Spock's Sanctuary

06/30/2025

As we’re about halfway through summer, we have a ton of adoptable animals from families that are moving away, going to college, or who can’t keep them for another reason.

That said, our quarantine room is so full that we couldn’t even attempt to post all of the adoptables here like we normally do.

See below to see how many of each we have looking for homes, or go to our adoptables page if you’re looking to add a new member to your family:

https://www.spockssanctuary.org/adoptables

We currently have:

1 Tortoise
2 Boa Constrictors
7 Ball Pythons
1 Corn Snake
1 Brown Anole
9 Leopard Geckos
1 African Fat Tailed Gecko
1 Tokay Gecko
6 Bearded Dragons
1 Chinese Water Dragon

Come meet them in person at 2102 Milton Avenue in Des Moines or see us at the next expo!

06/27/2025

And the winner of our animal show giveaway is….

Jody Delane Pugh!

Thank you to all who participated!

06/18/2025

We will be CLOSED Monday and Friday this weekend, Saturday and Sunday will have normal hours! See you then :)

06/13/2025

In honor of hitting 1,000 facebook followers, we’re trying something new!

We’re giving away a free reptile show! This hands on animal encounter and educational program can be a private event here at the sanctuary, or we can bring animals to you!

To be eligible, you must:

- Be following us (Either Facebook or Instagram!)
- Like this post
- Tag a friend who you think might love an animal show!

We will be drawing from those eligible to determine a winner!

*Additional fees not included, see below for details!*

06/03/2025

A bit of a sappy post, but as an organization built on our values, it is important to us to be open with our community sometimes! We also believe it is important to look back sometimes and reflect. It is hard to see growth day to day, but the journey is a part of who we are just as much as the destination!

A few years ago, Spock’s Sanctuary started as an idea. An idea shared by two crazy individuals in hopes of creating a more sustainable future for reptiles and other often misunderstood animals. Now, I’d be lying to say that everyone believed we could do it, or even saw the vision we had. Frankly, sometimes it was hard for us to even see the vision as something achievable. Looking back, we couldn’t have imagined where we are today, let alone for the plans that are in place for our future.

Despite all of the ups and downs that come with the work that we do and the animals that come into our doors, there was always two people who believed in it every step of the way.

A couple years ago today, these two said “I Do”. This “I do” came with a commitment to building each other up and supporting the community around us while rehabilitating and educating at the side of the animals that call the sanctuary home. (This day also came with a huge discussion about whether a lizard could make a good ring bearer!)

To us, the sanctuary isn’t just a place of work, it’s not just a place for the animals we work with to live out the lives they deserve, it’s not even just our favorite place on the planet. The sanctuary is our world, it’s our slice of heaven, and most importantly, it and every living being that comes into its walls are a part of our family.

Thank you to everyone who supports us, inspires us, and allows us to live every day supporting the animals that we share this planet with. Thank you for being part of our family. We truly couldn’t do it without you! ❤️

05/11/2025

I didn’t think it was possible to make Norman look small… 👀

Big news! E-Norm-ous Norman has moved out to his home for the summer!

One of our biggest requirements that we set for ourselves before we could take in a 130 lb tortoise was that we could provide this for him during the summer months.

For most of his life, Norman has been kept indoors, and to our knowledge this is the first time in his nearly 40 year lifespan he has had an outdoor space with natural sun or eaten fresh grass, which should make up 70-90% of their diet! Additionally, these tortoises are heavily solitary, so he gets all this space to himself!

We are beyond excited to have him outside, and this means that after a few renovations, our Tegu, Octavia, will move back out to the zoo now that she has finished her winter Brumation!

We will hopefully be posting a YouTube video about the moving process soon, so keep an eye out!

04/29/2025

We will be CLOSED 4-8 this Friday for an event. We will still be open during our standard Live Feeder Fridays 2-4 if you need to stop in!

04/22/2025

This was SUCH a fun event and we had a blast bringing our animals to help support Childserve’s mission! They were able to raise over a MILLION dollars this year for children with special healthcare needs!!

04/06/2025

04/03/2025

We got reached out to by this home as well and wanted to share this!

04/02/2025

03/28/2025

One of the most rewarding parts of doing the work that we do is seeing animals become enriched in their environment and watching display behaviors that they would in the wild.

These two pictures show one of our favorite examples of this. We recently moved our Dumeril’s Boa into a 8x4x3ft enclosure and filled it with substrate and most importantly, leaf litter. In the wild these snakes beautiful patterns help them blend into leaf litter on the ground and wait until unsuspecting prey comes wandering by.

Can you spot Alasia in these pictures, or would you have already been a snack?