The Reptile Guy is a facility located in Abbotsford, British Columbia, with approximately 60 on-show species within a 1,200 sq. ft. warehouse-style building. There is an off-show quarantine area that takes up part of that space and so the area accessible to the public is probably closer to 700 sq. ft. There are long-range plans that are in place which will see the establishment move to the nearby city of Mission, approximately 20 minutes away, and there will then be a doubling in size of the reptile zoo.
The Reptile Guy: Rescue & Education Center is a facility that takes in unwanted and abandoned cold-blooded pets. There are several signs dotted around the establishment that describe how a particular animal was struggling to survive, only to be resuscitated at the center. It is commendable that the facility exists to support the caring of discarded reptiles and amphibians and most of the money raised towards the maintenance of the animals is via birthday parties and presentations in schools and local shopping malls.
Upon entering the tiny one-room structure an individual is struck at just how unkempt everything is. On my visit the bathroom had paper towel overflowing from the garbage can; terrariums are haphazardly placed along the walls; small open-topped turtle pools that are obviously inadequate for their inhabitants are found near the entrance. There are buckets, boxes and mops piled in corners and a general air of shabbiness is to be found in all directions. However, a move to a much-larger facility and plans to erect new exhibits there are in place and the current site is clearly a temporary holding space that is in limbo as the cash-starved organization will likely move within another year or so to a 2,000 sq. ft. building.
The good news for the families that book birthday parties or drop by the center for a visit is that there are a lot of opportunities to be educated and also hold many of the animals. On my hour-long visit I was the only member of the public present and I essentially had a guided tour of the very tiny facility, with any number of Corn Snakes or Bearded Dragons at my disposal to handle if I so wished. As it was I spent a lengthy period of time with a 6-foot Boa Constrictor draped around my neck; I was given a handful of 5 Ball Pythons in my lap (of various colour morphs); and I also petted or held the following species: Rough-Neck Monitor Lizard, Columbian Tegu, Crested Gecko and Sulcata Tortoise. There were tarantulas, scorpions and many other critters that I could have handled but time was of the essence as I only had an hour on my hands.
The Reptile Guy Rescues Reptiles, Lizards and Surrendered Reptiles
Species list on April 9th, 2015. (60 species)
Mountain Horned Dragon
Bearded Dragon
Asian Water Dragon
Argus Monitor
Rough-Neck Monitor Lizard
Savannah Monitor
Green Basilisk
Green Iguana
Red Tegu
Columbian Tegu
Common Chuckwalla
Panther Chameleon
Crested Gecko
Leopard Gecko
Gargoyle Gecko
Bibron’s Gecko
White-Lined Gecko
Tokay Gecko
Lechianus Gecko
Northern Blue-Tongue Skink
Golden Skink
Red-Eye Crocodile Skink
Fly River Turtle
Northern Snake-Neck Turtle
Alligator Snapping Turtle
Common Snapping Turtle
Reeves Turtle
Red-Eared Slider
Yellow-Bellied Slider
Map Turtle
Musk Turtle
Eastern Spiny Soft-Shelled Turtle
East African Side-Necked Turtle
African Helmeted Turtle
Three-Toed Box Turtle
Russian Tortoise
Sulcata Tortoise
Red-Foot Tortoise
California Kingsnake
Sinaloan Milksnake
Corn Snake
Kenyan Sand Boa
Columbian Rainbow Boa
Amazon Tree Boa
Woma Python
Ball Python
Coastal Carpet Python
Boa Constrictor
African Bull Frog
Red-Legged Running Frog
White-Lipped Tree Frog
White’s Tree Frog
Blue Poison Dart Frog
Cane Toad
Desert Hairy Scorpion
Banded Flat Rock Scorpion
Emperor Scorpion
Tiger Rump Tarantula
Rose Hair Tarantula
Blue-and-Gold Macaw
The Reptile Guy: Rescue & Education Center is a facility that takes in unwanted and abandoned cold-blooded pets. There are several signs dotted around the establishment that describe how a particular animal was struggling to survive, only to be resuscitated at the center. It is commendable that the facility exists to support the caring of discarded reptiles and amphibians and most of the money raised towards the maintenance of the animals is via birthday parties and presentations in schools and local shopping malls.
Upon entering the tiny one-room structure an individual is struck at just how unkempt everything is. On my visit the bathroom had paper towel overflowing from the garbage can; terrariums are haphazardly placed along the walls; small open-topped turtle pools that are obviously inadequate for their inhabitants are found near the entrance. There are buckets, boxes and mops piled in corners and a general air of shabbiness is to be found in all directions. However, a move to a much-larger facility and plans to erect new exhibits there are in place and the current site is clearly a temporary holding space that is in limbo as the cash-starved organization will likely move within another year or so to a 2,000 sq. ft. building.
The good news for the families that book birthday parties or drop by the center for a visit is that there are a lot of opportunities to be educated and also hold many of the animals. On my hour-long visit I was the only member of the public present and I essentially had a guided tour of the very tiny facility, with any number of Corn Snakes or Bearded Dragons at my disposal to handle if I so wished. As it was I spent a lengthy period of time with a 6-foot Boa Constrictor draped around my neck; I was given a handful of 5 Ball Pythons in my lap (of various colour morphs); and I also petted or held the following species: Rough-Neck Monitor Lizard, Columbian Tegu, Crested Gecko and Sulcata Tortoise. There were tarantulas, scorpions and many other critters that I could have handled but time was of the essence as I only had an hour on my hands.
The Reptile Guy Rescues Reptiles, Lizards and Surrendered Reptiles
Species list on April 9th, 2015. (60 species)
Mountain Horned Dragon
Bearded Dragon
Asian Water Dragon
Argus Monitor
Rough-Neck Monitor Lizard
Savannah Monitor
Green Basilisk
Green Iguana
Red Tegu
Columbian Tegu
Common Chuckwalla
Panther Chameleon
Crested Gecko
Leopard Gecko
Gargoyle Gecko
Bibron’s Gecko
White-Lined Gecko
Tokay Gecko
Lechianus Gecko
Northern Blue-Tongue Skink
Golden Skink
Red-Eye Crocodile Skink
Fly River Turtle
Northern Snake-Neck Turtle
Alligator Snapping Turtle
Common Snapping Turtle
Reeves Turtle
Red-Eared Slider
Yellow-Bellied Slider
Map Turtle
Musk Turtle
Eastern Spiny Soft-Shelled Turtle
East African Side-Necked Turtle
African Helmeted Turtle
Three-Toed Box Turtle
Russian Tortoise
Sulcata Tortoise
Red-Foot Tortoise
California Kingsnake
Sinaloan Milksnake
Corn Snake
Kenyan Sand Boa
Columbian Rainbow Boa
Amazon Tree Boa
Woma Python
Ball Python
Coastal Carpet Python
Boa Constrictor
African Bull Frog
Red-Legged Running Frog
White-Lipped Tree Frog
White’s Tree Frog
Blue Poison Dart Frog
Cane Toad
Desert Hairy Scorpion
Banded Flat Rock Scorpion
Emperor Scorpion
Tiger Rump Tarantula
Rose Hair Tarantula
Blue-and-Gold Macaw
