Pet Facts

Reptile Club

The term reptile mainly refers to lizards, snakes, turtles, alligators and crocodiles.

Snake Easter Water Dragons


Here are some of the many reptiles that call Australia home:

Children's Python
Children's pythons come from northern Australia ranging from the Kimberly Plateau in Western Australia across the Northern Territory and into north eastern Queensland. They also occur on many islands off the northern coast of Australia.

Children's Pythons are the second smallest python species in the world, only the Anthill Python is a few inches shorter. Most adults will max out at somewhere between 2 to 2.5 feet with occasional older specimens approaching 3 feet. These pythons like to live in coastal woodlands and monsoonal forests. They eat small mammals, birds and reptiles.

Coastal Carpet Python
Coastal Carpet Pythons are found along the north east corner of New South Wales and all along the coast of Queensland. They range westward well past the great dividing range.

Coastal Carpet Pythons are the largest of all the carpet python species. As with most other python species females get bigger then males attaining lengths of 8 to 9 feet. A wild caught female found in 1970 holds the record length at just under 14 feet. They have a life span of 20 - 30 years.

Green Tree Frogs
The Green Tree Frog's natural distribution extends from the north east corner of South Australia to throughout Queensland. This species is commonly seen in pet shops and has become a popular pet. The Green Tree Frog may be observed on rocks and trees and on the ground near water. Their call is a deep 'crawk' that is repeated continuously.

The skin surface of the Green Tree Frog is smooth with large glands on the back of its head. The glands are pitted with tiny pores. The fingers and toes have large discs and are webbed. The colour, as the frog's name suggests, is usually bright green, however, some individuals may change their colour to olive-brown.

Easter Water Dragons
This lizard is found around margins of creeks, rivers and lakes, usually seen on rocks, logs or overhanging branches. Its habitat includes the coast and ranges and eastern Australia between Cairns and Cooktown (Qld) and Kangaroo Valley in New South Wales.

The Easter Water Dragon can swim strongly by keeping its limbs by its side and moving its tail from side to side. It can also remain submerged for over one hour. The Easter Water Dragon feeds on a molluscs and crustaceans as well as small fish, hatchling tortoises and small mammals.

Cunningham's Skink
Cunningham's skink is a large, prickly lizard usually around 25-30cm in length. The colour varies from those that are almost totally black to others that are grey or rusty red. Each scale ends in a sharp, rigid point, especially on the tail. If threatened, the lizard will flee to the nearest rock crevice and puff up its body and use it's spines to anchor itself into the refuge. Trying to remove a stubborn Cunningham's skink from this position is practically impossible.

The Cunningham's skink can be found in south-eastern Australia, from southern Queensland to western Victoria. The adult Cunningham's skink is mainly vegetarian, consuming flowers, berries and young green shoots and leaves. Juveniles, on the other hand, are mostly insect eaters.

Blue Tongue Lizards

Blue tongue lizards are great urban survivors. They can often be seen in gardens basking in the sun or foraging for food. They catch slow-moving prey such as snails, slugs and caterpillars, and have strong jaw muscles, which enable them to crush the snail shells.