Ever been to Serpent Safari?

[strutter769]

In Wisconin Dells. Home of "Baby". (If I remember correctly) Anyone?? [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_confused.gif[/img]
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[Squeezer]

It's actually in the Gurnee Mall right across from the Rainforest Cafe. I went there a couple months ago. You can get in for free but to go on the tour and see Baby and the others it cost $7.00 per person. Our tour guide was a young girl that had obviously memorized a script but had no idea what she was talking about. The whole time, she used her big group voice even though there were only 3 of us and we were all stand 3 feet away from her. The tour itself was cool, minus the annoying tour guide but there was one thing that really bothers me. Out in the store part there is a snake skin on the ceiling. If you follow it across the ceiling and down the wall you will see the snakes head which is stuffed and sticking out from the wall. There are two things I don't like about this:1) The way it was stuffed, it looks incredibly evil. A lot of people already have negative opinions of snakes, making this snake look the way it does isn't helping. 2)The other thing I don't like about this is the snake is dead. Apparently it (it's a Retic by the way) attacked the store owner and someone stabbed it with a knife 20+ times to get it off of him. I talked to someone that knows the story and from what he told me if the guy had been using common sense he wouldn't have been attacked in the first place and then stabbing it 20+ times was really unneccesary and they shouldn't have had to kill it. Too late now. I probably won't go back.
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[SnakePool]

The story is in Reptiles Magazine, the story is about Louis Daddano of Serpent Safari. The retic was wild caught and was aggressive. He went in to shange a light bulb and had covered the snake with a blanket. Well as luck would have it the snake came out from under the cover and attacked him, he did die momentarily. His helper took a 10in knife to the snake. I believe they tried to save the snake afterwards. The paramamedics revived Daddano, so I guess it would have some type of sentimental value. Common sense has nothing to so with getting attacked by a wild snake, **it happens and then you die, or get revived.
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[Squeezer]

I was thinking that there was food involved and I forgot that he had died for a while. I guess that changes things.
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[SteveP]

I went to the Dells Serpent Safari a couple of years ago during one of my annual trips to Wisconsin (my wife's from Madison). The display was okay, the animals looked fairly healthy. What Squeezer said about the tour guide was the same for me (probably the same young lady). Actaully what was the most fun was a half grown Sulcata tortoise running around loose in the retail area. If I were in the Dells for other touristy stuff I'd probably stop by again, but wouldn't make a special trip just to see it alone. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
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