Texas Discovery Gardens — Attraction in Dallas

I usually enjoy this place. I haven't been in a couple years, and was looking forward to the new Snake House installment. I personally love snakes and own them as pets. And unknown to a lot of people, they require much more care and attention than a cat or a dog, and money. These snakes are in awful conditions. Whoever is in charge of the husbandry and care of these reptiles should be fired. Different snake breeds each have different temperature and humidity requirements to survive, different ecosystems and types of areas to not stress them out. But there are also a lot of things every snake needs. A large enough hide, a clean and correct size water bowl, and an adequate amount of substrate and space in the tank (the tank should be as wide or tall as the snake is), and regular feeding of appropriate foods. . These snakes had none of that. Instead I saw water bowls with dead rotting fish in them, water bowls filled with decaying feces, almost no substrate on the bottom of the tanks, 3 foot long snakes with a 5 inch water bowl, in a two foot tank. snakes without proper humidity, snakes in dirty, way too humid tanks, large snakes with no proper place to hide,, no kind of fake plants or scenery to make them comfortable in their tank,, but most importantly, every snake was stressed out. And because of this, I wouldn't be surprised if employees have gotten bit by these snakes. Snakes may not feel emotions but they do infact require a sense of respect to their environment and stress, in order to build trust.

All in all, it was obvious this Snake House I looked forward to was a huge let down. I know places bring animals in for profit, but at the least take care of them properly and give them what they need to thrive. Make it interesting to learn about them and their habitats (it is called "Discovery Gardens" isn't it?). How does the corn snake differ from a hognose or a tree viper? What do they eat? Where do they live in the wild? So much about this could be so educational. And the less stressed out they are the more they will come out and give your customers more to see and watch... Yes snakes can be really cool to learn about and watch, but you have to give them adequate housing in order to achieve that. Adults and children alike would enjoy it so much more. There is so much that not only could be done with your Snake House, but needs to be done; and if you can do it for the Butterfly House, you can definitely do it for the Snake House.

If you can't afford it you shouldn't have them. If you don't have someone who knows or does well enough to care for them, find someone! If you can't have someone scheduled to care for them please just find proper homes for them and close this down. It's definitely not a popular attraction of this place, and this is absolutely a big reason why. Educational aspects aside, please do better. These...

The garden itself was beautiful. We rented the Secret Garden for our wedding and the scenery with our decorations made it lovely. However, the process was less than exceptional. The catering and rental company started off pleasant enough to work with but once Covid hit, everything changed. We were not notified of the changes and found out too close to the date to change venues. The day of our wedding, Covid vaccinations were happening and traffic was horrendous!! They could have sent an email or made a phone call to alert the unsuspecting brides! It added an extra 30 minutes just to get past the lines and into the correct parking area. Where a bride and groom would be the only ones getting married during their time slot, there are multiple weddings happening and competing noise. We had to move our date because the Gardens had to close due to Covid but was treated as though I was a fickle bride when questioning the changes. My sister had to step in and explain the reason for the date change. I found out my groom was spoken harshly to when attempting to use the grooms room to get dressed. The bride's room within the building was decent enough with ample room for family and some friends. The grooms room was ok but sadly, since another wedding was taking place at the same time, my groom was shoved into a small space behind the front desk. Where certain amenities were part of the package, now they have to be paid for as part of your rental. I honestly was looking forward to having an intimate wedding with photo access to the entire garden, ample space to get ready, for both me and my groom, but was reduced to only one garden and my groom harshly sent to a glorified closet and I was placed into a room off the public restrooms. Thankfully, once inside the ceremony, all of the unpleasantness melted away and I was happily married to the...

BEWARE OF THESE RED FLAGS!!

I visited the Texas Discovery Gardens this past weekend and noticed some concerning red flags that I haven't seen mentioned in other reviews, and wanted to post to warn others who may be bringing their families here in the future.

Upon entering the lobby, my family and I were greeted with a strong marijuana odor throughout main entry. We weren't sure where it was coming from, but it seemed to still be there when we left a few hours later. It didn't appear that the staff was doing anything to address the smell as it remained for so long and was so strong.

While enjoying the gardens, we noticed a staff member who was openly carrying a firearm who did not appear to be police or security of any kind (he was wearing casual clothing with no badge). As a family establishment with clear posted rules stating that firearms were not allowed on premises, I was uncomfortable that someone with an unknown amount of training was able to be visibly armed. We didn't even know the man's name or title as none of the staff have nametags with any identifiable information to let us know who they are or why they may need a gun at a gun-free establishment.

Overall, my family and I enjoyed the butterflies and thought that there were lots of cool things to see here, but were concerned about how this place is being run with some of the things we saw. We would love to return in the future, but I think that some of these concerns should be addressed as a matter of safety and...