Reptiles

Australia’s reptile diversity is incredible, with over 940 species currently formally described. Open woodland habitats are areas of particularly high reptile diversity, given the available niches and the suitability of these areas for ectotherms. Here’s a brief rundown of some of the species we find here at Sheoak Ridge.

(Banner photo above: Amethystine ‘Scrub’ Python – Photo by Daintree Wonder Tours http://www.daintreewondertours.com.au)

Snakes

Most of our visitors get very excited when we mention the snakes we find on Sheoak Ridge Nature Reserve. For some people it’s a nervous kind of excited and for others it’s the excitement that comes with understanding. Snakes, like all native animals in Australia are protected by law. Despite the often irrational fear people have for snakes, they play a very important role in our ecosystems.

Keel-back snakes, for example are the only snake in Australia able to eat cane toads without dying from the poisons secreted from large paratoid glands behind the toad’s eyes. There are only a handful of native animals that have worked out how to kill and eat a cane toad without dying (eg water rats, crows, ravens).

Many snakes are completely harmless to humans (ie they either are not venomous, their fangs are too small to inject venom or their fangs are located at the back of their mouth, making it difficult for them to get venom into something large) and most snakes simply want to continue on their way without being disturbed. Having said that, if a snake is cornered or feels threatened in some way it may strike out, but given a normal situation, snakes will always retreat quickly from humans. Just watch where you put your feet, respect that wild animals don’t want to be touched or poked (or killed for that matter!) and you’ve no reason to be afraid. We love seeing snakes on Sheoak Ridge!

Some of the common snakes we see include the stunning amethystine pythons, common tree snakes, brown tree snakes, red-bellied black snakes… here’s the full list we’ve sighted on the property thus far, with additions more than likely:

Common tree snake in the leaf litter at Sheoak Ridge Nature Reserve

Amethystine/scrub python
Common/northern tree snake
Brown tree snake
Coastal taipan
Eastern brown snake
Eastern small-eyed snake
Keel-back snake
Carpet python
Red-bellied black snake
Marsh snake
Black-headed python
North-eastern blind snake
Slaty grey snake

Black-bellied swamp snake

Spotted python

Northern dwarf crowned snake

Northern death adder

Yellow-faced whipsnake

Northern tree snake

Water python

Turtles

We’ve identified only one species of turtle on Sheoak Ridge, the saw-shelled turtle. We commonly see them along the banks or on logs in Rifle Creek, in our dams or in the numerous natural billabongs around the property. One of the really neat things about this turtle is it’s ability to ‘breathe’ through it’s bum, giving it the common name of a ‘bum-breather’. This turtle has evolved a mechanism to flush

water through it’s cloaca and absorb oxygen through thin tissue, allowing it to respire through it’s rear end. This presumably means the turtle saves energy it would otherwise expend on surfacing to breath normally.

Lizards

Australia has an incredibly high diversity of lizards. Ectotherms are particularly suited to the fluctuations in weather conditions and thus associated food availability, as they can slow down or speed up their metabolic rate to suit.

We’re lucky enough to have rainforest habitat perfect for the boyd’s forest dragon, a striking animal that looks like it’s a relic from the dinosaur age. Other favourites include the frilled-neck lizard (a rather iconic species in Australia) that we sometimes see up on the dry ridge, lace monitors and geckos.

Below is our list of lizards as it currently stands. You’ll see it’s surprisingly short… It’s far from complete yet!! If you’re a keen herpetologist, we’d love some field assistance identifying all the rainforest and open woodland skinks and blind snakes. Otherwise, we’ll add it to our never ending to-do list and will get onto it sometime in the foreseeable future. 🙂