Singapore Zoo Singapore Zoo News 2017

Zooish said:
27 May, this Saturday
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Ok so just visited reptopia and I must say I am impressed! For those who knew the old reptile building you'll see a huge transformation. There are not many exhibits, but for the most part they are big and very well themed. The species list has also changed from the relatively boring one that used to be on display, and I was told there are more species to come still plus an exclusive behind-the-scenes option that should take off in a few months.
You can really feel the new team working reaching new heights under the new direction. I must say that visually the overall experience is quite impactfull. There were several keepers around d, helping people spot some of the more shy animals and there were some feedings happening too.
new to the reptile house are some amphibians too.
Given my "amazing" photography skills I only took pictures of the exhibits, will post later.
Species list to follow
 
Reptopia species list on 27 May

1 - Deserts of the World

This area is the first you see when you enter from the old reptile gardens whenre the Komodo Dragons are. It is the more innovative area I feel, with an "open" exhibit and a pop-up dome exhibit.

"Pop=up" exhibit : Regal Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma solare)

Middle-eastern Desert: Herman's Tortoise (Testudo hermmani) / Ornate Uromastyx (Uromastix ornatus) / Veiled Chameleon (Chamaleo calyptratus). This is "open" and there was a feeding of the chameleon when I was there. Very entertaining

Australian desert : Bearded Dragon (Pogona vitticeps) / Frilled-neck Lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii) / Shingleback (Tiliqua rugosa). In a smaller separate tank : Knob-tailed Gecko (Nephrurus amiae)

Sonoran Desert : Western Diamonback (Crotalus atrox) / Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum). In a smaller tank : Mexican Red-knee tarantula (Brachypelma emilia)
 
I'm impressed by RepTopia as well. As Calyptorhynchus mentioned, there aren't a lot of exhibits, but most are generous in size and are separated from one another by glass, creating a nice open feel. A few exhibits have glass windows that can be opened for closer views during keeper talks. Most exhibits are also mixed. There are a couple of nice outdoor enclosures for crocodile monitor and Chinese alligator. I guess I'll let Calyptorhynchus continue with the species list, but there are some very nice ones indeed. I'll post my photos soon.
 
The next area is dedicated to neotropical herps:

Former alligator snapping turtle exhibit (remodeled and expanded): Caiman Lizard / Dwarf Caiman / Mata-mata / Plumed Basilisk

Jewel Tank : Emerald Tree Boa / Milk Frog / Deying Poison Dart frog / Giant Monkey Frog (did not see these)

Walk-through aviary (this was already there in the old reptile house; it could use more species, hopefully this is still work in progress): Dwarf Caiman / Green Iguana / Red-foot Tortoise

Jewel Tank : Eyelash Viper / Golden Poison Dart frog / Green-and-Black Poison dart frog / Deying Poison Dart frog

Then there are some very nice Madagascar-themed tanks (as Zooish mentioned, all tanks are separated by clear glass so it gives you a very immersive feel, and this area is one of the ones where this is best accomplished). There are three exhibits, displaying:

Henkel's Leaf-tailed Gecko / Giant Day Gecko / Panther Chameleon

Parson's Chameleon / Flat-back Spider Tortoise

Panther Chameleon (red colored one, very impressive)

Around the corner there is an over-sized exhibit for a Gaboon Viper, which has two smaller "satellite" tanks, one with a Forest Scorpion and one with a Ball Python (kinda disappointing)
 
As Zooish mentioned, there are two outdoor exhibits, which sit where the old fish pond used to be. THese house some very cool species:

Crocodile Monitor / Fly-River Turtle (don't theink they were in, but there is a sign for them)

Chinese Alligator / Chinese Stripe-neck Turtle / Chinese Box Turtle (did not see them)

Moving back in, the indo-pacific displays showcase mostly asian species, with a few endemic odd-balls

Emerald Tree Monitor / Solomon Island Skink / Roti Island Snake-neck Turtle

Green Tree Python / Oriental Whipsnake / Elephant Trunk Snake / Paradise Tree Snake

Fiji Banded Iguana (one female on display only) / New Caledonia Giant Gecko

King Cobra (perhaps the only exhibit that could be a tad bigger)

Reticulated Python / Burmese Python / Mangrove Snake / Keeled rat-snake (a first for me, huge snake, very active)

Overall I think the collection has definitely improved, though I would like to see more species in, as some areas look empty (hopefully this will happen in the future). The outdoor exhibits for the crocodile monitor and aligator are pretty cool, and so is the aviary, though I hope they would fill the latter a bit more. WRS has a huge reptile collection, with many species not on display, so hopefully this will continue to be worked on.
But this said, i think the overall result is very good, and the new setting allows for a closer interaction with keepers and animals (some exhibits open up for feeding but there are also keepers randomly walking around with reptiles talking to visitors).
Great to see the much neglected reptile house get some much needed attention. It is now my favorite exhibit in the Singapore Zoo :-)
 
Thanks @Calyptorhynchus for the details and species list, sounds like a great exhibit, can't wait to see it. @Zooish has now uploaded a range of photos of RepTopia to the Singapore Zoo gallery.

