Exotic Amphibians and Reptiles in Australian Zoos

This is a list of exotic amphibian and reptile species held in Australian zoos. The list excludes native species (including all sea turtles and species from places such as Christmas Island).

In the cases of there only being one or two individuals of a species left in Australia, this has been noted after the listing.

Contributions of missing information and updates are welcomed!




Amphibians:
Four species in three families.


Ambystomatidae:

-Axolotl Ambystoma mexicanum - Adelaide Zoo, SEALIFE Sydney, Underwater World (Mooloolaba)


Bufonidae:

-Cane Toad Rhinella (Bufo) marinus - Adelaide Zoo, Australian Reptile Park, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Dreamworld, Perth Zoo, Taronga Zoo, Territory Wildlife Park, Underwater World (Mooloolaba)


Dendrobatidae:

-Dyeing Poison-Arrow Frog Dendrobates tinctorius - Adelaide Zoo, Australia Zoo, Australian Reptile Park, Ballarat Wildlife Park, Hartley's Crocodile Adventures

-Blue Poison-Arrow Frog Dendrobates tinctorius "azureus" - Adelaide Zoo, Australia Zoo, Australian Reptile Park, Ballarat Wildlife Park



Reptiles:
72 species, in 22 families.


Alligatoridae:

-American Alligator Alligator mississippiensis - Adelaide Zoo, Altina Wildlife Park, Australia Zoo, Australian Reptile Park, Ballarat Wildlife Park, Billabong Sanctuary, Crocodylus Park, Currumbin Wildlife Park, Darling Downs Zoo, D'Aguilar Wildlife, Gorge Wildlife Park, Halls Gap Zoo, Hartley's Crocodile Adventures, Hunter Valley Zoo, Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park, Marineland Melanesia, Mogo Zoo, National Zoo, Oakvale Fauna Park, Shoalhaven Zoo, Snakes Downunder, Symbio Wildlife Park, Tasmania Zoo, Wild Cat Conservation Centre, Wildlife HQ

-Spectacled Caiman Caiman crocodilus - Malcolm Douglas Wilderness Park


Crocodylidae:

-New Guinea Crocodile Crocodylus novaeguineae - Billabong Sanctuary, Crocodylus Park, Malcolm Douglas Wilderness Park, Marineland Melanesia

-Philippine Crocodile Crocodylus mindorensis - Crocodylus Park, Melbourne Zoo


Sphenodontidae:

-Tuatara Sphenodon punctatus - Australian Reptile Park, Taronga Zoo [three animals were imported in 2022 from Chester Zoo, UK, with two of them retained at the Australian Reptile Park, and the third passed along to Taronga Zoo (which formerly held them for many years)]


Chelydridae:

-Common Snapping Turtle Chelydra serpentina - Ballarat Wildlife Park (one animal)

-Alligator Snapping Turtle Macrochelys temminckii - Australia Zoo, Australian Reptile Park, Ballarat Wildlife Park, Shoalhaven Zoo, Sydney Zoo, Wild Cat Conservation Centre, Wildlife HQ


Emydidae:

-Malayan Box Turtle Cuora amboinensis - Crocodylus Park

-Chinese Three-striped Box Turtle Cuora trifasciata - Hartley's Crocodile Adventures, Melbourne Zoo, Taronga Zoo

-Mississippi Map Turtle Graptemys pseudogeographica kohni - Melbourne Zoo (one female)

-Spiny Terrapin Heosemys spinosa - Melbourne Zoo (one male)

-Eastern River Cooter Pseudemys concinna concinna - Taronga Zoo

-Painted Wood Turtle Rhinoclemmys pulcherrima - Melbourne Zoo (one male)

-Carolina Box Turtle Terrapene carolina major - Ballarat Wildlife Park, Gorge Wildlife Park, Hartley's Crocodile Adventures, Melbourne Zoo, National Zoo

-Three-toed Box Turtle Terrapene carolina triunguis - Perth Zoo (one animal)

-Ornate Box Turtle Terrapene ornata - Taronga Zoo (one male)

