Snakes Downunder Reptile Park and Zoo is a small facility located approximately three hours from Brisbane near the town of Childers, right off the main highway that stretches from Brisbane to Cairns. The zoo officially opened to the public in 2007 initially beginning with a collection of native reptiles. They have since branched out into a few exotic reptile species, a handful of native mammals and the classic zoo staple – meerkats. It’s the perfect location for a reptile park with hot, usually humid weather enabling all of the crocodilians, turtles, monitors etc. to live outdoors permanently all year round. The only indoor exhibits at Snakes Downunder are the main reptile house and the mini reptile house. So it’s idyllic for reptiles of all sorts with seemingly room to expand as well.
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From outside the zoo, I could hear the pair of Hyacinth Macaws screeching away incessantly and as I soon as I walked in and paid admission, my eyes were fixed on an aviary that was sitting on top of a hill behind a fence with two spectacular animals sitting in full view. It must be a hard task to hide noisy macaws! They were carrying on all morning giving their location away but I was thrilled to get a short glimpse of them. There were a few other species seen and heard but I’ll wait for the park to announce those developments. The zoo can really be divided into two main sections – the main area with the reptiles and the kangaroo reserve that sits a bit beyond the park.
Map
The first area I headed towards was the snake arena with is essentially a large pit with a high fence where keepers conduct a series of snake shows. It’s completely shaded and also has a trio of small tanks that sit along the main show area. The first tank had a few White-lipped Tree Frogs, followed by a Broad-headed Snake and concluding with Green Tree Frogs. They were all of an adequate size and provided plenty of hiding opportunities for the small snake in particular. At 10am, I came back for the snake show which focussed on showcasing different snake species. The zoo also has a separate presentation dedicated solely to venomous snakes. I often try to get to at least one animal presentation when I visit a zoo for the first time to get idea of the what sort of messaging the zoo promotes and it’s often an opportunity to see species up close. The keeper brought out six different snakes – three pythons, a colubrid and two elapids. The pythons – a Coastal Carpet Python, Black-headed Python and an Olive Python – were taken out briefly. The olive python was the only one that wasn’t held as it had a tendency to defecate all over whoever held him! A small Brown Tree Snake was then taken out of its bag while the two venomous snakes were a Red-bellied Black Snake and a rather motionless but very large Collett’s Snake. The keeper’s commentary was brief but effective, covering a range of topics including dispelling a lot of myths about snakes.
Beyond this area that is positioned near the entrance, the next block of exhibits were open-topped enclosures that were surrounded by a raised wooden boardwalk. The first enclosure had a mix of Freshwater Crocodile and Australian Painted/Jardine River Turtle. I had to return a few times to see the turtles but was pleased when they finally emerged. Next door, was a similar enclosure with two pools. It seemed to be unoccupied but it’s signed on the map for a crocodilian. The main enclosure was a large grassy exhibit with two separate pools for their pair of Saltwater Crocodiles. There were lots of wild Eastern Water Skinks here in particular. The zoo posted a video about a year ago that showed a wild tree snake consuming a water skink, which were both then consumed by one of the crocodiles in the enclosure. The circle of life!
Freshwater Crocodile/Australian Painted Turtle enclosure
Saltwater Crocodile enclosure
The main reptile house was an impressive building with a mock rock front and a python figure that stretched along the front of the entrance. Inside, were 17 different enclosures with a range of venomous snakes, pythons and a single lizard species that were mainly positioned all along the perimeter in one continuous row. All of the enclosures were large terrariums with a range of substrates appropriate to the species and the size of the animal. My only issue with the reptile house was the lack of signage; all of the reptiles were only signed with their common names and that was it. The first species housed was real treat to see; a beautiful Mulga Snake. This snake was followed by a Red-bellied Black Snake and a very active Inland Taipan. The next species was a really interesting one to see being a Blue-bellied Black Snake. Approaching the end of the first row of enclosures was a small Common Death Adder and a corner exhibit for a Rough-scaled Python which was a nice surprise. There were more pythons with a Black-headed Python, Woma, an enclosure with a Coastal Carpet Python and Darwin Carpet Python with a neat climbing frame, and finally two Jungle Carpet Pythons. The Black-headed Python was a particularly strange animal as it had a largely white head!
