I was recently visiting my hometown of Albuquerque, NM and stopped by a little place called the Rattlesnake Museum.
This place is a small indoor reptile zoo in the tourist-y part of town. So you’d think it would be some weird roadside attraction meant solely to make money. Well I can tell you from experience that it is not.
The guy who runs the place is a sweet old man with a passion for reptiles, especially native southwestern snakes. He’s the kind of guy that’s been in the hobby and the trade forever and just kinda knows everyone else and knows everything there is to know about reptiles. He really cares for his animals needs, and a renovation of the place was recently done which directed the enclosures towards a more naturalistic feel as seen in the picture above.
This was a place that I would go to all of the time after school when I was in high school. It has of course evolved a lot since then, but it’s always had a certain spark of knowledge and passion.
And it’s not just rattlesnakes! This place has everything from Arizona Mountain Kingsnakes, to Dumeril’s boas to rescued box turtles. And they all receive the same level of amazing care as the rattlesnakes do.
So next time you’re passing through New Mexico, or driving along Route 66, come and pay a visit to the Rattlesnake Museum. You won’t regret it one bit.