Armadale Reptile Centre

This is a very important and crucial time to try to protect our environment and wildlife. Our nature laws MUST be strengthened before its too late and it disappears forever.
If you enjoy and love our Australian bush, fauna and flora as much as we do please show your support.

Evening With The Minister - Strengthening our Nature Laws Join hundreds of environmental leaders and concerned citizens in a vital discussion with National Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek about strengthening our nature laws.

🐍🐍WORLD SNAKE DAY 🐍🐍

Today is the day to celebrate the incredible diversity and beauty of all the slippery serpents of the world. Snakes of all shapes and sizes play an important role in our ecosystem, often one that is overlooked and goes unnoticed. Today we take the day to acknowledge the impressive strength, resilience and intelligence of our scaley mates.

Over the many years at the centre we have seen so many of our native snakes, in so many different forms and in so many different situations. Here is a few of the many beautiful creatures we have had the pleasure of working with. 😍

🌧 Wet Weather Incoming 🌧

We may be getting more wintery days this week, but don't let that stop you from enjoying the last week of school holidays. At ARC our main reptile collection is fully indoors, with the outdoor exhibits not far from nearby shelter.

Come and see us and watch the birds playing in the rain or come and see our new aviary built (opposite the kangaroos/emu yard) that houses our gorgeous green and gold native Budgerigars.

Wet weather won't stop the animals so don't let it stop you 😁😁

CHALLENGE TIME! 😁 RESULTS! 😍

For those participating, the results of Mondays challenge are:
Easy - Wedge Tailed Eagle
Medium - Pink Cockatoo (Major Mitchell)
Hard - Emu
Very Hard - Stone Curlew

Well done as most people got the first 3 correct 👏👏
The Stone Curlew stumped many people, as it did us for a little while. 😃😃

CHALLENGE TIME! 😁

Throughout the year, birds of all species will go through a moult. Moulting means they lose feathers, which are then replaced my new ones. These moults can occur in specific seasons depending on the species and where they live in preparation for the year ahead or it can happen on occasion at anytime to replace damaged feathers. Young birds will also moult as they grow into their new and more mature feathers.

At ARC we see many of these feathers, and would like to challenge you all to try and guess which species some of these belong to! 🐦🐥
*All species reside both in Western Australia and at ARC itself*

Let us know your guesses below and we will post the answers on Wednesday 🙌🙌

An incredibly important message to be heard. It takes just 1 call to a wildlife shelter for more infomation and it could save a life 💞

We would like to wish a very Happy Mothers Day to all the Mother figures 🥰

We would like to recognise a very special group today, a group that usually doesn't get the same amount of attention, and that's the Adoptive Mothers of our planet. Adoptive Mothers come in so many forms, in both the human and animal kingdom, whether that be same species or interspecies relationships. It takes a beautiful and unique soul to create a loving, warm and enriching environment for our kin, but it takes a stronger heart to create this same environment for something not from your own family. There are so many examples across the world of beautiful souls caring for orphaned and abandoned youngsters. Wildlife carers and rehabilitators are no exception, the constant care, attention and dedication is beyond incredible to ultimately see the beautiful individual leave to have a strong life on their own.

We would like to take this chance to say THANK YOU to these carers for their Mothering care and dedication, our world would be so much darker without you ☀

At ARC we have just such a relationship. Pictured are 2 of our female Eclectus Parrots. Crumble the older individual (Pictured Left) has been at the centre for many years, she has not ever had her own young to raise while with us. Rosie the younger individual (Pictured right) came to us when she was found by a member of the public in their backyard. Rosie was estimated to only be 4 months old, old enough to be independent but young enough that she would potentially still be with her parents if still in the wild.

We were unsuccessful in finding Rosie's owners after several weeks of searching and being a non native bird to this area she couldn't be rehabilitated for release. She was quite friendly and it was clear she had been bred and raised by humans, so we offered her a home here with us. From the day we introduced her into our walk through aviary, Crumble showed a great deal of attention and curiosity to the youngster. After 2 days, we released Rosie into the aviary fully and within the day we observed Crumble 'feeding' Rosie as the mother would (regurgitated food into the beak). The rest as they say is history.
You will be able to see the 2 of them, often sitting together resting in their aviary, a gorgeous adoptive mother and daughter pair 💖💖

Got a free day today and looking to spend the last weekend of school holidays with something interesting? 😊😊

Come visit us and our ambassador animals at the Kala show 🐍🦎

🥵🔥HEAT WAVE!🥵🔥

Its been a warm few weeks, with some extreme days. Unfortunately at the centre we feel the heat slightly more then other locations and so have to change our day accordingly. But thats ok, it means that the most important task each day is making sure all our residents stay cool, even if that means an impromptu shower or two🥰

