Lilydale High School's Reptile House

Lilydale High School's Reptile House Lilydale High Schools Zoology Centre is home to over 200 native reptiles, amphibians and invertebrate

Lilydale High School's Reptile House was created 16 years ago with a small collection of animals in a science classroom with a handful of students taking care of those animals 3 lunchtimes a week. Today the program houses more than 200 animals consisting of more than 60 species of reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates and is one of signature programs of the school. The animals are cared for by a

dedicated team of about 30 students who commit their time to caring for these animals during lunchtimes, after school, on weekends and in holidays. We reportedly have the largest collection of reptiles and amphibians in a school in Australia and are lucky enough to keep species rarely seen in captivity or on public display. Our aim is to get students excited about Australia's Native Reptiles and Amphibians. We want to provide them with opportunities to observe and interact with these fascinating and often misunderstood animals and in doing so, spark their natural fascination for our amazing wildlife. We want our students and everyone who visits the Reptile House to gain a greater appreciation for the animals that play a key role in Australia’s natural environment. We provide the highest quality care for our animals and, in doing so, we model this level of care for animals to our students so they in turn will respect their animals and teach others the same. The Reptile House program teachers students valuable skills in animal care, team work, leadership, responsibility, empathy and initiative. Furthermore, it has given students a sense of belonging and ownership in a program that sees students mentoring other students based on experience rather than age and has shown deep levels of engagement in learning for those participating in the program. All of this would not be possible if it wasn’t for the many hours of voluntary labour and countless contributions made by students and their families as well as the staff of Lilydale High School, the local community very importantly the broader Reptile and Amphibian Community. For more information on the program please contact Lilydale High School at http://lilydalehs.vic.edu.au

We have an amazing collection of Australian reptiles and amphibians in the Zoology centre and very soon we will be unvei...
14/02/2025

We have an amazing collection of Australian reptiles and amphibians in the Zoology centre and very soon we will be unveiling our new enclosures, purpose built by our amazing builder Alex…stay tuned we are getting close…

The team in the Zoology Centre wish all our students, volunteers and followers a safe and happy time over the holiday se...
17/12/2024

The team in the Zoology Centre wish all our students, volunteers and followers a safe and happy time over the holiday season. The centre is being transformed with new amazing enclosures and we will reveal the transformation early next year on completion. It’s a very exciting time for both animals, students and the team. Merry Christmas all and a Happy New Year!

We recently had two Chameleon Geckos hatch out….
26/09/2024

We recently had two Chameleon Geckos hatch out….

National Threatened Species Day is commemorated across the country on September 7th to raise awareness about plants and ...
07/09/2024

National Threatened Species Day is commemorated across the country on September 7th to raise awareness about plants and animals at risk of extinction. It is commemorated annually on September 7th, the anniversary of the death in captivity of the last known thylacine, or Tasmanian Tiger. The photo is of some of our Green and Golden Bell frogs in the Zoology Centre. We have several captive bred species in the centre that are now threatened in the wild.

The students are building up quite a collection of jumping spiders. These are very tiny spiders but ferocious hunters wh...
03/09/2024

The students are building up quite a collection of jumping spiders. These are very tiny spiders but ferocious hunters when fed pin head crickets and small roaches. They build web hammocks to sleep in but don’t use web to catch their pray. They force blood at high pressure into their legs causing them to extend rapidly which catapults the spider forward suddenly. They have become a favourite for a small group of students!

Feeling the change of seasons…..
03/09/2024

Feeling the change of seasons…..

03/09/2024

Our Pig nose tank is more fun to watch than a television. The turtles have grown so much since they entered the tank a few months ago and seem to be continually hungry.

World Lizard Day is celebrated on August 14 every year. We have some amazing lizards in the Zoology Centre that we are c...
14/08/2024

World Lizard Day is celebrated on August 14 every year. We have some amazing lizards in the Zoology Centre that we are celebrating with today! Here are just a few….

We are excited that our new enclosures are finally being built and they look magnificent and some of the animals are bei...
01/08/2024

We are excited that our new enclosures are finally being built and they look magnificent and some of the animals are being introduced this week…..stay tuned for more in the future.

