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Reptile Gardens Awarded TripAdvisor's Presigious Award

Categories: General
Reptile Gardens is honored to announce we have been awarded TripAdvisor's Certificate of Excellence. TripAdvisor is the world's largest travel site and provides trusted advice from travelers across the world. We are thrilled to have earned such a phenomenal award as only ten percent of accommodations listed on TripAdvisor will receive this award on a yearly basis. This tribute honors excellence in hospitality, and that's exactly what we aim to do, by engaging visitors at Reptile Gardens and have them leaving with a memorable, enjoyable, and educational experience. Our passion for what we do is ignited within our visitors, enabling them leave with a better sense of what our world renowned team of specialists and conservationists set out to accomplish every day.


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Unique Holiday Gifts Available at Reptile Gardens, Including Amethyst Geodes and Himalayan Salt Lamps

Tags: Eagles


Christmas may be three months away, but Reptile Gardens is stocking up on gifts to get ready for the upcoming holiday season.

Skip past the traffic, high tempers, and prices of the holiday and visit the gift shop at Reptile Gardens to find a variety of items ranging from clothing to New Guinea artifacts. Find something for that hard-to-shop-for person on your list, or simply something creative to give your other animals, art and history lovers.


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New Arrivals added to the collection of exotic inhabitants at Reptile Gardens

Wondering what is new at Reptile Gardens?

The reptile park is delighted to announce the addition of Moon Crabs and Camel Spiders to their collection for visitors to observe and enjoy.


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Reduced Admission begins with the Fall Season at Reptile Gardens

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Autumn is a great time of year from locals to visit Reptile Gardens.


As summer comes to an end, Reptile Gardens would like to invite friends and families to take advantage of their reduced fall season rates.


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Here We Go Again! Another Wild Snake Story

Categories: General
These photos have been circulating for several years now. And, as usual, each time they make the rounds of emails the story gets wilder and wilder and more utterly ridiculous. So, let's just hammer this one point by point. Please pass this post on to all your friends who sent you this photo.



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Unique holiday gift shopping at Reptile Gardens

These Himalayan Salt Rocks give a nice soft glow in the dark.


By now, you have survived the Black Friday chaos and maybe even snagged some deals on Cyber Monday — the Monday after Black Friday set aside for online shoppers.

If you still have some gift shopping to do but don't know where to start, try the gift shop at Reptile Gardens where you'll find a wide range of items from t-shirts to New Guinea artifacts.

Everyone knows that person who is impossible to shop for. They are into "unusual" things and you never know what to get them. Reptile Gardens has plenty of unique gifts, especially for animal, art and history lovers.


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Marv Basham



Reptile Gardens just lost its last link to the past, Marv Basham (1917-2011). Until yesterday, Marv was the last person still around who was here on opening day in June of 1937. He had helped build our original buildings and did a lot of other things back in the day when the crew consisted of just a handful of people and everyone did whatever was needed.


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Animal conservation key focus at Reptile Gardens

Animal appreciation starts with education.


Rapid City, S.D. — Education through entertainment is at the center of Reptile Gardens' animal conservation efforts.


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Reptile Gardens' website goes mobile

Rapid City, S.D. — Reptile Gardens wants to reach customers where they're at—their mobile devices.

Over 93 percent of adults in the United States own a cell phone and the demand for mobile access to Internet has skyrocketed. Twenty percent of households are mobile-only, and 11 percent of mobile phone owners make purchases through their phones. By January 2012, 50 percent of all cellular phones will be smartphones.


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Methuselah Memorial established at Reptile Gardens

Methuselah brought joy to many across the world.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 13, 2011—Rapid City, S.D.—Though the shock of Methuselah's death is still present, the team at Reptile Gardens is looking to the future. Plans are underway to establish a memorial for the beloved mascot and hopefully raise enough funds to bring another Galapagos tortoise to the reptile park.

Named after the Biblical figure, Methuselah, who was recorded as the oldest person whose age, 969 years, is mentioned in the Hebrew book of Genesis, the Galapagos Tortoise has been recognized as the oldest creature to have lived in the state of South Dakota.


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75 YEARS AND GOING STRONG! CALLING ALL FORMER & CURRENT REPTILE GARDENS STAFF MEMBERS

Ray Pawley in his younger days.

Next year, 2012, Reptile Gardens will be celebrating its 75th anniversary. You know what that means? We are planning a fun staff reunion to celebrate this momentous anniversary.



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Practical Jokes at Reptile Gardens

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Reptile Gardens' founder Earl Brockelsby (1916-1993) was notorious for his elaborate & sometimes nasty practical jokes. Among them were:


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Reptile Gardens kicks off spring season with national exposure

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Terry Phillip, venomous snake expert at Reptile Gardens, provided information about the Egyptian cobra for a late March interview with CNN



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Back When the Sky Dome was New

Categories: General
David, Jada, Clint and the rest of the staff have been really busy in the Sky Dome since we closed for the season. They have done a lot of work on the mezzanine level and even more in the Safari Room, painting, planting new plants, moving cacti, and more.

With all this work going on in the Dome I was reminded of when it was built and of the big tree that is still the centerpiece. This is an article that ran in the Rapid City Journal in 1964.


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Rocks, Fossils, Jewelry, and New Guinea Art!

Categories: General
Next week, we are headed to the world's largest gem and mineral show in Tucson, Arizona to seek out and buy rare and beautiful rocks, fossils, minerals and who knows what else for our 2011 season. We never know what we will find but there are always new and exciting things offered by the several thousand vendors who come to the show from all over the world.


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True Grit Rattlesnakes - How True is it?

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Western Diamondback Rattlesnake


The other day National Geographic contacted regarding the veracity of the rattlesnake scenes in the new movie, True Grit. Terry's interview is posted on the National Geographic blog.


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New Year, New Web Site!

We have just launched a new, totally revised Reptile Gardens web site. Things change fast in the cyberworld and we do our best to keep up. It took months of work by our staff and the folks at Robert Sharp and Associates to get things exactly like we wanted them and it is finally done. We think this new site with its simpler interface will be easier to negotiate - visitors will be able to quickly find what they are looking for. It will also work nicely on mobile devices.


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Visit Santa This Week At Reptile Gardens

Starting this Saturday the 18th of December Santa will be here every day through Christmas Eve. Bring the kids to meet Santa and take your own photos with him. Reptile Gardens is the only place where you can take your photo not only with Santa but also include Fluffy the Gator or Marilyn the Albino Python in the photo. The most unique Christmas photos ever. And it is FREE too!


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Dog Policy

We love all animals, wild and domesticated. Unfortunately due to a high number of recent incidents with dogs, our insurance company has advised us that we can no longer allow dogs, or other personal pets, on the Reptile Gardens grounds. ADA approved service dogs are, of course, allowed although there are three areas where they are not allowed for their safety and the safety of our animals. We do offer a shaded grassy area adjacent to our parking lot for walking your dog. We only ask that your pet be leashed and attended to at all times. You are welcome to come and go from the park as often as you like to tend to your dog. For more information, visit our FAQ Page

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