Westman Reptile Gardens — Attraction in Manitoba

Honestly after reading the reviews I had thought that this place had improved, so my friends and I headed out there this weekend. I was struck speechless at the level of filth and neglect in just about every enclosure in the place. Every single enclosure was completely filthy, feces, urates, shed skins, and filthy water bowls/pools in every single terrestrial enclosure. It was clear that the majority of these enclosures hadn't been touched in weeks (at the very least). There did appear to be an employee working, but on what, we truly had no idea. None of the turtle enclosures had filtration. Just stagnant water in tanks far too small for the size or number of the occupants, and in some cases both. On top of the clear lack of cleaning, many of these enclosures were simply not appropriate for the species they were housing. Two milk frogs in a half water filled 29 Gallon with two logs to sit on and no cover. A massive Asian water monitor in a 4x6 (being generous here) room with a pool not even large enough for it to fully submerge itself. The tanks of axolotls (a cold water species) were over crowded, filthy, and in far too warm of an area for those animals to remain healthy, which they genuinely did not appear to be. Honestly, the provincial vet needs to be notified of the absolutely abysmal conditions here. I am honestly wondering if the people who have left such glowing reviews are hired bots or were paid to do so, because anyone with two eyes and an ounce of common sense should be able to see just how unacceptable the conditions are in this "zoo". What disgusted me even more was seeing that this place is actively breeding rattlesnakes, which are venomous, as well as alligators. For what reason aside from profit is beyond me as there are nowhere near the amount of homes for these animals as there are hatchlings. Overall, this place should be shut down. This is not a world class reptile zoo, this is an embarrassment to the world of reptile keeping and the province...

I've been here a few times and have loved it every time.

To be fair, the first time I was there I wasn't sure I was in the right place but after opening the door it was very evident I had reached the correct place. The owner has been nothing but friendly towards myself and family every single time I've been there as well has walked through the entire place with us answering all our questions while teaching interesting facts about the animals.

To my understanding, this is purely family run and done out of a labour of love. Don't have unreasonable expectations that everything will be cleaned spotless. Besides, how many people are willing to go into the exhibit every day with alligators, crocs and snakes. It must be a Herculean task to manage the upkeep of the hundreds of animals they have.

When you go there, I would recommend going on a cooler day, it can be very humid inside. If you go there with the intention of taking your time, enjoying the place and learning; you can easily be there for hours. If your goal is to blitz through, you can be done in fifteen minutes. Please keep in mind that these are animals, they aren't always going to be "putting on a show."

I would rather drive out to Westman Reptile Gardens from Winnipeg than go to...

I think the people visiting these animals and leaving positive reviews just don’t understand reptile and amphibian care. The conditions of the tanks were unsanitary at best, with urine and waste throughout the smaller habitats. Animals that under no circumstances should be permanently cohabitated, were kept in groups or pairs. The turtle tanks were heartbreakingly small. I’m not saying these people are bad people, they were very kind, but it’s clear they don’t have as much knowledge as they think they do, and I believe they should have less animals on hand to properly care for the ones they have. Giving them all adequate space and time to properly clean each enclosure.

They weren’t all bad - but my husband and I left feeling very sad for many of the animals behind those walls.

I hope the owners decide to read up on the updated practices for keeping reptiles and amphibians. They may be surviving, but a large number of them are not thriving.

This review is not meant to be malicious or rude, I just feel like the owners could do so much better for the animals they love...