Snake Farm & Exotic Animal Park

Why is a place like this still open? Why did I agree to go here? Why are the cages sooooo dirty? Why can't I get that smell out of my memory? I've never seen such sad looking animals up close. Only on animal rescue. Someone please rescue these animals. They are miserable. Don't give this place your money.

II have been meaning to write this review for a few months now. I have lived in Austin since 1976 and have driven by the farm on my way to San Antonio many times, but never stopped. We finally visited the snake farm this summer after seeing the Dirty Jobs episode on the Discovery Channel that featured the farm and the owners. We love watching the show and my 5 year old son was very excited to hear that the Snake farm was close by and that we would take him there if he wanted to go. When we arrived we were greeted by the owner (the lady from the Dirty Jobs episode) and my son was thrilled to see her and all of the animals at the place. She let him pet the huge pythons and she took his favorite type of snake out of the cage (a baby ball python) and let him hold it while she talked to him about the snake. We looked at all of the snakes in the main building, including the rattlesnake pit that is a deep "well" that you can look down into to see all of the rattlesnakes crawling around. Definitely not something you would want to climb into (think Indiana Jones movie here for a bit of a visual). They have cage after cage of exotic snakes and you could spend 2 hours in the snake area without venturing out of the main building. Out back they have an impressive zoo filled with a lot of different animals: deer, birds, cows, crocodiles, turtles, bats, rodents, monkeys, sheep, goats, etc. and a petting zoo area as you are exiting the farm. If you are looking for a good family day trip that has been around for a long time, this is the place to go. It is fun, funky, a little smelly, a little dirty and has a bunch of interesting animals. Perfect place to take the kids, and the owners made us feel special for visiting them – not something you encounter much these days.

I recently donated a bearded dragon to the Snake Farm and took some time to say goodbye to my lil lizard, but afterwards my party took a walk around the farm and saw some amzing animals. They had Zebras, emu, hyenias, crocodiles, plenty of goats and pigs to pet and rows of the most exotic snakes i've ever seen. Its a great place to go for a few hours and the price to see so many creatures is great, its about 10 for adults and 6 for kids.

We drove 12 hours to take our 3 year old son to the Snake Farm for his 4th birthday. We were a bit leery but it was all he wanted, so we went! WOW, what an experience, the staff at the Snake Farm treated Andrew like he was royalty and part of their family, it was the best birthday party that he has ever had, and we went to Disney last year for his 3rd birthday! Jared and Brandon spent tons of personal time with my son letting him hold tons of different snakes and even let him hold a scorpion! The best day to go is Sunday when they feed the Alligators; it is kind of crowded but an unforgettable show! You literally will be in awe with how spectacular Jared is, and if you are lucky he will get his "kitty" out while you are there.

this place is amazing. they have every animal known to man (well many animals). Because of all the different animals, the place smells a little funky.

We were on our way back from Schlitterbahn heading home to San Angelo and thought it would be a fun place to check out. It's a very small place.. what you see from the front is it.. plus a large back area. I didn't mind the snake cages.. they obviously would be small.. but then came the cries. We went into the room they were coming from and saw 2 adorable little lemurs staring back at us from behind a 3, maybe 4, foot long cage. They were just talking and grabbing for us. It was so heartbreaking. When we tried to exit the room, they started crying again and were reaching out. Awful. The back outside area was very large but the cages and areas were so small. Every animal looked so bumbed out. It was very hot.. of course.. Texas weather. It smelled horrible and those poor babies. I was so excited to see the Servals, only to find it was passed out in the back of its holding den. Luckily it wasn't expensive.. but if I had enough money I would without a doubt find a way to shut this place down and free those gorgeous animals to their rightful habitat!! Even the scorpions!! Kids wouldn't tell the difference.. but if you have a heart, especially for animals.. I highly suggest not going.

The main interest at this park is clearly the snakes, but there are lots of other animals, including goats in a petting area. The animals just didn't look as well-cared for as I've seen at other zoos and parks. That's NOT to say that the animals looked sick or abused. It's just that they weren't groomed and smelled rather bad, even for animals. For example, the petting goats had fur that was matted and the water pools in the outdoor animal exhibits were really dirty.

We stopped there just by chance and so glad we did. Yes it has a certain dusty outdated feeling but the animals are lovely! If you actually go outback you will see Texas Longhorns, zebras, monkeys, lemurs, gators, sugar babies...the list goes on! We got to meet the new owner on our trip there. I had inquried about an animal since I didn't know what is was he took the time to tell me all about it and got the animal out so we could see it. Then he asked if I would like to hold a baby I said sure of course. He came back with a baby lemur. She was so little and so cute. Granted she pooped on me but that is what babies do~he then took us around the place and telling us what they had either done to improve it or what they planned on doing. Mind you it is no "Big funded place" he is doing all the renovations on his own. We loved it there and plan on going back!

Since our visit, I heard it was bought by someone else and they are trying to make it a better place where the animals will benefit from the renovations. If this is true, God bless those people. After visiting the snake farm, my son and I left completely depressed with my son almost in tears. Seeing the living conditions of the animals outside was heart breaking. I was wishing we had never stopped. My son asked if we could call someone to shut the place down because the animals were just pitiful. Trying to reassure my son that these animals were okay so we could enjoy the rest of our vacation was not an easy task. Shame on the cruel owners for not doing better for the animals that make their living for them!

What kind of life, for those poor monkeys, is sitting in 100+ degree heat while children throw dog food at them? We saw ants crawling on snakes. We left the snake farm broke and upset. Anyone in this area wanting to see snakes and animals in a nice enviroment, need only visit the San Antonio Zoo. And its cheaper too. I hope the owner(s) of the snake farm finds themselves in trouble with the law, and those poor creatures taken from that awful place.