Are there any truly unique candidates for habitat reptiles?
- Thread starter biggest_dreamer
- Start date
Unfortunately Marine Iguanas are near impossible to keep in captivity since they thrive in very specialized conditions and only eat certain types of marine algae. I'd be thrilled to have them in the game but you'd probably get another polar bear scenario in regards to realism.
Habitat reptiles could include american alligators, phillipine sailfin, another monitor species, fly river turtle, yangtze giant soft shell turtle, alligator snapping turtle, frilled lizard, rhino iguana, and a species of tegu. I think both iguana species we have already should be upgraded to habitat animals along with the goliath frog.
I actually think Iguanas should get out of these boxes, they would work great as habitat species.
For other reptiles, I belive a sea turtle would be nice, specially if we get aquariums. There are also some fresh water which would be suitable (some softshell, Podocnemis,...) and some tortoises too (specially the spurred tortoise). I highly doubt they will get some animations for snakes and the only monitor that should be big enough is the water monitor (which probably would be an easy reskin of the Nile monitor), rock monitor, the Perentie and the crocodile monitor (which would probably take a lot of time, as it's mainly an arboreal species).
For crocodiles, I belive the American Alligator is really a must, for most of the community. I would definitely prefer an Dwarf crocodile and Tomistoma, but seem very unlikely to ever see these in the game.
For other reptiles, I belive a sea turtle would be nice, specially if we get aquariums. There are also some fresh water which would be suitable (some softshell, Podocnemis,...) and some tortoises too (specially the spurred tortoise). I highly doubt they will get some animations for snakes and the only monitor that should be big enough is the water monitor (which probably would be an easy reskin of the Nile monitor), rock monitor, the Perentie and the crocodile monitor (which would probably take a lot of time, as it's mainly an arboreal species).
For crocodiles, I belive the American Alligator is really a must, for most of the community. I would definitely prefer an Dwarf crocodile and Tomistoma, but seem very unlikely to ever see these in the game.
I too would like to see the green iguana turned into a habitat species - if another exhibit iguana was wanted, there are plenty of smaller species that would be suitable replacements like the endangered Fiji banded iguana or the critically endangered Utila spinytail iguana.
If an iguana was made into a habitat animal, this would open up options for other large iguanas to be included as habitat animals as well - I have personally seen a couple of large enclosures (one with outdoor access) here in the UK for rhinoceros iguanas.
If an iguana was made into a habitat animal, this would open up options for other large iguanas to be included as habitat animals as well - I have personally seen a couple of large enclosures (one with outdoor access) here in the UK for rhinoceros iguanas.
The reasons are simple - most reptiles cannot regulate their own temperatures well. Green iguanas have been kept in open-air habitats in zoos that are already in particularly warm climates, but most of the time they are kept in climate-controlled terraria. Even crocodiles and alligators are often kept indoors with the appropriate humidity and heat settings in real zoos, but obviously such restrictions do not lend themselves well to a zoo game. In PZ you can put a caiman in the Arctic with a few heaters and you're away laughing, in real life it would be dead pretty quickly.
Snakes are also terribly good at escaping and can be hugely invasive, so exotic species are rarely kept in open-air enclosures in places where they can thrive (in New Zealand they aren't allowed to be kept at all - not even in zoos).
Just as another point of order, the in-game exhibit actually exceeds the minimum accepted requirements for green iguana habitats. They're pretty much standard for that particular animal (and far too large for almost every other exhibit animal in the game).
Marine iguanas aren't kept in captivity anywhere but there are murmurs of it happening soon due to climate change and ecotourism making their survival less likely in the wild. In their case I think you'd see them in mostly aquarium-style habitats, similar to those indoor habitats you'd often see alligators and caimans in. They'd also need considerably more room than the green iguana, being a social animal (as much as a reptile can be) and being a reptile that ranges further than others in search of food (depth would be a big thing).
Otherwise I think we're pretty much stuck with monitor lizards (themselves questionable) and crocodilia, and of course the giant tortoises. Even something like the giant salamander is better suited to an exhibit, albeit perhaps a slightly larger one (4x6 would suffice instead of 4x4).
Snakes are also terribly good at escaping and can be hugely invasive, so exotic species are rarely kept in open-air enclosures in places where they can thrive (in New Zealand they aren't allowed to be kept at all - not even in zoos).
Just as another point of order, the in-game exhibit actually exceeds the minimum accepted requirements for green iguana habitats. They're pretty much standard for that particular animal (and far too large for almost every other exhibit animal in the game).
Marine iguanas aren't kept in captivity anywhere but there are murmurs of it happening soon due to climate change and ecotourism making their survival less likely in the wild. In their case I think you'd see them in mostly aquarium-style habitats, similar to those indoor habitats you'd often see alligators and caimans in. They'd also need considerably more room than the green iguana, being a social animal (as much as a reptile can be) and being a reptile that ranges further than others in search of food (depth would be a big thing).
Otherwise I think we're pretty much stuck with monitor lizards (themselves questionable) and crocodilia, and of course the giant tortoises. Even something like the giant salamander is better suited to an exhibit, albeit perhaps a slightly larger one (4x6 would suffice instead of 4x4).