Philadelphia Zoo Philadelphia Zoo 2021 News

I visited the zoo today and I noticed some changes.
-Aye-ayes are now open again in PECO Primate Reserve. I saw one on the left side, but I didn’t see anything on the right side or the jumping rat.
-Reptile house opens daily at 11 a.m. There are now no capacity limits on the buildings. The outdoor portion of KidZooU is open as well.
-Many changes in the reptile house. Northern water snakes are now in two adjacent exhibits with the birth of a snakelet. The zoo also got a new copperhead which the species has been absent for several years now. Some of the old reptiles and amphibians are no longer present, like the African bullfrog, western banded gecko, yellow rat snake, Haitian galliwasp and Anderson’s salamander. The yellow rat snake passed away. The zoo still has one bullfrog off exhibit, not sure what happened to the one on-exhibit but he probably passed since he’s been in there for over 10 years and frogs don’t live too long. There is now one-toed amphiuma in the exhibit where Anderson’s salamander used to live. The zoo also added Golfodulcean poison frogs and sailfin lizards are in the former forest cobra exhibit. Eyelash gecko is back on exhibit, however it’s now on exhibit together with the Haitian anole across from green tree python. Didn’t see either though. The galliwasp was nowhere to be found. Cottonmouth is in the exhibit where East African gaboon viper used to be. There have been accommodations to the reticulated python exhibit where keepers have added two new hiding spots but the python was still in her old spot. And i was wrong the zoo still has two elderly anacondas. A matamata turtle is in the exhibit next to dwarf caiman. Black tree monitors were still nowhere to be found. They’ve been at the zoo as long as I can remember, and they only live around 10 years so out of my knowledge they’re definitely very old now. Last I checked they were behind the scenes, maybe due to their age they are now permanently retired, or maybe passed away.
 
CarLover said:
Are the forest cobras still there?

In the exhibit where the snapping turtle was or the other one with the pig-nosed turtle?
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The one where the pig-nosed turtle used to live. The elderly pig-nosed turtle passed away in early 2019. He actually passed on the same day I visited back then. The zoo has another one off-exhibit, he was in the exhibit for awhile but it did not fit him so he is now back retired.
 
Kevin2342 said:
The one where the pig-nosed turtle used to live. The elderly pig-nosed turtle passed away in early 2019. He actually passed on the same day I visited back then. The zoo has another one off-exhibit, he was in the exhibit for awhile but it did not fit him so he is now back retired.
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That's sad. I always loved watching it swim around and its uncanny resemblance to a sea turtle.
 
I'll also miss the forest cobras. Now the king cobras are the only elapids on exhibit at the zoo. I remember my brother once tapped the glass on their exhibit where the West African gaboon viper lives now and the cobra lunged at the glass.
 
CarLover said:
I'll also miss the forest cobras. Now the king cobras are the only elapids on exhibit at the zoo. I remember my brother once tapped the glass on their exhibit where the West African gaboon viper lives now and the cobra lunged at the glass.
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There’s only one king cobra left. The male passed away back in 2015 I think.
 
CarLover said:
That's sad. I always loved watching it swim around and its uncanny resemblance to a sea turtle.
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Meatball, the elderly turtle has been at the zoo since 1971. He was probably already an adult back then. He was born in the wild, so we do not know how old he is but he was at least 48. Not all turtles live over 100. The larger the turtle, the longer it will live. Pig-nosed turtles in captivity usually live into their late 30s. The second turtle(not sure his name) has been at the zoo since 2001. We are not sure the sex it age of this turtle but he is probably younger than Meatball. The zoo does have a lot of old animals.
 
Reptile House updated species list(as of 2021):
-Northern water snake
-copperhead
-eastern massasauga
-timber rattlesnake
-fire salamander
-one-toed amphiuma
-firebelly toad
-brown newt
-emperor spotted newt
-standing’s day gecko
-flat-tailed spider tortoise
-Madagascar tree boa
-Madagascar ground boa
-west African gaboon viper
-cottonmouth
-green tree python
-Solomon island tree boa
-splendid tree frog
-golfodulcean poison dart frog
-green-and-black poison dart frog
-eyelash gecko
-Haitian anole
-mertens water monitor
-king cobra
-crocodile lizard
-Chinese three-striped box turtle
-Weber’s sailfin lizard
-prehensile-tailed skink
-travancore tortoise
-mata mata
-dwarf caiman
-Florida common snapping turtle
-banded rock rattlesnake
-pancake tortoise
-spiny-tailed lizard
-Gila monster
-western diamondback rattlesnake
-panamint rattlesnake
-shingleback skink
-hosmer’s skink
-sidewinder rattlesnake
-beaded lizard(2 subspecies)
-desert tortoise
-west African crocodile
-green anaconda
-reticulated python
-west African dwarf crocodile
-Aldabra giant tortoise
-Galapagos giant tortoise
-black tree monitor?(off-exhibit)
 
I went to the zoo today.
-in the reptile house, the African bullfrog and western banded geckos passed away.
-also in the reptile house, several exhibits in the desert wing are now dark. That is due to the light producing a lot of heat and to cool everything down.
-feedings for Wings of Asia are now open.
-naked mole-rats were off exhibit, not sure why.
 
red river hog said:
According to the zoo’s social media, there are bushbabies, presumably Mohol, and Pygmy Slow Lorises in the Aye-Ayes of the Night Forest exhibit.
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Are the bushbabies, and the other animals listed new to the zoo? I was there a few years back and I only remember them having Aye ayes and Madagascar Jumping Rats in the exhibit.
 
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