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Reptiles

Browse the FaunaNest reptile library, featuring original profiles of snakes, lizards, turtles, crocodilians, and more. Every guide covers appearance, habitat and range, diet, behavior, life cycle, and conservation …

By John Shim

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Every guide in Reptiles

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Ackie Monitor

What Is a Ackie Monitor? The Ackie monitor (Varanus acanthurus), also called the spiny-tailed monitor or ridge-tailed …

African Rock Python

What Is a African Rock Python? The African rock python (Python sebae) is Africa’s largest snake and one of the biggest …

Aldabra Giant Tortoise

What Is a Aldabra Giant Tortoise? The Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea) is one of the largest land …

American Alligator

What Is a American Alligator? The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) is a large freshwater reptile native …

American Crocodile

What Is a American Crocodile? The American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) is a large, coastal crocodilian found across …

Asian Water Monitor

What Is a Asian Water Monitor? The Asian water monitor (Varanus salvator) is one of the largest lizards in the world and …

Ball Python

What Is a Ball Python? The ball python (Python regius) is a small, nonvenomous constricting snake native to the …

Bearded Dragon

What Is a Bearded Dragon? The bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps), often called the central or inland bearded dragon, is a …

Black Mamba

What Is a Black Mamba? The black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) is a large, fast-moving venomous snake native to …

Blue-Tongued Skink

What Is a Blue-Tongued Skink? The blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua scincoides) is a large, ground-dwelling lizard native to …

Boa Constrictor

What Is a Boa Constrictor? The boa constrictor (Boa constrictor) is a large, non-venomous snake native to tropical and …

Burmese Python

What Is a Burmese Python? The Burmese python (Python bivittatus) is one of the largest snake species in the world, a …

Chinese Water Dragon

What Is a Chinese Water Dragon? The Chinese water dragon (Physignathus cocincinus) is a medium-sized, tree-dwelling …

Common Death Adder

What Is a Common Death Adder? The common death adder (Acanthophis antarcticus) is a venomous snake native to Australia …

Common Garter Snake

What Is a Common Garter Snake? The common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) is a slender, non-venomous colubrid snake …

Common House Gecko

What Is a Common House Gecko? The common house gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) is a small, nocturnal lizard best known for …

Common Snapping Turtle

What Is a Common Snapping Turtle? The common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) is a large freshwater turtle native …

Copperhead

What Is a Copperhead? The copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) is a venomous pit viper native to the central and eastern …

Corn Snake

What Is a Corn Snake? The corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus) is a slender, nonvenomous rat snake native to the …

Cottonmouth

What Is a Cottonmouth? The cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus) is a venomous, semiaquatic pit viper native to the …

Desert Horned Viper

What Is a Desert Horned Viper? The desert horned viper (Cerastes cerastes) is a small, venomous snake of the family …

Desert Iguana

What Is a Desert Iguana? The desert iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis) is a medium-sized lizard native to the arid deserts of …

Desert Tortoise

What Is a Desert Tortoise? The desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) is a land-dwelling reptile native to the arid …

Diamondback Terrapin

What Is a Diamondback Terrapin? The diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) is a small to medium-sized turtle famous …

Dumeril's Boa

What Is a Dumeril’s Boa? The Dumeril’s boa (Acrantophis dumerili) is a medium-to-large, nonvenomous constricting snake …

Dwarf Crocodile

What Is a Dwarf Crocodile? The dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis) is the smallest living crocodile species, native …

Eastern Box Turtle

What Is a Eastern Box Turtle? The Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina) is a small, land-dwelling turtle native to the …

Eastern Coral Snake

What Is a Eastern Coral Snake? The Eastern coral snake (Micrurus fulvius) is a slender, brightly banded venomous snake …

Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake

What Is a Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake? The eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus) is the largest …

Eastern Fence Lizard

What Is a Eastern Fence Lizard? The eastern fence lizard (Sceloporus undulatus) is a small, spiny-scaled reptile native …

Eastern Hognose Snake

What Is a Eastern Hognose Snake? The eastern hognose snake (Heterodon platirhinos) is a stout, mildly venomous colubrid …

Egyptian Cobra

What Is a Egyptian Cobra? The Egyptian cobra (Naja haje) is a large, highly venomous elapid snake native to Africa and …

Emerald Tree Boa

What Is a Emerald Tree Boa? The emerald tree boa (Corallus caninus) is a slender, non-venomous snake of the Amazon …

Eyelash Viper

What Is a Eyelash Viper? The eyelash viper (Bothriechis schlegelii) is a small, venomous arboreal pit viper native to …

False Water Cobra

What Is a False Water Cobra? The false water cobra (Hydrodynastes gigas) is a large, semi-aquatic snake native to the …

