Keeper's Korner

Menita Prasad
[Vivarium Animal Keeper]

Menita's career as an Animal Keeper at the Greater Vancouver Zoo began in 2003, but her long time interests in reptiles and amphibians has been since she was in grade school.

Menita's passion goes beyond the animals in the Vivarium, as she is a true animal lover of all kinds and species.

She graduated from the University of Alberta in 1999 with a Degree in Environmental & Conservational Sciences with a Major in Conservation Biology.

Up to 2003 Menita was involved with Field Work (habitat restoration, research) and education.

She worked at the Institute of Urban Ecology, Ecoworks, Georgia Strait Alliance, Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre and BC Hydro.

Menita's duties at the Zoo include: animal husbandry (feeding, cleaning, training, and health care) of reptiles, amphibians, some mammals and a few birds. She also does display construction, design and maintenance as well as the entire Vivarium. Menita really enjoys educating the public and doing our outreach programs.

Menita would like to share her story of a recent member of the Vivarium, and his short life with us.

His name was Oliver, a Chinese Water Dragon...

Chinese Water Dragons (Physignathus cocincinus) occur in Southeast Asia (Thailand, China, Vietnam, and Cambodia), spend most of their time in trees but also enjoy swimming! With the help of their long tails they can move through the water quite quickly, which is one of the reasons why they were given the common name of Water Dragons.

Adult Water Dragons can reach lengths of 3 - 4 feet and may live as long as 20 years! Their muscular hind legs enable them to climb, swim, jump, and even leap from object to object. They can even run bipedally, which means standing and running on just their hind legs! What an amazing feat for such a little lizard!

Meet Oliver - born January 2002. He is a male Chinese Water Dragon that lives at the Greater Vancouver Zoo. Oliver is quite different from other Water Dragons.

Born in captivity, Oliver along with his siblings were most likely sold to a pet store at a very young age (3 - 4 months old). Most reptiles sold from pet stores rarely survive their first year because of their very specific care requirements, including specific heating lighting, temperature, humidity and diet requirements.

Once purchased form the pet store the new Owners took young Oliver home. There he spent the next few years growing into the charismatic young male we know and love, but it was not an easy life for Oliver.

If kept in an enclosure that is too small or set up incorrectly (being an arboreal lizard, Water Dragons require height as opposed to length), Water Dragons will rub their faces to the point where they can break their jaws in an effort to escape.

Oliver fortunately did not break his jaw, but he did damage it quite extensively. His snout was incredibly blunt, his tiny little teeth jutted out in several different directions and his jaw bone on his lower jaw was exposed at the tip (exposed bone is dangerously sensitive to infection).

After a few years, his Owners decided to donate Oliver to the GVZoo. They had become too busy with their own lives and had felt they were not giving Oliver the time and care he deserved.

After an initial examination by one of the animal keepers, it was determined that Oliver was not in good health. Other than the obvious physical damage to his mouth and jaw, Oliver could barely utilize his hind legs. His only means of movement was to drag himself around with his front legs. Forget about running and leaping like all the other Water Dragons, Oliver could barely move! So it was decided that it was time for Oliver to see a doctor, the GVZoo's veterinarian.

After a thorough physical check up, the Doctor gave the Animal Keeper some bad news. When Oliver was very young, he suffered a fracture in his left hind leg. Unfortunately, the Owners did not realize this and it healed improperly which is one of the reasons why Oliver was not using his hind legs.

The other reason was that due to improper diet and lighting, Oliver was suffering from Metabolic Bone Disease. With out UVB light from the sun reptiles can not produce vitamin D3 which aids in the absorption of calcium. And with out calcium Oliver had very weak bones.

It was for this reason that Oliver was kept in an enclosure that was off display - behind the scenes in the Vivarium. Reptiles can become easily stressed by loud noises and constantly being disturbed (i.e. Tapping on the glass!), and since Oliver was healing it was important for him to get as much rest as possible.

But Oliver loved people; he also loved basking out in the sun. Some of you lucky visitors may even have had a chance to meet Oliver with one of the Keepers. His colors always shone brightest in the sun. You might remember the beautiful pink on the sides of his face as well as a touch of blue underneath his jaw.

During the month of August Oliver had once again fallen ill. A mouth infection due to his exposed jaw. But his time something was different. Oliver was not responding to treatment as well as he had in this past. Despite the Keepers and Dr. Burton's efforts Oliver was slowly getting worse. Oliver was tired and wanted to sleep. One day early in September Oliver went to sleep for one last time.

For the short time Oliver was with us he taught us a lifetime worth of lessons.

He taught us of courage.
He taught us of survival.
He taught us of beauty.
But most of all...

He taught us of strength.

Meet Oliver. Oliver was my friend...