National Reptile Zoo

Dubbed “Ireland’s only reptile zoo”, the National Reptile Zoo is located in Co. Kilkenny, and is home to all kinds of reptiles, including American alligators, red-footed tortoises, Asian water monitors, rhinoceros iguanas, king cobras, alligator snapping turtles and anacondas. There are also amphibians such as the axolotl, as well as invertebrates such as tarantulas and scorpions. Originally, the Reptile Zoo was located in Gowran in Kilkenny’s countryside, but as of 2019, it has moved right into the city, less than a 20 minute walk from the train station.

I first became aware of the Reptile Zoo in 2014, when my mother brought me to a community centre in Co. Dublin. Two keepers from the Reptile Zoo had brought in some of their animals, including a corn snake, tarantula, scorpion, and even an axolotl. As soon as I saw and recognised the axolotl in its tank, I could not resist standing and looking at it, as I had become interested in the species after reading about it in books and on the internet. My family and I visited the Reptile Zoo’s headquarters later in the year. At the time, the axolotls’ tank was close to the entrance, and next to it was a tank with three-toed amphiumas, which are a species of eel-like salamander. We also saw the alligators, rhinoceros iguana, water monitor, and alligator snapping turtle, among other unique and interesting species of cold-blooded creatures. There was also an Animal Encounters session, with a leopard tortoise being presented to the visitors, and we got to touch and feel the tortoise’s carapace.

We visited again as a family in 2016, after they had welcomed the world’s largest living reptile, the saltwater crocodile. This species can grow up to 7 metres long, but as that individual was only between 1.5-2 metres it was probably still a juvenile that was still growing. I visited again in 2018 with my dad, and the zoo then had a small tropical dome just outside the main building, where the red-footed tortoises and green iguanas were kept roaming freely. Just outside as well was a tank with a critically endangered Chinese alligator, which I only barely managed to see through the glass. My next visit was not until July of 2022, when I took the train from Dublin down to Kilkenny on my own, a whole new experience for me following my train trip to Cork the previous month. This was my first time visiting the Reptile Zoo since they relocated, and I saw how it had a higher roof which made it feel larger than their previous location. New animals since my previous visits included dwarf and Cuban crocodiles, and bumblebee poison frogs. There were also Sulawesi sailfin lizards and Allen’s goliath frogs, two species that have apparently never been kept anywhere in Europe before, which was a nice bonus for me. They also now had a new nocturnal room, home to tree frogs, geckos, tarantulas and scorpions. I was also lucky to hear one of the alligators bellowing, and watched an Animal Encounters session where one of the snapping turtles was featured.

Overall, the Reptile Zoo is a pretty nice place to visit, with plenty of reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates to keep enthusiasts happy, and the quality of most of the enclosures is not at all that bad. If you’re mad into cold-blooded creatures, this could well be the place for you.