The Magnificent Compound Microscope

Have you ever used a compound microscope before? Well I have and it's pretty cool. The magnification levels are 40x(low power), 100x (medium power), and 400x (high power). So far in this unit we have been looking at some pretty interesting things like your own hair. Sounds bizarre but it's amazing. The way the microscope works is you need to make a wet mount slide so you can see what your looking at under the microscope. Then, you have to make sure that your object / specimen is focused so you can see it under low power. When you move your object to the right it actually moves to the left. But it's the same thing that happens when you move your object to the left it actually moves to the right. The other day in science class I looked at some sugar under the microscope and it looked like crystals which was awesome. Thank you for reading my blog post.  

~ By Haleigh

Leopard Geckos

Leopard geckos are reptiles and are found in Afghanistan, northwest India, Iran, Iraq and Pakistan. They belong to Gekkonidae (Gec-kon-i-dee) family. Overall the leopard gecko reaches a length of about 10 inches and gets its name from the leopard like spots covering their bodies  as adults. Other geckos have toe pads which allow them to climb things; however, leopard geckos do not have these. But what they do have are little claws on their toes.                                                         

When the leopard gecko is attacked by a predator, if there is enough stress on the tail it will fall off. The leopard gecko’s tail is designed for this. When the tail falls off, the muscles around the wound close to block blood from coming out. But when this happens the leopard gecko is in trouble because it's tail holds extra fat. When the leopard gecko has not eaten for a while it will take some of the fat from its tail to help it survive. They will eat other lizards, insects, spiders and scorpions. (Leopard geckos are unaffected by scorpion stings.)   

Leopard geckos reach sexual maturity in 16 to 25 months. Their Breeding Season runs from January through September. Young females lay 1 to 3 clutches of 1 to 2 eggs in their first breeding. With age, they can produce up to 5 clutches per breeding season. The difference between male and female geckos is that the males have pores in the shape of a V in front of the vent (anus) and the females do not. In captivity, breeders have bred many different varieties of leopard geckos. And click here to see a video of my Bell albino leopard gecko. (by Finley)