Get ready because this is probably going to have some pretty controversial stuff in it.
(For your info this place treats the non-reptile animals greatly, and it’s AZA accredited.)
They have a lot of reptiles are permanently cohabbed at the moment, a little hog island boa and a large suriname redtail with it, the hog island’s head also looked a little puffy when I last visited, a green tree python and a small group of turtles, a bull snake and a box turtle, and a pair of beaded lizards (the beadeds seem pretty happy though, I always see them pretty close together.)
The enclosures are very empty except for the dart frogs, and even for humidity enjoying species (like BPs!) they’re kept on dry coco coir or coco chips, and there aren’t really enough hides in the enclosures, and most of them are lacking stuff like fake plants for them to feel secure in.
Most of the smaller turtles are kept in enclosures only a bit wider then themselves, and they’re pitifully small (common musk turtle in a 10 gallon, diamondback terrapin in a 20 long, ect.)
Every time I visit they seem to have some different reptiles, it’s kind of weird.
Now that’s all I have to say, and I was finally able to get that out.
This is why I do my best to keep away from situations like this. I try not to look when I drive by the animal shelter (I volunteered there years ago ) I turn the channel when those really sad dog and cat rescue ads come on tv,
Trust me I understand where your heart is on this subject. This is not a perfect world and unfortunately what you don’t see is a whole lot worse than what you do see……
It sucks because it gives the animal welfare people ammo to damage the hobby. “If even a zoo can’t provide proper setups, then a private keeper has zero chance of being able to do it right.”
I have to agree to this unfortunately, the reptiles are pretty much the most overlooked things in the zoo because the reptile house is in the very back corner of the zoo, and I assume most people that go there don’t know general reptile husbandry, so treat it as: “If it’s in a zoo it’s optimal!”. Plus most people are more interested in the koi pond outside of it. I’d give them some recommendations on where to get things for enclosure renovations as they already turned two of their dart frogs enclosures bioactive.
(They’re all the same species and locality of darts, there was originally 3 localities but the current darts bred too much and needed the extra space I assume.)
Though I hope they eventually renovate the enclosures like they did for the dart frogs in the reptile house and get their husbandry on point, they’re currently busy with two large enclosures for some more centerpiece animals outside of it, so it’s probably going to be a while.
) I turn the channel when those really sad dog and cat rescue ads come on tv,