RepTopia

This is one of the endangered golden poison froglets at RepTopia – the first time this species has bred in Singapore. We’ve also seen the arrival of four azure dyeing poison frog babies. Besides the frogs, our lizards have also had a bonanza of babies. To date, we’ve seen six hatchlings of the critically endangered electric blue gecko, which we hope can be part of future conservation efforts. Come visit them and other scaly babies at the RepTopia hatchling display.

Masters of disguise and sophisticated hunters, reptiles have readily adapted to life across the tropics and subtropics, some even in temperate climates. The majority of them are carnivorous and they have important roles to play as predators and to a lesser extent, as prey, in every ecosystem they exist in.

To feature the interconnectedness of all life-forms, different species are displayed side by side in exhibits landscaped to replicate the reptiles’ natural habitats.

The first reptiles evolved from amphibians more than 295 million years ago and grew to be the dinosaurs that would dominate Earth during the Mesozoic Era. The reptiles that survived the mass extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago are to be found in a wide range of habitats and climates around the world today.

RepTopia houses under one roof reptiles hailing from the Indo-Pacific, African Jungle, Neotropical Rainforests and Deserts of the World zones.

For a peek into the secret lives of reptiles, stick around for the daily keeper interactive session. Glass panels open like windows, giving unimpaired views of the scaly kind during these demonstrations. You may get to watch a cobra feeding or take part in alligator medical training. If you get the chance to feed a chameleon, hold on tight to your feeding tongs for its long, sticky tongue will shoot out with surprising speed and take its prey in the blink of an eye.

The ranger station also offers plenty of riveting information about reptiles. Pick up some useful ways to differentiate venomous and non-venomous snake bites. On weekends, our friendly docents manning the station will engage you with an array of reptilian specimens and regale you with little-known facts and stories about this diverse group of vertebrates.

There is also a behind-the-scenes facility with a reptile hatchery that can be viewed through glass panels.

Check out your “thermal image’ on an infra-red screen for an idea of how a rattlesnake ‘sees’ you. Pit vipers like the western diamond-backed rattlesnake have tiny sensory pits between their eyes and nostrils which they use to detect the infrared radiation of warm bodies up to 1m away.

Or play customs officer and try your hand at intercepting illegal wildlife shipments.

RepTopia weaves these and other interactive elements into the guest experience.