Looking for some close encounters of the scaly kind? Then head
to the Reptiles: The Beautiful and the Deadly exhibit at
See live snakes, colorful lizards, bizarre turtles, attentive
alligators, and secretive crocodiles exhibited in naturalistic
habitats. Most of the reptiles in the exhibit cannot be found
Some of the reptiles in the exhibit include:
- Cobra: the snake charmer's snake. The hood is
made by raising the head and stretching the ribs of the neck. The
venom is highly toxic and causes paralysis.
- Water Monitor: a giant of the lizard world,
this species grows to over seven feet in length. Strong jaws and a
powerful tail make it formidable.
- Green Tree Python: high in the canopy of the
rainforest the green coloration makes this snake nearly invisible
to predators and prey. It kills by constriction.
- Mangrove Snake: An example of a venomous snake
with short grooved teeth in the rear of its upper jaw. The bite is
seldom dangerous to humans, but can paralyze a lizard or other
small prey animal.
- Chameleon: these delicate tree-dwelling
lizards look like they're from another planet. Eyes that move
independently, skin that changes color with a mood and a tongue
longer than the body make them unique.
The exhibition is loaded with cool facts about reptiles and
plenty of hands-on action. A push of a button and "venom"
drips from the tip of a model rattlesnake's fang. Open and
close a model viper skull to expose the long fangs. And did
you know crocodiles and alligators talk to one another? You can
learn to talk croc, too! At other stations, you can flip
boards and push buttons to learn about these cold-blooded
creatures. For example:
- Snakes shed their skins at intervals - some a half dozen or
more times a year.
- Turtles and tortoises don't have teeth. Instead they have
sharp, serrated beaks, like birds.
- What's one way to tell the difference between a crocodile and
an alligator? The crocodile has a narrow and pointy snout; an
alligator has a wide, rounded snout.
Reptiles: The Beautiful and the Deadly comes to Jackson
from Clyde Peeling's Reptiland in Allenwood, Pennsylvania.
Shop for unique reptile related gifts in the Museum's Dragonfly Shoppe.
The exhibit is sponsored locally by:
- Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
- Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation
- Sanderson Farms
- Gertrude C. Ford Foundation
- Janet and Luther Ott Charitable Fund of the Community
Foundation of Greater Jackson
- Regions Bank
- Chris and Steve Zachow
- Marianne & Jack Dempsey
- Sheila Smith