Reptile World Serpentarium

Reptile World Serpentarium

 

 

5705 E Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy,
St Cloud, FL 34771
407-892-6905

Click here for the Reptile World Serpentarium Website 

AT A GLANCE:  Reptile World Serpentarium
Parking	Onsite parking.  There’s barely 15 people in the square mile around you, but exercise caution and lock your car.
Amount of time needed to peruse exhibits:	45 – 90 minutes
Amount of time needed for gift shop	10 - 15 minutes
Dress code	Anything goes.
Be sure to…..	Stick around for the 12 noon or the 3 pm snake milking.  Yes, you read that right.
Nearby/other establishments to visit	Nothing.  St. Cloud, the nearest town, is a good 10 minutes away.
Walkability, general downtown area / amount of traffic	You will need a car, or other transportation.
Safety, in terms of type and number of crimes committed in general area	Generally safe.  Please keep valuables out of site and lock your car, to keep the honest people honest.

Heard of    =>    Knowledge of    =>    Care about    =>    Stewardship of

This is marketing branding research that I posit can be used for care of places that are special to us.  Marketers typically use the above “formula” in surveys.  Have you ever received one that asks you to name every fast food place, for example?  You would most likely list McDonalds, Burger King, or Chick-Fil-A.  Or Taco Bell.  I would list Taco Bell.  The next part of the survey then lists a plethora of fast food places, and you check of the ones that are familiar to you.  That survey is measuring the strength of a brand. 

Here, everyone starts in the “Heard of” step, which consists of being able to answer the following question in a positive manner:  “Have you heard of…..”  If so, the second step is when you are interested enough in your subject so that when you are asked if you can name places to visit, you mention places that are special to you.  The “Care about” phase would be following website updates or subscribing to newsletters, for example.  I know that you want to be the best, which happens when you go out of your way to educate, promote, or protect your special place.

Opened in 1972, this type of roadside attraction was commonplace in Florida.  This was before Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, and Sea Worlds started siphoning up a good chuck of out-of-state visitors from these roadside places.  A previously visited site, McKee Gardens in Vero Beach, Florida is another attraction that was affected by the Big 3 theme parks.

Reptile World Serpentarium is located approximately 45 minutes (40 miles) northwest of Melbourne.  You will travel through some typical Florida landscape, and there is a good opportunity for boredom to set in, because there are only so many cows to look at and the scrub-land seems to extend from horizon to horizon.  Just about the time that you are sighing because of your boredom acceptance, the signs for the town of Harmony appear. 

 “Hello, baby hello.  Haven’t seen your face for a while….
Harmony, gee I really love you and I want to love you forever…"

What’s more, you’re cursing or thanking Elton John for the song “Harmony” right about now.  Either way, by the time you run the song through your head a few times, you’ll arrive at Reptile World Serpentarium.  

The $10 admission fee seemed steep to me, but do you remember what cool people (i.e. you) do?  Cool people show their support for cultural things by paying admission fees that educate and entertain us (see my blog: Florida Surf Museum / Ron Jon Surf Shop for insight).  Reptile World

Serpentarium is one such place.  This is a privately owned zoo that relies on admission fee to care for the 75 species of snakes that reside here.  You’ll understand that they are operating on a shoestring budget when you come across handwritten “about this snake” placards on some of the enclosures.

 

Reptile World is a labor of love, which shows if you chat up owner, George Van Horn.  He shows a deep respect toward the animals in his care, and takes his position as keeper seriously.  The snakes are in glass enclosures, similar to the reptile areas of major zoos.  Take some time to read about the habits of snakes that you’ve heard of, yet don’t know what it looks like or where it lives.  The

Burmese Python

Burmese Python is of special interest to the stewards of the Florida Everglades.  When pet pythons grew too large to be properly cared for, many owners set them free in the Everglades, where they are now considered an invasive species.  Florida Wildlife Control holds snake hunt days in the thought that hunting them would thin their numbers.  These hunts haven’t been happening until recently, so the evidence that it is working is inconclusive.  The Spitting Python and the Eyelash Viper are two more species that might interest you.  The snakes don’t seem as scary when there’s thick glass separating you.  Owner Van Horn placed warning signs on the few snakes where you need to keep your distance from that glass. 

