Tennessee Aquarium
Animal encounter with opossum

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Animal Encounters

Animal Encounters
The Tennessee Aquarium is home to more than 10,000 animals from around the world. Now meet more of the coolest critters on Earth - up close.  Special Animal Encounter programs are offered every hour of every day in both Aquarium buildings ensuring an unforgettable time. You might encounter a creepy-looking tarantula or captivating character like “Boo,” the talking African gray parrot. You never know what creatures you’ll bump into on your next visit to the Tennessee Aquarium! Our Animal Encounter Specialists rotate animals throughout the day and bring different animals out each day to meet Aquarium visitors.
Dive Shows and Penguin Encounter: diver

  • Every day at 11:00 am, 11:30 am, 2:00 and 2:30 pm
    Ask our scuba divers questions during special dive shows in the Secret Reef Exhibit in Ocean Journey.

  • 10:30 am and 1:45 pm Monday through Friday
    Quiz our experts at Penguins’ Rock while they are feeding our gentoo and macaroni penguins.

  • Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 3:15 pm
    Check out the big, toothy sharks being fed in the Secret Reef inside Ocean Journey.

  • Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays at 11:00 am
    Enjoy scuba divers feeding giant catfish, stupendous sturgeon and gnarly gar in the Lake Nickajack Exhibit in River Journey. (On the other days, wave and the divers will wave back while they help keep the fish’s home clean.)

  • Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 2:00 pm
    Kids of any age love the huge southern stingrays swimming up the glass at chow time in the Gulf of Mexico Exhibit in River Journey on (Get the diver’s attention while they’re scrubbing the exhibit on the other days and they might put down their scrub-brush long enough for a game of rock, paper, scissors.)

Here’s a list of what you might meet face-to-face on your next trip. This list of animals will continue to grow, so don’t be surprised if you encounter a species not listed on your next visit.
Cornsnakes (Elaphe guttata guttata)

Ball python (Python regius)

Sinaloan milk snake (Lampropeltis triagulum sinaloae)

Black ratsnake (Elaphe obsolete)

Eastern kingsnake – albino (Lampropeltis getula)

Columbian red-tailed boa constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator)

Leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius)

Eastern slender glass lizard (Ophisaurus attenuatus)

Barking gecko (Underwoodisaurus mili)

Scheltopusik (Ophisaurus apodus)

Ornate box turtle (Terrapene ornate)

Alligator snapping turtle (Macroclemys temmincki)

Spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata)

Diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin)

White’s treefrog (Litoria caerulea)

Marine toad (Bufo marinus)

Tomato frog (Dyscophus antongili)

Fire-bellied toads (Bombina orientalis)

American bullfrog (Rana catesbeina)

African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis)

Pudge frog (Kaloula pulchra)

Solomon Island leaf frog (Ceratobatrachus guentheri)

Chinese paddle tail newt (Pachtriton labiatus)

Tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum tigrinum)

Curly-haired tarantula (Brachypelma albopilosum)

Chilean common tarantula (Gramistola ariseolata)

Mexican red-knee tarantula (Brachypelma smithi)

Madigascar hissing cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa)

African giant millipede

Flathead catfish (Pylodictis olivaris)

Aquatic hermit crab

African gray parrot (Psittacus erithacus)

Eastern screech owl (Otus alba)

Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana)

CONTACT

One Broad Street, Chattanooga TN, 37402
phone: 800-262-0695
webmaster@tnaqua.org


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