Summary Introduction
Amphibians, reptiles and fishes make up 70-percent of all the known living vertebrates (animals with backbones). Though animals are still being discovered, there are at least 20,000 different species of fish, 5,000 species of amphibians and 6,000 species of turtles, snakes, lizards and crocodiles! Sedgwick County Zoo tries to represent this huge diversity with careful selection. view more >
- Malacochersus tornieri
- Geochelone gigantea
- Typhlonectes natans
- Crotalus viridis cerberus
- Mauremys mutica
- Emydura australis
- Chelodina longicollis
- Ambystoma tigrinum mavortium
- Brookesia brevicaudata
- Crotalus molossus
- Alligator sinensis
- Ocadia sinensis
- Bufo alvarius
- Salamandra salamandra salamandra
- Chalcides ocellatus
- Carettochelys insculpta
- Bufo marinus
- Mantella aurantiaca
- Bufo cognatus
- Morelia viridis
- Lampropeltis triangulum hondurensis
- Cyclura collei
- Gonocephalus chamaeleontinus
- Lacerta lepida lepida
- Eryx colubrinus loveridgei
- Ophiophagus hannah
- Langaha madagascariensis
- Sanzinia madagascariensis
- Uromastyx maliensis
- Latastia longicaudata
- Atelopus varius zeteki
- Rana blairi
- Peltophryne lemur
- Emydura subglobosa
- Heloderma horridum exasperatum
- Gerrhosaurus major
- Charina bottae
- Elseya latisternum
- Ophisaurus apodus
- Phelsuma standingi
- Erpeton tentaculatum
- Python timoriensis
- Platysternon megacephalum shiui
- Physignathus lesueurii
- Bufo woodhousii
ZooKeepers’ Journals
Our keepers are very busy caring for the animals. When time allows we will add journal entries here. We hope the Zookeepers' Journals will be a fun way to learn more about the facinating animals we have in our care. Check back later for updates from the Zookeepers. If there is an animal or area of the Amphibian and Reptile Bulding that you would like our keepers to write about — please let us know. We will do our best to address your areas of interest as time allows. Thanks for checking in.
Chinese alligators and frogs are some of the things great and small that you'll see. Some call this 2008. We call it Year of the Frog. With more than 6,000 frogs, toads, newts, salamanders, and caecilians worldwide, there's a lot to learn. Pick up a book, hop around the internet, or visit Sedgwick County Zoo to educate yourself and your family about amphibians. view gallery >
| Amphibians & Reptiles | return to exhibit map |
See Chinese alligators, the start of a new habitat area in the Amphibians & Reptiles building at Sedgwick County Zoo representing the most endangered river system in the world – the Yangtze River. Also new to this exhibit are golden thread turtles and yellow pond turtles. Sedgwick County Zoo has become the first zoo outside England to document that Komodo dragons are capable of parthenogenesis (reproduction without the contribution of a male). Sedgwick County Zoo has two adult Komodo dragons; both are female and cared for separately. One female laid approximately 17 eggs in May 2007 and Zoo staff followed the Species Survival Plan (SSP) recommendation to incubate and hatch two eggs. The SSP wanted to further document that Komodo dragons are capable of parthenogenesis. Only two earlier cases were documented in 2006 at London Zoo and Chester Zoo in England. Our Zoo was also the first to breed green tree pythons and poison dart frogs, for which we received two prestigious Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) awards in 1976. Other first breedings in America to occur at our Zoo include Russian cobras and prehensile-tailed alligator lizards. As zoos have learned how to breed many species of amphibians and reptiles, focus has changed to participating in collaborative conservation programs that involve field assistance, community outreach, and targeted breeding for reintroduction or for developing captive reserve populations. In 2000, we were one of 12 recipients of the AZA International Conservation Award for the Jamaican Iguana Conservation and Recovery Program and in 2004, we were one of 23 recipients of AZA's North American Conservation Award for the Puerto Rican Crested Toad Species Survival Plan Conservaion Partnership. |