With the Tortoise Shell-ter and associated exhibits for larger species in the Reptile Garden, this is now a great, exciting and modern display of reptiles, with a large variety of exhibit types to hold visitor's attention.
 
According to the Zoo's Facebook page, the elderly white tiger, Omar, has died.

Today, we are deeply saddened by the passing of an icon of Singapore Zoo.
We are thankful for the memories he had left us with - photographs of his elegant leap into the water and him lounging stylishly on his rocky outcrop.

Your charismatic presence will be deeply missed Omar, our senior white tiger.
Our thoughts and appreciation go to Omar's keepers who've taken great care of Omar through the years he had been with us.
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Did the Zoo actually import a new pair of white tigers from Indonesia as was reported, and have they been on display?
 
zooboy28 said:
According to the Zoo's Facebook page, the elderly white tiger, Omar, has died.



Did the Zoo actually import a new pair of white tigers from Indonesia as was reported, and have they been on display?
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Yes a sibling pair was imported from Batu Secret Zoo in 2015 and have been on display since. They are 4 years old now.
 
question for Zooish, seeing I brought them up in another thread (The new Najade is new) - are the Sri Lankan giant squirrels which used to be in the Critter Longhouse still at the zoo on-display? Or otherwise?
 
RepTopia's current species list, with a few new additions since the soft opening in June (some species do get rotated off display regularly though):

Deserts of the World:
Regal Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma solare)

Hermann's Tortoise (Testudo hermanni) / Veiled Chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus) / Ornate Uromastyx (Uromastyx ornata)

Rough Knob-tailed Gecko (Nephrurus amyae) / Shingleback Skink (Tiliqua rugosa) / Northern Blue-tongued Skink (Tiliqua scincoides intermedia) / Inland Bearded Dragon (Pogona vitticeps) / Frilled Lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii)

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) / Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum) / Mexican Redleg Tarantula (Brachypelma emilia)

Neotropical Rainforest:
Northern Caiman Lizard (Dracaena guianensis) / Plumed Basilisk (Basiliscus plumifrons) / Mata Mata (Chelus fimbriata)

Emerald Tree Boa (Corallus caninus) / Amazon Milk Frog (Trachycephalus resinifictrix) / Blue Poison Dart Frog (Dendrobates tinctorius azureus)

Eyelash Viper (Bothriechis schlegelii) / Golden Poison Dart Frog (Phyllobates terribilis) / Blue Poison Dart Frog (Dendrobates tinctorius azureus) / Green and Black Poison Dart Frog (Dendrobates auratus)

Cuvier's Dwarf Caiman (Paleosuchus palpebrosus) / Green Iguana (Iguana iguana) / Yellow-spotted AmazonTurtle (Podocnemis unifilis) / Red-footed Tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonaria)

African Jungle:
Giant Day Gecko (Phelsuma grandis) / Henkel's Leaf-tailed Gecko (Uroplatus henkeli) / Panther Chameleon (Furcifer pardalis) / Parson's Chameleon (Calumma parsonii) / Flat-backed Spider Tortoise (Pyxis planicauda)

Gaboon Viper (Bitis gabonica) / Royal Python (Python regius) / Emperor Scorpion (Pandinus imperator)

Indo-Pacific:
Crocodile Monitor (Varanus salvadorii)

Chinese Alligator (Alligator sinensis) / Chinese Striped-necked Turtle (Mauremys sinensis) / Chinese Box Turtle (Cuora flavomarginata)

Monkey-tailed Skink (Corucia zebrata) / Emerald Monitor (Varanus prasinus) / Roti Island Snakeneck Turtle (Chelodina mccordi)

Green Tree Python (Morelia viridis) / Oriental Whip Snake (Ahaetulla prasina) / Elephant Trunk Snake (Acrochordus javanicus)

Fiji Banded Iguana (Brachylophus fasciatus) / New Caledonian Giant Gecko (Rhacodactylus leachianus)

King Cobra (Ophiophagus hanna) / Common Flying Lizard (Draco sumatranus)

Reticulated Python (Malayopython reticulatus) / Burmese Rock Python (Python bivittatus) / Keeled Ratsnake (Ptyas carinata) / Gold-ringed Cat Snake (Boiga dendrophila)

Hatchery:
Large-eyed Pit Viper (Trimeresurus macrops)
Ornate Uromastyx (Uromastyx ornata)
Electric Blue Gecko (Lygodactylus williamsi)
Crested Gecko (Correlophus ciliatus)
Giant Monkey Frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor)
Blue Poison Dart Frog (Dendrobates tinctorius azureus)
 
there are some (read: a lot of) nice species in that line-up. Draco is a surprise. What sort of size terrariums are the reptiles kept in overall? [EDIT: I've just been looking at your photos in the Singapore Zoo gallery. They are good-sized exhibits for the inhabitants].

I don't think I've ever seen a caiman lizard in real life, and definitely not any Pyxis tortoises.
 
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