-Red-eared Slider Trachemys scripta elegans - Australia Zoo, Gorge Wildlife Park, Perth Zoo


Testudinidae:

-Aldabran Giant Tortoise Aldabrachelys gigantea - Adelaide Zoo, Australia Zoo, Ballarat Wildlife Park, Darling Downs Zoo, Gorge Wildlife Park, Melbourne Zoo, Monarto Zoo, Shoalhaven Zoo, Taronga Zoo, Wild Cat Conservation Centre

-Galapagos Giant Tortoise Chelonoidis nigra - Australian Reptile Park, Perth Zoo, Western Plains Zoo

-Chaco Tortoise Chelonoidis chilensis - Taronga Zoo (one pair)

-Yellow-footed Tortoise Chelonoidis denticulata - Ballarat Wildlife Park (one animal)

-Star Tortoise Geochelone elegans - Australia Zoo, Australian Reptile Park, Ballarat Wildlife Park, Billabong Zoo, Crocodylus Park, Darling Downs Zoo, Halls Gap Zoo, Hartley's Crocodile Adventures, Melbourne Zoo, National Zoo, Serpentarium Tasmania, Symbio Wildlife Park, Taronga Zoo

-Leopard Tortoise Stigmochelys pardalis - Australian Reptile Park, Crocodylus Park, D'Aguilar Wildlife, Gorge Wildlife Park, Hunter Valley Zoo, Monarto Zoo, Shoalhaven Zoo (?), Werribee Zoo, Western Plains Zoo, Wild Cat Conservation Centre

-Radiated Tortoise Astrochelys radiata - Adelaide Zoo, Australia Zoo, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Darling Downs Zoo, Hartley's Crocodile Adventures, Mogo Zoo, Monarto Zoo, Perth Zoo, Snakes Downunder, Wildlife HQ

-African Spurred Tortoise Centrochelys sulcata - Adelaide Zoo (one female), Hunter Valley Zoo (one female)

-Elongated Tortoise Indotestudo elongata - Adelaide Zoo, Australia Zoo, Crocodylus Park, Melbourne Zoo, Shoalhaven Zoo, Taronga Zoo

-Bell’s Hinge-backed Tortoise Kinixys belliana - Perth Zoo, Werribee Open Range Zoo

-Burmese Brown Tortoise Manouria emys - Ballarat Wildlife Park (four females)

-Spur-thighed Tortoise Testudo graeca - Adelaide Zoo, Darling Downs Zoo, Western Plains Zoo

-Hermann’s Tortoise Testudo hermanni - Adelaide Zoo, Gorge Wildlife Park, Melbourne Zoo

-Horsfield’s Tortoise Agrionemys horsfieldii - Melbourne Zoo (one female)


Chelidae:

-Twist-necked Turtle Platemys platycephala - Melbourne Zoo (four males listed in January 2020, down to two males by July 2021)


Agamidae:

-Philippine Sail-finned Water Dragon Hydrosaurus pustulatus - Australian Reptile Park, Hartley's Crocodile Adventures, Melbourne Zoo


Anguidae:

-Scheltopusik Pseudopus apodus - Australian Reptile Park, Melbourne Zoo, Taronga Zoo


Chamaeleonidae:

-Veiled Chameleon Chamaeleo calyptratus - Australian Reptile Park, Hartley's Crocodile Adventures, Melbourne Zoo, Shoalhaven Zoo, Snakes Downunder, Symbio Wildlife Park, Taronga Zoo, Wild Cat Conservation Centre


Gekkonidae:

-Tokay Gecko Gekko gecko - Melbourne Zoo, Perth Zoo

-Madagascan Giant Day Gecko Phelsuma (madagascariensis) grandis - Australian Reptile Park, Hartley's Crocodile Adventures, Melbourne Zoo

-Cuvier’s Caledonian Gecko Rhacodactylus leachianus - Australian Reptile Park, Taronga Zoo


Helodermatidae:

-Reticulated Gila Monster Heloderma suspectum - Adelaide Zoo, Australia Zoo, Australian Reptile Park, Ballarat Wildlife Park, Gorge Wildlife Park, Halls Gap Zoo, Hartley's Crocodile Adventures, Melbourne Zoo, Symbio Wildlife Park, Taronga Zoo


Corytophanidae:

-Double-crested Basilisk Basiliscus plumifrons - Gorge Wildlife Park, Melbourne Zoo, Taronga Zoo, Wildlife HQ


Iguanidae:

-Fijian Crested Iguana Brachylophus vitiensis - Australia Zoo, Australian Reptile Park, Billabong Zoo, Gorge Wildlife Park, Hartley's Crocodile Adventures, Melbourne Zoo, Taronga Zoo, Wildlife HQ

-Rhinoceros Iguana Cyclura cornuta - Adelaide Zoo, Australia Zoo, Australian Reptile Park, Ballarat Wildlife Park, Canberra Reptile Zoo, Crocodylus Park, Darling Downs Zoo, D'Aguilar Wildlife, Hartley's Crocodile Adventures, Hunter Valley Zoo, Melbourne Zoo, National Zoo, Taronga Zoo, Wildlife HQ

-Common Iguana Iguana iguana - Australian Reptile Park, Billabong Zoo, Cooberrie Park, Crocodylus Park, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Darling Downs Zoo,D'Aguilar Wildlife, Gorge Wildlife Park, Halls Gap Zoo, National Zoo, Shoalhaven Zoo, Snakes Downunder, Wildlife HQ


Scincidae:

-Solomon Islands Skink Corucia zebrata - Australian Reptile Park


Varanidae:

-Komodo Dragon Varanus komodoensis - Adelaide Zoo, Australia Zoo, Australian Reptile Park, Ballarat Wildlife Park, Darling Downs Zoo, Hartley's Crocodile Adventures, Perth Zoo, Snakes Downunder, Taronga Zoo


Boidae:

-Boa Constrictor Boa constrictor - Australia Zoo, Ballarat Wildlife Park, Billabong Koala and Wildlife Park, Billabong Sanctuary, Canberra Reptile Zoo, Cooberrie Park, Crocodylus Park, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Darling Downs Zoo, D'Aguilar Wildlife, Gorge Wildlife Park, Halls Gap Zoo, Hartley's Crocodile Adventures, Mogo Zoo, National Zoo, Perth Zoo, Rockhampton Zoo, Serpentarium Tasmania, Shoalhaven Zoo, Symbio Wildlife Park, Taronga Zoo, Tasmania Zoo, Wild Cat Conservation Centre, Wildlife HQ

-Dumeril’s Boa Acrantophis dumerili - Darling Downs Zoo, Melbourne Zoo, Werribee Zoo

-Amazon Tree Boa Corallus hortulanus - Adelaide Zoo

-Rainbow Boa Epicrates cenchria - Melbourne Zoo (one female)

-Kenyan Sand Boa Eryx colubrinus - Melbourne Zoo (two females)

-Green Anaconda Eunectes murinus - Adelaide Zoo, Australia Zoo, Australian Reptile Park, Ballarat Wildlife Park (still?), Crocodylus Park, Darling Downs Zoo, National Zoo, Serpentarium Tasmania

-Yellow Anaconda Eunectes notaeus - Darling Downs Zoo


Pythonidae:

-Blood Python Python (curtus) brongersmai - Adelaide Zoo, Crocodylus Park, D'Aguilar Wildlife, Gorge Wildlife Park, Melbourne Zoo

-Burmese Python Python molurus bivittatus - Australia Zoo, Australian Reptile Park, Ballarat Wildlife Park, Billabong Sanctuary, Canberra Reptile Zoo, Crocodylus Park, Darling Downs Zoo, Halls Gap Zoo, Hartley's Crocodile Adventures, Mogo Zoo, National Zoo, Perth Zoo, Serpentarium Tasmania, Shoalhaven Zoo, Symbio Wildlife Park, Wild Cat Conservation Centre, Wildlife HQ

