Ozark Herpetarium

08/03/2022

A couple animals currently going through their quarantine. The first is an example of our 1.2 Karstens girdled lizards and the second photo is of our Butterfly Agama! Wonderful additions to the growing collection.

30/05/2021

Narceus americanus (giant millipede). This girl is a large invertebrate and a native to the southeastern United States.

14/04/2021

The rough earthsnake or Haldea striatula. This little snake eats earthworms and many other small soft body invertebrates. Really cool find here in Arkansas.

12/03/2021

A beautiful Virginia opossum visited today. These wonderful animals eat ticks, have body temps too low for rabies and are marsupials (babies in pouches). Love these wonderful creatures.

12/03/2021

Trevor the blue tongue skink looking out his habitat on this wonderful day!

11/03/2021

Sauron the sand goanna. These wonderful varanids come from Australia and are ecosystem engineers. Their burrows become host to tons of species. They share a similar niche to the gopher tortoises here in the United States.

07/03/2021

Here we have the male Giant Haitian Galliwasp (Celestus warreni). He’s basking in the sunlight and absorbing some heat and natural UV lighting. Beautiful critically endangered species from Haiti. Fossorial (underground) species don’t get the love they deserve as they are usually hidden but he came out and said hello.

06/03/2021

A little turtlecation 🐢

03/03/2021

Happy to everyone. Remember that wildlife all over the world need our help. Support local and global conservation organizations to help save our wild friends. Conservation through Education.

22/12/2020

Just got our order of Repashy for the animals. This formula is great for reptiles and is a wonderful addition to any diet. We got the grub pie and bluey buffet and got some free samples of ProBugs as well.

17/12/2020

Two more new family members for the facility we have Cena (lighter color) and Lee (normal color) ball pythons. These wonderful snakes are adoptions from Friends of Scales and will be wonderful ambassadors for their species.

16/12/2020

I would like to introduce the newest member of the family and future animal ambassador Trevor the blue tongue skink. These wonderful lizards actually do have a blue tongue which they use as defense against predators. We absolutely love this guy already and can’t wait to watch him grow as he is only 1 year old.

15/11/2020

G’day everyone! Today is and we wanted to share in our support for what his mission was: the conservation of species around the world. Steve was an amazing conservationist and an inspiration to many people. So today we celebrate not just his life but also his mission!! 🐊

13/11/2020

Hognose snakes are amazing with their ways to defend themselves. This little guy is flaring out his neck as a threat display. These are non venomous snakes and here in Arkansas we have hognose snakes as well. When seeing these snakes just let them go on their way. Beautiful animals they are!!

“When threatened, hog-nosed snakes possess the best bag of “tricks” you’ll ever see. If flaring out their neck (appearing ‘cobraesque’), and striking (with their mouth closed!) doesn’t deter a predator (or an amused herpetologist), these fantastic snakes will roll over and play dead, complete with their tongue hanging out. If one tries to right the “dead” snake, it will dutifully roll over and die again.” - PARC Midwest Habitat Management Guidelines

Sign up for our mailing list to get the big news first by visiting http://amphibianandreptileconservancy.org/ and using the “Subscribe” box, upper right. How fast can you type your email? That’s all it takes!

(Eastern Hog-nosed Snake © Mark Danaher)

13/11/2020

Speedy our resident African Spur Thighed tortoise. These are the 3rd largest tortoise in the world. They come from the Sahal region of Africa. Amazing animals and Speedy has a lot of growing to do as he is about 40 lbs and can grow to 120 lbs. 🐢

12/11/2020

A wonderful new species of cave gecko. The precious!!

NEW SPECIES ALERT: Meet Goniurosaurus gollum! A new species of Asian Cave Gecko (Goniurosaurus) has been described from specimens found inside a limestone cave in China and playfully named after the famous fictional cave dweller of Lord Of The Rings fame Gollum. We think it's pretty "precious" itself.

Read all about it here: https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/54935/

12/11/2020

So I’ve been playing with a few names and although I liked the old name I think this name will fit better for what I’m trying to convey and since I’m trying to start this facility in Arkansas. So say hello to the Ozark Herpetarium. I’m hoping to eventually find some money to start up an educational program. When that is accomplished and is making some money than it’ll be time to build a facility. That’s the end goal is to have a facility that is open to the public and will be a place where conservation and education meet. Definitely want it to be a center where we exhibit natives of Arkansas and exotics of the world. The Mission statement is to educate locally but conserve globally.

12/09/2020

Hello everyone these are the newest residents to Cretaceous Isle Zoo. We acquired a 1.1 of critically endangered Haitian galliwasps or Celestus warreni. These animals are fossorial in nature so they spend a lot of time underground but are an amazing lizard species in the Anguidae family. The love to eat insects along with some meat. These are going to be a wonderful addition to the zoo.

12/09/2020

So Tomorrow I am going to unveil a new pair of animals that are going to be part of the zoo. This species is amazing. After the fire in June which wiped out most of the collection these animals will help towards the rebuild of the collection and hopefully in the future these along with all the animals will be on display for everyone to see. So stay tuned tomorrow to see these wonderful critters!!!

14/08/2020

Happy !! These are three amazing lizards.

04/08/2020

Happy !! These amazing cats are native from the foothills of the Himalayas through sections of Indonesia. Although not part of the collection here at the zoo perhaps one day we can acquire these. For now though we just want to bring attention to them and their conservation needs. These beautiful cats are in danger because of habitat degradation and poaching. Help protect these and other species by not consuming products with palm oil and by supporting their conservation initiatives. Credit for photos: South China morning post. Clouded leopard project.

