Wildlife

The yellow crescent behind the eye is the giveaway. Size by sex, tank requirements, diet, lifespan, and the cost of keeping a Mississippi map turtle.

Seeing an opossum is read as a call to outwit a fight instead of forcing it. What the traditions actually say, and what a sighting in your yard, at a window or in a dream means.

A Hermann tortoise stays under 8 in, lives 50 to 75 years, and eats only weeds and greens. Here is what the enclosure, diet, and budget really take.

The rabid wolf spider is harmless to people. Size, stripes, bite risk, indoor visits, and why the name describes its frantic sprint rather than any disease.

Grass spider bites are rare and mild: a pinprick, a small red bump, gone in two days. What the bite looks like, how to rule out other causes, and the risk to dogs.

Seeing an iguana is read as a sign to slow down and hold your ground. Meanings by situation, tradition, color and dream, stated as belief.

Corn snakes live 15 to 20 years in captivity and 6 to 8 in the wild. The record is 32 years. Here is what shortens the number and how to read the warning signs.

Seeing a gecko is read as a sign of adaptability and renewal. What it means in the house, at night, repeatedly or in a dream, separated by tradition.

A cricket in your house is a sign of luck and a protected home in many traditions, and its night song is a reminder to trust your inner voice. What the sighting means by situation, in the Bible, in Asia and in European folklore.

No US snake is purple by pigment, but mud snakes and rainbow snakes throw a violet sheen in sunlight. Seven species, which ones are venomous, and whether purple pythons exist.