-Ball Python Python regius - Australian Reptile Park, Melbourne Zoo, Wild Cat Conservation Centre, Wildlife HQ

-Reticulated Python Python reticulatus - Australia Zoo, Australian Reptile Park, Ballarat Wildlife Park, Crocodylus Park, Darling Downs Zoo, Hartley's Crocodile Adventures, Kyabram Fauna Park, Melbourne Zoo, Mogo Zoo, National Zoo, Serpentarium Tasmania, Shoalhaven Zoo, Snakes Downunder, Taronga Zoo


Colubridae:

-Corn Snake Pantherophis guttatus - Adelaide Zoo, Australia Zoo, Australian Reptile Park, Billabong Sanctuary, Crocodylus Park, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Gorge Wildlife Park, Hartley's Crocodile Adventures, Melbourne Zoo, National Zoo, Perth Zoo, Shoalhaven Zoo, Taronga Zoo, Wildlife HQ

-Taiwan Beauty Snake Orthriophis taeniurus - National Zoo (one male)

-Honduran Milk Snake Lampropeltis triangulum hondurensis - Australian Reptile Park (six imported Nov 2023), Melbourne Zoo

-Pueblan Milk Snake Lampropeltis triangulum campbelli - Melbourne Zoo (two males)


Elapidae:

-Monocled Cobra Naja kaouthia - Ballarat Wildlife Park, Hartley's Crocodile Adventures, Taronga Zoo, Melbourne Zoo

-Siamese Cobra Naja siamensis - Ballarat Wildlife Park

-Mosambique Spitting Cobra Naja mossambica - Ballarat Wildlife Park (one male)

-King Cobra Ophiophagus hannah - Australia Zoo, Australian Reptile Park (including three imported Nov 2023), Melbourne Zoo (one imported Jan 2024)


Viperidae:

-Cantil Agkistrodon bilineatus - Melbourne Zoo (2.1)

-Eyelash Viper Bothriechis schlegelii - Australian Reptile Park (three imported Nov 2023), Melbourne Zoo, Taronga Zoo (one female)

-Uracoan Rattlesnake Crotalus durissus vegrandis - Ballarat Wildlife Park

-Western Diamondback Rattlesnake Crotalus atrox - Australian Reptile Park (including eleven imported Nov 2023), Hartley's Crocodile Adventures

-Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake Crotaus adamanteus - Australia Zoo, Ballarat Wildlife Park, Melbourne Zoo, Taronga Zoo

-Aruba Island Rattlesnake Crotalus unicolor - Adelaide Zoo




Species removed from the list since 2013:


AMPHIBIANS:

Salamandridae:
-Japanese Fire-bellied Newt Cynops pyrrhogaster - Melbourne Zoo

Ranidae:
-African Bullfrog Pyxicephalus adspersus - Australian Reptile Park

Dendrobatidae:
-Splash-backed Poison-Arrow Frog Dendrobates galactonotus - Australia Zoo


REPTILES:

Crocodylidae:
-Nile Crocodile Crocodylus niloticus - Malcolm Douglas Wilderness Park (no information but probably no longer present)

Emydidae:
-Thick-necked Terrapin Siebenrockiella crassirostris - Perth Zoo

Chelidae:
-Mata Mata Chelys fimbriata - Taronga Zoo

Gekkonidae:
-Bavay’s Giant Gecko Eurydactylodes vieillardi - Australian Reptile Park

Lacertidae:
-Jewelled Lizard Timon (Lacerta) lepidus - Melbourne Zoo

Iguanidae:
-Fijian Banded Iguana Brachylophus bulabula - Australian Reptile Park, Taronga Zoo

Teiidae:
-Argentine Black and White Tegu Salvator merianae [previously identified by the park as Black Tegu Tupinambis teguixin] - Australian Reptile Park

Boidae:
-Madagascar Tree Boa Sanzinia madagascariensis - Perth Zoo
-Emerald Tree Boa Corallus caninus - Melbourne Zoo
-Solomon Islands Boa Candoia (carinata) paulsoni - Taronga Zoo