03/08/2020

Although common bearded dragons are native to Australia. These wonderful animals are omnivores but at Jaxson’s age are almost entirely insectivorous. This species being the centralian bearded dragon comes from the hotter inland sections of Australia. He is a wonderful addition to the zoo and will be a wonderful ambassador to island species.

15/04/2020

0.2 lovely little blood pythons (Python brongersmai). These snakes are native to the Malay peninsula and have cousins native to Borneo and Sumatra. These snakes are heavy bodied and only get to 4-5 ft on average. They will normally get up to 15 pounds in weight!! These are another amazing addition to the zoo.

26/02/2020

Moved one of two tropical night lizards or Lepidophyma flavimaculatum. A nocturnal animal from Mexico these little animals are parthenogenic or don’t need a mate to reproduce!! This animal also has some love plants within its habitat. There are air plants and some vines. These girls are insectivorous so they’ll eat small insects and arthropods on the forest floor.

31/01/2020

Some wonderful new additions to the zoo. These are a 1.1 pair of Borneo Swamp Skinks (Tropidophorus apulus). These wonderful animals are from Borneo an island who’s forests are being converted to palm oil plantations. Due to this animals like these skinks could go extinct. We have to protect wild forests. Try to use products that don’t include palm oil to help save animals like these.

28/01/2020

This is Roswell he is a Peachthroat monitor (Varanus jobiensis). These monitors are found in southern Indonesia. They get their name because of their peach colored throats. They are carnivores as well. They are arboreal so they spend their time in the trees.

28/01/2020

These beautiful serpents are Northern Water snakes (Nerodia sipedon). These individuals were from Beaver island in the Beaver island archipelago in northern Lake Michigan. The islands have been separated from the mainland for about 5000 years and sit about 32 miles from the nearest shores. These animals were observed during their mating season in early June. Amazing snakes and shows that island species aren’t just from saltwater ecosystems.

26/01/2020

While not islanders these lovely little turtles are Yellow Headed Amazon River Turtles (Podocnemis unifilis). Native to the Amazon and Orinoco River basins these are some of the larger turtles native to South America. While ours are just babies they will grow with us here at Cretaceous Islands.

25/01/2020

This animal is not mine but a species that I would love to work with once I get the zoo up and running. This is a Philippine crocodile or Crocodylus mindorensis. This is a small species of crocodilian that is critically endangered. Beautiful animals with loads of personality.

24/01/2020

This is the male San estaban spiny tailed iguana or Ctenosaura conspicuosa. These animals come from the island of San estaban in the gulf of California. These animals are vulnerable in the wild. This beautiful male is a resident and a gorgeous North American islander. These guys are also omnivorous but trend more herbivorous as they get older.

21/01/2020

So for the zoo I use all types of food for the health of the animals. I use whole prey (rodents, chicken, insects) veggies, fruits and Mazuri diets. I use one of three types of mazuri depending on the species. So I have large crocodilian diet, tortoise diet, and insectivore diet. These are good additives to a diet for variety and nutritional quality.

20/01/2020

Here is my male curly tailed lizard. This little guy was sent up to Wisconsin on a plant shipment from Florida and these guys are native to the Caribbean. So this guy has had quite the journey. This species is invasive in Florida along with somewhere around 500 other species of flora and fauna. These guys are diurnal(our during the day) and insectivorous. Awesome little lizards and a joy to work with.

18/01/2020

Not part of the zoo collection (yet) but these amazing animals are called Borneo earless monitors (Lanthanotus borneensis). These animals belong to a friend of mine and acquired them legally. These animals come from the country of Borneo and still relatively new to science. These animals have a mostly aquatic lifestyle and eat worms and other aquatic prey. Amazing animals these guys are as they are almost blind. Their eyes are extremely small so scent and touch are their main way to find their food. Because these animals are still relatively new to science they are rare in captivity so protecting their native range is vital.

16/01/2020

A pair of resident dragons. For dragon appreciation day here are the adult sand monitors or Varanus flavirufus. These lovely animals are native to Australia.

16/01/2020

This is a Chinese cave gecko or Goniurosaurus hainanensis. These wonderful little geckos are native to Chinese islands and are insectivorous by nature. They prefer temperatures in between 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit and like a humid environment. Another cool example of island ecosystems at work with these guys.

14/01/2020

Here is a beautiful animal. This is one of the resident black tree monitors (Varanus beccarii). These monitor lizards are native to the Aru islands around Papua New Guinea. They are carnivorous and will eat everything from insects to eggs to smaller reptiles. These animals are arboreal so they spend time in the trees.

13/01/2020

Hello everyone! When it comes to zoos and aquariums what are some of your favorite species that you see in them? Because this whole endeavor will take quite some time (Especially the funding part 😉) I would love to hear what species people would love to see. Specifically those from island ecosystems but any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks everyone!

13/01/2020

This is Darwin he is a White’s Tree Frog (Litoria caerulea). These wonderful little amphibians are native to Papua New Guinea and Australia. Amphibians have been on the planet since about the Late Devonian period which was about 368 million years ago. These animals need or help as our pollution, habitat destruction, and disease are wiping them out.

12/01/2020

This wonderful little guy is a blood python ( Python brongersmai) is a native to Thailand, Malaysia, and Sumatra. These pythons are shorter bodied but heavily built. This little guy is just a baby and just took his first meal. Another amazing species!!!

11/01/2020

Beautiful by nature the Madagascar four lined plated lizard (Zonosaurus quadrilineatus) is found one the drier southwest of Madagascar. They are insectivorous and fossorial (live underground) by nature. These species is only one Madagascar and with the island have a small fraction of wild habitat left these animals are in the firing line. Species like this are underrepresented and one of the favorites because of their beautiful coloration.