to see them as adults - they will spend the winter as a pupa and emerge as an adult next May-June.

Comment: hi! im interested in keeping butterflies as pets. is this possible and if so how much is the average cost and lifespan?

Comment: Hi Regina, Yes you can keep butterflies as pets. The easiest way is to buy one of our kits, available from March-September. They cost £15.00 and contain everything you need to rear Painted Lady butterflies. We hope to have other species available next year too. You can rear butterflies yourself. Plant some cabbages or Nasturtiums and you will get Large White butterflies laying on them. You can then rear the caterpillars to butterflies. Lifespan for an adult butterfly however is only 3-4 weeks

Comment: thankyou for coming to christ the king school are you scared of a tarantula

Comment: dear thow long does the corn snake take to lay eggs

Comment: Hi everyone from Christ the King, thanks for all your questions and for a great couple of days.Well Ciara and Hollie do you really think I would be handling tarantulas if I was scared of them? All the same, like all animals, they have to be treated with respect, and handled carefully.Lots of questions on corn snakes. Emily, corn snakes usually take 5-6 weeks to lay their eggs, in the wild these are usually produced once a year in late spring, James.

Comment: how often does a corn snake have babies

Comment: How big is the snail?and thank you for coming.

Comment: Hi Lauren, my Land Snail has a shell length of about 16cm but can stretch it's foot to nearly 30cm when fully extended.

Comment: If you had a snake as a pet what would you feed it,and what would it drink?and why do they have scales? thank you for coming in!! bye!!!!!

Comment: hi Tim how does a snake slither so fast?from Amardeep

Comment: Hi Rhoda and Amardeep, most pet snakes need mice as food. Some like Garter snakes also eat fish and worms. Snakes only need water to drink - giving them fizzy pop or beer is a bad idea! Snakes, like all reptiles, have scales not only for protection, but more importantly to give them a dry waterproof skin. This allows them to live in much drier habitats than amphibians - frogs and toads. In snakes, the scales on the underside help the snake 'grip' and waves of movement push the snake forward.

Comment: How do Snakes take off their skin?

Comment: Hi Ava and Sydney,About a week before shedding, the snakes eyes go very milky and the colours become quite dull. This is because the outer layer is separating from the new scales underneath. They start to shed their skins by rubbing their head against rough objects. Once the skin has started to peel back they carry on crawling and the whole skin peels off inside-out, a bit like peeling off socks or tights. We humans shed our skin too - that's what most dust is in your house!

Comment: Hi Tim, It is Hannah Mohan here from class3 C.T.K i wanted to ask you what the most poisonous snake is in the world because i am a big fan of snakes.

Comment: Hi Hannah, Strictly speaking snakes aren't poisonous at all, they are venomous. Being poisonous means the animal has to be eaten for the poison to have an effect. The most venomous snake is generally thought to be the Inland Taipan from Australia. However, the deadliest snakes, (most human deaths) are saw-scaled vipers, cobras and kraits from India.

Comment: Hi Tim, i just like to say thank you for visting our school, St Patricks Roman Catholic primary school today on the 26 of Feb 2007 I very much enjoyed your visit

Comment: Hi Roisin, glad you enjoyed the visit.

Comment: Hi tim its ciara again. I seen the message you rout.

Comment: what would happen if too many Tranchula hairs went in your face?

Comment: Hi Brad and Adam,It's not really the amount of tarantula hairs it's more a question of where they go. On your skin you get a mild itchy sensation. If you breathe them in or get them in your mouth then the irritation is much worse. However the most dangerous place is in your eyes, usually this would just result in a sore, itchy eye which feels like there is something in it - which indeed there is! Very occasionally more serious conditions can arise causing swelling and eye damage.

Here's a wikipedia link if you want more info:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urticating_hair

Comment: Hi Tim,on the 8/6/07 I went with the other year 4s and I really liked the taranchula and I wanted o know where I can buythem from in England.Thanks in advance.

Comment: were do u get the animals from

Comment: Hi Joe, I get them from lots of places, some I breed myself, some I buy from other breeders and some I swap.

Comment: ello iam nicole i like your web site it is in teresting and it is fun bye the way i the girl from that primary school i was that girl next to that girl that said is it plastic the snail bye it was filly good fun bye the way uve got a wonkey nose bye

Comment: how can you tell the diffferrence between male snake and a female snake? how many snake pets do you have?

Comment:Hi Shalek, with most snakes it's very difficult, the only real differences are on the inside. I have two snakes. A corn snake and a garter snake.

Comment: were would you get a cocrotch and a leef insect and how much would they be if you wanted to get one also can you buy them in Engaland.

Comment:Hi Lydia, I have lots of baby cockroaches, so If your parents agree you can get them from me! Leaf insects are a bit harder to locate and only specialist insect dealers will have them. Its also probably best to start off with some different stick insects which are easier to look after.

Comment: how long do moth eggs take to hatch?

Comment:Hi Alice, hard to say without knowing species. Most take a week or so to hatch but some take much longer, some species even spend the whole winter as an egg.

Comment: how many babies does a corn snake have?

Comment: Hi Zoe, female corn snakes usually lay around 20 eggs.

Comment: hi Tim i just wondered how many habitats there are all together. Sam

Comment:Hi Sam, there are literally countless habitats, more than you can possibly imagine. For example in a rain forest 'habitat' there are thousands of different mini habitats such as under bark, in the leaf litter, on leaves, under leaves, dead trees, in the canopy and for each different kind of plant and tree, you will get habitats specific to them.

Comment: HI TIM IT IS ME FROM CAMERON HOUSE. HOW DO YOU TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEENA BOY COCROACH AND A GIRL COCROACH

Comment:Hi the difference between male and female Giant Hissing Cockroaches,(the ones you met), are that the adult males have two bumps on their thorax - the middle part of an insect's body - which look like horns or raised eyes. The females also usually have a much wider end to their abdomens, which is useful for telling the difference between young cockroaches.

Comment: How big are snakes

Comment: Hi, I saw your site and as you have a interest in creepy crawlies i was wondering if you would sign this petition to get invertebrates ( snails ect ) listed on the animal welfare bill and mabye add a link on your site. http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/invertebrates/ Thanks The Snail Sanctuary

Comment: Hi Tim been a while how u doin.Got tales of rainforests matey,get in touch!

Comment: Hi Tim what do you food and drink corn snakes hope i get a email back bye Tim

Comment: Hi Tim,Thanks for coming to Sharmans Cross I wanted to ask you where can you get Cockroaches from hpoe you answer bye :-)

Comment: well i think the site is great i draw butterflys my self so take a look www.iamthebutterflyman.com

Comment: what spider is yellow with a black star in the middle of its body? I like gribbler to!!!!!!

Comment: how old do spiders live to? whats your favirate gribbly bug? have you bin poisend before?

Comment: Hii Tim you came to christ the king in science week! You were brill! Jack the boy who was really intrested in everything and he new lots of answers he is very interted in animals,, do u live with animals in your home?? are there any places were you can visit all the animals in coventry?? Hollie xx