Melissa Kaplan's
Herp Care Collection
Last updated December 18, 2009

Recipe For A Rain Forest

Adapted by Melissa Kaplan, 1995

To give you an idea of what the rain forest is like, close your eyes and imagine that you are the smallest bathroom at home. Now, into your bathroom put:

80 different kinds of plants
1 large tree, and 3 small ones
1 troop of 10 monkeys
8 different kinds of birds - all squawking at once
150 different species of beetles
16 butterflies
97 ants
42 spiders
12 wasps
7 flies
3 centipedes (each at least 8" long!)
5 different kinds of fish (put them in the sink and toilet)
1 small caiman (put her in the bathtub)
4 frogs
1 snake, at least 6 feet long
22 different kinds of worms
3 bats
1 tree iguana
2 other lizards
1 armadillo
4 pounds of bacteria and fungi

Now, turn your shower on HOT at full blast for ten minutes. Add two space heaters set on HIGH. Now, that's what a rain forest is like!