Zach’s Reptile Refuge

07/15/2024

Wow, what a find! We recently had the great pleasure of finding a beautiful copperhead crossing the road. Of course, we decided to help him safely cross, but soon noticed he had a friend! If you look closely you’ll see his little stripeless scorpion buddy! We found the copperhead right next to him and it was amazing to see. It has been years since we have seen a scorpion in this area, we are very happy to have helped them both cross the road safely.

06/24/2024

Box turtles are such an amazing turtle species!

In summer 1967, eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina) number 7 was marked at Powdermill Nature Reserve. This turtle wasn’t seen again until summer 2004 and summer 2009 when it was spotted in nearly the same place digging nests. Last week, the bird banding crew found her digging another nest almost exactly where it was reported in 2004 and 2009.

The crew carefully and quickly noted the turtle’s markings and were able to match it with the data from her initial marking, and left her alone to continue her egg laying activities.

In 1967, this turtle was aged as “22 +/- years old” indicating that she was probably already two decades old, and probably hatched in 1945. Although ~79 years old seems like a long time for a small animal to live, box turtles are reported to live longer than 100 years!

06/20/2024

This was an absolutely amazing show!

06/14/2024

It’s always a blast at MCPL! Share any pictures you got from today!

06/14/2024

Make sure to come see us!

Join us tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. for a Reptile Adventure with Zach at MCPL.

06/06/2024

Coriolanus ( or Coryo! ) is our “Blue Eyed Lucy” ball python! Ball pythons are captive bred and have many genetics that can create different patterns and colors!

Blue Eyed Lucy stands for Blue Eyed Luicistic and it means that he is a blue eyed snake who believe it or not is not albino! Luicism is a genetic condition that causes a reduction or complete lack of pigmentation or melanin. Many luicistic animals can have white skin, fur/hair, scales etc. The biggest difference is that their eyes stay the same!

In albinism, the eyes are affected by the pigmentation loss and therefore will look pinkish or red! We are very grateful to have Coryo in our family and love taking him to shows!

05/24/2024

Do you have a child who is OBSESSED with lizards, snakes, and all things outdoors?? Then you should book US as your party entertainment!

MSG us for more information! We are accepting bookings right now! 🦎🎂🎉

05/05/2024

As the weather is starting to warm up and becoming pretty, remember that these amazing animals are not out to hurt you. Any interaction with you is an interaction they weren’t planning on having nor do they want, they simply want to get away. Having said that, it is important to familiarize yourself with the venomous snakes in the area.

05/04/2024

Come out to Main Street Market, Spring Fling Jubilee and enjoy a show featuring snakes, lizards, and turtles!

Show starts at 10am and we hope to see you there! 🦎

04/30/2024

04/20/2024

What better way to spend Earth Day than with our Earthy Friends! 🦎

Thank you McCreary County Public Library for having us and for having a great crowd!

04/20/2024

04/01/2024

What do you call a snake that bakes?
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A pie-thon! Happy April fools day from Coryo!

03/15/2024

Every time.

02/23/2024

Have you ever seen a spider pose so perfectly?

02/11/2024

Ever seen a snake drink water? The way snakes drink water is super interesting to watch. Snakes have expandable skin on their lower jaw that sort of acts like a sponge, letting them pull in a lot of water at a time.

01/15/2024

On behalf of the Barczyk family and our entire team at The Reptarium, it is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved Brian Barczyk.

More than the guiding light of our organization, Brian's fervent passion for reptiles and wildlife, along with his steadfast dedication to education, has touched innumerable hearts and minds globally.

Our deepest sympathies are with Brian's family, his friends, and all those whose lives he has touched. We've lost an exceptional individual – a visionary, mentor, and friend. For those of us who had the privilege of working alongside him, Brian's absence leaves an immeasurable void.
As we navigate this difficult time, we find comfort in the memories and the lasting light of Brian's work. He will be deeply missed but indeed, never forgotten.

The Barczyk family invites you to join us for a Public Memorial Walk-through to honor Brian’s memory. The event will be held on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, at Heritage Church, located at 44625 Schoenherr Rd. Sterling Heights, MI 48313 from 1-3pm.

In lieu of flowers, the family encourages you to show your support by visiting https://thereptarium.com/pages/brianbarczyk . Your engagement and involvement are greatly valued during this time.

Also, at LegaSea's opening, visitors will find Brian's handprints. Guests place their hands in his, continuing his legacy in a simple, yet powerful gesture. Please continue to follow this page for updates.

Brian, we will see you in the next one. Everyone else, see you at LegaSea.

- The Reptarium Team.

Contact Information for Inquiries and Tributes:

For media inquiries, please contact our Marketing Director at [email protected]

and

For more information on how you can become a LegaSea sponsor, please email our Director of Community Relations at [email protected] for other questions, please email [email protected]

01/06/2024

https://youtu.be/xwQYlNbfHRY?si=u1uXlV856DPv0tAt
Brian has been so influential to literally millions of people around the world, it’s amazing what he’s been able to do for reptiles in his lifetime. I’ve watched every video he’s put out for years now, and I am so saddened by what he has had to go through. However, Brian took his terrible news and ran with it, he barely even let it slow him down. Please keep Brian and his family in your thoughts and prayers for the days to come.

“The only thing that matters is being good to people” -Brian Barczyk

Goodbye is not the end, but the start of a new beginning. We love you, Brian. Subscribe To My Linktree: https://linktr.ee/brianbarczykBecome A Y...

12/29/2023

J is popping in to wish everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR! We have some big plans for this upcoming year so stay tuned to see where we will go! 🎆

12/22/2023

❗️❗️ SNAKE FEEDING ❗️❗️ viewer discretion is advised!!

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Pyro loves himself a good meal!! 🥘

12/15/2023

Steve was such an inspiration to so many. The way he handled himself when working with all of these extraordinary animals to educate the public has truly changed the lives of millions.

11/26/2023

Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping have you tired? Freddie here agrees with you and wants to wish you a Happy Holidays! 🎄🎅

11/05/2023

10/31/2023

Coriolanus wanted to wish everybody a very 🐍*Scaly* Halloween! 🎃👻

10/26/2023

We’ve had a few compliments on our naturalistic tank setups for our amazing animals, so we thought we would break it down. We always take an empty tank and add structure to it, usually using styrofoam, then we cover the whole back with (animal safe) spray foam. After the foam is completely cured we carve it out and then seal it with DRYLOK. It always comes out looking amazing, this is just one example from start to (almost) finish.

10/07/2023

We’re set up and ready at the McCreary Fest Parade today from 10-4! We’ve got a collection of animals out for showing today including our Crested Geckos, Hognose Snake, Corn Snake, Sulcotta Tortoise, and Bearded Dragon!

Take a picture with a reptile for a 2$ donation and make some memories! 🦎

10/06/2023

At the refuge we have over 100 amazing reptiles, amphibians, and fish! If you want a chance to see some of our amazing animal ambassadors make sure to check us out McCreary fest tomorrow from 10-4!

10/02/2023

We've made signing up to be a parade participant even easier! Fill out this form online and you are good to go! We hope to see everyone this weekend!

https://forms.gle/brLbgy5P3qyHUHEc7