Meet Our Ambassadors!

Mold the Leachianus Gecko is one of the largest species of gecko in the world. As babies, they are nearly 4 inches long at birth, but as adults they get to a huge 17 inches long! They are from the same island group as Crested Geckos, and even have been known to make a snack out of them on occasion!

Orazio is unique, even for a crested gecko. Despite his lack of a tail and one blind eye, this guy lives for flying. Raz proves that sheer willpower is enough to get where you want to be.

Rubeus the Leopard Gecko may just be the largest leopard gecko we have ever seen. At nearly 10 inches long, he is quite the monster for a gecko. When he was surrendered to the sanctuary, we just knew he would make a great ambassador.

Spelunk the Chinese Cave Gecko is quite the lively little dude, that is, once he gets out of his hiding spots! He loves to chill away back in his little caves, but once he is out and about he is sure to catch the attention of those around him!

Adonis is a fan favorite amongst the sanctuary, and is often one of the first animals people fall in love with! Being a tortoise, Adonis is not intimidating to new visitors, and many people even get to feed him some of his favorite snacks: fruit!

Nemo is the smallest snake at the sanctuary, and also the most colorful! Milk Snakes have a coloration that mimics that of a coral snake which helps them from getting eaten by any larger predators that look at them like a snack! While Nemo is small, he is full of personality!

Alasia the Dumerils Boa is one of the most muscular animals in the sanctuary! As a larger snake from Madagascar, she would need it to constrict her prey, which in the wild ranges from rodents to even small lemurs! Even though she isn’t our largest snake, she makes up for it with her ability to squeeze!

Nectar looks quite different from most bearded dragons you may have seen. This is due to her genetic code causing her to lack the scales that give many beardies their classic beardie look.

Tsuchi is a Blue Tongue Skink from the island of Halmahera in Indonesia. As the name suggests, he has a blue tongue that his species can flash at incoming predators to catch them off guard.

The Argentine Tegu is the largest lizard species from the western world, in addition to being one of the most personable and intelligent lizard species on the planet. Octavia is no exception.

Tumbo's name comes from the Swahili word for "Belly". We often say that all that goes on in Tumbo's head is elevator music. At around the size of a softball, Tumbo has quite the appetite, as the name suggests.

Our group of poison dart frogs are our smallest species of frog currently at the sanctuary. The group we have are a group of three Santa Isabel Dart Frogs that are known for their red coloration and white stripes.

Our colony of Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches may not seem like much, but they teach many lessons about the insect world through their actions and body structure! For example, despite their hissing habits, insects like these don’t have lungs!

Pico is quite the handful when it comes to... well, handling? Giant Day Geckos don't like being touched, and if they are they are VERY quick. That said, he loves to chase bugs whenever he gets the chance!

Chamille is a small but beautiful species of gecko from New Caledonia like many of the other arboreal geckos. The Chameleon Geckos, as they are called, are actually a group of 4 species of geckos. Chamille is a personable example of these geckos that is known for her large hunchback.

Fluffy's favorite movie character is Curly from "The Three Stooges", as this is where the inspiration for his name came from. He possesses a morph that changes his color from the natural yellow to a white coloring.

Jupiter is a Knob Tailed Gecko (Which means that is how his tail is supposed to look!). He is quite the unassuming apex predator, as he is a great hunter and will often even eat from tongs presented by our guests!

The Turtles are a Trio of African Side Necked Turtles that reside in our aquatic portion of the zoo. As side necks, they tilt their head to the side rather than pulling their head strait into their shell.

Maizey the albino corn snake is named after the corn that her species is named for! They got this name because they were often found around corn where they would hunt rodent prey that would eat the grain.

Bo was one of our hardest rehabilitation stories to date, and he has quickly became a fan favorite at the sanctuary! Bo is a very resilient snake who has powered through very tough circumstances to become one of the best ambassadors we have.

As a bearded dragon, Button may not come off as the most special or unique animal at the sanctuary, at least until you hear his story. Button is a nearly two year old Bearded Dragon that has stagnated at only about 5 inches long. This doesn’t slow him down at all though, as he continues to thrive with some additional attention from our keepers!

Robert the Schneiders Skink is named after the actor, Rob Schneider. While our Rob is not much for the theater, he can still put on quite the scene. He is not afraid to run around his enclosure and climb, as long as he is awake!

Azula the Keel Bellied Lizard is our first lacertid to ever come into the sanctuary, as her own group of lizards, we have learned a lot from watching how she interacts with the world around her. She is truly a remarkable lizard!

Baja Blast is an energetic chubby frog named for his bright coloration that resembles a popular drink. These frogs are also known as chubby frogs, which makes sense given his chunky size! Believe it or not, but Baja is actually a father to nearly 50 babies!

Cupcake the Asian Forest Scorpion is appropriately named due to her sweet personality and habits. She is one of the handful of mothers at the sanctuary as of 2024 and raised 16 babies of her own after coming to the sanctuary.

Our group of Blue Death Feigning Beetles often catch people off guard when they see they are allowed to handle them. The “Blue Death” part of their name often raises a few eyebrows when they see them, but after they learn that they actually are named Death Feigning Beetles because they play dead like opossums it eases their concerns.

As a Tokay Gecko, Treeko is quite the handful! Tokay Geckos are notoriously feisty critters that are known for their call that resembles the sound “Tokay!”. They are also one of the most brightly colored geckos when they are fired up!

The girls are quite an interesting crew, and one that stays together. These small geckos are parthenogenic, meaning that there are no males needed for offspring to be produced.

Mocha, our African Fat Tailed Gecko, is the sweetest little guy you could ever imagine! While he hasn’t been the longest ambassador that we have had, he is one of the favorites for many of the people who come in!

Norman the e-NORM-ous Tortoise is a hit when he travels with the sanctuary or is found wandering our storefront. At 130+ lbs he is quite the massive guy, but he doesnt let it slow him down! He can often be found cruising around and visiting with nearly every visitor.

Tilly is one of the fastest turtles you will ever see, but only when she sees bugs, her favorite food. Box turtles get their name from their ability to completely close their hinged plastron and hide within.

Myrcella is a ball python which is one of the most common snakes in the pet trade, and for good reason! She is one of the sweetest animals we have, and she is the ambassador we recommend to anyone who is new to snakes as a great first step. She has yet to disappoint in making people fall in love with them!

Benedict the Burmese Python has quite the personality and an even bigger adult size. As the largest snake you can have in Iowa, Benny will be the longest animal at the sanctuary one day!

As a Uromastyx, Dhub Dhub embodies the phrase "Business in the front, party in the back". As an herbivore, his species has a lot of predators, and he uses that spiky tail to scare them away if he feels threatened.

Hiccup and Astrid are a pair of Red Eyed Crocodile Skinks that will hopefully produce eggs in the future! While these animals look large and in charge, they are actually only a few inches long, and this means that they are not much for handling!

It’s not often you see an animal quite like Nessie. While at first glance, she looks like a snake, she is actually a species of legless lizard! Also known as the Scheltopusik, or Glass Lizards, these animals are truly one of a kind, and the largest species of legless lizard on the planet!

Bullseye the Cuban Tree Frog may not look like much, but he is one of our most unique rescue stories to date! He is part of the largest tree frog species in North America, coming from Cuba naturally, they have also become invasive in the southern US.

Mo is our appropriately named Curly Haired Tarantula that resides with us at the sanctuary. Most of the time she resides underground and only pops up to eat her next meal. That said, we can almost always show her off in her underground burrow.