The Top “Weirdest” Pet Amphibians and Reptiles!
There is no doubt that reptiles and amphibians are among the most unique, and specially adapted groups of animals on Earth. Over millions of years, and throughout the many various global epochs, or time periods, these animals have evolved numerous ways and adaptations for surviving and reproducing which make them stand out from any other groups of vertebrate animals, or even among organisms and forms of life in general. There are today, and perhaps hundreds of different species which have evolved and adapted their own unique sizes, shapes, colors and patterns, and other attributes to their survival that make the wonderful world of herpetology such an interesting and fascinating field of scientific or zoological study.
And when it comes to keeping these animals as pets in captivity, the practice of doing so still remains to this day a unique and different practice, despite them being among perhaps the fastest growing segments of the overall pet industries and communities. While dogs, cats, and even other more traditionally kept and domesticated species still be common household pets, keeping reptiles and amphibians can oftentimes spark even more interesting conversations, thoughts, or ideas among “non-reptile people” especially who might not have seen, heard of, or are otherwise as familiar with these groups of animals. Indeed, many can be just as intelligent, personable, and even trainable as dogs and cats, and most are also typically much lower maintenance at least in terms of meeting their daily and regular requirements, making them suitable pets for many people leading increasingly busier lifestyles. And even when it comes to species which can have more complex, challenging, or difficult care requirements, these are typically kept primarily by more knowledgeable and experienced keepers anyway.
But what if we took it a step even further, and examined which species of reptiles and amphibians, or at least species which are available in captivity as pets, are truly among the “weirdest of the weird”? Which ones might be truly bizarre or “alien-like”, whether in terms of their overall physical appearances, diets, overall lifestyles or natural history, reproductive habits or strategies, or other attributes? And what specifically makes each species on this list so bizarre? What are the pros and cons to owning each of these species? In this article, or “top choices” list, we will examine some of the truly “Weirdest” species of pet reptiles and amphibians one can own! As with a few other of our lists, many of the animals on this list still have yet to be widely available as captive-bred, so if one is interested in any of these species as a pet, it should always be important to do one’s research and find reputable, captive-bred sources for these species, whenever possible. Many of the most bizarre looking species also often tend to be endangered or imperiled in the wild, which also limits their availability in captivity. So without further adieu:
*Photo credit: Moontaha Ismail and Smithsonian’s National Zoo.
Elephant Trunk Snakes (Acrochordus javanicus) and Tentacled Snakes (Erpeton tentaculatum)
What Makes Them So Weird? Both elephant trunk snakes and tentacle snakes are almost entirely aquatic snakes, living in brackish to freshwater coastal wetlands and other areas. Their highly bizarre appearances, with their loose, baggy skin and scales and overall bodily shape mimic aquatic vegetation and submerged sticks and other debris almost perfectly! Furthermore, tentacle snakes have a pair of fleshy appendages on the ends of their snouts used as sensory organs to help them locate and detect their aquatic prey!
*Photo Credit: Asian Monstrosities.
Asian Vine Snakes (Ahaetulla prasina):
What Makes Them So Weird? Asian vine snakes are very long and slender bodied species of snakes which appear and even behave in very similar fashions to leaves, branches, or other vegetation, and will sway in the wind to fool potential predators from detecting them, or to remain undetected to potential prey! They also have highly stereoscopic vision and excellent eyesight as well due to their highly modified pupil shapes.
*Photo Credit: Toronto Zoo.
Mata Mata Turtle (Chelus fimbriata)
What Makes Them So Weird? Mata matas are as bizarre in their physical appearance as any species of turtle, tortoise, or chelonian could possibly be. Their highly sculptured carapace scutes, tubercles and appendages on their skin, unique snorkel-like snouts, and overall weird appearance mimic the dead leaves and other vegetation on the bottom of the Amazonian pools and other wetlands they live in almost perfectly. They are also sedentary ambush hunters, and feed by suction, inhaling nearly any other small animals around them which are of food.
*Photo Credit: Joto Krister P. 2009.
African Clawed Frogs (Xenopus spp.)
What Makes Them So Weird? African clawed frogs are an entirely aquatic species of frog, and have unique, dorso-ventrally flattened bodies for swimming. They also lack a vocal sac, or the ability to call or vocalize, unlike most other frogs and toads, although they can make clicking sounds, and also have raspy tongues and claws on their front feet for consuming their food underwater! They’re also widely used research species due to their year-round reproductive abilities, and unique evolution.
*Photo Credit: Sarah Beckwith.
Surinam Toad (Pipa pipa)
What Makes Them So Weird? Surinam Toads are almost an entirely aquatic species of frog, and their overall colors, and unusual, ‘Leaf-like” appearances and resemblances suit them perfectly to concealing themselves amongst the dead and decaying murky vegetation! They also lack vocal sacs and the ability to vocalize, although they can make raspy clicking sounds. This species is perhaps best known for their extremely bizarre amplexus (mating) and reproductive habits, with the female frogs essentially harboring their eggs within pores in the skin on their backs, which form into fully developed froglets without a tadpole stage, which then emerge from their mother’s backs! That is truly bizarre!
