Alice Springs Reptile Centre

Alice Springs Reptile CentreAustralian Green Tree Frog Australian Saltwater Crocodile Black Headed Goanna Black-headed Python Central Carpet Python Central Netted Dragon Centralian Blue Tongue Lizard Coastal Taipan Collett’s Snake Diamond Head Turtle Eastern Brown Snake Frilled Neck Lizard Gidgee Skink Inland / Central Bearded Dragon King Brown Snake Northern Giant Cave Gecko Perentie Spencer’s Goanna Thorny Devil Western Brown Snake

Alice Springs has its own resident Australian Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), named Terry.

Australian Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus johnstoni)
Australian Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus)

Terry, a true Territorian was wild caught from Darwin harbour in April 2002 and transported to Alice Springs on a car trailer. Terry is a male and when capture was about ten years old, weighing approx. 200 kg, 3.3 metres long and with jaws able to deliver 3 1/2 tonnes of crushing power!

Terry went on display in July 2002 after an initial ‘settling-in’ period and behaves exactly like a wild croc, during the day resting silently underwater! If you watch Terry for 15 minutes you will see him slowly rise so that his nostrils just break the surface of the water taking a breath of air and then go back down again.

Terry is kept in saltwater maintained at 23ºC during winter and 27ºC during summer just like Darwin harbour and is heated by a computer controlled solar hot water system with extra BOC gas heating during the cold winter nights, and that glass you are looking through is reinforced 40mm thick and weighs over 500 kg!

Milky Eye
Hello everyone you are probably wondering why one of my eyes looks Milky, and why only one is like this. Well, there is actually nothing wrong with my eye at all. What you see is my SECOND or CLEAR eyelid that is causing the problem. What happens is when I contract my clear eyelid, it’s not sealing correctly over my eye and allowing a small amount of air to get between my eye and the eyelid itself. When I surface and retracted the second eyelid you may see that my eye is quite ok. Now you know what is wrong with my eye, so don’t worry I’m fine.

Images © Ausemade PL


  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Chordata
  • Class: Reptilia
  • Order: Crocodilia
  • Family: Crocodylidae
  • Genus: Crocodylus
  • Species: Crocodylus porosus

Alice Springs Reptile CentreAustralian Green Tree Frog Australian Saltwater Crocodile Black Headed Goanna Black-headed Python Central Carpet Python Central Netted Dragon Centralian Blue Tongue Lizard Coastal Taipan Collett’s Snake Diamond Head Turtle Eastern Brown Snake Frilled Neck Lizard Gidgee Skink Inland / Central Bearded Dragon King Brown Snake Northern Giant Cave Gecko Perentie Spencer’s Goanna Thorny Devil Western Brown Snake

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