ANIMALSThe term
“reticulated” means
“net-like”. It refers to
the pattern of the
snake’s skin.GILA
MONSTER
Heloderma
suspectum is native to
the south-western USA and
north-western Mexico. Just
0.4 mg/kg of its venom has
proved lethal in mice, making
it the most venomous lizard.
Teresa (right) is no doubt aware
that humans rarely die from
a gila monster bite,
as only relatively
small amounts
of venom
are injected.GALÁPAGOS GIANT TORTOISE
Seen here with a member of the mighty reptilian species
Chelonoidis nigra is Matt. He is proudly displaying Reptile
Gardens’ GWR certificate for being the largest reptile zoo.
The largest tortoise ever was a Galápagos giant tortoise named
Goliath. He was 135.8 cm (4 ft 5 in) long, 102 cm (3 ft 4 in) wide, 68.5 cm
(2 ft 3 in) high and weighed 417 kg (920 lb). Goliath lived at the Life
Fellowship Bird Sanctuary in Seffner, Florida, USA, from 1960 to 2002.MEXICAN
BEADED LIZARD
A black-and-yellow
forest-dwelling species,
Heloderma horridum
can grow to a length
of 90 cm (2 ft 11.4 in).
One specimen lived in
captivity for 33 years
11 months, making it
the longest-lived
venomous lizard.
Below, Kyle holds
a specimen from
Reptile Gardens.BURMESE PYTHON
Members of this species
(Python bivittatus)
commonly grow to 3.7 m
(12 ft 1 in), although
the longest Burmese
python – a female
named Baby – reached
a length of 5.74 m
(18 ft 10 in). She
lived at Serpent
Safari in Gurnee,
Illinois, USA, for
27 years. Here,
Clint displays
an albino
variant of
the species.
RETICULATED
PYTHON
Kathy displays an
albino member of this
species here. Native
to south-east Asia,
Indonesia and the
Philippines, Python
reticulatus regularly
grows to more than
6.25 m (20 ft 6 in).
The longest snake
ever documented was
a reticulated python
that measured 10 m
(32 ft 9.7 in).RED-FOOTED
TORTOISE
Chelonoidis carbonaria is
found in northern South
America. The largest
red-footed tortoise was
60 cm (1 ft 11.6 in) long
and weighed more than
28 kg (61 lb 11.6 oz). Diet
availability and longevity
are two factors that
promote growth. Above,
Linda holds aloft a more
modestly sized specimen.