Reptile World

Ptindy · 11-14-04, 02:45 AM

Has anyone ever heard of this place? It's located in Drumheller Alberta. My girlfriend and I made a day out of going to Drumheller to visit the Tyrell Museum and Reptile World. It was an awesome day. I've never heard anyone say anything about this place, I found it on the internet doing a random search about reptiles. It is about an hour and a bit drive from the edge of Calgary and it was well worth it. Reptile World has about 80 or so different species. You name it and I think they had it, except for Crested geckos which was a little disappointing but they had New Calodenia Giant geckos which was pretty cool, they are huge! They even had about 10 venomous snakes including the black mamba, quite cool. The museum was also interesting but Reptile World definately topped the day off. Anyone else been there or heard of it?

Mike

Manitoban Herps · 11-14-04, 02:46 AM

My friend from Manitoba went there, it's real and he said it is great!

He came back with a t-shirt that had the park on it....

Tim and Julie B · 11-14-04, 03:45 AM

Tim keeps saying we need to go there too! I'm curious on the set-ups for everything. Did everything measure up to code?

Julie

Ptindy · 11-14-04, 04:01 AM

Everything is set up quite well. The only thing I would really complain about is that the burmese python didn't have much of a home besides a big water hole and nothing else. But they moved so I'm guessing they are going to do something for him or her. A couple snakes look like they had trouble shedding but I'm sure they will work things out. All the reptiles looked healthy and had adequate room. It seems very well kept and no animal is skimped out in the space issue. Their RES turtles had very little room in their tank but behind it you could see construction of a very large enclosure which I'm sure is enough room for them. I would say their set-ups are very nice. I took mostly picture of the reptiles themselves so I can't show you them. It was kind of set-up in aa art gallery fashion. There were three kinda rectangular rooms with one end open for you to walk into and along each wall was the enclosures with glass covers (none of the enclosures pretrude out into the exhibit area and sometimes you could see in behind the wall where you could access them. I wish I could work there! They had a shield-tailed lizard which was pretty cool, never knew they existed. You gotta go there next time your around here for sure!

Mike

Tim and Julie B · 11-14-04, 05:55 AM

That's good to hear. There's nothing better than proper education and to know the set-ups are correct makes me want to go there even more. We'll probably make the time to go next time we hit Calgary for a reptile show. It'll mean taking a couple extra days off, but I don't mind

Julie

NiagaraReptiles · 11-14-04, 07:58 AM

I was actually quite disappointed when I went there this past summer. The animals exhibited were nothing out of the ordinary to me, I didn't even pull my camera out of the bag. I also thought their collection was rather small especially considering they had "the largest reptile collection in Canada" across the side of the building.

I used to volunteer at a reptile Zoo in the early 1990's and still keep in touch with the owner so i guess I was expecting a collection to rival his (which is extremely impressive). Most of the animals on display at Reptile World are seen regularly on import price lists.

Anyway, that's just my opinion

JonK

tonyj · 11-14-04, 10:07 AM

We took in a visit to Reptile World this summer.
The overall impression was very positive. The entry fee was reasonable, and the exhibits were clean and well presented. The facility houses a fairly large number of exhibits and is good for a couple of hours or so out of the sun.
We were allowed to handle or touch one of the resident boas; really good for the little folk who don't normally have this opportunity. The staff were informed and polite.
Niagara Reptiles must take into account that many of the reptiles on display are not normally seen in Alberta, where there are strict regulations as to what the regular enthusiast can keep.
Alternative Venues, such as the Calgary Zoo, do not, as yet, have a top line reptile facility, although there are a couple of interesting snakes in the recently opened sections. The Calgary Zoo can also be very expensive for a family.
Would I visit Reptile World again? You bet! Drumheller is one of the neat places to visit on a day out from Calgary and this is one of the places to see.
It is also a change to see live reptiles in Drumeller where the Dinosaur is king.

varanus69 · 11-14-04, 02:23 PM

i was there 2 years ago when they were still in the old building. I was impressed with the cleaniness of the enclosures with the exception of the alligator pond that was nothing more than a cess pool. I would have liked to see more of a selection but with that said the staff was friendly and had a clue what they were talking about. I would recommend this place to people and would go back if i was in the area. I plan to try to open a place like it in either lethbridge alberta or vancouver area but bigger probably within 7 years if finances work out.

noname · 11-14-04, 02:55 PM

I enjoyed our trip there yesterday, very much! I was concerned that there wouldn't be adequate space provided for the reptiles, but I was proven very wrong. The setup was awesome for cruising around, and taking the time to appreciate each animal. I was quite impressed with their selection of venemous snakes, as well. I had never seen any up close and personal, so I found that really interesting. Overall, Mike and I had a blast. I would highly recommend it to anyone, and I'm sure we'll be going back sometime soon.

