Finally, a post about all of the animals! YAY!

Obviously, at this point you all know, or should know, that I am an intern at the Cairns Tropical Zoo, and am currently working in the reptile department, with everything toothy and scaly!  I know for some of you, that working with lizards, snakes, Iguanas, Geckos, Monitors, Alligators, Crocodiles, etc., sounds like your worst nightmare coming to life, but in reality, it's pretty amazing! Every day, I am able to handle both exotic and native reptile species to Australia, and have advanced my knowledge of reptile physiology and care to a completely new extent.  To a nerdy, animal science graduate, it's my heaven on Earth. (Minus the snake bite by a 3m Olive Python, so NOT so cool - photos later.)

Look at me! All official and what not ;)

I'll be moving onto birds and mammals soon, but until then, the majority of my photos consist of reptiles, and beautiful ones at that! So enjoy!

Juvenile Green Iguana who enjoys a little bit of love

 

Adult male Green Iguana.
(Yes, he's not actually green.  You won't believe how many times I hear, "But he's not actually green....?" And no, he's not, but he's not called an "Orange Iguana" hahaa. They can turn an orange color as they mature.)

Bearded Dragon

Fijian Crested Iguana.  That coloring isn't affected by a filter either. He's that beautiful!

Green Tree Python.  They sit in this position for hours upon hours.  However, offer them food and they'll smash it quicker than your eye can see.  Pretty intense strikes these pythons have.  So would nooottt enjoy having them mistake my hand for a mouse.

 

  

Madagascar Ring-Tailed Lemurs, Cutest little things.  And yes, of course I sing the "I like to move it, move it" song in my head, whenever I walk by them.  Thank you, Dreamworks Animation for Madagascar.

The classic Aussie animal, the Koalllaa! Sleeping 21 hrs a day, is an exhausting job for them.  One of those freak moments, where the little guys is actually awake!

Shedding of an adult male burmese python. 

Tokay Gecko. Beautiful, but feared by the entire Reptile Department. Vicious little buggers. 

Zont. 4.3 meter Salt Water Crocodile.  

Female American Alligator. Currently being trained to do encounters and interactions with the visiting public.

Black-headed Python. One of the few species of snake that will actually eat other reptiles.  They don't play well with others.

Learning how to snake wrangle... Started off easy with a Corn Snake... Oooh, scary.

Force-feeding of a Common Death Adder. Yes, they're venomous, but these guys are pros.

The first bite, occurred a little over 3 weeks ago, and was a good one at that!
3m Olive Python. Australia's heaviest python and the second longest.

And in case, you wanted to see the teeth involved with a bite like that.  Here you go.  An Olive Python jaw of approximately the same size as the one that nailed me.  A fun time, I can assure you.

Two weeks later, and my hand has turned
all kinds of fun colors!

A little over a week after the bite
and I look like I have Gangrene. Seeexxxyyy.

Every so often, wild snakes end up in places they probably shouldn't be.  Aka, in someone's house, shed, car, etc.  Yay, land of the plentiful snake!  In this instance, a wild Carpet Python was found in someone's home and brought into the zoo. So we released it back into the wilderness. Be free, my little snake friend!

  

Certainly a fairly good sized snake!

I'll be continuing to post photos of all of the various species of animals that I have the amazing opportunity to work with, but these photos show the types of animals, specifically reptiles, that I get to work with on a daily basis.  I truly can't describe how much I love my internship and how fortunate I am to be able to do this.  I'm a lucky girl.

Until my next post, Cheers!