Guatemalan beaded lizards hatch at Zoo Atlanta for the first time since 2018

One of the planet’s rarest reptile species has hatched at Zoo Atlanta for the first time in nearly eight years. Two Guatemalan beaded lizards hatched on May 14 and May 17, 2026.

Zoo Atlanta is one of only seven zoos in the U.S. housing this critically endangered species, which has not hatched at Zoo Atlanta since 2018. The hatchlings, which are being housed in the Zoo’s behind-the-scenes Conservation Breeding Center, appear to be “hardy, healthy, and feisty,” according to the Herpetology Team.

“These hatchlings give us great cause to celebrate here at the Zoo and with our partners in Guatemala dedicated to Guatemalan beaded lizard conservation,” said Gina Ferrie, PhD, Vice President of Collections and Conservation. “Not only is this species very challenging to reproduce in zoological care, but these are also animals about which we still have so much to learn.”

Saving a rare (and rarely seen) species   

The Guatemalan beaded lizard is an example of an animal most people in the U.S. might never know existed were it not for zoological populations. Found only in the Motagua Valley in Guatemala, these are highly reclusive lizards believed to number only 500 to 600 in the wild. They also represent the only family of known venomous lizard species (another is a close relative, the Gila monster native to the southwestern U.S.). While local conservation and education programs have done much to eliminate fear-based killings based on long-held myths of supernatural powers and ill omens, Guatemalan beaded lizards continue to face serious challenges because of habitat loss and illegal trade.  

More than two decades of conservation partnership

A total of 46 Guatemalan beaded lizards have hatched at Zoo Atlanta to date, and the Zoo’s contributions to the study and conservation of the species date back more than 25 years. Zoo Atlanta has worked with the Heloderma Natural Reserve of Guatemala to support efforts to purchase and protect Guatemalan beaded lizard habitat; combat black-market trade; promote local education; and conduct basic research on the biology of the species. In an outstanding example of collaboration, in 2024, 11 lizards hatched at Zoo Atlanta were transferred to Parque Zoológico Nacional La Aurora in Guatemala to be part of a breeding colony to bolster wild populations around the Heloderma Natural Reserve.

Implications for human health

The properties of the Guatemalan beaded lizard’s venom, which is used only in self-defense and is not used to capture prey, have only recently become known to science. Unlike most lizard species, the Guatemalan beaded lizard has a high aerobic capacity and can stabilize its blood sugar levels during contrasting periods of eating and fasting, thanks to a unique hormone. This hormone has been synthesized by pharmaceutical companies in the treatment of human diabetes as well as the popular drug for control of obesity, GLP-1.