Exhibit 4.5: Northeastern Australia (Top Floor)
The upper floor of the Northeast Australian exhibit is lush with artificial ferns, and I'll take the opportunity here to say that whoever chose the artificial plants did a great job - lots of exhibits in here have had mixed live and artificial or completely artificial plants, and I'd be willing to bet a lot of people didn't notice until now. The branches up here are nicely-done, although the blending of the branch on the back could be better with all the others (again, these are my perfectionist nitpicks, I still regard this facility as top-notch!) I never saw the Water Dragons (Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii) make their way up this high, but on the contrary I never saw the Mertens' Water Monitors (Varanus mertensi) leave the upper canopy.
Exhibit 5.5: Amazon Rainforest (Top Floor)
Not too much to report here, as the Basilisks (Basiliscus plumifrons) are the only species that can access this portion right now, and they don't typically hang out this high. Still, the view down is impressive, and I'm excited to see Caiman Lizards (Dracaenea guianensis) use the full height of these trees eventually - makes me wonder if they will jump into the water like the Crocodile Monitors. Speaking of, the trees in here look great, very similar to the Crocodile Monitor Kingdom.
Exhibit 6.5: Batanta (Top Floor)
This is typically where the Blue Tree Monitors (Varanus macraei) in this exhibit hang out, given their arboreal nature. I saw at least one in here throughout the day, who was primarily napping or chasing Dubia Roaches around the entire 30' height of the enclosure. Not a whole lot I would add here, but some plants draping down over the walls might make the blue appear more like the intended skyline and less jarring.
Exhibit 7.5: Cuba (Top Floor)
This is one of the more exciting upper story exhibits, with the male Rock Iguana (Cyclura nubila) spending a good portion of the day basking atop the rock pile. He's quick to give a quick two or three little head bobs to say hello, and is clearly a well-socialized animal. Also visible up here are the Smallwood's Anoles (Anolis smallwoodi), another member of the equestris species complex represented here. Make no mistake, these are no Knight Anoles (A. equestris). They are far more brilliantly patterned, with a bright teal hue that makes them very attractive. The combination of artificial trees, live bromeliads, and natural shrubbery up here make this exhibit one of the top floor's stars, and I'd be excited to see the aforementioned Northern Curly-Tailed Lizards (Leiocephalus carinatus) use the full height as well.
Exhibit 8.5: Aru Islands (Top Floor)
Nothing here yet, but I will add that I like this exhibit better than the previous Tree Monitor exhibit. The plants look especially nice in here, and the vines have a more natural look as well. As with the previous enclosure, adding some more plants draping down over the walls could make the blue appear more like a skyline and less jarring.
Exhibit 9.5: Tsingy Peaks (Top Floor)
This was another attractive exhibit from the top floor, with the peaks of northwestern Madagascar near-perfectly represented. I'm happy with how nicely the photos of this exhibit came out, I was worried they wouldn't capture the beauty of it. I do think the exhibit would benefit from a larger lizard population, especially of the Day Geckos (Phelsuma sp.) as I only saw one for a brief second. A number of chameleons would probably do quite well in here, as they have a bit of floorspace at the top there and they'd be relatively undisturbed. While Oustalet's Chameleons (Furcifer oustaleti) are probably the most common in Tsingy, Green Chameleons (Furcifer viridis) are also known from the area. Appropriate geckos might include P. abbotti or P. kochi, and Western Girdled Lizards (Zonosaurus laticaudatus) would make another great addition.
Exhibit 10.5: New Guinea (Top Floor)
Not too much to report on here animal-wise, this was signed for the Angle-Headed Forest Dragons (Hypsilurus magnus) but I'm not sure they were on display during my visit. I really like the tree in here, and as I mentioned earlier I'd love to see the Blue Tree Monitors (Varanus macraei) moved over here as they are the largest of the Tree Monitors. The planter boxes with live Pothos near the windows are a great touch as well. The mask and potted plant are going to illicit mixed opinions - I won't comment either way.