Reptile house
Reptile house layout – December 2021
Continuing on there were a set of smaller exhibits for a Tiger Snake, a Collett’s Snake and an Eastern Brown Snake. I was also pleasantly surprised to see a pair of Goldfields Shinglebacks on-show next door, being a brightly-coloured form of the Western Australian subspecies with orange markings. Their enclosure was great with very complex hiding opportunities. To finish off the row was a sandy enclosure for a Coastal Taipan. In the middle of the reptile house was a pair of spacious floor-to-ceiling enclosures for very large pythons – one from a Reticulated Python and the other for an Australian Scrub Python. Both were very impressive specimens. With about 10 different species of venomous snakes seen including the Broad-headed Snake not housed in the main reptile house, you’d be hard pressed to find a larger display collection of elapids among Queensland zoos.
Goldfields Shingleback
Reptile house enclosures
Running along the side of the reptile house were eight naturalistic and spacious reptile pits. Some were slightly covered over with netting presumably to protect the animals from predators but most were completely open to the elements. These were among some of the best outdoor reptile exhibits I’ve ever seen both in terms of aesthetics and functionality. The first circular enclosure was a grassy one for Eastern Long-necked Turtle, Eastern Water Dragon and a small Merten’s Water Monitor with a small pond. I don’t really see the point of housing water dragons when there were wild ones everywhere but understand they make a good filler species. The second pit had Shingleback, Central Bearded Dragon and Eastern Bluetongue that was thick with groundcovers. It was great to have to really search for the lizards. Nearby was a similar enclosure for more Eastern Bluetongue and Cunningham’s Skink. None of these species are particularly uncommon but it was the way in which they were exhibited that made this whole experience incredibly pleasing to see.
Eastern Long-necked Turtle/Water Dragon enclosure
Outdoor reptile enclosures
Continuing on was a set of four larger, deeper reptile pits for monitors – Lace Monitor, Sand Monitor, a larger Merten’s Water Monitor and a Perentie were all out in the sunshine. I know the zoo have had good breeding success with several of their monitors and have even supplied facilities like Auckland Zoo with specimens. The enclosure for the perentie was probably my favourite exhibit out of this set. It was very large for their smallish individual. It was also great to see Sand Monitors being exhibited as well in addition to usual three. The final pit held a few Frilled Dragons completely outdoors which was just superb.
Perentie enclosure
The nearby exhibit for their Komodo Dragon must be larger than what most major zoos can offer. It was completely covered up with mesh, looking like an aviary from a distance with a main shelter area. The dragon had access to a raised sandy platform, allowing visitors to see the animal up close if it decided to sit there. It’s great that small regional zoos like this one are now able to have access to a high-profile species like a Komodo; would have been unthinkable a decade ago. The enclosure for their small group of Radiated Tortoises was excellent as well. The tortoises were busily munching on grass and all of them were outdoors in the sunshine. A pleasure to watch their interesting behaviours as they made full use of their enclosure. The exhibit itself was planted well with low-lying shrubs and there is a bedded indoor area along the side of this meshed, high-fenced exhibit. The shaded enclosure for their Meerkats was good as well – lots of complex enrichment including Christmas-related paraphernalia that kept their small group occupied. Their enclosure also had a few live plants and bushes which helped soften the overall look of the exhibit.
Komodo Dragon enclosure
Radiated Tortoises
Up next was a building called the ‘mini reptile house’. The concept of a reptile area exclusively for small reptiles is a very alluring one and one that makes a lot of sense – house all the big reptilian crowd pullers in the main reptile house for Joe Public and place all the cool little critters for the zoo nerds tucked away in a quiet corner.
