Good morning,
today, we will enter the Exoticarium building, home to various species of reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. After we enter the building, we see the indoor exhibit of the giant tortoises to our right, while to our left, there is a large terrarium which contains
Grand Cayman blue iguanas (
Cyclura lewisi) (1.2). The wildlife park also supports a conservation project in their native Cayman islands and is a breeder of this rare species of lizard. As we move further inside the building, you will see a U-shaped row of terraria containing various species of snakes, with the largest one being home to Nagini, our lone female
reticulated python. If you turn left, you will reach the Amphibian wing, or if you turn right, you will reach the Insect Zone.
The species of the terraria in the central section include:
- Southern pine snake (Pituophis melanoleucus mugitus) (1.2)
- African egg-eating snake (Dasypeltis scabra) (1.0)
- Blue beauty ratsnake (Elaphe taeniura callicyanous) (1.1)
- Banded mangrove snake (Boiga dendrophila melanota) (2.0)
- Oriental whip snake (Ahaetulla prasina) (0.3)
- Mexican milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum annulata) (1.1)
- African coral snake (Aspidelaps lubricus) (1.1)
- Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus) (2.0)
- Green tree python (Morelia viridis) (2.0), Australian green tree frog (Ranoidea caerulea) (1.2)
- Timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) (1.1)
- Wagler's temple pitviper (Tropidolaemus wagleri) (1.2)
- Rhinoceros viper (Bitis nasicornis) (1.0)
- Black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) (0.1)
- Indian cobra (Naja naja) (1.2)
- Tentacled snake (Erpeton tentaculatum) (1.1), Spiny hill turtle (Heosemys spinosa) (1.3)
- Haitian boa (Chilabothrus striatus) (2.0)
- San Francisco garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis tetrataenia) (3.4)
- Ball python (Python regius) (2.2)
- Jungle carpet python (Morelia spilota cheynei) (2.0)
- Keeled slug-eating snake (Pareas carinatus) (2.1)
- Yellow ratsnake (Pantherophis alleghaniensis) (1.1)
- Eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi) (1.0)
- Colombian rainbow boa (Epicrates maurus) (1.1)
- False water cobra (Hydrodynastes gigas) (0.1)
- Sumatran short-tailed python (Python curtus) (1.1)
- Reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus jampeanus) (0.1)
The walls on the other side exhibit lizards, turtles and tortoises, some of them in large, spacious terraria, which contain from first to last:
- Common chuckwalla (Sauromalus ater) (2.2), Common collared lizard (Crotaphytus collaris) (1.2), Desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos) (1.1), Texas gopher tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri) (1.2), Desert iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis) (2.2)
- Ocellated lizard (Timon lepidus) (3.3), Western Hermann's tortoise (Testudo hermanni hermanni), Marginated tortoise (Testudo marginata) (1.1)
- Philippine sailfin lizard (Hydrosaurus pustulatus) (1.1), Southeast Asian box turtle (Cuora amboinensis) (1.2)
- Common basilisk (Basiliscus basiliscus) (1.1), Neotropical painted wood turtle (Rhinoclemmys pulcherrima) (1.2)
- Chameleon forest dragon (Gonocephalus chamaeleontinus) (1.1)
- Crested gecko (Correlophus ciliatus) (1.0)
- Green pricklenape (Acanthosaura capra) (1.1), Elongated tortoise (Indotestudo elongata) (2.1)
- Williams' dwarf gecko (Lygodactylus williamsi) (1.1)
- Kuhl's flying gecko (Gekko kuhli) (1.1), Asian common toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus) (1.2)
- Solomon Islands skink (Corucia zebrata) (0.2)
- Veiled chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus) (2.0), Fernand's skink (Lepidothyris fernandi) (2.1)
- Arboreal alligator lizard (Abronia graminea) (0.2), Knob-scaled lizard (Xenosaurus grandis) (2.2), Nicaraguan slider (Trachemys emolli) (1.1)
- Argentine black-and-white tegu (Salvator merianae) (1.1)
- Common leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius) (2.3)
- Vaillant's mabuya (Chioninia vaillantii) (1.2)
- Knight anole (Anolis equestris) (1.1)
- Chinese crocodile lizard (Shinisaurus crocodilurus crocodilurus) (1.1), Chinese water dragon (Physignathus cocincinus) (2.3), Big-headed turtle (Platysternon megacephalum) (1.2)
- Burmese star tortoise (Geochelone platynota) (1.2), Butterfly lizard (Leiolepis belliana) (1.2)
- Emerald tree monitor (Varanus prasinus) (1.1), Red-bellied short-necked turtle (Emydura subglobosa) (1.1)
- Crocodile monitor (Varanus salvadorii) (2.0)
- Alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) (1.0)
The north section of the building consists of a greenhouse which is based on a Floridan swamp. At the northeast corner is a paludarium which houses
diamondback terrapins (
Malaclemys terrapin) (1.2),
common musk turtles (
Sternotherus odoratus) (1.1),
spotted turtles (
Clemmys guttata) (2.2),
southern painted turtles (
Chrysemys picta) (3.2) and
red-eared sliders during the cold winter months. To the other side is a large, swampy enclosure with a viewing window to the underwater section of the exhibit, which makes up the majority of the greenhouse. This exhibit in particular houses our
American alligators (
Alligator mississippiensis) (1.2). These critters also have an outdoor exhibit in which they can be seen during the warm summer months. They also share their habitat with
Cumberland sliders (
Trachemys scripta troostii) (3.4). There is also a bridge crossing over the alligator exhibit, but luckily there is a safety net spun under it. As you leave the greenhouse, there is a terrarium with
Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) (1.1) on your right. Signage next to it explains about these snakes and how they became an invasive species in the Everglades and the measures used to fight against them. After leaving the greenhouse, you will then move to the west wing of the building which focuses on amphibians.
That's all for today. The rest of the building will be explained tomorrow.