The upper floor of the Northeast Australian exhibit is lush with artificial ferns, and I'll take the opportunity here to say that whoever chose the artificial plants did a great job - lots of exhibits in here have had mixed live and artificial or completely artificial plants, and I'd be willing to bet a lot of people didn't notice until now. The branches up here are nicely-done, although the blending of the branch on the back could be better with all the others (again, these are my perfectionist nitpicks, I still regard this facility as top-notch!) I never saw the Water Dragons (Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii) make their way up this high, but on the contrary I never saw the Mertens' Water Monitors (Varanus mertensi) leave the upper canopy.
Exhibit 5.5: Amazon Rainforest (Top Floor)
Not too much to report here, as the Basilisks (Basiliscus plumifrons) are the only species that can access this portion right now, and they don't typically hang out this high. Still, the view down is impressive, and I'm excited to see Caiman Lizards (Dracaenea guianensis) use the full height of these trees eventually - makes me wonder if they will jump into the water like the Crocodile Monitors. Speaking of, the trees in here look great, very similar to the Crocodile Monitor Kingdom.
Exhibit 6.5: Batanta (Top Floor)
This is typically where the Blue Tree Monitors (Varanus macraei) in this exhibit hang out, given their arboreal nature. I saw at least one in here throughout the day, who was primarily napping or chasing Dubia Roaches around the entire 30' height of the enclosure. Not a whole lot I would add here, but some plants draping down over the walls might make the blue appear more like the intended skyline and less jarring.
Exhibit 7.5: Cuba (Top Floor)
This is one of the more exciting upper story exhibits, with the male Rock Iguana (Cyclura nubila) spending a good portion of the day basking atop the rock pile. He's quick to give a quick two or three little head bobs to say hello, and is clearly a well-socialized animal. Also visible up here are the Smallwood's Anoles (Anolis smallwoodi), another member of the equestris species complex represented here. Make no mistake, these are no Knight Anoles (A. equestris). They are far more brilliantly patterned, with a bright teal hue that makes them very attractive. The combination of artificial trees, live bromeliads, and natural shrubbery up here make this exhibit one of the top floor's stars, and I'd be excited to see the aforementioned Northern Curly-Tailed Lizards (Leiocephalus carinatus) use the full height as well.
Exhibit 8.5: Aru Islands (Top Floor)
Nothing here yet, but I will add that I like this exhibit better than the previous Tree Monitor exhibit. The plants look especially nice in here, and the vines have a more natural look as well. As with the previous enclosure, adding some more plants draping down over the walls could make the blue appear more like a skyline and less jarring.
Exhibit 9.5: Tsingy Peaks (Top Floor)
This was another attractive exhibit from the top floor, with the peaks of northwestern Madagascar near-perfectly represented. I'm happy with how nicely the photos of this exhibit came out, I was worried they wouldn't capture the beauty of it. I do think the exhibit would benefit from a larger lizard population, especially of the Day Geckos (Phelsuma sp.) as I only saw one for a brief second. A number of chameleons would probably do quite well in here, as they have a bit of floorspace at the top there and they'd be relatively undisturbed. While Oustalet's Chameleons (Furcifer oustaleti) are probably the most common in Tsingy, Green Chameleons (Furcifer viridis) are also known from the area. Appropriate geckos might include P. abbotti or P. kochi, and Western Girdled Lizards (Zonosaurus laticaudatus) would make another great addition.
Exhibit 10.5: New Guinea (Top Floor)
Not too much to report on here animal-wise, this was signed for the Angle-Headed Forest Dragons (Hypsilurus magnus) but I'm not sure they were on display during my visit. I really like the tree in here, and as I mentioned earlier I'd love to see the Blue Tree Monitors (Varanus macraei) moved over here as they are the largest of the Tree Monitors. The planter boxes with live Pothos near the windows are a great touch as well. The mask and potted plant are going to illicit mixed opinions - I won't comment either way.