In reality, the ‘mini reptile house’ was essentially a shelter with a row of five wooden terrariums; one of which was empty and awaiting a new arrival. The Short-tailed Pygmy Monitor was the species that immediately drew my attention. They only get to a maximum size of 25 centimetres and it was dwarfed by their neighbours – a pair of active Pygmy Mulga Monitors. In the back of my mind, I had the large Komodo I had just seen, comparing them to these wee little monitors. Next to the tiny monitors was a Pygmy Python which are incredibly small snakes. In the final of the four occupied enclosures, there was a Central Bearded Dragon that will soon outgrow its enclosure. There was also a tank just outside with juvenile American Alligators and Eastern Long-necked Turtles. I really liked having a dedicated space exclusively for small reptiles; it doesn’t take up much room and provides a fantastic contrast with all the mega lizards and snakes. What better way to showcase the diversity of different groups of reptiles with some of the largest and smallest members of each family almost side-by-side.
Mini reptile house
Short-tailed Pygmy Monitor
The final section of the zoo was for their mammals. A gated area led to a set of two enclosures. The first enclosure had three Koalas in a simple but appropriate enclosure, well-shaded from the hot sun. The second exhibit was for their male Lumholtz’s Tree-kangaroo that was rescued from the wild a few years ago. His exhibit had a good amount of tree coverage, branches and a shaded platform. The enclosure’s perimeter was quite tall so there were glass viewing windows and a small ramp to enable clear viewing. The tree roo was well-hidden but seen quite easily. The final generously-sized enclosure was their walkthrough kangaroo reserve which contained Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Red Kangaroo and two Emus. A few wallabies wouldn’t look out of place here. The space was very pleasant with treed areas and a forested perimeter that encircles the grassy area. Lots of wild birds as well – finches, silvereyes and mistletoebirds – were found in the walkthrough enclosure.
Lumholtz’s Tree-kangaroo enclosure
Kangaroo reserve
Overall, Snakes Downunder is a great park with a solid and well-planned collection. I like how the zoo doesn’t shy away from housing some of the more obscure and smaller species along the popular creatures like crocodiles, large monitors and pythons. The confirmed future additions of primates and several species of birds including being one of only two known Australian zoos to have Hyacinth Macaws will be very welcomed arrivals for the park, adding a new dynamic to their collection. I look forward to seeing how the park will grow over the course of the next few years as it enters a period of notable development.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
From outside the zoo, I could hear the pair of Hyacinth Macaws screeching away incessantly and as I soon as I walked in and paid admission, my eyes were fixed on an aviary that was sitting on top of a hill behind a fence with two spectacular animals sitting in full view. It must be a hard task to hide noisy macaws! They were carrying on all morning giving their location away but I was thrilled to get a short glimpse of them. There were a few other species seen and heard but I’ll wait for the park to announce those developments. The zoo can really be divided into two main sections – the main area with the reptiles and the kangaroo reserve that sits a bit beyond the park.
Map
The first area I headed towards was the snake arena with is essentially a large pit with a high fence where keepers conduct a series of snake shows. It’s completely shaded and also has a trio of small tanks that sit along the main show area. The first tank had a few White-lipped Tree Frogs, followed by a Broad-headed Snake and concluding with Green Tree Frogs. They were all of an adequate size and provided plenty of hiding opportunities for the small snake in particular. At 10am, I came back for the snake show which focussed on showcasing different snake species. The zoo also has a separate presentation dedicated solely to venomous snakes. I often try to get to at least one animal presentation when I visit a zoo for the first time to get idea of the what sort of messaging the zoo promotes and it’s often an opportunity to see species up close. The keeper brought out six different snakes – three pythons, a colubrid and two elapids. The pythons – a Coastal Carpet Python, Black-headed Python and an Olive Python – were taken out briefly. The olive python was the only one that wasn’t held as it had a tendency to defecate all over whoever held him! A small Brown Tree Snake was then taken out of its bag while the two venomous snakes were a Red-bellied Black Snake and a rather motionless but very large Collett’s Snake. The keeper’s commentary was brief but effective, covering a range of topics including dispelling a lot of myths about snakes.
