Good news! We’re opening a brand new zoo in Hamilton!
‘That’s right. Your favourite reptile zoo is opening in Southern Ontario. Our Hamilton location will also be servicing the greater London, Kitchener/Waterloo, and Hamilton area as well as other southern Ontario Communities. Our zoo and nature centre is opening in Hamilton in June…. However, BOOK NOW as our full range of programming for birthday parties in your home, summer camps, schools, corporate events, daycares and retirement homes is up and running and now available.
We’re opening the zoo with a special exhibit called Crocodiles Of The World, which is the most diverse collection of crocodilians in Canada. We’ll also be featuring giant snakes. marmosets, and tortoises – not to mention our daily hands on feeding demonstrations! Our new facility will officially be called Little Ray’s Reptile Zoo and Wildlife Centre, and we’re excited to be educating and entertaining our customers at our new facility.
Little Ray’s Reptile and Wildlife Centre
869 Barton Street
Hamilton, Ontario
L8E 5G6
1-905-531-5367
Contact Us for more info.
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We’ve added more upcoming tour dates for 2013! We’re headed to Moncton, New Brunswick and Hamilton, Ontario!
Little Ray’s Reptile Zoo is hitting the road with their world class, live animal, zoological exhibit featuring Venom. This one of a kind, hands on, educational bilingual exhibit features some of the most infamous venomous animals in the world including Gaboon vipers, green mambas, rattlesnakes, tarantulas, scorpions,and 1 of only 2 KING COBRAS on display in Canada. As well as the venomous snakes people will see enormous pythons, huge Komodo dragon type lizards, giant tortoises, a 100 pound alligator, bird of prey, and our SUPER SPECIAL GUEST Hazard a six month old Eurasian Lynx. There will be interactive live animal shows happening pretty much non stop throughout the day with animals out for people to interact with throughout the exhibit. This 12,000 square foot exhibit is guaranteed to be the hit of the winter. Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to come and learn and interact with some of natures most misunderstood creatures.
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The Coliseum in Moncton – April 6th 2013 – from 10 to 6 and April 7th. 2013 – from 10 to 5 (Please note in Moncton – The Coliseum charges a $0.50 surcharge on each ticket sold)
- The Ancaster Fair Grounds (Hamilton)- April 14th, 2013 from 9 to 5
Admission:
Tickets are $10 at the door
Children 2 and under are FREE
Contact Us for more info.
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What does an exotic Eurasian lynx have in common with an exhibit about some of nature’s deadliest venomous creatures? They’ll both be on the road with Little Ray for the beginning of the new year!
***Please note there will be no lynx in Nova Scotia. Little Ray’s will be bringing a BEAUTIFUL red kangaroo named Boxer instead.
Yep. That’s right. We’re coming to Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Saint John New Brunswick, and London, Ontario….and we’re coming with some friends!
Little Ray’s Reptile Zoo is hitting the road with their world class, live animal, zoological exhibit featuring Venom. This one of a kind, hands on, educational bilingual exhibit features some of the most infamous venomous animals in the world including Gaboon vipers, green mambas, rattlesnakes, tarantulas, scorpions,and 1 of only 2 KING COBRAS on display in Canada. As well as the venomous snakes people will see enormous pythons, huge Komodo dragon type lizards, giant tortoises, a 100 pound alligator and our SUPER SPECIAL GUEST Hazard a six month old Eurasian Lynx (Please note, Hazard will not be in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We will be bringing Boxer, an 8 month old red Kangaroo to Halifax. This will be boxers only event with us this winter). There will be interactive live animal shows happening pretty much non stop throughout the day with animals out for people to interact with throughout the exhibit. This 12,000 square foot exhibit is guaranteed to be the hit of the winter. Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to come and learn and interact with some of natures most misunderstood creatures.
- We’re in Thunder Bay, Ontario on January 26th (10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.), the 27th (10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.), and the 28th (10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.) at the Coliseum Building at The Canadian Lakehead Exhibition.
