Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently learned that a reptile house at a major midwest zoo has closed. I was very diappointed to hear this as I remember going to this zoo growing up and always enjoyed the reptile house. I thought it was a highly regarded house and was known in the business as a leader. I recall on my last visit about 6-7 yrs ago seeing an AWESOME emerald tree monitor exhibit. Does anyone have any info on why it is closed and if it will reopen?
Thanks

Which zoo are you referring to? I might have some intimate knowledge of the situation.

AH

i heard that the brookfield zoo in chicago had closed their herp house. i havnt been able to confirm that, and it sounded like bs to me. i hope it wasnt the brookfield, that is a nice zoo with a great reptile house.
joe

Yes, it was the Brookfield Zoos Reptile House. No BS my friend. And you are right, it was a great herp house. From what I understand they were considered pioneers in many aspects of herp husbandry (lots of notable breeding, etc). What a shame it has gone bye bye.

Yes. Brookfield closed its Reptile House doors last year. I was the supervisor (Lead Keeper) there from 1998 until 2002. There had been talk of them closing for 10 years prior to that. Although they were leaders in the early stages of breeding and husbandry for longevity, they never progressed in to the 1990s, let alone the 2000s. During my years there, we were able to get back to naturalistic enclosures and acquire some nice species, but the zoo never wanted to spend the money to go further. R.I.P.

AH

That just blows my mind to think that ANY zoo would permanently close the doors of their reptile house.

I'm not familiar with that particular zoo but just the thought of any zoo doing so leaves me scratching my head.

Does that mean that they don't have ANY reptiles on display?

Later!
HH
-----
It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

Paying customers as compared to the mammal and bird exhibits, this is why reptiles take a back seat in almost every zoo, or are relegated to outdated care and husbandry. Simple theory, zoos require money, money paid by visitors, the exhibit doesnt draw much interest, it wont get much funding, especially with privately owned zoos.
Ive heard about that zoo and a few others over the last 10-15 years slowly reducing reptiles, or shrinking exhibits with reptiles.

In the SF zoo latest newsletter they are planning to turn their now vacant elephant building into a reptile house. One goes away another pops up... I hope

I REALLY hope that the sf zoo gets a reptile house. I just visited there for the first time since I moved to the bay area, and I have to say it was quite disappointing. There seemed to be very little organization there IMO. Also, the lack of reptiles made me kinda side.

Yeah, the SF zoo REEEEEEEEEAAAAALLLLLYYY needs a reptile house. It's like the closest zoo to me and no reptiles.

This sucks...just spent time on a post that I felt would lend some credibility to what I believe to be true.(lost post)

The abridged version was that over the past years I have never scene so many kids showing interest in herps (work in education)...one would think this interest would ,at the close of business, produce revenue and hopefully keep quality institutions in the black. One kid was so motivated he was learning Japanese to aid him in herping...many,many,many more kids checking out books from lib. that 10 years previous hardly had anything about reptiles. I think it really took off about the time "Discovery" type programing started booming along. People who never had a strong interest wanted a slice of nature in their house(granted seldom turns out that way) or go see it(zoo??). For some of us reptiles have always been a "driver". I'm sure zoo's use some number crunching/consumer surveys to make business decesions...I think its strange those numbers do not show the demand (and there is,i see it everyday). Heck, maybe they don't...in that case they should. cheers, big ears.

We see on these forums every day after posting here for a regular basis for years, temporary interest among kids, and teens, or a novelty item with reptiles. Most are gung-ho for a while then they move on when either the animal dies, they find out just how much work and effort/money is needed to keep them properly, or they find some new way to protest authority and or be different and look for revulsion among adults.
You should know this, kids have interests that change as fast as some people change underwear.
We see thousands who post on this forum, then are gone in a matter of days to months. They are always replaced by others. Summer, the end of school, are great times of the year for petstores with reptiles for sale, aquariums, reptile carpet, etc., you know temporary summer pets.
Its unfortunate but sickeningly true.

I couldn't agree more and it is very sad, but true

of course all age segments have changing interest. the point is due to all sorts of things internet,specialty shops, ADVANCES,t.v. programing ect...there is more exposure. from that exposure i think more get "hooked"...sure many "spit it out" but some "swallow the hook". and along the way more $ trickle into the industry. cheers,zak.

You see reptile exhibits appear ,and disappear over years in many zoos, and along the way not alot of effort or money goes into the individual exhibits, because of this spotty interest. Its like consumer goods and whats hot, they are catering to a crowd thats spending money, and who may not realize that what they see is wrong or not. When the wind changes, so do the exhibitsd and animals in them.
There is always much more interest in zoos with most exotic mammals, and birds, than with reptiles, this is what determines the exhibits and budgets on them.

Many zoos are incorporating reptiles into geographic themes within the zoo. What this means is that keepers who are not particularly adept with reptiles are now responsible for them; much like hiring a certified plumber to do the electrical work. Brookfield kept a few reptiles in several locations of the zoo.

The funny thing is that even though mammals and birds are thought of as the "money" species that draws crowds to the zoo, the reptile facilities at all 3 zoos I worked at were always packed, especially on weekends. Just one of the reasons I bugged out of the profession and now teach science.

AH

You're probably making more money now, aren't ya?

From what I've read zoo keepers and just about any form of herpetology are barely "medium-paying" professions. That's why I decided to stay in the floorcovering & computer biz (self-employed) so I could support my habits (reptile keeping).

The reptile houses of the few zoos I've been to have always had good crowds, if not packed. Granted, they're usually a bit on the small side as far as human traffic goes, but still.

Do the other programs, mammals & birds, get more attention due to more funding from outside sources, such as the Audubon Society and others like it?

Have a good one!
HH
-----
It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

It's true that most zoos don't pay well. I am making more now than I did at two of them. Brookfield, though, was unionized. (Teamsters) The pay at the time was probably more than I will ever make teaching. They have taken some reductions in some areas since I was there, though. I like the job security that teaching offers!! And the hours!! And, I get to keep some of my herps at school and let them pay for the electricity!! Ackies, even old ones, WILL breed in a classroom I have discovered. Try explaining that to 8th graders!

AH

I think I may have talked to you when I was at the Reptile House. It was in that time period. You were feeding a rattler and talking to the public of feeding behaviors. It was a great show. Was that your emerald tree monitor exhibit? It was so nice. I would like to have something that nice at my home. Hahaha.

What species did you breed while at Brookfield?

np

You may have talked to one of the keepers I supervised. The keeper who I assigned to the part of the building you speak of actually got my job after I left. He is now being wasted taking care of mammals in a different part of the zoo with the closing of the building. (I got out in time!)

By the way, thanks on the V. prasinus exhibit. It was a nice one and the animal was a real joy to watch as he climbed and "hung out" in the branches. I just gave a herp slide show to the local chapter of the Audubon Society that included a gorgeous shot of him.

AH

How does one get a job as a reptile keeper at a zoo? What are the requirements? It must have been awesome to actually get paid to take care of reptiles and to work with such a variety most people could never have at home. Not to mention the venomous stuff. How did you do that safely? What species did you breed at Brookfield? Sorry for all the questions, but I find it very interesting. Thanks for your time.

Greggy