Some of our residents however don't need any help to keep cool, deciding to take some time out for a spa treatment at their water points in their enclosures or under the sprinkler systems 😎

While our residents have acess to fresh water 24/7, many of their wild counterparts would be struggling greatly in these heatwaves. A small bird bath or even water dishes on the ground in your gardens could be a life saving for many different species. From as small as Geckos and Insects to as large as Cockatoos and Possums, everything needs an extra helping hand this summer 💚💚

Friday was a very difficult day, we had to say Good Bye to a very special part of the family. This is Chopper, our male King Parrot. Chopper had developed a neurological disorder, presenting very similar to that of Parkinsons disease. Chopper started with a slight wobble which slowly progressed to difficulty perching and was unable to be still unless he was sleeping.

We tried everything our vet recommended and ran every test we could think of and the conclusion was a undiagnosed neurological issue. Sadly there was nothing we could do but make him as comfortable as possible and make his days happy until he could no longer stay on his perch or eat on his own.

It's an extra hard goodbye as Chopper's previous owner was our dear friend and volunteer Derrick, who passed away early 2023, and we hope they are caring for each other once again.

We would like to thank The Unusual Pet Vets Murdoch clinic for their kindness and compassion in this situation. They worked with us to try and find a way to help Chopper and when we couldn't they were so considerate when we had to say our goodbyes in clinic.

R.I.P Chopper 🤎

The instinct to be a mother and reproduce is one that is so strong that often female's may lay and guard eggs even when no male has been present for the breeding season, and this commonly occurs in captivity where breeding needs to be carefully managed.

In the case of our Saltwater Crocodile, Crystal, she has not ever been with a male in her 20 years of life (10-12 years is when s*xual maturity is reached). However she still creates the mound you see in the picture (in different areas of the enclosure each time) and lays her eggs. Crystal then guards the mound directly or from very close by, but don't be fooled even if she isn't directly on the nest she will be keeping a close eye from just under the waters surface nearby.

Saltwater Crocodiles breed in the Wet season (November to March) and can typically lay 40-60 eggs. These eggs are laid and covered by the surrounding earth to create a mound in order to incubate the eggs. This incubation has a drastic effect on the genders of the babies produced, known as temperature dependent s*x determination. A slightly warmer nest (32 degrees) will create mostly males and a slightly cooler nest (30-31 degrees) will create mostly females.

Females will then guard their eggs for around 90 days, after which the young begin to chirp once hatched and alert her to their presence. She will then proceed to dig them out and carry them to the water in her mouth where she will tend to them and help them learn the necessary life skills to survive. On average, only 50% of individuals hatched will survive to their 1st year and from there only about 1% reach s*xual maturity in the wild.

2024 is coming!! 🎆🎆
We wish everyone a Happy New Year and a exciting year to come 😃

We will be CLOSED on New Years Day but
OPEN again from the 2nd Jan onwards.
As the school holidays are in full swing we will be open everyday from 10am to 4pm, with interaction sessions occurring at 11am, 12:30pm and 2pm on each of these days.
*Please note due to the high demand during school holidays, interaction sessions may vary with species used and duration of sessions to keep in line with welfare standards*

Come for the interaction but stay to see all our other residents, we have native birds 🐦🦉🦅, mammals 🐶🐴 and amphibians 🐸 to see along with our wonderful reptiles 🐢🐍🦎 of course. Sit and talk with some of our cockatoos, give scratches to our donkeys and ponies or be mesmerised by our curious turtles and frogs.

Thank you to our volunteer Laylah for this gorgeous picture of our resident Wedge Tailed Eagle enjoying some sun!

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas, filled with joy, food and laughter 🥰 The ARC family wishes everyone a wonderful new year and for all resolutions to be fulfilled. Here is to a fun filled 2024! 🥂🍾
Picture: Jay, our happy dingo boy 😍

*POWER OUTAGE*

Western Power is conducting work in the area and have turned off the power. Whilst we are still open please note we are at minimal capacity, with only the essentials operational.

Thankyou for your understanding in this matter

Happy International Volunteer day!

ARC is so blessed to have amazing volunteers who go above and beyond to help us and protect and care for wildlife each and every day.
Without them, we wouldn’t be able to give the centre animals such a high level of care and attention for which we strive.

Thank you so very much in everything you all do it’s very much appreciated 😍🥰😍🥰

💙 VIOLET IS HOME AGAIN ❤️

A wonderful member of the public called us this morning with news she had caught a red bird that they recognised didn't belong and had seen our post. We were able to recognise our girl immediately and she started to babble and talk as soon as we spoke to her 😊

Whilst she hadn't gone too far from home she still had an ordeal and will be watched carefully for signs of stress or dehydration.