*Photo Credit: Herps for Nature.
Tanzanian Legless Lizard (Acontias percivali) and Worm Lizards or Amphisbaenias (Amphisbaenia spp.)
What Makes Them So Weird? Legless lizards may appear to be snakes or worms, but are neither! Most species of legless lizards have external ear openings, moveable eye-lids, a more rigid musculature and skeletal structure, and less flexible jaws than most snakes. Their bodies are also comprised almost half of their tail, and can drop all, or parts of their tail in defense in order to escape or distract predators, which gives them the name “glass snakes”, even though they are not snakes at all! Legless lizards simply “feel” far different to handle than snakes! Some species of amphisbaenias, which also are in their own group of reptiles, and are technically neither snakes nor lizards, have small pairs of strong fore-limbs and claws for digging as well!
*Photo Credit: Gail Shumway Photography.
Asian Leaf Frog (Megophrys montana)
What Makes Them So Weird? Asian leaf, or Asian horned frogs, as their names imply, are colored almost perfectly to blend in with their forest floor leaf litter and other debris! They even have elongated, “horn-like” projections above each of their eye-lids, which serve as additional mimicry and possible protection within their environment, simply by closing their eyes!
*Photo Credit: Adobe Stock Images.
European Glass Lizard, or Scheltopusik (Pseudopus apodus)
What Makes Them So Weird? Legless lizards may appear to be snakes or worms, but are neither! Most species of legless lizards have external ear openings, moveable eye-lids, a more rigid musculature and skeletal structure, and less flexible jaws than most snakes. Their bodies are also comprised almost half of their tail, and can drop all, or parts of their tail in defense in order to escape or distract predators, which gives them the name “glass snakes”, even though they are not snakes at all! Legless lizards simply “feel” far different to handle than snakes!
* Photo Credit: The Daily World.
Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum)
What Makes Them So Weird? Axolotls are a species of paedomorphic, or neotenic salamander! This means that they (usually) never grow up, and retain many of their aquatic larval features, such as fins and their bushy red gills as adults. They are also used as model organisms in many different medical, scientific, and research studies, and can regrow limbs and other body parts!
*Photo Credit: Shanna’y.
Leaf Tailed Geckos (Uroplatus spp.)
What Makes Them So Weird? Out of the hundreds of different species of geckos, the leaf-tailed geckos are perhaps the most bizarre looking, with their wide, paddle or “leaf-like” tails (hence their common names), and strong resemblance to simply looking like dead leaves or twigs. One species, the Satanic Leaf-Tailed Gecko, Uroplatus phantasticus, is so-named for their reddish colored eyes, and small notches above each eye on-top of their heads, giving them a “devilish” appearance!
*Photo Credit: Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas
Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma spp.)
What Makes Them So Weird? Also called “horny toads”, they are not actually “toads” or amphibians at all, but instead lizards with short, stout, spiny and rounded bodies and heads. They also can secrete and squirt blood from their eyes when threatened by a predator, as a very startling defensive mechanism!
*Siren, Photo Credit: Sci-News.com; *Amphiuma, Photo Credit: New Hampshire PBS
Sirens (Sirenidae) and Amphiumas (Amphiuma spp.) *Runner Up Species: Common Mudpuppy, or “Water Dogs” (Necturus maculosus)
What Makes Them So Weird? Sirens are a very unusual genus of aquatic, elongated, eel-like amphibians found primarily in the southeastern United States. They have a small pair of front, or fore-limbs, and bushy gills for respiration and breathing underwater! They also are called sirens, “water dogs”, or “water puppies” due to their ability to make clicking and squeaking vocalizations! Amphiumas, or “Congo Eels”, are another bizarre group of amphibians also found primarily in the Southeastern United States. They too are elongated and eel-like, but lack bushy gills (they instead have narrow slits as gills), and two pairs of front and hind limbs which are very tiny and vestigial, or remnant! These are some of the most bizarre amphibians in North America!
*Photo Credit: Reddit.com
Toad Headed Agama (Phrynocephalus spp.)
What Makes Them So Weird? Toad-headed agamas are relatively small species of agamid lizards native to much of northern Africa, the Middle East, southern Europe, and into western Asia, depending on the species. While at first glance these lizards might appear to be plain and non-descript lizards, they are so-named for when they are threatened or disturbed, will gape open their mouths, and expose a set of bright, fleshy pinkish cheek pouches or frills to scare off potential predators. That’s pretty bizarre looking!
*Photo Credit: Science News.org
Caecilians (Clade Apoda)
What Makes Them So Weird? It’s a worm…No it’s a snake…No it’s a legless lizard…no…they’re in their whole entire clade of amphibians! Caecilians are elongated, limbless worm or snake-like amphibians found mainly in tropical to sub-tropical areas of the world, and consist of perhaps several dozen different species and taxa! They are well adapted to burrowing, and are also blind, or nearly blind, having only remnant, or vestigial eyes able to only sense changes in light or darkness, and their annuli, or rings surrounding their bodies also act as sensory organs in their subterranean environments! Some species are also aquatic as well! Cacilians are a lesser known, but extremely bizarre group of amphibians indeed.