Beyond this area that is positioned near the entrance, the next block of exhibits were open-topped enclosures that were surrounded by a raised wooden boardwalk. The first enclosure had a mix of Freshwater Crocodile and Australian Painted/Jardine River Turtle. I had to return a few times to see the turtles but was pleased when they finally emerged. Next door, was a similar enclosure with two pools. It seemed to be unoccupied but it’s signed on the map for a crocodilian. The main enclosure was a large grassy exhibit with two separate pools for their pair of Saltwater Crocodiles. There were lots of wild Eastern Water Skinks here in particular. The zoo posted a video about a year ago that showed a wild tree snake consuming a water skink, which were both then consumed by one of the crocodiles in the enclosure. The circle of life!
Freshwater Crocodile/Australian Painted Turtle enclosure
Saltwater Crocodile enclosure
The main reptile house was an impressive building with a mock rock front and a python figure that stretched along the front of the entrance. Inside, were 17 different enclosures with a range of venomous snakes, pythons and a single lizard species that were mainly positioned all along the perimeter in one continuous row. All of the enclosures were large terrariums with a range of substrates appropriate to the species and the size of the animal. My only issue with the reptile house was the lack of signage; all of the reptiles were only signed with their common names and that was it. The first species housed was real treat to see; a beautiful Mulga Snake. This snake was followed by a Red-bellied Black Snake and a very active Inland Taipan. The next species was a really interesting one to see being a Blue-bellied Black Snake. Approaching the end of the first row of enclosures was a small Common Death Adder and a corner exhibit for a Rough-scaled Python which was a nice surprise. There were more pythons with a Black-headed Python, Woma, an enclosure with a Coastal Carpet Python and Darwin Carpet Python with a neat climbing frame, and finally two Jungle Carpet Pythons. The Black-headed Python was a particularly strange animal as it had a largely white head!
Reptile house
Reptile house layout – December 2021
Continuing on there were a set of smaller exhibits for a Tiger Snake, a Collett’s Snake and an Eastern Brown Snake. I was also pleasantly surprised to see a pair of Goldfields Shinglebacks on-show next door, being a brightly-coloured form of the Western Australian subspecies with orange markings. Their enclosure was great with very complex hiding opportunities. To finish off the row was a sandy enclosure for a Coastal Taipan. In the middle of the reptile house was a pair of spacious floor-to-ceiling enclosures for very large pythons – one from a Reticulated Python and the other for an Australian Scrub Python. Both were very impressive specimens. With about 10 different species of venomous snakes seen including the Broad-headed Snake not housed in the main reptile house, you’d be hard pressed to find a larger display collection of elapids among Queensland zoos.
Goldfields Shingleback
Reptile house enclosures
Running along the side of the reptile house were eight naturalistic and spacious reptile pits. Some were slightly covered over with netting presumably to protect the animals from predators but most were completely open to the elements. These were among some of the best outdoor reptile exhibits I’ve ever seen both in terms of aesthetics and functionality. The first circular enclosure was a grassy one for Eastern Long-necked Turtle, Eastern Water Dragon and a small Merten’s Water Monitor with a small pond. I don’t really see the point of housing water dragons when there were wild ones everywhere but understand they make a good filler species. The second pit had Shingleback, Central Bearded Dragon and Eastern Bluetongue that was thick with groundcovers. It was great to have to really search for the lizards. Nearby was a similar enclosure for more Eastern Bluetongue and Cunningham’s Skink. None of these species are particularly uncommon but it was the way in which they were exhibited that made this whole experience incredibly pleasing to see.
Eastern Long-necked Turtle/Water Dragon enclosure
Outdoor reptile enclosures
Continuing on was a set of four larger, deeper reptile pits for monitors – Lace Monitor, Sand Monitor, a larger Merten’s Water Monitor and a Perentie were all out in the sunshine. I know the zoo have had good breeding success with several of their monitors and have even supplied facilities like Auckland Zoo with specimens. The enclosure for the perentie was probably my favourite exhibit out of this set. It was very large for their smallish individual. It was also great to see Sand Monitors being exhibited as well in addition to usual three. The final pit held a few Frilled Dragons completely outdoors which was just superb.
