Reptile Lagoon — Attraction in Dillon

🐊 Reptile Lagoon @ South of the Border – Hamer, SC ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 out of 5 stars) If you’re visiting South of the Border, one of the more unusual attractions on-site is the Reptile Lagoon—it’s advertised as one of the largest indoor reptile exhibits in the U.S., and it definitely has a wide variety of snakes, lizards, turtles, and of course... alligators and crocodiles. My husband, daughter, and I checked it out during our stop (we also spent over an hour in Pedro’s Mexican Shop West—another quirky and fun spot here). But unfortunately, just like much of the South of the Border compound, the Reptile Lagoon desperately needs a fresh coat of paint. It’s looking dingy inside and out, and that really takes away from the experience. ⚠️ Here’s my biggest concern: While the smaller reptiles seem to be in okay enclosures for now, the alligators and crocodiles are kept in spaces that are far too small for their size and needs. It was honestly upsetting. These are large, powerful animals that deserve much more space, proper enrichment, and better conditions. I strongly believe they should be relocated to a proper sanctuary where they can thrive. The baby gators might be okay temporarily, but once they grow, they’ll need a better environment too. ✅ The exhibit itself could be great if given some attention—cleaner enclosures, updated paint, better lighting, and more naturalistic habitats would go a long way. 🚗 It’s still worth checking out if you're already at South of the Border, but I’d love to see some major improvements before I could recommend it fully. 📍 South of the Border Overview: This place has a lot of fun, nostalgic roadside charm, dating back to 1949. But it’s clear that the entire compound—from shops to attractions—needs upkeep. With the right care, it could be a truly great...

If I could give this place 0 stars, I would. IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT THESE ANIMALS REQUIRE, YOU WOULD KNOW THIS IS ABUSE/NEGLECT. I made a stop to the Reptile Lagoon at South of the Border in South Carolina. When there, we witnessed American Alligators in the smallest enclosures there whilst small animals were in the much larger one. These big reptiles barely had enough room to turn around. The reptiles there require heat, light, and space. They had very little light and heat from 1-3 lamps. All of them looked depressed and because it was not hot or humid, they were in a state of constant hibernation almost frozen. I did not see them move the entire time I was there. There were multiple of these enclosures. There wasalso a pig-nose turtle in a tank without a working filter that had its very sensitive nose pressed against the glass. These animals frequently swim and move around in every tank I’ve ever seen, but in this one he stayed put and looked severely depressed as did all animals there. The Alligator snapping turtle only had about 5 inches of water in its tank when these animals also need to swim. The snakes looked sick and had growths of either masses or infection on them. This place is putting all of these animals in a depressing constant hibernate state. It was cold and dark in the entire building. Zoos take much better care of these threatened and critically endangered animals. They need to be removed from here and placed in actual...

Edit*The response to this post is ridiculous!! There is NO WAY that you have a 12+ ft animal in an enclosure that's maybe about 30 sq ft. The poor animal couldn't even turn around. The water available for the poor guy was maybe about a 9x9 puddle ALL OF THE LIGHTS in the place were turned off except a few "heat lights" that were on IF the animals were lucky enough for them TO BE WORKING Honestly I'll possibly go back just to take pictures, it's awful! Here you go REPTILE LAGOON MAYBE THIS WILL HELP! You're certainly not informed or just full of your own B.S.! You DO NOT have the animals needs or interest in mind. General Rule: For a single crocodile, the enclosure should be at least twice the length of the animal in both width and depth. So, for a 13-foot crocodile, that's roughly a 26' x 26' (7.9m x 7.9m) area. This provides a minimum of approximately 676 square feet (62.8 sq m). Water and Land Area: The water area should cover at least 50% of the enclosure, deep enough for the crocodile to fully submerge. Breeding Considerations: If the enclosure is intended for breeding, include a larger area of deeper water (over 1 meter deep). Multiple Crocodiles: If housing multiple crocodiles, increase the enclosure size by 30% (20% more water and 10% more land) for each additional animal. It was extremely dark in there. The larger animals were in very small enclosures, The small animals in large ones, it made no sense . Honestly it...