- We’re in Sudbury, Ontario on February 1st (10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.), 2nd (10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.), and 3rd (10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.) at the Radisson Hotel and Convention Center
- We’re in Halifax, Nova Scotia on February 15th (10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.), 16th (9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.), and 17th (10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.) at Exhibition Park – (Please note there will be no lynx in Nova Scotia. Little Ray’s will be bringing a BEAUTIFUL red kangaroo named Boxer instead).
- We’re in Kitchener, Ontario on March 2nd (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.) at Bingemans.
- We’re in Saint John, New Brunswick on March 6th and March 7th (10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.), 8th (10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.) at the Hilton Saint John Convention Centre!
- We’re in London, Ontario on March 13th (10:00 a.m. – 5 p.m.) March 14th (10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.), 15th (10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.), 16th (10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.) at the Special Events Building at the Western Fair Grounds!
Admission:
Tickets are $10 at the door
Children 2 and under are FREE
Contact Us for more info.
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Hey everyone,
We recently had a few good questions posed to us by a website visitor, and we wanted to cover some of the items off in a blog post to everyone. We’ve included the questions and our answers below.
Q: Hi! Your zoo sounds interesting and we are considering a visit. However, we have concerns about the ethics of keeping animals in captivity, especially so far from their native habitats. What can you tell us about your approach to getting these animals? For example, when you say you are both a zoo and animal rescue facility, which animals are rescued and from where?
A; Short of getting into specifics with every animal, we have NEVER imported an animal from the wild to put on display or utilize in programs we offer at the zoo. The majority of our animals come to us as unwanted pets (approximately 80%). We do have partnerships with the various Humane Societies and SPCAs across Canada and help with animal surrender placements as well as confiscations. We also have a partnership with Environment Canada for the placement of seized animals illegally entering Canada. On top of working with the SPCA, Humane Society, and Environment Canada, we do receive animals directly from people who have had them as pets. Sadly some of these may have been taken from the wild initially however, space permitted we do accept and quarantine them and take on in our collection. The remaining 20% portion of our animals come directly from captive breeding programs in Canada or from other zoos.
Q: Is there a plan that after a certain time in the zoo, that they be put back into the wild?
A: Unfortunately once an animal has been in the pet trade it is impossible to know what it may have come in contact with and what it may carry which could pose a risk to others in the population. As a result there are no programs for animals to be released back into the wild once they have been in the pet trade. This certainly is unfortunate however the wild populations would be put at great risk if this were to happen. This is why we regularly tell people to NOT take animals from the wild or if they want a ‘pet’ reptile for their child not to buy a wild caught animal which unfortunately are still sold in many pet stores in Canada. There are many captive bred reptiles that do make good pets and there really is no reason for animals to be taken from the wild so Billy can have one in his bedroom.
We invite our customers and patrons to ask us questions when they visit us at the zoo or when visiting our website. We’re committed to the ethical treatment of our animals and are equally committed to being open about how the zoo works.
Sincerely,
Little Ray
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What does an exotic Eurasian lynx have in common with an exhibit about some of nature’s deadliest venomous creatures? They’ll both be in Newfoundland this November!
Yep. That’s right. We’re going to be wonderful St. John’s, Newfoundland….and we’re coming with some friends!
- November 17th from 9 am to 5 pm
- November 18th from 9 am to 5 pm
at the St John’s Convention Centre
Little Ray’s Reptile Zoo is bringing their world class, live animal, zoological exhibit featuring Venom to St. John’s this November. This one of a kind, hands on, educational bilingual exhibit features some of the most infamous venomous animals in the world including Gaboon vipers, green mambas, rattlesnakes, tarantulas, scorpions,and 1 of only 2 KING COBRAS on display in Canada. As well as the venomous snakes people will see enormous pythons, huge Komodo dragon type lizards, giant tortoises, a 100 pound alligator and our SUPER SPECIAL GUEST Hazard a six month old Eurasian Lynx. There will be interactive live animal shows happening pretty much non stop throughout the day with animals out for people to interact with throughout the exhibit. This 16,000 square foot exhibit is guaranteed to be the hit of the fall. Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to come and learn and interact with some of natures most misunderstood creatures. Be educated and amazed this November.
