Three Cup debutantes, and perhaps three of the lesser known zoos in the field, which only makes it more important for those who have visited to report in. The subject? Ectotherms.
Bern has a limited but brilliantly presented collection in the tropicarium. I'll be happy to vote for it until someone convinced me otherwise. The highlight is the semi- mixed exhibit of Village Weaver, Lovebird, Elephant Shrew, Girdled Lizard & Termite, but there are also some delightful terrariums outside for native reptiles.
Augsburg has possibly even better outdoor terraria for German herps, but their small reptile house can't compete with Bern. Erfurt used to have a good number of reptiles in the former elephant house, but that was years ago.... Nowadays it is much more hi and miss in terms of ectotherms... Additionally to having the nicest enclosures, Bern is also the only one to have an good fish collection.