We can't thank the community enough for the sharing of her LOST post and the many eyes that had been looking for her, along with the kind messages and calls we received ❤️

**UPDATE : FOUND AND HOME AGAIN**

**LOST**

Today our female Eclectus parrot was let out of her aviary by a member of the public.

We are desperate to get our girl home.

Can people in the Wungong, Armadale, Byford and surrounding areas please keep a lookout for a red and blue large bodied parrot.

Please call us ASAP on 93996927 or Kristy 0422445273 or Lucy 0407 314 885.

Please share and get our girl home 💔💔

Photo of a female Eclectus parrot not our actual missing bird.

We would like to advise everyone that the centre once again has FULL eftpos facilities 😊😊

🐾🐍Its time for the Kelmscott Show!!🥳🥳

Come visit us and our fellow wildlife shelters at the show tomorrow (Saturday 21st), we will have a range of the native reptile species found in the Metro and Greater Perth region that you can visit and some species that you can interact with. The show falls perfectly on National Reptile Awareness Day 😁😁, couldn't be a better time to talk about our amazing scaley friends ☀😍

Lets celebrate World Animal Day! 🌏🌏

It's the day of the year to recognise animal rights and welfare and to reflect on how we can help in their struggle to survive in a changing environment.

In our own small way, we assist the hitchhikers of the animal world 🦎. We have had a number of Tata Dragons or Long nosed Dragons (Amphibolurus longirostrus) catch rides down from their homes up in the Pilbara into Perth via trucks or caravans. These little hitchhikers were miraculously found and caught and brought to us at the centre, with no injuries to be seen on inspection they were destined for release back home.

A team member had to take the absolutely terrible task of going on a trip up into the Pilbara for the release of the 3 individuals 😆. A private cattle station in the Pilbara was the perfect home, with abundant water and food and very little chance of any human interaction, which would hopefully mean no more uninvited trips away from home. All 3 individuals on release took the time to find the warmest and sunniest spot to bask in the familiar sun of their home.

IMPORTANT NOTICE. The Centre will not have Eftpos facilities as of Monday due to the Commonwealth bank removing all business accounts from Bankwest. We are not happy about this but now have to wait until a Commonwealth Bank eftpos machine is delivered. We apologise for any inconvenience. It will be CASH only if you wish to visit.

A very happy fathers day to all the fathers and father figures in our lives ❤️

We would have loved to post a collage of all the fathers and their children we have at the centre, unfortunately dads rarely get past the first date with mum in the animal kingdom 😆😏.

So instead we would like to acknowledge the wonderful father to our centre, Klaas. You may have seen him hard at work, day in and day out, with an inspiration and passion unmatched, on the wildlife centre he has devoted close to 30 years to. We wouldn't get very far without these wonderful men in our lives. So THANKYOU to all the dads of all forms ❤️

With the winter rains, the grasses around the centre grounds are exploding 💚
This gives us a wonderful opportunity to give some enrichment to many of our different species that would themselves naturally interact positively with winter grasses.

The Finches, Quails and Parrots love to explore the grasses for any small bugs or seeds that may be present, our resident Quenda loves to come out from his den and have a good sniff and rummage amongst the grass. Even the Kangaroos know its time for a big buffet when they get grass added to the menu along with the daily browse 🤗🤗
But as always there is 1 who doesn't want to play outside in the sun and would rather stay in bed 😆 our resident Brushtail Possum got his grass left just next to his bed so when night comes he may feel more like exploring these new scents.

Looking for something to do these up coming holidays? 😊😊

Why not come and visit some native friends 🥰
We have all manner of furry, scaley and feathered locals to see. If your feeling brave we even have reptile interaction sessions at 11am, 12:30pm and 2pm 🐍🦎 (exclusive for holiday period)

We are open 10am to 4pm everyday during the school holiday period and would love to see to see you!

Ridge Tailed Monitor (Varanus acanthurus)

Look who’s going to be at the SJ Food and Farm Festival this Saturday! 🤩😎 please come down and say hello and meet some of our amazing local reptiles 🦎🐍🐢🐸

🍎Armadale Reptile Centre is coming to the SJ Food and Farm Fest this Saturday 6 May.

🐍Do you want to know what reptiles inhabit your area? Or what to do if you see a snake? Please come down to their stall in the display area and have a chat. They’d love to see you!

🍎SATURDAY 6 MAY
🖲1432 Karnup Road Serpentine
🎟Lock in your tickets online and miss the queues:
https://megatix.com.au/events/food-farm-fest-2023-general-admission

We hope everyone has had a safe and relaxing holiday period 😊 we would just like to note a few things for those wishing to come visit us in the future:
- We will be OPEN on ANZAC day
- We will now be CLOSED on Wednesdays again
- Handling times have returned to the usual 11:30am and 2:00pm sessions