The reptile exhibit at the Singapore Zoo used to give me the chills but that never stopped me from bravely entering into the realm of horror because we should always face our fear.
Needless to say, i am as enthusiastic about the reptile terrarium which housed a good number of snakes, lizards, turtles / tortoises and also crocodiles!
The comprehensive list above would give you a better picture although it wasn't exhaustive. I remember seeing spiders too. Strangely, i thought that there were only the Siamese crocodiles; guess i must have missed out certain sections.
Dead reptiles shall welcome you upon your grand entrance; skeletons of snakes, crocs, well preserved snakes in the jars and taxidermied reptiles.
Aforementioned would be better placed in a natural history museum. In a zoo, the appeal lies in the existence of live, moving creatures!
Okay, not really moving even though i believe the Macklot Python was still alive, at least at that point of time. Many reptiles are nocturnal; hence, such display is not uncommon.
King Cobra, the "largest venomous snake" with the ability to "inject more venom" than other snakes, was wide awake then. Only when it's threatened that you would see it showing its signature hood!
Walking in a reptile exhibit doesn't conquer your fear and i actually had the intention to purchase a non-venomous corn snake (species was said to be docile) when i was younger. I eventually replaced it with a more fluffy animal; Rubee the Shihtzu.
Out of nowhere, there's suddenly an exhibit for the Savannah Monitor. I dislike the inconsistency although in my personal life, inconsistency can result in a less boring life.
Amazonian Tree Boa - well hidden in the artificial leaves, the boa is the most commonly seen snake in the amazon basin and despite having a triangular head, its bite isn't poisonous.
The piece of information pasted on the glass enclosure was helpful so long you know the 'legend' showing what the pattern and icons mean.
At one glance, i would know that the banded krait is venomous and i better stay clear of them should i encounter any in my hiking trips even though i will likely stay far far away if i ever spotted a snake.
Yellow spotted kell back - a rather small snake (red arrow is pointing to its spot) said to have venom yet not dangerous; danger is a relative term as it was known for its aggressiveness and "bites quickly"!
Malayan Pit Viper - another dangerous snake one should steer clear of and this message is especially important as it is endemic to Southeast Asia!
Frankly, there's another reason why i like to step into the snake exhibits - we are sheltered from the sun and there is a higher chance the facility might be air-conditioned!
This cute thing is the Monocled Cobra - its venom yield is even higher than the king cobra and renowned in Thailand for causing the highest fatality for snake venom poisoning in the nation.
Boa Constrictor - the second largest snake after the anaconda; thankfully, the species is limited to only the South America continent.
White-lipped Pit Viper - with some having a colour similar to the common tree snake, i believe many people have been mistaken before!
I am often sympathetic to animals that were caged up in zoos as i treasure freedom and think they would be better off in the wild. The same principle is not applied throughout as i would prefer all snakes to be caged up! p.s. i am aware of the ecological importance of having snakes in the wild.
Brazilian Rainbow Boa - nothing rainbow about it. :P
A random green tree monitor; i usually associate monitor to monitor lizards and thought the smaller kind should be generally termed as lizards. Oh well, i am no herpetologist.
This beauty is the black rat snake! It's not black likely due to a genetic mutation known as leucism which will result in a white body with black eyes and is different from albino.
The above shall explain better.
Golden Thai Python - even though it has the word Thai in it, it is the same species as the Burmese python and according to the information pasted on the enclosure, it is rarely found in the wild.
Blue-tongued Skink! Frequent readers of this blog should remember the skink incident i had in my office earlier this year and till now, i have not seen it resurfaced!
I have no idea what is the name of this cute little fellow! The head reminded me of Arlo from "the Good Dinosaur" movie.
Albino Siamese Cobra relaxing in the plate of water.
Green Burmese Python - how many snakes are sleeping in the container?
The species is known to be one of the "five largest snakes" in the world and i wonder if such a small enclosure is appropriate for so many Burmese pythons!
There are different categories for snake venom; one affects the nervous system (neurotoxin), another will prevent the blood from clotting (haemotoxin; you die by bleeding to your death) and the last one destroys the muscles (myotoxin)!
No more shelter as we proceeded to another section.
The iguana / lizard zone - when i was contemplating on keeping a snake as a pet, the green iguana was also under consideration as this reptile is not only docile; it is a vegetarian too!
Next up would be the section on crocodiles. I thought there's only one species even though i was more amazed by how the zookeepers chase the crocodiles away in order to clean up their dens! Click here for more pictures.
Now coming to tortoises and turtles!
Chinese pond turtle - it has that look of an ancient old man! The species is threatened by overhunting but surprisingly thrived well in captivity.
Didn't take the photo of the information panel and guess this is the African spurred tortoise? I am quite impressed by its movement speed!
A creep of giant tortoises hiding from the sun; yes, the collective noun for tortoise is creep which is really weird with no relevance! Slow / steady might be a better collective noun.
Aldabra Giant Tortoises - world's second largest and can weigh on average, 250 kilograms. Largest tortoise is of course the Galápagos tortoise which can top an impressive 417 kilograms!
Other tortoises - these appeared similar to the red-eared terrapin that many people are keeping as pets due to their inexpensive value and ease of care.
The lizard enclosures featuring the smaller reptiles. I am not that scared of lizards as i am of snakes even though i would still resist touching them.
No prize for guessing correctly what this tiny little enclosure contained.
A spider, specifically tarantula, of course! I sometimes wonder why the spiders can survive in such small space. However, thinking back of my childhood days, we used to keep our fighting spider in a matchbox!
Australian freshwater turtles - the last exhibit before leaving the reptile house. No sea turtle but i would strongly recommend you to pay a visit to notable beach destinations if you wish to see them! Perhentian Islands would be a good choice!
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Location
Within Dusit Zoo,
Bangkok, Thailand
House Rules
As above
Map of Reptile Terrarium House
As above.
For the itinerary of my relaxing six days, five nights visit to the City of Angels, please click here.