Date of Visit: December 4th, 2013. The Reptile Zoo & Living Museum: Home | Monroe Reptile Zoo The Reptile Zoo & Living Museum is located in Monroe, Washington, approximately 40 minutes north of Seattle. It opened in 1996 and the owner (a former biology teacher) spends a lot of time visiting schools with his “creepy crawlies” to put on presentations. The building itself is divided in two, and while visiting one can spend time looking at half of the animals, then you must exit the building and walk perhaps 10 feet and enter into the second half of the structure. It is a bizarre setup and captures the entire ramshackle approach of the facility. While the staff is dedicated and many of the animals are rescue creatures there is a definite lack of resources available to the employees. The exact list of species is detailed below, and there are some of them that are rarely ever exhibited by American zoos. The establishment specializes in snakes and there is a vast assortment of pythons, boas, cobras and others that are kept in rudimentary terrariums. Some of the tanks are packed with natural substrate and look like mini forests, but many others are fairly empty with only a water bowl, a fake rock and a branch or two on top of a layer of substrate. The highlights in terms of enclosures are the large American Alligator exhibit for a full-grown individual and some of the gecko and chameleon terrariums that are lush and designed well enough to allow foliage to grow. The two Black-Throated Monitors and the elderly Water Monitor are all very impressive specimens; seeing the active Black Mamba was a thrill; the two-headed Red-Eared Slider was an anomaly; and visitors are encouraged to lean over and touch the shells on the tortoises in the open-top enclosures. However, there are some shocking exhibits that demand instant attention. One terrarium has a major crack in the glass that has been covered in duct tape, and when I peered over the edge (only thin wire mesh) I was surprised to see a Black Spitting Cobra staring back at me. That is an accident waiting to happen! A couple of the juvenile American Alligator enclosures have water bowls that are not even as long as the occupants and both species of anaconda have pools that are much smaller than the length of the snakes. The entire building has peeling paint in all directions; buckets, ladders and cleaning tools are left lying around; and there really needs to be a major investment of money just to spruce up the facility and make it seem fresh instead of tired and old. I would estimate that at least 80% of the exhibits would not be acceptable in any accredited American zoo. It is worthwhile to stop by to see the diverse selection of animals on display, but I only wish that more visitors were willing to pay the $8 entrance fee so that more finances could be raised to help the facility. Total number of species= 94 Snakes= 47 species Timber Rattlesnake, Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, Northern-Pacific Rattlesnake, Arizona Black Rattler, Sonoran Desert Sidewinder, Gopher Snake, Reticulated Python, Ball Python, Carpet Python, Red Blood Python, Green Tree Python, Argentine Boa, Rosy Boa, Rubber Boa, Rainbow Boa, Amazon Tree Boa, Dumeril’s Boa, Kenyan Sand Boa, Green Anaconda, Yellow Anaconda, Corn Snakes (2 exhibits), South American Green Racer, Taiwanese Beauty Snake, Eastern Indigo, Red-Headed Beaked Snake, Osage Copperhead, Jumping Viper, Desert Horned Viper, Saw Scale Viper, Western Hognose, False Water Cobra, Black Spitting Cobra, Banded Egyptian Cobra, Black Forest Cobra, Monocled Cobra (albino), Black Mamba, Puff Adder, Tiger Ratsnake, White-Sided Ratsnake, Everglades Ratsnake, Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum), Milk Snake (Lampropeltis sinaloan), Milk Snake (Lampropeltis pueblan), California Kingsnake (albino), Thayer’s Kingsnake and Florida Kingsnake. Lizards= 19 species Rhinoceros Iguana, Rock Iguana, Water Monitor, Black-Throated Monitor, Uromastyx, Alligator Lizard, Bearded Dragon, Cuban Knight Anole, Frilled Dragon Lizard, Monkey-Tailed Skink, Blue-Tongued Skink, Crested Gecko, Leachianus Gecko, Madagascar Day Gecko, Leopard Gecko, Veiled Chameleon, Black-and-White Tegu, Legless Lizard and Caiman Lizard. Amphibians= 7 species White’s Tree Frog, Tomato Frog, Chubby Frog, African Bull Frog, Cane Toad, Colorado River Toad and Tiger Salamander. Turtles/Tortoises= 8 species Alligator Snapping Turtle, Florida Soft Shell Turtle, Red-Eared Slider (with two heads!), Box Turtle, Mini Musk Turtle, Leopard Tortoise, Sulcata Tortoise and Red-Footed Tortoise (2 exhibits). Crocodilians= 1 species American Alligator (4 exhibits and that includes one albino alligator). Invertebrates= 12 species Madagascar Hissing Cockroach, Giant Cockroach, Madagascan Flying Stick Insect, Spiny Leaf Insect, Vinagaroon, Emperor Scorpion, European Garden Spider, Chilean Rose-Hair Tarantula, Costa Rican Tiger Rump, Salmon Pink Bird-Eating Tarantula, Guerrero Orange-Leg Tarantula and Mexican Red-Leg Tarantula.
