Reptiles fact sheet | Field of Mars EEC

What are reptiles?

Reptiles are vertebrate animals, which means they have a backbone. They belong to a group of animals called Reptilia and are related to other vertebrates such as birds, mammals, amphibians and fish.

Reptiles have dry scales or scutes, breathe air with lungs and use their environment to help control their body temperature. Most reptiles lay eggs, but some give birth to live young. Reptiles include lizards, snakes, geckoes, skinks, dragons, monitors, turtles and crocodiles.

Reptiles can be found in many places around Sydney, including bushland, wetlands, creeks, parks, gardens, sandstone outcrops and school grounds. Around Field of Mars Reserve and Lane Cove National Park, students may see reptiles such as eastern water dragons, lace monitors, leaf-tailed geckoes, jacky lizards, eastern water skinks, common scaly-foots, golden-crowned snakes, red-bellied black snakes and eastern long-necked turtles. Sydney is home to about 60 reptile species.

Eastern water dragons are large Sydney reptiles often seen basking near creeks, ponds and rivers.

Southern leaf-tailed geckoes are nocturnal lizards that shelter in sandstone crevices, trees and loose bark.

How do you know it is a reptile?

Reptiles usually have dry scales, breathe air with lungs and do not have feathers or fur. These features help separate them from birds, mammals and amphibians.

Lizards usually have legs, eyelids, ear openings and long tails. Snakes have long bodies without legs, eyelids or external ears. Turtles have hard shells that protect their bodies. Geckoes are lizards with soft-looking skin, large eyes and excellent climbing ability.

Some reptiles can be tricky to identify. Legless lizards, such as the common scaly-foot and Burton’s snake-lizard, look like snakes but are actually lizards. Blind snakes may look like shiny worms, but they are burrowing reptiles.

The common scaly-foot looks like a snake, but it is a legless lizard.

Reptile groups

Lizards, skinks and dragons

Many Sydney reptiles are lizards. This group includes skinks, dragons, geckoes, legless lizards and monitors.

Skinks are often small, fast reptiles that dart through leaf litter, grass and garden edges. Dragons, such as jacky lizards and eastern water dragons, often bask in sunny places. Geckoes usually hide during the day and hunt insects at night.

Jacky lizards are small dragons that bask on logs, rocks and open ground in dry bushland.

Snakes

Snakes are reptiles with long bodies, scales and no legs. They move by using their muscles and belly scales to push against the ground.

Sydney snakes include red-bellied black snakes, golden-crowned snakes, diamond pythons, marsh snakes and yellow-faced whip snakes. Many snakes are shy and will try to escape if left alone.

Golden-crowned snakes are nocturnal reptiles that hunt small lizards and other prey at night.

Turtles

Freshwater turtles are reptiles with hard shells. Eastern snake-necked turtles live in ponds, creeks, wetlands and dams.

Although they spend much of their time in water, freshwater turtles breathe air with lungs. They lay their eggs on land and may move across roads, tracks or grass after rain while travelling between wetlands.

Eastern snake-necked turtles are freshwater reptiles that may move between ponds, creeks and wetlands.

Monitors

Monitors are large, active lizards with strong claws, long tails and forked tongues. The lace monitor is found in eastern Australia and is listed among animals found in Lane Cove National Park.

Lace monitors climb trees, search for food on the ground and may feed on insects, eggs, carrion, reptiles, birds and small mammals. They are important predators and scavengers.

Lace monitors are large tree-climbing lizards found in forests and woodland, including Lane Cove National Park.

What is the life cycle of reptiles?

Most reptiles hatch from eggs. Reptile eggs may be laid in soil, sand, leaf litter, rotting vegetation, termite mounds, hollow logs or other protected places.

Young reptiles usually look like smaller versions of adults. They must find food, shelter and safe basking places soon after hatching. Most reptiles do not feed their young like many birds and mammals do.

Some reptiles give birth to live young instead of laying eggs. This helps some species survive in cooler places or habitats where eggs may be harder to protect.

Freshwater turtles may move across land after rain to find new ponds, creeks or wetlands.

What adaptations do reptiles have to help them survive?

Reptiles have many adaptations. Scales help protect their bodies and reduce water loss. Camouflage helps reptiles hide among bark, rocks, leaves, sand and grass. Basking helps reptiles warm their bodies so they can move, hunt and digest food.

Different reptiles have different ways to survive. Water dragons can dive into water. Geckoes can hide in narrow crevices. Skinks can dart quickly into leaf litter. Blue-tongued lizards can open their mouths and flash their bright blue tongues. Turtles can pull soft body parts closer to their shells.

Snakes use smell, vibration and movement to find prey and avoid danger. Many snakes use camouflage and stillness to stay hidden.

Blue-tongued lizards use their bright blue tongue as a warning display.

Why are reptiles important?

Reptiles are essential in healthy ecosystems. They help control insects, spiders, snails, frogs, rodents and other small animals. Some reptiles also eat carrion and help recycle nutrients.

They are also food for other animals, including kookaburras, herons, raptors, mammals, larger lizards and other snakes. Without reptiles, many food webs would not work properly.

Reptiles can also tell us about the health of an environment. Bushland with rocks, logs, bark, leaf litter, hollow trees, native plants and clean waterways can support more reptile species than areas with little shelter.

Logs, rocks, bark and leaf litter provide shelter, hunting places and basking sites for reptiles.

How can you help reptiles?

You can help reptiles by protecting habitat. Leave trees, shrubs, grasses, leaf litter, logs, rocks, bark and hollows where it is safe to do so. These places provide food, shelter, basking sites and nesting places for many species.

Plant local native plants to provide shade, shelter, insects, flowers, fruit and safe movement spaces across the year. A mix of trees, shrubs, grasses, groundcovers, logs and rocks supports more reptiles than a simple lawn.

Keep cats contained, place rubbish in bins and avoid unnecessary pesticide, snail bait or poison use. These chemicals can harm reptiles or reduce the insects and other small animals they need for food.

If you see a snake, stay calm, move away slowly and tell an adult. Never try to touch, catch or scare a snake.

Native plants, mulch, rocks and logs can create habitat for skinks, geckoes and other small reptiles.

Explore more

Use the fact sheet links on this page to learn more about reptiles and other animals found in bushland, gardens, wetlands and school grounds.

You can also compare reptiles with other vertebrate groups such as birds, mammals and amphibians.

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