Courtney

Greg West · 11-14-04, 02:59 PM

Dave Bethel, the owner of Reptile World was one of the founders of TARAS 25 years ago. He has done a lot for the reptile community over the last 25 years. I have been to reptile world and was quite impressed by their semi-naturalistic setups and the amount of room given to each species. I was there when they were in their old building so I should take a trip out there to see the new facilities. In my opinion it is a great place to see quite a few species that are not usually seen around these parts. A couple of my giant day geckos reisde there, and I knew of a few other peoples pets that made reptile world their home. Alot more reptiles than you would see at the zoo here.

Greg West

gonesnakee · 11-14-04, 03:46 PM

Been to Reptile World lots, the old one that is. My friends Shawn & Dave do a great job on promoting reptiles there. I have purchased snakes from them in the past & have seen the displays from "both sides". They also helped me with an eggbound snake once when I was a "newbie" still. They have also taken in their fair share of rescues in the past too. As far as the import lists go, we in Alberta aren't subject to the large wholesalers of wildcaught imports as the folks down east are & it is illegal to keep venomous snakes here also (do without them IMHO, the importers that is). I kinda doubt that Black Mambas, Forest Cobras & Puff Adders are regularily available down east too though? They have a good range of animals on display to see & "Sophie" the Boa has probably been handled by more kids than any other snake in Canada. Feeding day is the best day to go & quite often members of the public get to be involved feeding the Gator. I thought my ex's son's eyes were going to bug outta his head when he was allowed to feed a large rat to it the one day. Watching the Gila Monsters & Copperhead take prey is pretty cool too. Not everyone has buddies with large collections of HOTS. In comparrision the Calgary Zoos reptiles are kinda sad to Reptile Worlds. I'm definitely looking forward to visiting the new one & taking in all the other sites to be seen in the Drumheller Valley area such as the world famous Tyrell Museum, Hoodoos, Horseshoe Canyon, little church, old mines & there is also the Passion Play there every summer that is usually sold out for all its shows months in advance. Also note that rooms are few & far between in the summer months so make sure to book in advance. If you have kids & are in southern Alberta they will love Drumheller. Mark
P.S. you can also do some serious Herping there as well

Gary D. · 11-14-04, 06:31 PM

Niagra, You mention that many of his animals can be found on import lists. And for the most part you were unimpressed. It seems to me that most interesting species which are somewhat attainable are available on lists nowadays.

Not to sound snide, quite the contrary this is a very sincere and serious question. Please tell me what animals you would appreciate seeing in a private zoo facility and what would impress you?

Corey Woods · 11-14-04, 08:41 PM

I was also their with Jon and my feelings are the same of his......I thought the place sucked. It definately wasn't worth the extra 3 hour drive to get to the place........although driving though the "bad lands" was ok. I was expecting something with a better setup. Also, half the animals looked like they were fresh off the boat. For having "The Largest Reptile Collection in Canada" I expected something a little bigger than a 10 minute walk through.

Corey Woods

Invictus · 11-15-04, 01:07 AM

I've lived in Calgary my whole life, and I've never even been to the Tyrell. I'm pathetic. If any Calgarians are going out there in the near future, let me know... I'll split the gas money with ya.

gonesnakee · 11-15-04, 04:06 PM

I guess we Western folk are just more easily impressed or are just more appreciative then certain individuals. Maybe if they had some Ball Pythons there would have been more interest from certain folks LOL I guess some people just can't appreciate some of the simple things & need to see high end morphs to show interest. Probably the same folks who do nothing but sit around bored behind their table at the reptile shows because they seem to think them boring also. Just my opinion anyway Mark
P.S. did the TARAS show also "suck"? I guess it probably did if you base it on sales eh!