Reptiles2020-12-15T15:00:33+11:00

The inland taipan (also known as the fierce snake) can reach a total length of 2.5m, although 1.8m is the common length. The upper surface of the snake can vary from dark brown to a light straw colour.

The jungle carpet python is a vividly coloured python that at its most striking is brilliant yellow and black, although it can be tan and black. Its underbelly is usually white.

Despite its common name, the king brown snake is not a true brown snake but one of the black snake family. A bite from this snake would therefore be treated with black snake antivenom.

One of the most imposing (and famous) snakes in the world, the king cobra certainly lives up to its name. With lengths in excess of 5m and a body diameter of over 12cm, it is the longest venomous species of snake.

Komodo dragons are the world’s largest lizard. They have long, flat heads with rounded snouts and mottled black/brown scale colour which enables them to lie undetected by passing prey.

The lace monitor grows to between 1.5m-2m in length, it is a dark steel grey above with pale yellow or cream bands or rows of spots. The jaws and snout are usually strongly barred with yellow and dark grey.

Although it has a fishy name, the land mullet is actually the largest member of the skink family of lizards. Large adults can reach 50cm or more in total length.

The leopard tortoise is a large and attractively marked tortoise and is the fourth largest species of tortoise in the world. Typical adults can reach approximately 46cm in length and can weigh up to 18kg.

A highly variable species, which does not always display the distinctive tiger stripes suggested by its common name. The body can be grey, olive-brown or almost black. In most specimens’ darker bands are visible.

This striking medium sized freshwater turtle is known for their yellow markings on the underside of its shell, and tail, as well as a clear yellow stripe from the jaw, down to the neck of the shell.

As the name suggests, the Mertens’ water monitor loves the water. During the day the monitor can be found basking on rocks and logs near the shoreline of rivers, creeks, billabongs and lagoons.

The New Caledonian giant gecko is the world’s largest gecko, growing up to 36 centimetres long. This stout gecko has a short blunt tail and its skin, which has many loose folds, seems too big for its body.

The perentie is Australia’s largest lizard reaching over 2.5 metres in length. It has a long neck and a stout, robust body ending in a long, tapering tail. The colour is yellow or cream with tawny brown rosettes edged in dark brown on their back and they have dark limbs with white spots.

The pig-nosed turtle's feet are flippers, resembling those of marine turtles. The nose looks like that of a pig, having the nostrils at the end of a fleshy snout, hence the common name.

This snake is dangerously venomous, but bites are rare because it is usually a placid and fairly docile snake, preferring to enact a lengthy bluff display with flattened neck and deep hisses rather than bite.

Generally regarded as the longest living snake with specimens having been recorded up to 10m. This large size means they are slow moving snakes ...

Known as one of the rarest snakes in wild Australia, the rough-scaled python is quite elusive in the wild but has become more popular in captive circles.

With its webbed feet and muscular tail flattened on both sides, the saltwater crocodile (popularly referred to as the ‘salty’) is able to propel itself through the water at surprising speed.

The saw-shelled turtle is a species of turtle in the Chelidae family endemic to Australia. The shell has marginal serrations which are the reason for its name. It retains some of these serrations throughout its life.

A close relative of the more familiar blue tongue lizard, the shingleback is an extremely distinctive member of the lizard family known as skinks.

The Solomon Island skink is the world’s largest skink, growing to a length of 72 centimetres, although nearly half this length is the tail.

The Spencer’s monitor is a ground-dwelling species that likes to take shelter in burrows and large soil cracks. The species can grow to approximately 1.2m and is sandy and brown in colouration.

The spotted black snake is also known as the blue-bellied black snake and is a venomous snake endemic to Australia. It can be variable in colour ranging from uniform black above, through to various degrees of spotting.

The spotted python is one of the shortest python species, growing to only a metre. Its ‘spots’ are really blotches of dark brown on a light brown background.

The Stimson python, which is sometimes known as the large-blotched python, has a pattern of golden to red-brown or chocolate-brown patches on a light tan to yellow background.