30/07/2024

We have all types of wonderful animals and insects and one of our newest additions to the centre is our male Peacock Spider, Maratus Griseus otherwise known as Sparkle muffin. He is very tiny, his body is smaller than a corn kernel.

Today is World Snake Day. We are fortunate enough to work with lots of different species of Australian snakes in the Zoo...
16/07/2024

Today is World Snake Day. We are fortunate enough to work with lots of different species of Australian snakes in the Zoology Centre. This is one of those amazing snakes the Black-headed python, Aspidites melanocephalus found from Northern Australia from the north-west coast of WA to Queensland. They can be found in dry coastal forests to rocky hills to desert areas. They are a ground dwelling species but can tuck themselves under boulders or in hollow logs with just their black head sticking out and can absorb the heat that they need through their head as it acts like a strong solar pannel. It’s one of the students favourite snakes to interact with and look after.

Mr Lacey enjoying a bit of sun on a cold day. We are so lucky to have such a laid back Lace monitor that likes to wonde...
22/06/2024

Mr Lacey enjoying a bit of sun on a cold day. We are so lucky to have such a laid back Lace monitor that likes to wonder around as part of his enrichment. The students also enjoy supervising him to make sure he doesn’t get into snywhere he shouldn’t.

Our new Monteith stick insects.
22/06/2024

Our new Monteith stick insects.

A colony of frogs, they are magnificent!
22/06/2024

A colony of frogs, they are magnificent!

Our reptiles don’t take holidays and neither do we. Animals still had to be in clean enclosures, fresh water, fed insect...
10/06/2024

Our reptiles don’t take holidays and neither do we. Animals still had to be in clean enclosures, fresh water, fed insects out, water change overs for turtles and frogs. Crocodiles, turtles and lizards fed. Stick insects, new fresh leaves to name some of the jobs we needed to do today to keep our collection healthy.

Most of our animals are slowing down and starting to get ready for brumation over winter. Even though their enclosures ...
06/06/2024

Most of our animals are slowing down and starting to get ready for brumation over winter. Even though their enclosures are warm they can still feel the changes of the season.

Some of our Spiny Leaf Stick Insects
06/06/2024

Some of our Spiny Leaf Stick Insects

Today is Threatened Species Day. In Australia we have over 570 Native animals that are threatened of going extinct! One ...
19/05/2024

Today is Threatened Species Day. In Australia we have over 570 Native animals that are threatened of going extinct! One of those species, which we are lucky enough to house in the Zoology Centre is our three Pig Nose Turtles. Here is a little bit of information from Nicholas Petropoulas about the Pig Nose Turtles…. https://youtu.be/9s_PxW6SVsQ

Address

25 Melba Avenue
Lilydale, VIC
3140

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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Videos

Our Pig nose tank is more fun to watch than a television. The turtles have grown so much since they entered the tank a few months ago and seem to be continually hungry.

We have all types of wonderful animals and insects and one of our newest additions to the centre is our male Peacock Spider, Maratus Griseus otherwise known as Sparkle muffin. He is very tiny, his body is smaller than a corn kernel.

The Pig Nose Turtles enjoying their new home…..

Christmas breakup party!

2023 Zookeeper Christmas Party
2023 Zookeeper Christmas Party

We have just had a wonderful Christmas Breakup Pizza night with 28 students enjoying games like sardines, pin the tail on the Gecko to name a few then played Nasty Santa where everyone got to steal each other’s cool gifts. Thanks to all the students who participated in the centre this year, each one of you have the potential to be Australian Zoo’s future zookeepers! Have a Happy Christmas and a safe holiday and we will see you all back in the centre next year.

Such a great animal to have in the centre…how cool are crocodiles….

It’s been a long cold winter and our animals are starting to wake up…..our Crucifix frogs have been popping their heads out to check on the weather. Song by Nathaniel Rateliff-Something Beautiful

Our volunteer Clare captured some footage of our freshwater crocodiles trying to mate.

Having lots of fun…..

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