Emily Schulte loves to grocery shop. She enjoys making fresh salads for her friends. The only thing is her friends are reptiles.
"I usually buy mustard greens, kale, spaghetti squash, cilantro, carrots and sometimes mango or papaya," Schulte said. "The person at the checkout stand usually says, 'wow, you eat healthy.'"
Schulte is the animal caretaker at the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum at BYU. She is a student studying wildlife and wildland conservation and her part-time job is to feed, bath and clean the living spaces for the live reptiles at the Bean Museum.
Just like a mother, Schulte doesn't like to pick favorites, but she did spend time talking about a couple: Oatis, an African spurred tortoise and Colonel Mustard, a bearded dragon who is native to Australia and New Guinea. Schulte said the reptiles are fun to take care of and even better to get to know their individual personalities.
"Oatis is adventurous," Schulte said as the tortoise slowly roamed the basement floor.
Other museum employees agree with that assessment of his character.
"Oatis is very slow and easy going," said Brent Beardsley, a junior majoring in integrative biology and an employee at the museum. "He is curious at times and always plodding and eating every thing."
Based on the tortoise's size, people wouldn't guess that he is a strict vegetarian and that he may get up to 150 pounds. He loves anything put on his plate, unlike his spiky neighbor Colonel Mustard who has developed a fond taste of carrots and cilantro.
It's obvious where Colonel Mustard's name came from with one look at his yellow-colored body.
"He's not always this color though," Schulte said. "When he is nervous he gets a little darker, especially under his chin. That is where the name 'bearded dragon' comes from. ... It looks like he has a beard."
Colonel Mustard and Oatis are often part of the museum's shows. They help visitors understand reptile classifications and animal adaptations.
"They're very cool!" said Dallin Bristol, a sixth grader from Lone Peak Elementary in Sandy who came to the Animal Adaptation show. "I learned a lot, like how Oatis has all those lumps on his back. I've never seen that before."
Groups may schedule tours and shows at any other time with a week's notice. The museum also hosts a Saturday Safari children's program where kids learn about plants and animals from around the world, focusing on a different part of the world each week. Between shows, visitors can view the insect display, showcasing some of the museum's collection of more than 2 million insect specimens and a diverse collection of birds, mammals and seashells.
What: Fun LIVE Reptiles
Where: Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum
Location: 645 E. 1430 North, Provo
Time: Monday 6:30 and 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
Web site: http://mlbean.byu.edu/
Copyright Brigham Young University 17 Oct 2006