We were just moseying along, brushing up on our snake knowledge and lingering at the enclosure of what I believe was the East African Green Mamba, when I first heard it.  Thud.  Thud.  Thud. 

The Suphan's Cobra

It was a soft sound at first, and I didn’t know what was making the noise and where it came from.  In a few minutes I realized that it was the Suphan’s Cobra in the next enclosure.  It was trying to strike me, but hit the glass instead.  The Cobra had no warning sign, and I wondered what a snake would have to do to get a warning sign to keep your distance.  Nah, I’d rather not dwell on that.

Snakes don’t bother me, and to some extent, I find them fascinating.  Back in the day, I was the senior nature director at a Boy Scout summer camp for four years.  Handling snakes, turtles, and frogs were a common activity.  Because of this experience, I was right at home when admiring the manmade

turtle pond outside.  I could still identify a few species, and was quite proud of myself.  If you stand still, almost all of the turtles will swim toward you, looking to be fed.  For kicks, I moved around the perimeter of the turtle pond so they would change direction and, once again, swim toward me.  In a place with poisonous and dangerous, I reveled in this simple pleasure.  Crocodiles, iguanas an alligator, and tropical birds are the other animals with an outdoor enclosure.

The Turtle Pond

Be sure to stick around for the venom milking shows, because Reptile World bills themselves as a working venom factory, with daily snake milking at 12 noon and 3 pm.  A good overview with this 2

minute video from the local news station, WESH2 News: WESH 2 News coverage  I’ll bet you have questions that popped into your mind with little effort.  I certainly did.  For starters, why would you want to milk a snake?  It is to gather its venom, which is then used to make anti-venom for victims of deadly snake bites.  Does your next question read something like this:  How does one go about milking a snake, in polite company?  Snakes store their venom in glands on their heads, located past the eyes.  Milking a snake is both terrifying and grotesque at the same time.   

 

These stuffed alligators are irresistible

 Are you ready for shopping?  Reptile World’s gift shop is small, yet everything in it reflects the passion that Van Horner has for snakes and other reptiles.  It has wonderfully soft stuffed toy snakes for sale. In the photo, did you notice which of the Florida college football teams the owner supports?  The Florida Gators.  You’ll also find a complete snake skeleton, a replica of a turtle shell, and simple introductory books to start learning about reptiles.  I was hoping for a “Turtles for Dummies” book, but luck failed me.  Regardless of where you look, everything is reptile-related.  Remember that I told you that the good stuff is usually in a glassed counter? 

Take a look.  Who doesn’t want a pair of snake earrings?  They sell knife holders made of snake skin, too.  If you’ve got a sharp eye, you’ll notice the snake-skin cowboy boots tucked behind the counter.  Reptile World has the mandatory coffee mug, t-shirts, and travel mugs.  Sadly, no refrigerator magnets.  Instead, you can pick up a small python for $60.  This python is very much alive, though.

 Stepping back into your car, you may notice that you have changed, which may be unnoticeable to others.  Depending on your passion for reptiles, you have moved into either the “Knowledge of” or the “Care about” phase of marketing.

It’s time for lunch.  Continue west on Irlo Bronson Highway for about 8 minutes (5 miles) and you will find yourself in the downtown St. Cloud, a small Florida city.  Turn right, into the downtown area and park your car somewhere.  At most, you will be walking three blocks.  Follow your nose to Jimmy Bear’s BBQ, located at 818 Pennsylvania Ave, St Cloud, FL 34769.  The website is Jimmy Bear's BBQ and the food is incredible.  As soon as we sat down, the waitress came over and asked if we had been there before.  No, we hadn’t.  A short time later, the grill master was delivering a plate of samples to help us decide what to order.   I recommend the rib sandwich.  The phone number is 407-508-0681 if you’d like to give them a call. 


If you like second-hand stores and antique shops, St. Cloud is your kind of place.  Unfortunately, the St. Cloud downtown has poor shopping opportunities.  Kissimmee is a good sized city and is only 20 minutes northwest of St. Cloud.  You can shop there, or head back toward Melbourne.  They have an incredible downtown, and it’s only 54 miles to the southeast.  Back past the cows.  Past the scrublands.  Past the town of Harmony.