Admission:
General Admission is $12.50 including tax at the door or $11.00 including tax in advance through the MileOne Box officen 2 a
Children 2 and under are FREE
Contact Us for more info.
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GET READY for The UNBELIEVABLE!
Nature’s Ninjas, our brand new world class exhibit and display, will be running at the zoo between November 6th and April 25th!
The exhibit is designed to educate on the creatures in our natural environment that utilize some unusual and rarely heard of defensive strategies in warding off predators and protecting themselves. We guarantee you’ll find the exhibit so mind blowing, you’ll want to come back and see it again!
- Did you know that there is a species of frog that will break their back legs to stab a predator when being attacked?
- Did you know that there is a species of ant that will literally blow itself up spraying toxic chemicals onto would be predators to protect the colony?
- Did you know that horned lizards will shoot blood out of their eyes to ward off predators?
Wowed? There’s more! This promises to be one of the most informative and fascinating exhibits we’ve had at the zoo!
Contact Us for more info.
VENOM!!!…is coming to Little Ray’s Reptile Zoo this summer! That’s right! June 1st, 2012 thru to October 31st, 2012
The world class, award winning exhibit “Venom” is coming to the zoo this summer! This one of a kind, hands on, educational bilingual exhibit features some of the most infamous venomous snakes in the world including Gaboon vipers, green mambas, rattlesnakes, and 1 of only 2 KING COBRAS on display in Canada. As well as the venomous snakes people will see tarantulas and scorpions and learn about the many other venomous animals who have evolved venomous predation and defences.
There will be interactive live animal shows happening pretty much non stop throughout the day with animals out for people to interact with throughout the exhibit. This exhibit is guaranteed to be the hit of the summer!! Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to come and learn and interact with some of natures most misunderstood creatures. Be educated and amazed this Summer! On display June 1st through to October 31st only at the ‘All NEW’ Little Rays’s Reptile Zoo.
Contact Us for more info.
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We’re Going To Be In Town! We have multiple shows this coming week! Our schedule includes:
February 25th (9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.), and 26th (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.) at Espace K at Expocite
We’re bringing our world class, live animal, zoological exhibit featuring ‘Great Reptiles of the World – Past and Present to Quebec City! This special bilingual exhibit features some of the most infamous reptiles alive today including giant snakes, alligators, giant Komodo dragon type lizards, birds of prey, cobras, rattlesnakes, giant tortoises and event tarantulas and scorpions. As well as the live animals, for the first time in Quebec City, Little Ray’s is bringing some of the greatest fossil reptile skulls of the past including a Mososaur, a Triceratops, a Sarcosuchus skull (the super croc), and the greatest reptile of all time – the Tyrannosaurus Rex! There will be interactive live animal shows happening pretty much non stop throughout the day with animals out for people to interact with throughout the exhibit. This 11,000 square foot exhibit is guaranteed to be the hit of 2012! Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to come learn and interact with some of nature’s most misunderstood creatures. Be educated and amazed!
250 Boulevard Wilfrid Hamel
Québec, QC
Admission:
$12.50 for adults.
Students and children aged 6 to 17 are $10.50
Children aged 2-5 are $8.00
Seniors are $10.50
Children under 2 are free
Group prices for 15 people or more is $10.00 per person.
Tickets available at the door. Contact Us for more info.
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Nous serons de passage et avons prévu plusieurs représentations pour la semaine prochaine! Notre horaire comprend :
25 (9 h à 18 h), et 26 (9 h à 17 h) à l’Espace K de l’Expocite
C’est avec plaisir que nous visitons la ville de Québec pour présenter notre exposition zoologique de renommée internationale intitulée Grands reptiles du monde d’hier et d’aujourd’hui! Cette exposition bilingue d’animaux vivants met en vedette certains reptiles les plus redoutés dont de gigantesques serpents, des alligators, des lézards de type Varan de Komodo, des oiseaux de proie, des cobras, des serpents à sonnette, des tortues géantes et même des tarentules et des scorpions. En plus des animaux vivants, pour la première fois à Québec, Little Ray présente le crane de certains reptiles fossiles éteints y compris un mososaur, un tricératops, a sarcosuchus (le super croc), et le plus grand reptile de tous les temps – le Tyrannosaurus Rex! Des représentations interactives mettant en vedette des animaux vivants se dérouleront tout au long de la journée – les visiteurs auront la chance de faire leur connaissance tout au long de l’exposition. Cette exposition de 11 000 pieds carrés promet d’être l’un des grands succès de 2012! Ne manquez pas cette incroyable occasion d’apprendre et d’interagir avec certaines des créatures les moins bien comprises de la nature. Joignez-vous à nous pour le plaisir d’apprendre!