Colubridae:
-Mangrove Snake Boiga dendrophila - Adelaide Zoo, Australian Reptile Park
-Western Rat Snake Pantherophis (Elaphe) obsoleta - Ballarat Wildlife Park
-Grey-banded King Snake Lampropeltis alterna - Melbourne Zoo
-California King Snake Lampropeltis getula californiae - Melbourne Zoo

Elapidae:
-Black-lipped Cobra Naja melanoleuca - Adelaide Zoo

Viperidae:
-Rock Rattlesnake Crotalus lepidus - Melbourne Zoo
-Western Massasauga Sistrurus catenatus - Melbourne Zoo

 

Cooberrie Park Wildlife Sanctuary also has Common Iguana's and Boa Constrictor's on display.

 

Moonlit no longer has an Axolotl (finally got rid of it, no idea why we got it in the first place)

 

Thanks Cooberrie Park and MRJ, will make amendments for those two parks.

 

-Yes, combined the Carolina and three-toed box turtles (will note this in final list).
-Will add in Madagascar Tree Boa at Perth.
-Can't find any mention of urutu in any census (back to 2006).
-Will fix radiateds!
-Can do scientific names in final list too.

-Will also try and list species lost from collections since 2006, rhinoceros viper is one that I've noted.
-There are a few species noted on the other herp list that I have no info on. Where were Nile crocodiles kept for example?

 

According to this thread http://www.zoochat.com/24/nile-crocodiles-187152/ there were Nile Crocs in 2010, so I think I'll assume they still have them.

Would like some info on the following species, which were on the old list but not the current, the first three are kept in NZ and probably privately in Australia, but are there any in any zoos?

African Clawed Frog
Jackson's Chameleon
Leopard Gecko
Hog-nosed Snake

 

Taronga had Leopard Geckos and Jackson's Chameleons until a few years ago. They also had a Rhinoceros Viper and before that a Gaboon Viper.



Hix

 

I've not heard of hog-nosed snakes ever being in Australia. But Taronga used to have Cantils too. One of them tagged several of the reptile keepers back then.



Hix

 

And the attack Rhino Iguana. He's a terror for anyone walking into his exhibit.



Hix

 

I'm sure there must be a few species missing from the list. Rhino vipers and Gaboon vipers have both been regularly kept, and I understand that they are probably in private hands too. Also Aust Reptile Park held Boelen's pythons off-display (post fire), so I wonder whether there are a larger list not mentioned because they aren't on public display.

Is there any obvious reason why exotics aren't kept in higher numbers/more zoos? I'm not thinking so much of the potential problem species (although they are already established in captivity) but more the ones which are kept by only one institution. Obviously privately individuals are not allowed to keep exotics, and this has probably had a limiting factor when one looks at how big the private herp market is in Europe and America. Also native species are a good analogue for some species but definitely not all (ie. chamaeleons, salamanders, large vipers, poison-arrow frogs). From the above list there are a number of very charismatic species that are limited to a few zoos yet would easily fit into the display requirements of many others. Any suggestions as to why? Is there are niche for a more exotic-focused reptile collection?

 

Does anyone know the origins of Australia Zoo's komodo dragons?

 

Just so happens that I was watching an episode of crocodile hunter diaries in which they showed Australia Zoo recieving their komodos. They appear to have come from Wyndham Zoo and crocodile park which it said was in the East Kimberelys. Hope that helps Jabiru.

 

Thanks. Do you know around when this episode was filmed?'

EDIT: It has been mentioned in this thread as well: http://www.zoochat.com/24/komodo-dragon-79968/

 

I always thought they were from the 'Pearl Coast Zoo' near Broome after it closed, or is it the same facility as the Wyndham zoo?

 

I don't know exactly when the episode was from but in another episode of the series they showed the grave of the late John Aspinsll who died in 2000 and it featured a young Bindi so I would say 2000 or 2001.