VMD 512: Zoo/Wild Animal Breeding, Management, Nutrition and Health Care (1+1)

COMMON FEATURES OF REPTILES

• Reptiles have no gills and lungs are present.
• Absence of no hair
• Absence of feather
• They either lay egg or give birth to young but in both instances the embryo, like that of a mammal is enclosed in an amnion.
• Whether hatched from an egg or born alive, the reptiles don’t pass through a larval stage or undergo metamorphosis as do amphibians.
• Reptiles are capable of growth through out the life
• Dry water-proof skin with horny scales are present
• Scales are not separated as seen in fish but they are folds of skin.
• Ecdysis is a common feature
• Majority of the reptiles are carnivorous especially the snakes (Marine Green turtle and Green Iguana are herbivores).