RAINFOREST REPTILE TOUR: Rainforest reptiles photo slideshow

70+ pictures of reptiles in the rainforest


Reptiles are among the most common animals found in the rainforest.

Reptiles include four main groups: crocodiles and alligators (23 species), the unusual tuataras from New Zealand (2 species), snakes (about 3,000 species) and lizards (about 4,000 species), and turtles and tortoises (about 300 species).

Like frogs, reptiles are cold-blooded, meaning they generally rely on external sources of heat, rather than generating their own body heat.

Many of the world's Crocodilia species -- including alligators, crocodiles, caimans, and gharials -- live in the tropics. Every major rainforest region has at least one type of Crocodilia. These range in size from the dwarf crocodile of Central Africa to the massive, and very dangerous, saltwater crocodile of Australia and New Guinea.

Caiman crossing a road in the Brazilian Pantanal

Black caiman in the Pantanal

American Crocodiles in the Tarcoles river in Costa Rica

Baby caiman in Costa Rica

Lizards are the most commonly seen reptiles in the rainforest. The largest lizards are monitor lizards of the old world, which include the Komodo Dragon from Indonesia.

The Komodo dragon is the world's largest lizard

Mertens' Water Monitor (Varanus mertensi)

Malayan water monitor in Laos

Monitor lizard (Varanus salvator) in Malaysia

The Green Basilisk is sometimes called the 'Jesus Christ Lizard' because it can run across water

Rainbow Amevia lizard in Honduras

Blue-headed tree agama in Uganda

Chameleons are among the world's most spectacular reptiles, capable of changing to a wide range of colors depending on their surroundings and emotional state. Roughly half the planet's chameleon species are found in Madagascar.

Turquoise Parson's chameleon in Madagascar

Striped juvenile Parson's chameleon in Madagascar

Short-nosed Chameleon (Calumma gastrotaenia) in Madagascar

Female Parson's chameleon with green coloring and a yellow eye

Yellow and orange Parson's chameleon in Madagascar

Blue-green Parson's chameleon in Madagascar

Petter's Chameleon in Montagne d'Ambre, Madagascar.

Blue, green, orange, white, and brown Calumma crypticum chameleon in Ranomafana, Madagascar

Peyrieras' leaf chameleon (Brookesia peyrierasi)

Brown leaf chameleon (Brookesia superciliaris)

Peyrieras' leaf chameleon (Brookesia peyrierasi)

Male panther chameleon with breeding coloration

Panther chameleon with 'Christmas' coloration in Maroantsetra, Madagascar

Male panther (Furcifer pardalis) chameleon in Madagascar

Male panther chameleon (Furcifer pardalis) on a man's arm

Male panther chameleon in Madagascar

Male panther chameleon in Madagascar

Male panther chameleon in Madagascar

Male Calumma globifer chameleon in Madagascar

Forest dragon with blue eyes in Indonesian Borneo

Baby forest dragon in Indonesian Borneo

Tokay Gecko (Gekko gecko) in Bali

Klemmer's Yellow-headed Day Gecko (Phelsuma klemmeri) from Madagascar

Tanzania blue gecko (Lygodactylus williamsi)

Gecko in Costa Rica

Gecko lizard species with black markings in Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo

Shadow of a day gecko on a sunlit leaf in Madagascar

Koch's day gecko (Phelsuma madagascariensis kochi) in Madagascar

Phelsuma madagascariensis kochi day gecko

Uroplatus phantasticus leaf-tailed gecko in Madagascar

Satanic Leaf-tail Gecko (Uroplatus phantasticus) in Madagascar

Giant Leaftailed Gecko (Uroplatus fimbriatus) in Madagascar

Uroplatus fimbriatus gecko on Nosy Mangabe

Giant leaf-tail gecko in Madagascar

Uroplatus fimbriatus leaf-tail gecko on Nosy Mangabe

Giant leaf-tail gecko (Uroplatus fimbriatus) in Madagascar

Giant flat-tail gecko (Uroplatus fimbriatus) in Madagascar

Giant leaf-tailed gecko (Uroplatus fimbriatus) in Madagascar

Giant leaftailed gecko (Uroplatus fimbriatus) in Madagascar

Giant flattail gecko in Madagascar

Juvenile green iguana (Iguana iguana) in Colombia

Black iguana (Ctenosaura similis) in Panama

Male Iguana in Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula

Green iguana (Iguana iguana)

The Fijian iguana is critically endangered

Red-Eyed Bush Crocodile Skink (Tribolonotus gracilis) from New Guinea

False coral snake in Colombia

Madagascar leaf-nosed snake

Salmon-bellied Snake (Mastigodryas melanolomus) in Costa Rica

Asian Vine Snake in South Kalimantan, Indonesia Borneo

Gmelin's Bronzeback snake (Dendrelaphis pictus) eating a frog in Tree snake in Taman Negara National Park, Malaysia

Tree snake in Taman Negara National Park, Malaysia

Oriental Vine Snake (Ahaetulla prasina) in Sulawesi, Indonesia

Boa constrictor in Belize

The Anaconda is one of the world's largest snakes.

Common chunk headed snake (Imantodes cenchoa) in Costa Rica

Emerald boa (Corallus caninus) from the Amazon rainforest

Boa constrictor in Bocas del Toro, Panama

Green tree python from Southeast Asia

Green tree python (Morelia viridis) from Southeast Asia

Sumatran freshwater turtle