Prix d’entrée :
Adultes 12,50 $
Enfants âgés de 6 à 17 ans et étudiants : 10,50 $
Enfants âgés de 2 à 5 ans : 8 $
Aînés : 10,50 $
Enfants âgés de moins de 2 ans : GRATUIT
Prix de groupe de 15 ou plus: $ 10 par personne
Billets disponibles à l’entrée. Pour plus de renseignements, veuillez communiquer avec nous.
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We’re proud to announce that our renovations are almost complete!
We’ve been working around the clock to get the renovations completed at the zoo for the Christmas holidays. We opened in November 2000 on a shoe string budget, and after 11 years in business our dream of a long overdue overhaul has come to fruition. Now Ottawa will not just be home to a zoo with incredible programming but a zoo that has world class exhibits to boot.
Here’s what visitors and our valued customers can expect from the new facility.
- A Complete Overhaul – The existing building has been literally gutted back to the concrete walls. All existing animal enclosures, walls, etc have been removed (except for Stewart and Chases cage – Our 500 pound alligators) and brand new exhibits have come in.
- Greater Access – Previously the public had access to about 65% of our building. Now, the public will have access to 95% of the building.
- Awesome Permanent Exhibits – The zoo will now have 25 permanent animal exhibits featuring some of the most famous reptiles on the planet. On top of the 25 permanent exhibits the zoo will now have 20 feature animal exhibits that will rotate every 6 months.
- World Class Temporary Exhibits – The zoo’s grand re-opening this Christmas is featuring 2 brand new world class exhibits. From December 2011 to June of 2012 come see ‘Life Under the Canopy – Animals of the Rainforests’ and ‘Living Under Fire – Life in the Desert’. These 2 contrasting exhibits featuring a variety of animals from the desert and the rainforest focusing on adaptations for survival in these unique ecosystems
- New Private Function Rooms – Brand new BEAUTIFUL private rooms for birthday parties, schools groups, corporate parties, and team parties.
- New public feeding and hands on room – An incredible new presentation room featuring a 3,000 gallon aquarium and beautiful bleacher seating. This room effectively triples our seating area for shows.
- More Parking – Increased parking to accommodate twice as many vehicles.
- New Huge Gift Shop – A brand new gift shop featuring everything from T-shirts to toys, from videos to toques, and a new fossil and rock section featuring a variety of rocks and fossils dating back 35 million to 450 million years. The new gift shop will have something for every nature lover.
- Nature Centre – The zoo now has a separate nature centre for the local naturalist in your family to come and learn about endangered species in Canada. This room will be featuring skulls from many of Canada’s more commonly known threatened and endangered species as well as live animal exhibits that will rotate seasonally.
- Fresh Air - …. and last but not least brand new ventilation systems. If you had visited the zoo before you would remember the heat with a lot of humidity in the air and a definite ‘zoo’ odour. Well no more. With our new ventilation systems the humidity and odour is completely kept in check. These ventilation systems completely exchange the zoo’s air with outside air every 3 hours assuring fresh air in the zoo at all times. As well, with our new heat controlled systems for animals on display, the zoo’s ambient temperature no longer has to be kept at 28 degrees. Enjoy seeing the animals in the comfort of 20 degrees.
We’re looking forward to seeing you all at the brand new zoo, and we appreciate everyone’s support and patience as we’ve made this all come together. Contact Us for more info.
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