Fer-de-Lance

What Is a Fer-de-Lance? The fer-de-lance (Bothrops asper) is a large, venomous pit viper native to the tropics of …

Fire Skink

What Is a Fire Skink? The fire skink (Lepidothyris fernandi) is a medium-sized, ground-dwelling lizard from the forests …

Florida Softshell Turtle

What Is a Florida Softshell Turtle? The Florida softshell turtle (Apalone ferox) is a large freshwater turtle native to …

Flying Gecko

What Is a Flying Gecko? The flying gecko (Gekko kuhli, long known as Ptychozoon kuhli) is a nocturnal, tree-dwelling …

Frilled Lizard

What Is a Frilled Lizard? The frilled lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii), also called the frill-necked lizard, is a large …

Gaboon Viper

What Is a Gaboon Viper? The Gaboon viper (Bitis gabonica) is a large, heavy-bodied venomous snake native to the forests …

Galapagos Tortoise

What Is a Galapagos Tortoise? The Galapagos tortoise (Chelonoidis niger) is the largest living tortoise on Earth and one …

Gharial

What Is a Gharial? The gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) is a large, fish-eating crocodilian instantly recognizable by its …

Gila Monster

What Is a Gila Monster? The Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum) is a large, slow-moving lizard native to the deserts of …

Gopher Snake

What Is a Gopher Snake? The gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer) is a large, nonvenomous constrictor native to western …

Green Anaconda

What Is a Green Anaconda? The green anaconda (Eunectes murinus) is a massive, semi-aquatic snake of tropical South …

Green Anole

What Is a Green Anole? The green anole (Anolis carolinensis) is a small, agile lizard native to the southeastern United …

Green Basilisk

What Is a Green Basilisk? The green basilisk (Basiliscus plumifrons) is a striking tropical lizard native to the …

Green Iguana

What Is a Green Iguana? The green iguana (Iguana iguana) is a large, tree-dwelling lizard native to the tropics of the …

Green Sea Turtle

What Is a Green Sea Turtle? The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) is one of the largest hard-shelled sea turtles and a …

Hawksbill Sea Turtle

What Is a Hawksbill Sea Turtle? The hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) is a small-to-medium marine turtle …

Hermann's Tortoise

What Is a Hermann’s Tortoise? The Hermann’s tortoise (Testudo hermanni) is a small, land-dwelling Mediterranean tortoise …

Indian Cobra

What Is a Indian Cobra? The Indian cobra (Naja naja) is a venomous snake native to the Indian subcontinent and one of …

Indian Python

What Is a Indian Python? The Indian python (Python molurus) is a large, nonvenomous constricting snake native to the …

Indian Star Tortoise

What Is a Indian Star Tortoise? The Indian star tortoise (Geochelone elegans) is a small, strikingly patterned land …

Inland Taipan

What Is a Inland Taipan? The inland taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus) is a large, slender elapid snake found in the dry …

Italian Wall Lizard

What Is a Italian Wall Lizard? The Italian wall lizard (Podarcis siculus) is a small, quick-moving lacertid lizard …

Jackson's Chameleon

What Is a Jackson’s Chameleon? Jackson’s chameleon (Trioceros jacksonii) is a medium-sized, tree-dwelling lizard native …

Jamaican Boa

What Is a Jamaican Boa? The Jamaican boa (Chilabothrus subflavus), also called the yellow snake or “nanka” in local …

Japanese Pond Turtle

What Is a Japanese Pond Turtle? The Japanese pond turtle (Mauremys japonica) is a small freshwater turtle found only in …

Japanese Rat Snake

What Is a Japanese Rat Snake? The Japanese rat snake (Elaphe climacophora) is a medium-to-large, nonvenomous colubrid …

Jararaca

What Is a Jararaca? The jararaca (Bothrops jararaca) is a venomous pit viper native to southeastern South America. It …

Jungle Carpet Python

What Is a Jungle Carpet Python? The jungle carpet python (Morelia spilota cheynei) is a striking, non-venomous …

King Cobra

What Is a King Cobra? The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the world’s longest venomous snake and one of the most …

Komodo Dragon

What Is a Komodo Dragon? The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) is the largest living lizard on Earth and a member of …

Panther Chameleon

What Is a Panther Chameleon? The panther chameleon (Furcifer pardalis) is a large, brilliantly colored lizard native to …

Saltwater Crocodile

What Is a Saltwater Crocodile? The saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is the largest living reptile on Earth and …

Spectacled Caiman

What Is a Spectacled Caiman? The spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus) is a small-to-medium crocodilian native to the …

Texas Horned Lizard

What Is a Texas Horned Lizard? The Texas horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) is a flattened, spiny reptile native to the …

Veiled Chameleon

What Is a Veiled Chameleon? The veiled chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus) is a large, casque-headed lizard native to the …