Reptiles / Amphibians

Both reptiles and amphibians are cold-blooded vertebrate animals, which mean they cannot regulate their own body heat so they depend on sunlight to become warm and active. They also can't cool down on their own, so if they get too hot, they have to find a burrow or some other shade.

Reptiles have a tough skin covered in scales. These scales help to keep them from drying out. Some species of reptiles lay eggs, while some give live-birth. However, unlike amphibians, reptiles do not have a larva stage, instead when their young are born or hatched they appear as a miniature version of the adult.

Amphibians, on the other hand, have a very moist smooth skin without scales. An amphibian’s begins life in water breathing through gills and eventually changes into a terrestrial adult through the process of metamorphosis. Most lay jelly-covered eggs but some give birth to live young.

At Potter Park Zoo most of our reptiles and amphibians are housed in the Bird and Reptile House. Stop by and check out some of the many different reptiles and amphibians species living at Potter Park Zoo!