Perentie enclosure
The nearby exhibit for their Komodo Dragon must be larger than what most major zoos can offer. It was completely covered up with mesh, looking like an aviary from a distance with a main shelter area. The dragon had access to a raised sandy platform, allowing visitors to see the animal up close if it decided to sit there. It’s great that small regional zoos like this one are now able to have access to a high-profile species like a Komodo; would have been unthinkable a decade ago. The enclosure for their small group of Radiated Tortoises was excellent as well. The tortoises were busily munching on grass and all of them were outdoors in the sunshine. A pleasure to watch their interesting behaviours as they made full use of their enclosure. The exhibit itself was planted well with low-lying shrubs and there is a bedded indoor area along the side of this meshed, high-fenced exhibit. The shaded enclosure for their Meerkats was good as well – lots of complex enrichment including Christmas-related paraphernalia that kept their small group occupied. Their enclosure also had a few live plants and bushes which helped soften the overall look of the exhibit.
Komodo Dragon enclosure
Radiated Tortoises
Up next was a building called the ‘mini reptile house’. The concept of a reptile area exclusively for small reptiles is a very alluring one and one that makes a lot of sense – house all the big reptilian crowd pullers in the main reptile house for Joe Public and place all the cool little critters for the zoo nerds tucked away in a quiet corner.
In reality, the ‘mini reptile house’ was essentially a shelter with a row of five wooden terrariums; one of which was empty and awaiting a new arrival. The Short-tailed Pygmy Monitor was the species that immediately drew my attention. They only get to a maximum size of 25 centimetres and it was dwarfed by their neighbours – a pair of active Pygmy Mulga Monitors. In the back of my mind, I had the large Komodo I had just seen, comparing them to these wee little monitors. Next to the tiny monitors was a Pygmy Python which are incredibly small snakes. In the final of the four occupied enclosures, there was a Central Bearded Dragon that will soon outgrow its enclosure. There was also a tank just outside with juvenile American Alligators and Eastern Long-necked Turtles. I really liked having a dedicated space exclusively for small reptiles; it doesn’t take up much room and provides a fantastic contrast with all the mega lizards and snakes. What better way to showcase the diversity of different groups of reptiles with some of the largest and smallest members of each family almost side-by-side.Mini reptile house
Short-tailed Pygmy Monitor
The final section of the zoo was for their mammals. A gated area led to a set of two enclosures. The first enclosure had three Koalas in a simple but appropriate enclosure, well-shaded from the hot sun. The second exhibit was for their male Lumholtz’s Tree-kangaroo that was rescued from the wild a few years ago. His exhibit had a good amount of tree coverage, branches and a shaded platform. The enclosure’s perimeter was quite tall so there were glass viewing windows and a small ramp to enable clear viewing. The tree roo was well-hidden but seen quite easily. The final generously-sized enclosure was their walkthrough kangaroo reserve which contained Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Red Kangaroo and two Emus. A few wallabies wouldn’t look out of place here. The space was very pleasant with treed areas and a forested perimeter that encircles the grassy area. Lots of wild birds as well – finches, silvereyes and mistletoebirds – were found in the walkthrough enclosure.
Lumholtz’s Tree-kangaroo enclosure
Kangaroo reserve
Overall, Snakes Downunder is a great park with a solid and well-planned collection. I like how the zoo doesn’t shy away from housing some of the more obscure and smaller species along the popular creatures like crocodiles, large monitors and pythons. The confirmed future additions of primates and several species of birds including being one of only two known Australian zoos to have Hyacinth Macaws will be very welcomed arrivals for the park, adding a new dynamic to their collection. I look forward to seeing how the park will grow over the course of the next few years as it enters a period of notable development.
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