*Photo Credit: Kayleigh Last Name
Cuban False Chameleon (Anolis barbatus)
What Makes Them So Weird? What one might think to look and sound like a chameleon, actually might not be! The Cuban “false” chameleon, as its common name might imply otherwise, is actually a large species of anole lizard indigenous to western Cuba. Their large, bulky looking heads, independently movable eyes, crests, and spines all make these lizards highly bizarre, and worth a double-take!
*Photo Credit: LLL Reptile.
African Side-Necked Turtles (Pelomedusidae)
What Makes Them So Weird? Most of everyone has probably had of the phrase “coming out of one’s shell”. Well, this unique group of turtles certainly does this! While most species of “snake-necked” or “side-necked”, or African helmeted and mud turtles might not be too much to marvel over in terms of their overall non-descript coloration, these turtles belong to the suborder “Pleurodira”, which are all turtles that have long, flexible, “snake-like” necks in which they are only able to withdraw their heads and necks in a “sideways” fashion unlike most other turtles. That’s why the side-necked turtles are worthy to be added to this list!
What Makes Them So Weird? These medium sized agamid lizards, from “down under” are perhaps one of the most well known and charismatic lizards throughout the world, in terms of their defensive behavior! When threatened, these lizards will open their mouths while gaping and hissing, and extending their large, loose frill held around their heads and necks to give them an overall larger and more ferocious appearance! And if given the opportunity, they also have the ability to run quickly for short distances bipedially, or on their hind legs! These lizards are truly “Jurassic Park” inspirations!
*Photo Credit: Frog Blog Manchester
Pygmy Leaf Chameleons (Rhampholeon spp.)
What Makes Them So Weird? Most species of chameleons are weird enough as they are, with their zygodactylic, or bird-like feet for climbing and gripping branches, their highly moveable eyes and a-keen vision which are able to be independently rotated with each eye, their highly prehensile tails, and overall ability to change their colors depending on their mood and disposition, or temperatures and external or ambient environments using layers of pigmentation within their skin and scales that alter the wavelengths of light reaching them. Pygmy and leaf chameleons are perhaps even more bizarre looking in that they are the world’s smallest species of chameleons, and resemble the dead leaves and other foliage in which they inhabit!
*Photo Credit: Reptiles Magazine
Hognose Snakes (Heterodon spp.)
What Makes Them So Weird? Perhaps one of the most amusing and unusual snakes in North America, let alone the world, at least in terms of their defensive mechanisms, are the several species of hognose snakes! When first threatened or detected, these snakes will hiss very loudly, while flattening their heads and necks similar to cobras, and will mock strike in order to frighten away the threat. If this show of bravado does not work, these snakes will them flip themselves over and begin to writhe around with their mouths and tongues hanging wide open and then “playing dead”. They will even flip themselves back upside down again if up righted, as if they insist on being upside down! Although there are also other snakes throughout the world with will play dead as well, none others are quite possibly as dramatic about it as these reptilian actors of the Americas!
*Photo Credit: Family Life Share
Basilisk Lizards (Basiliscus spp.)
What Makes Them So Weird? Also known and referred to as the “Jesus-Christ” Lizards, Basilisks are so weird and worthy to make our list for their ability to run bipedially, or on their hind legs for short distances over water! They are able to accomplish this seemingly impossible feat from their toes and feet creating sufficient surface areas over the water to enable them to not sink upon this quick and close contact! These lizards normally bask and forage over water on overhanging branches and other vegetation, where they are able to quickly drop off and into the water when threatened. Their large sails, fins, and crests are also pretty wild-looking as well!
Honorable Mentions!
-Armadillo and Sun-Gazer Lizards (Family Cordylidae), Photo Credit: Reptiles Magazine
-Australian Shingle-Backed Skink (Tiliqua rugosa), Photo Credit: 123RF.com
-Rhinoceros Ratsnake (Gonyosoma boulengeri), Photo Credit: Mattias
-American Soft-Shelled Turtles (Apalone spp.), Photo Credit: National Wildlife Federation
-Dragon Snake (Xenodermus javanicus), Photo Credit: Rodrigo Quiroz
-Borneo Earless Monitor (Lanthanotus borneensis), Photo Credit: The Guardian
-Helmeted and Casqued-Headed Iguanas (Corytophanes spp.) and (Laemanctus spp.),Photo Credit: Science Photo Library
-Budgett’s Frog (Lepidobatrachus laevis) and Horned Frogs (Ceratophrys spp.), Photo Credit: Josh’s Frogs, Photo Credit: The Frog Depot
-New Caledonian Giant Gecko (Rhacodactylus leachianus) and Crested Gecko (Correlophus ciliatus), Photo Credit: Reddit.com, Photo Credit: Kissagator.com
-Calabar Boa (Calabaria reinhardtii) and Arabian Sand Boa (Eryx jayakari)*Ovoviviparous, or Egg Laying Species of Boas, Photo Credit: Science Photo Library, Photo Credit: Tales of Scales
-Red-Eyed Crocodile Skink (Tribolonotus gracilis)*They Look Like Miniature Dinosaurs! Photo Credit: Science Times
