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Category: Reptiles

Bearded Dragon

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Bearded Dragon

(Pogona vitticeps)

The Zoo is home to one bearded dragon as part of our ambassador animal program (habitat not on public display). 

Animal Facts

Bearded Dragons can grow as large as ten inches in body length or two feet in total length, including the tail. Males are larger than females
They are appropriately named bearded dragons because of their "beard," an expandable throat pouch with spikey scales.
When intimidated, bearded dragons flatten their bodies and stand erect with mouth gaping.
They are not able to change the color of their skin to camouflage with their environment, but they can change shades of color to regulate body temperature or depict an emotional state.
Males engage in combat involving beard flaring, signaling, circling and tail biting to establish mating rights

Diet

Omnivorous. Plant matter, insects, and occasionally small rodents or lizards.

Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

The bearded dragon is native to the deserts, dry forests, and scrublands of Australia. They prefer semi-arid forests.

They are found in eastern and central Australia from eastern half of southern Australia to the southeastern Northern Territory.  

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Ball Python

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Ball Python

(Python regius)

The Zoo’s male ball python was born in 2009 and came to Seneca Park Zoo in 2013. He is a part of the Zoo’s program animal collection.

Animal Facts

The name ball came from its tendency, when stressed, to curl into a tight “ball” with their heads hidden inside, often for long periods of time!
Due to its limited size, these snakes are becoming increasingly common in the pet trade.
Females tend to be slightly bigger than males.
Sometimes these are referred to as ‘royal pythons’ due to the story that Cleopatra supposedly wore a ball python around her wrist.
Pythons also have the tendency to hiss loudly when threatened.

Diet

Ball pythons feed primarily on rodents, but will also eat other small mammals and birds. Ball pythons only eat once every few weeks; they can go up to several months with no food.

Status in The Wild

  • Vulnerable

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

The ball python lives in western and central Africa. They can be found in open forests and dry savannas.

Usually they reside in areas near open water where they can cool themselves during hot weather.

Ball pythons are considered threatened in the wild. They are a highly-exploited species and are very important to the pet trade because of their beautiful skin. The ball python mates only every two to three years, so more effort is needed to protect and propagate this species.

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Burmese Python

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Burmese Python

(Python bivittatus)

Seneca Park Zoo is home to two Burmese pythons, both males. Garrett and Caulkins, resides inside the Zoo’s Creatures from the River’s Edge building. They were hatched in 2016 right here at Seneca Park Zoo. Their parents were longtime zoo residents Abby and Mr. Slithers.

Animal Facts

The Burmese python is one of the largest of all snakes, growing up to 20 feet and weighing up to 200 pounds. It continues to grow throughout life.
Females are typically larger than males.
The Burmese python is not venomous; it kills its prey via constriction.
This species has a reputation for docility, but they are very powerful animals that can inflict severe bites.
These pythons reach adult size by age four.

Diet

The Burmese python eats appropriately sized mammals, birds and rodents.

Status in The Wild

  • Vulnerable

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

The jungles and scrublands of Burma, Malasia and Thailand compose the Burmese python’s habitat.

It has been slaughtered to supply the world leather market, as well as for folk medicines and captured for the pet trade. In recent years, extensive captive breeding has lessened the animals threat but unauthorized release of pet Burmese pythons in the Everglades has introduced an invasive species into a fragile environment.

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Giant Day Gecko

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Giant Day Gecko

(Phelsuma grandis)

One male giant day gecko can be found inside the E.C.O. Center.

Animal Facts

Millions of microscopic structures on the scales of the gecko’s feet, called setae, give these lizards an incredible climbing ability.
The giant day gecko’s bright colors help to camouflage it amidst the vibrant vegetation of the rainforest, useful for ambushing prey in the middle of the day.
When threatened, their colors turn darker, to better hide in the shade of leaves.
Geckos are the only lizards that can produce more than a hiss or other simple sounds. Their vocalizations range from squeaks and clicks to barks and croaks.
They have excellent sight and rely on it to obtain their food.

Diet

Carnivorous. Giant day geckos eat various invertebrates (especially insects), nectar, and occasionally small vertebrates.

Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

The giant day gecko is native to the tropical and subtropical rainforests of Madagascar.

They are found in the uppermost canopies and often near human settlements and cities.

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East African Spiny-Tailed Lizard

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East African Spiny-Tailed Lizard

(Cordylus tropidosternum)

Seneca Park Zoo is home to three East African spiny-tailed lizards (Common name: tropical girdled lizard). Their habitat is located inside the Animals of the Savanna building.

Animal Facts

Other common names for this species are “dwarf sungazer” and “tropical girdled lizard”.
This lizard protects itself by grabbing its tail in its mouth – this creates an armored girdle by forming a ring with the sharp spines sticking out.
The East African spiny-tailed lizard is ovoviviparous, bearing live young instead of laying external eggs.
A threatened girdled lizard can wedge itself into a small opening and then inflate its lungs to make the fit even tighter; blocking the opening with its tail.
Two layers of armor protect this lizard: its spiny scales and the bony plates that support them.

Diet

East African spiny-tailed lizards are carnivores, and feed mainly on invertebrates.

Status in The Wild

  • Not Evaluated

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

These lizards are found throughout the southern coast of Kenya to eastern Zimbabwe and central Mozambique.

They are ground-dwellers and prefer dry forest habitats.

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New Caledonian Crested Gecko

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New Caledonian Crested Gecko

(Rhacodactylus ciliatus)

Seneca Park Zoo is home to one crested gecko, born in May 2005, arriving at the Zoo in 2007. Their name is Crazy-Eye, and they are a part of the Zoo’s ambassador animal program.

Animal Facts

Crested geckos are capable of changing their color slightly to better blend in with their surroundings and for communication.
Darker color often indicates stress.
This reptile has no eyelids and uses its tongue to clean its eyes.
These geckos can lose their tails to avoid predation. Most adults in the wild no longer have tails.
This is now one of the most widely-kept and bred species of gecko in the world, and they are illegal to export from wild habitats.

Diet

The New Caledonian crested gecko feeds on a variety of insects and fruit.

Status in The Wild

  • Endangered

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

These geckos are native to the island of New Caledonia, in the southeast Pacific, east of Australia.

This species was once thought to be extinct. It was rediscovered in 1994 and is now listed as endangered.

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Red-Eared Slider

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Red-Eared Slider

(Trachemys scripta elegans)