Florida reptiles?

Whoo! You’ll be coming to my neck of the woods. :) We’re a bit too north for iguanas, chameleons, Burmese pythons and stuff. There are some cool animals here though. The anoles are everywhere! At night if you look up on buildings by outside lights you’ll see house geckos and probably frogs. The frogs will also congregate on some large lit windows. If you’re near a canal or the lagoon, look for manatee or even dolphin. Of course there’s gators in large ponds/lakes, tortoises and turtles. The snakes are harder to spot, but I’ve never gone looking for any either. In the early morning the bunnies are out doing their thing. If you’re lucky, you’ll see armadillo at night. Then there’s birds of all different types everywhere. There is a nice little zoo in Viera/Melbourne - https://brevardzoo.org/ It’s small enough that you can see everything in a day, but big enough and with fun activities to be well worth the visit. I’ve never been, but https://www.dinosaurstore.com/about-us/ is on my list of places to visit.
Of course, you’ll also inevitably be seeing Florida man/woman in their natural habitat. That’s always fun…at a safe distance of course.
While there may be warm days, do bring a jacket and at least one outfit appropriate for temps as low as the 40’s.
 
Whoo! You’ll be coming to my neck of the woods. :) We’re a bit too north for iguanas, chameleons, Burmese pythons and stuff. There are some cool animals here though. The anoles are everywhere! At night if you look up on buildings by outside lights you’ll see house geckos and probably frogs. The frogs will also congregate on some large lit windows. If you’re near a canal or the lagoon, look for manatee or even dolphin. Of course there’s gators in large ponds/lakes, tortoises and turtles. The snakes are harder to spot, but I’ve never gone looking for any either. In the early morning the bunnies are out doing their thing. If you’re lucky, you’ll see armadillo at night. Then there’s birds of all different types everywhere. There is a nice little zoo in Viera/Melbourne - https://brevardzoo.org/ It’s small enough that you can see everything in a day, but big enough and with fun activities to be well worth the visit. I’ve never been, but https://www.dinosaurstore.com/about-us/ is on my list of places to visit.
Of course, you’ll also inevitably be seeing Florida man/woman in their natural habitat. That’s always fun…at a safe distance of course.
While there may be warm days, do bring a jacket and at least one outfit appropriate for temps as low as the 40’s.
Thank you!!!! I think my goal is to find a roseate spoonbill!!!!
I’ll also make sure to watch the natural Florida men and women from a safe distance!!! 😂
 
Found this guy! But feel really bad now cause he detached his tail because of me 😭
E2113EC5-1E41-484A-8BE0-3481C0C03E3A.jpeg
 
So, not sure how long you will be here, but I have some suggestions...

@MissSkittles already mentioned the Brevard Zoo. As mentioned, it is small, but still worth it! I enjoyed my visit there and it is right by Cocoa Beach. A pretty cool place is the Wild Florida Safari in Kenansville. If you can take a drive, (about 2 1/2 hours) I would recommend coming up to my neck of the woods...

At the Homosassa Wildlife State Park. you will definitely see your roseate spoonbills there, along with a bunch of other native Florida animals (with one "exception"). They have black bears, panthers, eagles, owls, gators, and of course, Lucifer. Lu is a 62-year-old hippo that was a resident there before the State took the property over. He was made an honorary Florida citizen so he could remain on the property. He is also a movie star and was on TV.

While in the area, make your way about 9 miles north to the Three Sisters Springs Crystal River Wildlife Refuge Complex. There you will see one of the greatest places to see manatees as they gather in the springs to escape the cold waters of the gulf. I have seen over 200 manatees in there at one time, and this weekend will definitely drop the gulf temps and bring more in.
https://www.threesistersspringsvisitor.org/
You can kayak around Kings Bay and even go on a "Swim with the Manatees" tour. Crystal River is definitely part of "Old Florida" and is very cool. Tripadvisor listed this as one of the top 10 destinations in the world due to the manatee experiences.

Also, if you are near Tampa, Zoo Tampa at Lowry Park is fantastic.

Hope you enjoy your time here, and thanks for bringing the cold weather...
 
Hey guys! I have the amazing chance to go to Florida this winter to visit family! Is there any cool reptiles I could look out for? I’ll be around coco beach :)
Gators. I'd watch out for gators. They're cool so they fit your parameters, but yeah..gators... at golf courses, pools, the front porch, that jogging trail your friends said you should visit, behind the Sicilian restaurant you were thinking of stopping in for some authentic food, and of course under your rental car. Gators!
 
So, not sure how long you will be here, but I have some suggestions...

@MissSkittles already mentioned the Brevard Zoo. As mentioned, it is small, but still worth it! I enjoyed my visit there and it is right by Cocoa Beach. A pretty cool place is the Wild Florida Safari in Kenansville. If you can take a drive, (about 2 1/2 hours) I would recommend coming up to my neck of the woods...

At the Homosassa Wildlife State Park. you will definitely see your roseate spoonbills there, along with a bunch of other native Florida animals (with one "exception"). They have black bears, panthers, eagles, owls, gators, and of course, Lucifer. Lu is a 62-year-old hippo that was a resident there before the State took the property over. He was made an honorary Florida citizen so he could remain on the property. He is also a movie star and was on TV.

While in the area, make your way about 9 miles north to the Three Sisters Springs Crystal River Wildlife Refuge Complex. There you will see one of the greatest places to see manatees as they gather in the springs to escape the cold waters of the gulf. I have seen over 200 manatees in there at one time, and this weekend will definitely drop the gulf temps and bring more in.
https://www.threesistersspringsvisitor.org/
You can kayak around Kings Bay and even go on a "Swim with the Manatees" tour. Crystal River is definitely part of "Old Florida" and is very cool. Tripadvisor listed this as one of the top 10 destinations in the world due to the manatee experiences.

Also, if you are near Tampa, Zoo Tampa at Lowry Park is fantastic.

Hope you enjoy your time here, and thanks for bringing the cold weather...
You almost make me want to go to Florida. You should be their spokes person.
 
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