Reptile World Serpentarium

User Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

A very welcome change of pace from the normal commercial tourist traps. Well worth a visit.

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User Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Great experience!: My grandson (7 yrs old) LOVED this place. We're going back again!
It was amazing to see Mr.Van Horn milking these venomous snakes. Seeing all these dangerous snakes in one place was more thrilling than any amusement ride! And it's a "working" place, not just for show which makes it even more interesting.

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User Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

George Van Horn's Reptile World Serpentarium: Another fascinating and even surprising animal park is George Van Horn’s Reptile World Serpentarium. Initially I was headed to Gatorland near Kissimee. I had trouble finding it and stopped in to a visitor’s center for directions when I saw the brochure for the serpentarium.

Expecting a roadside tourist trap I nevertheless headed for Saint Cloud to see for myself. From the road the serpentarium appears as a non-descript cinder block building on the side the road. Upon entering I thought that my initial assessment of tourist trap was confirmed. Aquariums with tropical snakes were stacked one on another with no lights or visible heat. Pythons, boas, rattlesnakes, were all grouped in aquariums and haphazardly strewn about the small entry room. Shelves were populated with books and small souvenirs for sale to the public.

I paid my entry fee and was told about a milking demonstration that the owner, Mr. George Van Horn would put on about 3pm. In front of me was a large open pond, populated by several species of pond turtles, and surrounded by a sandy area. I opted to go directly into the snake exhibit to my right and see what the cages were like.

Upon entering the exhibit I observed many neatly aligned glass front enclosures with various species of venomous and non venomous snakes and lizards. The enclosures, while simple, were immaculate. Each cage had the appropriate materials to include branches, rocks and water dishes. Most of the cages had natural substrates on the bottom while others had newspaper. Most of the cages were spacious and more than adequately served the inhabitants.

Now that the required description is over I can tell you about the incredible variety of specimens the serpentarium holds. Wow!!! I saw some of the most beautiful examples of rattlesnakes, cobras, elapids, and colubrids in any collection I have ever seen. In some cases, such as with the pine snakes, there were multiple color morphs on display.

Cantils were courting and mating throughout my visit, western and eastern green mambas swam through the air examining their surroundings, and beautiful examples of crotalus flicked their tongues in and out as each visitor passed by. There was a beautiful banded Egyptian cobra (aka snouted cobra), tree cobras, and gorgeous king cobras. There was a fantastic fer de lance, purple spotted viper, and various species of rattlesnakes. I was especially taken with an eastern diamondback, canebrake rattlesnake cross.

In addition to the exotic rarities, there were also representatives from the Sunshine State. Pygmy rattlesnakes, eastern indigos, cottonmouths and copperheads were also on display and made a nice exhibit of native herps.

The signage was hit and miss, some nicely done professional signs, others were merely handwritten pieces of paper, long stained and faded. Little or no information was present on the signs and there was little in the way of educational material. Overall, the displays lacked much in the way of information about the species or their habits and characteristics.

After spending more than hour in the snake house, I meandered out into the yard to see the turtles and other animals on display. A single fenced enclosure served as home to an American Alligator, sitting in his concrete pond. Back to the turtle pond. Surrounding the turtle pond were small wire enclosures housing iguanas with chickens (I have no idea), parrots, and other birds. A quick peek into the turtle pond showed that while water turtles occupied the main pond area, a medium African spurred tortoise wandered back forth in a too-small sandy area while Florida box turtles hid under a covered area at one end.

The snake milking demonstration was a testament to Mr. Van Horn’s more than thirty years of work with venomous snakes at this facility. I was quite impressed with Mr. Van Horn’s commitment to his profession and to research and with his ability to leverage such a beautiful collection

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